With Me

Luke knew how to write a Gospel.  Okay, all four of them did, but I’ve been looking at Luke this Easter.  I’ve been struck by his personal attributes of tenacious attention to detail and his tender awareness of people. As a physician and man of science he was a diligent researcher who sought out the …

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Help

When I was growing up my grandparents had an in-ground pool in their backyard.  It was the place to be on a hot summer afternoon in Oregon.  Here the whole extended family would gather around good food and the coolness of the swimming pool. We all loved these days. As the family enjoyed each other …

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Evangelising Me

The human problem is far greater and deeper than we’ve ever imagined.  Not only are we all guilty before God, but we are also dead-hearted toward God and we don’t have His Spirit uniting us with Christ or with each other.  This was not God’s design.  He made us to live in the freedom of …

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Lovers of Love

Near the end of the Song of Solomon the bride speaks of love as an uncontrollable force that cannot be quenched or overpowered. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, …

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What do you think?

A feisty debate stirred the New England churches in 1636.  The question at stake was the nature of faith—what is it that makes a Christian? In an early exchange of letters between two of the pastors, Peter Bulkeley asked John Cotton whether he would agree that there must be “the work of faith in us …

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Three Versions of Divine Marriage

The Bible’s favourite analogy for the relationship between God and His people is marriage.  We have certainly mentioned this before on this site.  God’s great plan is to call out a bride for His Son from a fallen and sinful humanity.  God’s great promise throughout the Bible is that you shall be my people, and …

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Empty Glory

“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” was the cry of the large crowd who heard that Jesus was coming to the feast in Jerusalem.   There was no doubt what they thought of him, he was representing Yahweh, the promised king who would save Israel. …

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Where Should We Start?

Everything starts with God.  But who is he?  What is God like? Dionysius, the self-professed convert of Paul, has helped shape one point of view. The true Dionysius, noted in Acts 17:34, isn’t known to us beyond his cameo Bible reference.  But a much later figure who borrowed the name and identity of Dionysius is …

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Worldly Church

On a normal street in a town near somewhere, there is a church.  I won’t describe the building in any detail because this may cause you to either disassociate yourself from it and start pointing the finger at others, or to feel like I am pointing my finger at your type of church.  Let’s just …

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History is Devotional

There are many motivations to read history.  It’s fun, if not downright hysterical to read stories that wouldn’t be believable if they were made up.  History is educational.  You discover where you’ve come from.  You learn how things came to be as there are now.  You can avoid the mistakes of the past. There are …

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