Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
We are all aware that one of the functions of a calendar is to divide time neatly into units of years, months, weeks and days, and many of us think that this is all that calendars do. This is shortsighted. The truth is that every calendar performs a secondary, more significant function. They tell us who we are.
Onward in the Service of God
It’s easy for us to think that our toils amount to nothing more than the imprint of a wave on sand that is erased by the next surge. Not so, says Paul. Keep your eyes on heaven and you will see the divine eye overlooks no act of charity or kindness. Our works of service are more durable than the stars in the sky.
Church in a Dialogue with God’s Word
I must have been only seven or eight years old when my grandmother, who had become a Christian a few years earlier, told me in a very serious fashion that the Bible is not effective if it is closed. The Bible only works if it is kept open, she said.
True repentance
Only when we start to see our sin as God sees it will we genuinely have “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (verse 17). It is then that we can ask God to create a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us (verse 10) and to restore the joy of our salvation (verse 12). In fact, the more we understand what our sin really is, the more we understand the depths of God’s amazing love and mercy towards us
How to Eat Cornflakes for the Glory of God
Jesus’ communion was as clear and unbroken as sunlight on a cloudless day. In the carpenter shop, on the road, or in a boat with friends, Jesus basked in the presence of God. He and the Father were one.
Is such communion possible for us? Not perfectly, but increasingly.
Top 10 Reasons to Meditate on Gospel Truth
Does your heart feel dry and empty when you try to pray? Do you quickly run out of things to say? Intersperse meditation and prayer. When we meditate, we refill the vessel of the heart so that, turning back to prayer, our heart is filled – not just with words – but affection.
The treasures of darkness
Most of us experience periods of darkness in some form, times when life is particularly difficult, and it can be hard to see a way forward. If given the choice, I suspect that many of us would prefer to avoid dark times and the feelings that go with them. And yet, there are some things that we can only see, learn or experience when we are in the dark – the treasures of darkness.
How to Receive a Compliment
I find that a lot of Christians (me included) are very bad at receiving compliments. Often, we are downright fearful of them. It is almost as if a compliment is a foreign and dangerous virus.
What Does It Mean to Drink of Jesus?
Christians are often so accustomed to Biblical language that the strangeness of its metaphors is lost on us. A classic example of this is John 7:37 where Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”.
