The Pharisees had a big problem. Their traditions were so intermingled with the law that they could no longer tell the two apart. And so, when Jesus came and re-issued the law, minus their traditions, it looked like blasphemy and hard words. This world is governed by great … [Read more...] about Jesus, Hard Words
Charity
Charity is an old word that typically stood for the word 'love' in modern bible translations. It was not, first and foremost, thought of as a feeling but an act of self-giving for the sake of our neighbour. Charity is the manifestation of God's grace in human kindness, mercy … [Read more...] about Charity
Jesus, Salt, Light and Law
A Disciple is one who is, and is becoming, the beatitude man or woman. Seeing nothing in himself worth defending, he has quit trying to build his own reputation as righteous and instead he is in pursuit of the righteousness that comes from God. He recognises this same emptiness … [Read more...] about Jesus, Salt, Light and Law
Food and War
There is very little more discomforting than hunger. It has been used for millennia as a tactic of war and we have all seen the consequences of starvation pictured in the media. A look at the poetry from prisoners of war during WWI and WWII shows just how obsessed these men were … [Read more...] about Food and War
Jesus, Persecuted
The Christian is not the old man trying to live out the new life. He is the new man, who, at his core, has the Spirit of God guiding and shaping a new nature. And so, the Beatitudes are not so much about doing as they are about being. They reflect the new man or woman that is … [Read more...] about Jesus, Persecuted