He heard my cry. A people had been subjected to decades of oppression. Their entire identity seemed to be defined by slavery of the harshest kind. It was as though no one was listening to them. But He was listening and He had not forgotten them. He saw their suffering and felt their pain and […]
Read More Year Seven – ReleaseThere’s a phrase that endeavours to describe a series of troubling events. The phrase suggests that when things get bad it’s as if all hell broke loose. Interesting phrase. It’s an especially interesting phrase when those circumstances are viewed with the benefit of hindsight. Surely no one wishes for anyone to go through the pain of […]
Read More Year Six – Sometimes When All Hell Breaks Loose …There is something that comes along from time to time to help guard against complacency. It’s the rumblings. Allow me to give you an example of it in operation. You’ve got a new job. There’s those initial stages of adapting to the new routines and the new environment. Then there’s understanding how things operate beyond […]
Read More Year Five – When The Rumblings BeginTrue growth never takes place in your comfort zone. I am a big fan of the comfort zone. I like the concept, I like it a lot. The familiarity, the sense of rest and being at ease with matters that are designed for you to keep going with the minimum of effort. I am, however, […]
Read More Year Four – Growth and ComfortOne of the things about faith that’s very reassuring is that aspect of reaching the end of yourself. There is so much in life that gives the impression that you can do it. you can achieve it. You can put in the effort and gain so much from it. You have it within you, you […]
Read More Year Three – ResurgenceThe rise was great, which meant that the fall would be at least as great. They never saw it coming. They thought he was rock solid. He showed up to all the meetings, he diligently made all the notes, he didn’t cause any controversy and although he had his foibles, there was so much more […]
Read More Year Two – Necessary FailingsIt’s been an intense few weeks for me. It feels like it’s been a heavy few weeks as well. Like there’s been quite a lot more to carry than usual. It’s been gruelling and in the last week in particular, it’s felt very challenging. Obviously in it all, what’s really been important has been watching […]
Read More Year One – Those First Impressionswho would be on your list of acknowledgements? A group of us was looking at what Paul of Tarsus wrote about in the final part of his letter to the church in Rome. The list of names there was quite something. It wasn’t even exhaustive. For all the names he wanted to be remembered and […]
Read More A List of AcknowledgementsHe suffered, bled and died. They saw it. They thought all hope was lost … But … There was victory in His death. For on the cross He took the sin of the world upon Himself so that peace could be made with the Father. It certainly did not look like victory to those mourning […]
Read More Alive and RisenThen Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46) They crucified Him. The run up to it was so unfair. Pilate couldn’t find anything wrong with Him. Herod didn’t see anything worthy of making a bid to charge him. It came down to a baying […]
Read More Dead and Buried
Life With CD 