Today we lay to rest my mother’s body. It’s part of the process of saying goodbye. We as a family had the opportunity to say our goodbyes to mum in those last few days and hours. Mum is already present with Jesus, which means in the words of Scripture that she is “absent from the… Continue reading Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints
Category: Bible Study
A giant of a problem?
The opening verses of Genesis 6 throw up one of the most intriguing Bible passages and one that has led to much debate. As it is difficult from our position to come to certain conclusions about the details, it is tempting to skip over this and get onto the Flood narrative proper. However, if “all… Continue reading A giant of a problem?
Walking with God
Genesis 5 opens with the second occurrence of the statement “These are the generations…” We are now opening up a new section, act 2 if you like, in Genesis. We begin to trace “what became of Adam and his family?” Notice that, Cain’s line has been dealt with separately in the previous chapter. So, Adam’s… Continue reading Walking with God
Grace
Despite the judgement on Cain, once again, God is not done with mankind. Cain and his wife have children and they in turn have children. Read Genesis 4:17-26 Common Grace First, we see through Cain’s line how God blesses humanity as promised, enabling and equipping them to carry out the work of filling and subduing. … Continue reading Grace
Bloodshed
How do you respond when others seem to be favoured over and above you? Are you happy for them? Does it spur you on to do better or does it cause resentment and jealousy? God has accepted Abel’s sacrifice, the younger brother preferred to the older being a theme that will develop throughout the Old… Continue reading Bloodshed
A little more meditation
On Sunday, I wrote about the phrase “place me like a seal over your heart” (Song of Songs 8:6) and suggested an approach to meditation where we take time to chew over a verse or even a short phrase. It is possible to work through a longer passage, especially a Psalm or a series of… Continue reading A little more meditation
Worship, faith and offering
Genesis 3 describes the fall of humanity into sin. Judgement comes, God had warned that death would be the consequence but at the same time, God has not done with his creation or with humanity. The story continues and we will continue to see both God’s grace at work and evidence of the deepening depravity… Continue reading Worship, faith and offering
“Place me like a seal over your heart”
Our engagement with Scripture includes both taking in and understanding significant sections of Scripture and focusing on the small details. It’s about studying God’s Word and thinking it through but it is also about applying it practically. A crucial part of this is meditation. Christian meditation is not about emptying your mind or even focusing… Continue reading “Place me like a seal over your heart”
Grace and banishment
Genesis 3 is perhaps the darkest and bleakest of Bible chapters. Is there any hope to be found here? Read Genesis 3:20-24 Adam now names the woman. He calls her “Eve” which has the idea of “life” and “living”. Notice that here in the darkness of the Fall is a ray of light. There is… Continue reading Grace and banishment
The verdict
God has come to meet with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they have been caught in their sin and their guilt and shame is exposed. Instead of taking responsibility they look for ways to blame each other and the serpent. God does not allow them to use the blame game to get… Continue reading The verdict