The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favour has […]
Read More JJ25 #31 – Service: Prisoners FreedFor He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14) God Sent His Son It is tragic when people die because that was not the plan. It is tragic when people suffer because that […]
Read More JJ25 #17 – Forgive and RedeemThere’s a lot we can learn from Paul’s letter to Philemon. How to look to bring about reconciliation. How to appeal on behalf of someone. How to address people in a way that honours and respects them. We can talk about love and forgiveness, Paul puts it on the line for a runaway slave who […]
Read More For Reading Out Loud – PhilemonBut the wisdom that comes from heaven is … full of mercy James 3:17 (ESV) Have you noticed that there’s a word recognised as ‘merciful’ and a word ‘merciless’? There’s no word as yet which can help us like, mercisome. That would really help because a lot of us would find that word very fitting. Yet […]
Read More A Word Of Wisdom: It’s About Being MercifulJust leave them alone. That’s often the advice given when someone is picking on you. Rather than engage them in conflict and get in trouble or get hurt, it’s best to just leave the other person alone. As we keep our distance from them so we can use the space to paint the pictures about […]
Read More The Marks 09: Bless Those Who Persecute YouWhat is it like to see someone restored? It’s one of the most moving things in life. One that was so promising fallen so hard, seemingly irredeemable. Yet somehow – surely by the mercy of the loving God – they return. In humility, in meekness. Contrite, repentant, not so much keen to make up for […]
Read More Dryden Shorts: RestoredShe was amazed at the message. She was amazed at the extension of mercy to her. For so long she had been the outcast in the community. She knew what she had done. She knew also that seemingly everyone else in the vicinity knew what she did. Some looked at her with pity, but not […]
Read More It’s Good News: Forgiven Much?Gary envied Tim for a long time. Tim had his wife, children, parents and siblings. He could always go back home to them. Every time when they showed up to work on a Monday morning, Tim would always have a story of what he did with his family. Even the reports of not doing much […]
Read More What Is The Way Back Home?Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces in the world. Without forgiveness, having to carry the shame of the things done wrong can be oppressive. It can be repressive. It can be like walking around with something that keeps you on edge when engaging with others. You’re on edge in case they ask, in […]
Read More In The ClearIt is a reality to me that having made certain mistakes in life, I’m very keen that those in my sphere of influence don’t make the same ones. I’m not stopping them making other mistakes. They can carry on with that. In as much as I can, though, I get the impression that I’ve made […]
Read More Restored to Restore
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