Scripture While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called ‘the Baptizer,’ was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: ‘Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.’ Matt 3:1 MSG But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking...
Scripture “Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ Later on he thought better of it and went. The father gave the same command to the second son. He...
Scripture: Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength….Repeat [these commands] again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed...
Scripture Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I...
Scripture Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 Comment Prince George was christened this week. Regardless of our denomination and views on infant baptism it provides an opportunity to think about children. I’m sensitive to the fact that whether we can have them or...
Scripture All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Tim 3.16 Comment The cartoons come from a recent Care for the Family article on the subject of boundaries. It was in the context of parenting and very helpful, and it got me thinking about boundaries in our relationship. Every now and then,...
Scripture Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward...
Scripture The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 Comment There’s ablaze of sunshine this morning and it seems that suddenly everyone is happy! A feeling of holidays descends, people talk of bbqs & socialising and there’s an energy that was missing in the so far cold damp summer. God wants to shine...
Scripture He who listens to a life giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. Proverbs 15:31 Comment Recently as we have all had to move from analog to digital reception for our televisions we have needed to re-tune our TV receiver, some of us more than once!! If we hadn’t bothered soon our screen would have gone blank....
Scripture “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 NIV Comment My mother-in-law is in her last days in this life. In the past, like in many families there have been some unresolved ?issues?, in this case between her and her son. With much encouragement from my wife they have at last talked, forgiven,...
