I’ve been dwelling on this verse in Proverbs 17: ‘The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.’ As a younger Christian, I was offered the explanation that God tests us through difficult circumstances to see if we will still hold to faith in the midst of the storm. This picture of refinement through suffering dovetailed with a general view of God as stern, obsessed with our good behaviour, and putting our... Read more
I very much believe that through the sacrifice of Jesus we are given everything we’ll ever need. He is our righteousness, now and forever. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. He provides for us from his limitless resources. Philippians 4:19, And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ... Read more
I generally avoid this topic, especially since the SCOTUS leak about the overturning of Roe v. Wade – the key legal judgement underpinning the right to abortions in the United States. So why write about it now? Truthfully, I don’t want to. It’s a topic that causes such division, including among believers, but that is exactly why I feel I must at least attempt to foster some understanding. I’m hoping that some of the fever heat has died down,... Read more
Christians have a weird relationship with persecution, often speaking and acting as if it only applies to us. It’s all too easy to get overfamiliar with an idea, especially when referring to a Biblical word, laden with set associations. I want to look at persecution from scratch. The dictionary defines persecution as ‘hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs; oppression’. The word ‘especially’ is important in that sentence, because although persecution is most... Read more
I’ve always found James’ teaching on taming the tongue exciting and bewildering in equal measure. His claim is extraordinary – that by controlling our tongues we can master our bodies and take charge of the direction of our entire lives. On the one hand this is empowering, but on the other I’ve never been able to understand the mechanics he’s implying, until now. First, the passage. James 3: 2-8, ‘Anyone who is never at fault in what they say... Read more
The Old Testament is very clear on tithing – give the whole 10% and you’ll be blessed, give anything less and you are robbing God. Malachi 3:8-12. “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.” ‘But you ask, “How are we robbing you?” ‘In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse – your whole nation – because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in... Read more
At the age of twenty I had a decision to make. I’d reached the end of the road with the faith of my childhood, which was inherited rather than forged. I was a devout young man, praying two hours a day in the hope that the touch-paper of spiritual experience might be lit, but after months of gruelling effort I’d hit rock bottom. My search had come to nothing, and I felt frustrated and let down. I’d heard that God... Read more
I often hear it said that ‘God is in control’ as a kind of self-soothing mechanism. It can be comforting to believe that the difficult events of our lives have meaning, even if that meaning is impossible to fathom, but is it true? What if in holding to this notion we disempower ourselves and open the door to all kinds of harm God would otherwise protect us from? The key passage used to express this idea of a God... Read more
Last time we established that as the disciple closest to Jesus, John wrote about him in deeply personal terms, focusing on his words rather than his miracles and conveying much about Jesus’ feelings. After only 12 chapters describing Jesus’ life and ministry, he then devotes 5 to the hours leading up to the crucifixion, and the words Jesus shared with those he loved. I believe that in those chapters we can understand much of what Jesus wanted his disciples and... Read more
Of the four Gospels in the New testament, I have a particular fondness for the Gospel of John – an account of Jesus’ life written by the disciple he was closest too. It is not a stretch to see John as Jesus’ dearest friend and confidante. It was John who reclined against Jesus’ breast at the last supper, and who leant back into him to ask him a question; it was John was self-refers as ‘the disciple who Jesus loved’;... Read more
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