Another year has passed and I recognise that I’ve not posted in a while despite my best intentions to keep on top of the blog (that’s the reality of life at the moment!). I wanted to begin the first post of this year by sharing a few thoughts on humility and what a gift it is to learn how to walk and move in it. It is my view that humility is one of the greatest attributes that a person can develop and learn to keep hold of. It is not something that comes easily or naturally, especially in this digital age where it has become all too easy to throw about judgement as if it were normal or welcome. No, sadly, humility is lacking in most places yet it is vital if we are to learn how to discern, truly listen, stay teachable, and perhaps most importantly of all,
Romans 8:28 – What could it really mean?
I love Romans chapter 8. It is hands down one of the most uplifting and encouraging passages of scripture one could read. In it one reads about the exhortation to be spiritually minded, the encouragement that we are sons of God through the Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s help in times of suffering. We also learn that the Spirit helps in our weakness and nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! What a chapter! But there is one verse that I think often gets misunderstood and that is verse 28 which reads: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. What could this really mean? I can tell you my thoughts on this by first saying what I don’t think it means. I don’t think it means that if
The inadequacy of language
I’ve been wrestling recently with how inadequate language seems to be to describe the God we worship and love, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. If God is truly infinite, truly omniscient, truly omnipotent, truly omnipresent (and I believe God is!) then how on earth can the finite mind conjure words that properly describe Him? (or should that be ‘it, they, her’ etc!) It reminds me of when our kids were little and they drew pictures of our family. The colourful squiggly lines that were meant to be mum and dad weren’t even close to resembling us. But, to me as a parent it was an amazing drawing, a source of great joy. It was also an expression of love from my child, and to be honest I didn’t really care whether those squiggles were in proportion or were the right colour or shape at all! It came as
Love is…
I’ll be frank, I’m massively challenged by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (the whole chapter). We all think we know what love is and are happy to concede that it is necessary for a fulfilled, happy and fruitful life. Both to be loved and to love is how God ministers to us and how we are in turn to minister to others and walk in the Spirit. It seems easy to walk in this kind of love when everything is going swimmingly and there is nothing but bliss in your life, but lets be real, that rarely happens. When the pressures of life pile in all of that seems idealistic and more often than not you find out that you don’t resemble the kind of ‘God love’ described in this passage. When it comes to patience and forbearance and endurance in my case, I’m definitely a work in progress! When I’m sleep
Being “Used” by God and other phrases
Language is a wonderful gift and when used well it is a vehicle to communicate love, acceptance, grace, goodness and wholeness to heal and restore others. It can of course be used to tear down, divide, destroy and discourage. I’ve wondered lately whether the usage of Christian jargon in our language is really helpful or a hindrance to people who are unfamiliar with it. I’m particularly thinking of those souls that haven’t been raised in church and perhaps don’t know the Lord yet. How many times have we heard in a sermon or read on a newsletter words and phrases like “sanctified”, “washed in the blood of the Lamb”, “used by God”, “cleansed by His Word” and so on? Have you ever wondered how that sounds to someone who has never heard it before? Let’s take “used by God” as an example. Have you thought about what it would be