October Is Pastoral Care Month at Holyrood
The real hope of October is not to have intellectual discussions or to provide formal training. The real goal is for us to be inspired to show love and concern for people who we might otherwise overlook due to the busyness of life. So here is my challenge to members of Holyrood in October…
How to Make Washing Dishes into an Act of Worship
How do you turn an ordinary life into a life of holy devotion? Is there a way to take the burning love of the heavenly seraphim and to translate it into a mundane routine of making porridge, doing laundry, and filling out spreadsheets? Is there a spiritual alchemy by which we can turn acts too trivial for human notice into deeds of worship that bring delight and honour to the throne of glory?
Daydreaming about New Creation
There are no more exciting words in the Bible than these: ‘Behold, I will do a new thing’ (Is. 43:19). None of us can outthink God. His creativity is as limitless as His power. Thus, as children of God, we need to feel as if we are on the eve of a cosmic Christmas morning. The trees that we see in this world are but stick-figures of what God can do with the class, ‘tree’. The mountains and hills of the Western Highlands are just the wet clay of the better sculptures that an almighty hand will one day cast. Are we amazed at sunsets in this world? Brothers and sisters, these are just primary colours of fiery skies yet to be painted.
What Is a ‘Stingless’ Death?
As Christians, we need to avoid being prudish regarding death. Although there is no reason to fixate on the topic, now and again, we need to think soberly about the reality of death since it is the final and, for some, greatest trial of faith. In past days, Christians used to talk about ‘dying well’. There is some merit in this thought. Death is something we must all be prepared to face. Yet, how do we do this? One critical step is making sure that we understand how Jesus’ death was both similar and different to what we will experience at the end of our lives.
