Judges 16:28 In Romans 12:19 we are told as Christians “never avenge yourselves” because the Lord has told his people “vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Deut 32:35). Yet here is Samson praying that God will enable him to get revenge on those who gouged his eyes out – and God appears to give him…
145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord, and I will obey your decrees. 146 I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. 147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 148 My eyes stay open through the watches…
1 Kings 3:5-9 Here is Solomon, son of the great king David now himself king of God’s chosen people. Under him the Temple was built in Jerusalem and nation of Israel reached the height of its power. “King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world…
The Bible resounds with messages of hope and liberation for the oppressed. Jesus introduced His mission by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set…
Teaser before leading CHOW session today for Business Connect on Israel. At the turn of the year, St James’ Church in Piccadilly hosted a 2 week festival called Bethlehem Unwrapped to “celebrate the culture and stories of those living [in Bethlehem today] and their work for peace.” The Vicar of the church, Rev Lucy Winkett, said it was…
G’day, mate. Ow ya goin’? Happy Australia Day! A number of years ago, I was working for a large company in England. One day, an Australian colleague brought in a whole load of little Australian flags and gave them out as gifts to all the managers. “That’s very kind,” said one of them. “What’s this…
Guid mornin’ This is surely not the first time the term “shock-jock” has been used to mean a terrible Scottish accent – for which I apologise – but we cannae reach the 25th January without mentioning Rabbie Burns. Because it was on this day in 1759 that Scotland’s national poet was born and therefore on…
Advent reflection for 21 December 2013 Reading: Romans 5:12-19 Adam is a ‘pattern’ of Jesus (v.14) in that one affects the many. And this remains the case for all of us who are made of the same stuff as Adam was: whether we like it or not, whether we intend it that way or not,…
Advent reflection for 12 December 2013 Reading: John 3:1-21 Perhaps Nicodemus was afraid of what others might think if they saw him – a well-educated and well-respected man (a Pharisee) – hanging around with an eccentric carpenter. Perhaps Nicodemus’ day was crammed with duties of leading and instructing others (v.10). For whatever reason he came…
Advent reflection for 8 December 2013 Reading: Hebrews 10:1-18 There are many things that promise to deal with our desperate quest to be somebody and our sense that we are not all as we should be. Some of those things claim to make up what’s missing – like make-up so our skin appears blemish-free; other…