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Hidden
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory (John 1:14). We are creatures variously described in the bible as an earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7); a branch (John 15:4), a member of His body (1 Cor. 12:27) but even in those descriptions there is something more than just a […]
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The Safeguards of the Christian Faith
Faith is a gift – or so the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8 – and faith is substance and assurance (Hebrews 11:1). So those with faith might not require much else. They believe in Jesus having, like me, that assurance in their hearts where they can hear and feel the Holy Spirit. The other side […]
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Using our imagination
I think that one of the biggest problems facing evangelical Christianity in the west is a lack of imagination. Fear seems to be the biggest obstacle. We are afraid to let our minds go in case we get into vain imaginations and get puffed up. So one verse in the Scripture (Colossians 2:18) prevents us […]
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The Sea
Many years ago a preacher pointed out the curious statement at the beginning of Revelation 21: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” I’ve been thinking about that ever since (among other things). Now […]
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A way of looking at the descriptions in the book of Revelation
Some people say Revelation is purely symbolic. Some people say it is literal. Personally I consider all of Revelation open to a literal interpretation, i.e. it was literally what events on earth looked like from the vantage point of heaven to a human transported there (i.e. John). John is in eternity looking down at events […]
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The consequences of communion
or Paul’s observations on what happened when people didn’t discern the body of Christ during the breaking of bread or Lord’s supper or communion as it is sometimes known (1 Cor. 11:30) can be better understood if we look at the historical understanding of disease at the time and now. Now we understand […]
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Lessons in Maturity: Separating knowledge from the Knower
In 2011 I worked for a company of consultants. One of the tasks I was given during that time was to come up with a way of handling knowledge. Knowledge comes in two main forms: implicit and explicit. Implicit knowledge is information or data or skills that people know without realising they do or, at […]
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Lessons in Maturity: Lactose intolerance
Here is an offbeat observation of real life imitating Scripture at a physical level: Lactose intolerance is standard as people mature unless it is removed by adverse conditions. In Northern Europe over many generations the gene that normally activates lactose intolerance was removed by natural selection due to the dependence on cow’s milk in the […]
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Pruning Fruit Trees
We only have two fruit trees in our garden. We have had both of them for going on four years now. Neither I nor my wife would consider ourselves horticultural experts. Indeed about the only things I know about looking after fruit trees I learnt from reading passages in the bible. Particularly John 15. So […]
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John’s Wonderful Gospel
“In the beginning was the Word….” So starts the sublimest of the Scriptures. For me there is no greater writing than the Apostle John’s in all of the Scriptures. In this Gospel he explains the deepest of truths in the simplest of terms. The first 12 chapters of John’s gospel consists of a series of […]
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