18–24 August 2019. Psalm 127 (click to read). Children can be a wonderful blessing. Even though in ancient Israel’s culture people especially valued sons, today we know that all children are worthy of love and can be a great source of joy. But just because children bring blessings and joy, that doesn’t mean raising a […]
11–17 August 2019. Psalm 121 (click to read). Each day brings with it a new set of challenges. There are new obstacles to deal with at work, difficult problems to face at school, and even constant challenges at home. With all of these difficulties, it can feel hard to cope on our own. Often we […]
4–10 August 2019. Psalm 120 (click to read). There is a widespread assumption in our society that it is only actions that are really harmful. To raise a hand against others, to hit others, to beat others, to use weapons to kill and cut is terribly wrong and severely punished. But simple words (so the thinking […]
28 July – 3 August 2019. Psalm 118 (click to read). During a recent series of interviews I did with Taiwanese business leaders, I was surprised to find that so many CEOs had exactly the same complaint. One of the biggest problems in Taiwan’s workplaces, they told me, was a lack of company loyalty among […]
21–27 July 2019. Psalm 111 (click to read). Psalm 111 begins with a call to “Praise the Lord!”. This isn’t a suggestion or a recommendation, it’s a strong command to all of us. The rest of the psalm then gives us a list of many reasons why the writer personally wants to praise God so […]
30 June – 6 July 2019. Ezekiel 13–14 (click to read). We live in a society where people are free to say whatever they like. And while free speech is a great blessing, it also brings with it a great danger. Out in the world free speech too often means that people, politicians, and leaders just […]
23–29 June 2019. Romans 8:35, 38–39 (click to read). Life isn’t always easy. But take a moment to quietly think back over today, over everything that has happened. Take a moment to think back over yesterday, over this past year, and even over your whole life up to this point: Has anything been causing you […]
16–22 June 2019. Proverbs 31 (click to read). In the ancient world, Proverbs was often the first textbook that young Jewish boys would have encountered. The wisdom of Proverbs was simple and easy to understand, and it was focused on the practical challenges of daily life. And so the first step in the education of […]
9–15 June 2019. Proverbs 24 (click to read). Proverbs 24 opens with the simple words: “Don’t envy evil people.” This plea is then repeated again in verse 19: “don’t envy the wicked”. At first it sounds like strange advice. Why would we ever envy evil and wicked people? But sadly this temptation is very common, very […]
2–8 June 2019. Proverbs 16 (click to read). In the church we spend a lot of time talking about right behaviour. We all want people to do what is right, and to avoid doing wrong. In principle, that’s fine. It’s good that we have high expectations of ourselves and of others; it’s good that we want […]