Isaiah 55 is a particularly beautiful and oft-quoted passage, but is its message well understood? In what context do you hear this verse quoted? Isaiah 55:9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Most often I hear this stated by a well-meaning brother or sister, trying to offer comfort to a person who is struggling with a difficult circumstance, the message being –... Read more
Lacklustre spiritual lives are the result of confusing theology – if believers know that God is truly good, all the time, they will be grateful and generous vessels of love, joy, and peace. Tragically, many do not know about the goodness of God because their theology denies it. Such theology – that God sometimes blesses and other times tests us with suffering – leads to cognitive dissonance and the inability to trust God, making it impossible to draw near. This... Read more
I’m a Brit, which means I’m currently drowning in a sea of hype about King Charles’ coronation. Boy do I want it to be over! As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of the monarchy. Watching the coverage makes my guts twist and my bones ache, and I’ve been wondering about the strength of these feelings. Surely it’s just a good old British knees-up, a little pageantry, a chance to gather and watch an opulent spectacle? ... Read more
A recent, comprehensive survey by Skylight and City Square Associates sought to take a measure of the nation’s practices of prayer. The sample of adults questioned (aged 18-64) delivered a fascinating and in-depth set of data, from what folk pray about to where they pray, to whether they pray for their favourite football team’s victory, and my favourite – which Star wars character they would most like to pray with if offered a choice of Obi Wan, Ben Solo, Yoda,... Read more
Some of the most breath-taking places in the world are places of transition – where boundaries we often think of as defined become blurred. A beach is a place of transition, where the ocean meets the land. From the window of an airplane, the dividing line might look clear, but down on the beach it’s a different story, where spray and breakers churn the sand, surging forward, sucking back, endlessly eroding and depositing. I remember night-swimming on a beach... Read more
Christian Nationalism is an attempt to spread Christian values through legislation and force, thereby expanding the Kingdom of God. There is only one country in the world where this is a serious movement, and that is the United States. I want to demonstrate that Christian Nationalism is a sin, an idol, and the antithesis of the Gospel. When Jesus was seized by the mob in Gethsemane, Peter attacked, cutting off the high priest’s servant’s ear. Jesus’ rebuke is revealing.... Read more
Years of writing in discursive forums has given me a sensitive nose for impending excrement. I hope to be wrong about this, but in recent days I’ve had three strong whiffs of dangerous deceit, emitting (sadly but not surprisingly) from fellow evangelicals. I’ll get straight to the point. There’s a line of thought being propagated that aligns two ideas: That lying isn’t always a sin. That the US justice system is inflexible and, wait for it, legalistic (d’uh!)!... Read more
I love the account of the conversation between Jesus and two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were kept from recognising him and were yet to believe that Christ had risen, so Jesus took the opportunity to build their faith. Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. The very words of scripture house a kind of strengthening power that goes beyond comprehension.... Read more
In the church of my youth, there was a commonly shared assumption that if any one of us had been present at the crucifixion of Jesus, we would have been jeering along with the crowd. This idea was captured in the words of a popular worship song/hymn, How Deep the Father’s Love for Us (by Stuart Townend), which contains the verse: Behold the man upon a cross My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call... Read more
I’m not a lover of tradition. The school I attended in my youth was all gowns, mortar boards, titles, oak panelling, Latin mottos, and a penchant for male self-regard. I hated all that. It felt like a language I couldn’t speak, and as an individual I responded to warmth and informality instead. This is still my nature today. As an employee of a youth charity, I can say with complete certainty that not a single child or young person in... Read more
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