Shortly after our second child was born, we were at a fundraising event. I was sitting at the back of the hall, having just finished feeding my new-born, when a lady came over to me and said, ‘Oh what a privilege and a blessing to raise a son for the Lord!’ I looked at…
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‘But He has to do it; it says so in His Word!’ I’m pretty sure it was the worst prayer meeting I’ve ever attended! A friend had mentioned how people in the flat above were making life intolerable with their door-slamming, aggressive language and loud music. At the end of her tether, she needed…
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David hears of the death of two of Israel’s heroes, and exclaims three times that two mighty men have fallen. He laments, ‘Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon’ (2 Samuel 1:19-27). He is ashamed that such news is proclaimed among his enemies. At the same time, he…
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We live in tricky times for Christian witness and living. There is hostility to the gospel and its proclamation. We see the hand of the evil one in laws against extremism manipulated against believers, even though their lifestyle is opposed to violence and they only aim to live out Christ’s words, ‘Love your enemies’.…
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There is a tale told about a farmer whose mule fell into a well. After many unsuccessful attempts to haul the mule out of the hole, the farmer decided the situation was hopeless. With sadness, he instructed his boys to fill truck-loads of soil and bury the old mule right there in the well.…
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The boss has just told you that you will receive an immediate 5 per cent pay increase. Would you be content with that? In these days when the average increase is more like 1-2 per cent, you might be very pleased, and as a Christian thank God for it. At least, I hope you…
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Thank God for every effort being made to reach our nation with the gospel! May these endeavours greatly increase in number! Yet there are very many people not being reached with the greatest news that could fall on human ears. Our nation is very different from 50 years ago. Most of our children come…
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‘I hate people who sing in the morning’, muttered Snoopy the dog. Perhaps Charles Schulz got the idea from Proverbs 27:14, which says, ‘He who blesses his neighbour with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing’? Mornings. They can be a thermometer of where we are at. The…
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