(REFLECTIONS ON Deuteronomy 9:1-29) If we as the church, as Christians, receive any blessings from the Lord, let us not think for one moment that it is what we have earned or deserved. This is the warning that Moses also gave to Israel. Moses said, 4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before […]
(REFLECTIONS ON Galatians 1:1-10) As we read Paul’s letters in the New Testament, we must keep mind that Paul’s writings addressed different questions, issues, and challenges that the churches faced during his time. They were specific, problem solving, but also in God’s amazing and mysterious ways, transcend time and space. Although they are very personal letters […]
(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 44:1-31) 15 “‘But the Levitical priests, who are descendants of Zadok and who guarded my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are […]
(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 26:1-21) When I read the Lord’s words through the prophet Ezekiel to Tyre saying, “I am against you,” it reminds me of Paul’s letter to the Romans where he writes about our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in Romans 8, 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these […]
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 […]
17–23 March 2019. Number 15 (click to read). No matter which country or culture we come from, sadly one thing all people are good at is making divisions. We divide up our societies in so many ways. We divide between men and women, young and old, rich and poor, city and country, educated and uneducated, […]
14–20 January 2018. Mark 7:24–37 (click to read). We often divide people up into those who are our friends and those who aren’t; we then treat both groups very differently. When our friends need something we are happy to help. But when others want something from us we turn away, pretend not to hear, or […]
23–29 October 2016. Jeremiah 37 (click to read). In Jeremiah 37, Jerusalem is in serious trouble! King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon chose Zedekiah to be the new king over Judah, hoping that he would be loyal to Babylon. But Zedekiah rebelled against the king – and his rebellion failed! So now the Babylonian army has come […]
25 September – 1 October 2016. Nehemiah 11–13 (click to read). Here at the end of the book of Nehemiah we are confronted with two problems. The first is that we have to read through all these genealogies, these long, long lists of names! But the second problem is much more serious, and is connected […]