Some people once came to Jesus and asked him ‘What do we need to do to lead a successful life?’ (Their actual question was ‘What is the greatest commandment?’, but in essence they were asking the same thing). Jesus told them: ‘Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.’ In essence, his …
“I will be with you” is the ultimate response to our concern; “I can’t do this?” Have you said or thought; “There must be someone else, someone more experienced, more intelligent, more eloquent.” I will be with you reveals the truth that it’s not about who I am that makes the difference, it’s who goes with me that matters. When …
Not long ago I had the privilege of visiting Taiwan. I met a number of people who were followers of Jesus and almost all of my conversations with them had to be translated. I could see the sincerity and depth of their faith long before the delay of translation allowed their words to catch up with their message. And then …
If I was responsible for coming up with a plan for salvation, I don’t think I would have picked the plan we have. I would have started by making sure Jesus had a safe arrival into the world, rather than being born in a stable to a barely-married teenager. He would have received the best education and medical care available, …
Here’s something in an old story that I’d never noticed before. On one of those times when Jesus was teaching a crowd, they got to the end of the day and the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away so they could buy food. But rather than do that, Jesus told the disciples, “you give them something to eat”. …
The gospel of Jesus is not the only ‘message of hope’ I hear today. Messages bombard me every time I turn on the TV, open a magazine, walk into a shopping mall, or even when I visit friends. The messages all tell me that owning that car will make me powerful, or wearing this label of clothing will put me …
Sport is a funny thing. For anyone who has ever played or supported a sports team I’m certain you’ve experienced delight at a totally unexpected victory, and despair, at the loss you know should never have happened. Sports matches are often decided by centimetres and seconds. The throw one centimetre too far means the ball misses the mark; the run …
The other day I met up with a friend. I’ve been reading the Gospel of John with him as he explores what faith in Christ is all about. A while ago we read what Jesus said to a Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have …
In the beginning of the Bible God said: Let there be sun, moon, land, sea, plants, animals, fish and people. And it was so. With a very small number of words, the Lord created and populated an entire world. It all happened just as he said it would. Today, we have created a very large number of words. On the …
Many years ago, Moses the sheep farmer saw an unusual sight in the desert – a fire burning in a bush that didn’t destroy the bush. When he went to take a closer look, the Lord God confronted him and said to Moses, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is …
