Paul’s big concern for the Galatian church was that they risked being captured by a different Gospel. The other day, I wrote something about this and observed that if we are to avoid falling for different, false Gospels, then we need to know what the true Gospel is. Now, we might assume that the answer… Continue reading What is the Gospel?
Tag: faith
The secret to good sleep
When we were going through a particularly challenging period, I remember an older pastor asking me “Are you able to sleep through the night.” Insomnia is of course a significant emotional health warning and many of us will have at different times struggled with it, finding ourselves unable to drift off or alternatively being suddenly… Continue reading The secret to good sleep
But God remembered
Bible study includes working through large sections of Scripture but as I’ve mentioned a few times, there are moments when it is good to pause and meditate on a verse or even a phrase, a few words. The start of Genesis 8 is one such moment. “But God remembered Noah” Genesis 8:1 It’s not that… Continue reading But God remembered
Step by Step
Even at the point when Noah and his family enter the ark, they are still stepping out in faith. What if the flood doesn’t come and they go onto the boat a week but nothing happens so that they have to re-emerge looking rather silly? What if the ark doesn’t hold up against the flood… Continue reading Step by Step
Obedient hope
There used to be a saying that someone was too heavenly minded to be of any earthly use. I’m increasingly sure that the assessment is the wrong way round. It is as we become more aware of the hope of heaven that we become more useful here. It’s because we are looking forward to that… Continue reading Obedient hope
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
My burden as well?
When we were little, my mum used to read Jungle Doctor stories to us. These were a collection of stories that a missionary had told to help communicate the Gospel and were later put into book form. The stories were allegorical tales about the different animals. In one story, Antelope comes across Monkey. Young monkey… Continue reading My burden as well?
The good shepherd carries me
You are probably familiar with that old little poem, a favourite of greeting cards, bookmarks and fridge magnets. It talks about two sets of footprints across the sand. The speaker though spots moments when there is only a single track and complains that at the point when life seemed hardest, it looked like Jesus had… Continue reading The good shepherd carries me
Saying goodbye to mum: Between joy and grief
On December 2nd at just around 4am in the morning, my mum went to be with her Lord and Saviour. It has been a roller coaster 10 days prior to this. Mum had gone into hospital the week previously for planned surgery knowing that at her age there were risks but confident in Jesus that… Continue reading Saying goodbye to mum: Between joy and grief
The difference between superstition and faith
There’s a moment in Acts when the early church are caught on the hop by God’s ability to answer prayer. There are the believers, earnestly praying for Peter’s release from prison whilst Peter is knocking on the door because the prayer has been answered. Some of us, particularly from more western and conservative backgrounds can… Continue reading The difference between superstition and faith