One of the things we learn from the opening chapters of 1 Samuel is that it's God who opens and shuts things. If Hannah cannot bear children it is because God has shut her womb. If Hannah bears a son it is because God has opened her womb. Beyond childbearing, we recognise this … [Read more...] about The Cost of Faithful Worship
Life in Christendom
What is the vision of life that we are called to delight in? What does life under the throne of grace look like for families, cats and bankers? Here is my attempt at making some inroads into the beauty of a Christ centred life.
It’s Good to Forget
Heaven, it has been said1, is not a hallway of mirrors. That would be more like a freakish hell than a heavenly bliss. You, you, nobody but you. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, but you, you, you, for all eternity. Such a world would be joyless agony. Our own … [Read more...] about It’s Good to Forget
Those Glorious Little Mercies
The things that happen to Hannah could happen and do happen, to anyone. Okay, so she can't have kids. But then she can. It happens every day. So, why does she sing such a grand and momentous song about such a relatively small matter in the big scheme of life? My heart exults in … [Read more...] about Those Glorious Little Mercies
He Fills the Hungry
We like to think of ourselves as independent creatures. We take it as a point of pride that our strength, endurance, patience and wit got us to where we are today. But, like a tree planted by streams of water, we are in fact, entirely dependant. We are dependent on the charity … [Read more...] about He Fills the Hungry
Worship is Warfare
Whenever we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come”, a host of important questions arise. What do we mean by "Kingdom come" and, how is this Kingdom brought about? Some talk about the kingdom in ways that frighten their Christian brothers with visions of clergy looking for a witch to burn. … [Read more...] about Worship is Warfare