Tag: Spiritual Warfare

Relentless Spiritual Warfare (4) I am tempted to disregard the body of Christ

Whilst Joab has been settling scores with Amasa, Sheba flees to a city called Abel. Joab pursues him there and lays siege to the city. A wise woman challenges him.  She reminds him that the city is part of Israel, part of the Lord’s inheritance. Will Joab seek to destroy the city. He assures her… Continue reading Relentless Spiritual Warfare (4) I am tempted to disregard the body of Christ

Relentless Spiritual Warfare (3) I am tempted to believe that I am dependent on others for my relationship with Christ (v11-13)

The commander in chief of David’s army, Amasa’s body lies in the road. Joab has assassinated him. One of Joab’s men then stands by the body and calls out: “Whoever favours Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab.”[1] Loyalty to David has now been explicitly linked to loyalty to Joab. The both… Continue reading Relentless Spiritual Warfare (3) I am tempted to believe that I am dependent on others for my relationship with Christ (v11-13)

On Tank battles – you don’t have to fight on the enemy’s terms

When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, this video clip of Boris Johnson arguing with Tobias Elwood about defence spending was circulated.  For the record, I think Elwood has a point re defence spending in general.  I’m also not convinced that Boris engages that point fairly or fully. However, the reason that the clip did… Continue reading On Tank battles – you don’t have to fight on the enemy’s terms

Relentless Spiritual Warfare (2) I am tempted to believe that my agenda is what matters (2 Samuel 20 v4-10)

King David is under attack from Sheba, a worthless man. He has sent the new commander of the arm, Amasa to muster the soldiers of Judah but Amasa is delayed in returning. We are not sure why Amasa takes so long. It is possible that despite his loyalty and willingness, he isn’t an affective commander.… Continue reading Relentless Spiritual Warfare (2) I am tempted to believe that my agenda is what matters (2 Samuel 20 v4-10)

Relentless Spiritual Warfare (1) I am tempted to believe that I have no share in the inheritance offered by Christ (2 Samuel 20 v 1-3)

In this mini-series of articles I identify 4 types of temptation that we face. The context is 2 Samuel 20 where we see that David faced relentless trouble and opposition in the later years of his reign following his sin with Bathsheba. We live in a fallen world and this means that spiritual warfare is… Continue reading Relentless Spiritual Warfare (1) I am tempted to believe that I have no share in the inheritance offered by Christ (2 Samuel 20 v 1-3)

Don’t forget who the real enemy is

Back after 911, there was a particularly intense period when anyone of Asian or middle eastern appearance was at risk from backlash.  Not only did people conflate the attack by Islamist extremists with an attack from all Muslims but also people who were not even Muslims but rather Sikhs and Hindus were conflated with the… Continue reading Don’t forget who the real enemy is

Discriminating home sellers

You may have picked up on the story of the home-owners who refused to sell their house to a same-sex couple. The story is I guess of personal interest to me because we are in the process of attempting to move home. Fascinatingly, something has come up repeatedly in conversations with estate agents, both when… Continue reading Discriminating home sellers

Depression, spiritual warfare and calling the elders to pray

Mark Pickett has written this helpful review of “The pastor with a thorn in his side.”  In his review, Mark picks up on a number of things that he would have liked further analysis and discussion of in the book.  I agree with Mark that these are crucial areas that we need some further discussion… Continue reading Depression, spiritual warfare and calling the elders to pray

Anxiety

I’ve written before on Faithroots about depression and have recently contributed to a book on the subject. Here I want to talk about another aspect of mental health sometimes linked to depression. When I was signed off sick by my GP I was diagnosed with Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder (no the anachronym for that… Continue reading Anxiety