Posts from May 2022

A new brother in the Lord returned home to his parents to let them know that he had been baptised into Christ. The reaction of his father showed that the news had somehow preceded him. Before he could say a word, his father said, “I have my own faith and I don’t want you to try to make me believe yours.” When repeating the story to me he said, “If my father ever had a faith in Jesus, that was…

If you entered the Rochester Cathedral in 2019 you would have been greeted by a nine-hole mini-golf course. Of course, the use of the 1000-year-old English church building as a play area was not without controversy—some called it sacrilege. A similar sentiment was expressed recently over the commercialisation of the Sumela Monastery in Turkey. This impressive stone structure was carved out of a rockface by monks in 386AD. Though disestablished in 1923, and now in ruins, it is being restored…

The Lord’s church must actively work to rid itself of the traditions of men. Many a preacher has reminded us that the Pharisees took Laws and “built hedges around them.” These “hedges” came in the form of supplementary laws designed to prevent a person from getting too close to breaking a Law of God. Instead of letting the citizens take God’s word that the Sabbath was a mandatory day off work for the sake of all, they decided that everyone…

Human beings have always sought entertainment beyond themselves. You need not wonder at the billions of hours spent online, and the billions of dollars spent on physical, emotional, and mental stimulants; everyone loves a distraction. Whether all these distractions are causing harm or humour, we may never know, but what we do know is that God calls the Christian to do everything in His name in a spirit of gratitude. Paul says: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed,…

In answering his own question, as to who members of his family were, Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35). Later, the writer of the Book of Hebrews, says of Jesus, the one who transformed sinners into saints, that “he is not ashamed to call them [us] brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). This family, in which we celebrate our faith in Christ, began with another father; a man like us.…

Effective marketers draw the public into a trusting relationship with their brand. Be it Coca-Cola, iPhone, or Tesla, there are armies of people working to programme your emotions to react positively to their products. Does it work? It most certainly does…until. Until trust is broken! Though many parents have had trust issues with Disney for many years, Disney has recently exacerbated the problem by creating outrage over actions that exposed their lack of morals. The question of who to trust…

God will never allow his name to be trampled underfoot by idolators. Modern Christians would struggle to picture themselves as being idolators in any sense of the word. Such behaviour, they reason, is reserved for pagans in faraway lands. Few are those among believers who stop to contemplate the worthlessness of the wealth that man craves so deeply. Many are those who name God as their personal financial benefactor—‘They know not what they do.’ Woe is us if we reduce…

Every person must grapple with this question: “Who do I name as ‘Lord’ of my life?” Some would insist that they are in sole charge of their destiny. They somehow are convinced that the input of others is supplemental to their cause. However, when such self-reliance is promoted, it is wise to be reminded that all of us are but a head injury away from complete dependence upon others. We have a lot to learn when we believe that our…

Unsurprisingly, that which fills our airwaves is that which fills the minds of many. Our Televisions, radios and computers offer seemingly endless options for news, sports, music, politics, finances, humour, drama, and reality TV shows. However, though not insignificant in volume, religion does not seem to command the same attention as other interests. We praise that which we hold dear. And the more important the object of our praise, the more time and energy we put into preserving its influence…

The euphoria experienced in the days and weeks after baptism is to be cherished throughout your lifetime. Let no one take away that sense that the door to heaven was opened to you when you were baptised in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, those mountain top experiences are inevitably followed by the valleys. We live in a fallen world. One that must be faced “for what it is,” as well as “the…