Jesus declared ‘Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on’ (Matthew 6:25) and Paul similarly stated ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known…
Read more
In the Sahara desert, dunes are constantly blown about and reshaped by the wind. This is also characteristic of 21st century British morals – ever changing and evolving. Sadly, the church has often failed to stand firm against shifting trends, despite following a God who does not change and whose Word stands forever. Not…
Read more
We dread the last week of October. Why? Because we have a nervous dog. The closer we get to the end of October, the more reluctant he is to leave the house, especially after dark. He’ll stiffen his legs and refuse to move. He’ll whine and shake. He’ll search for hiding-places: under the stairs,…
Read more
Last time we thought about God’s image in us and on the importance of relationships to a proper expression of this. We observed that God himself is a God-in-relationships. We saw that people with dementia continue to live in God’s image and have value in relationships with other people and with God. In the…
Read more
The availability of Christian resources on the internet can be both a blessing and a hindrance. On the one hand, there is excellent and extensive material available that is edifying and God-honouring. It can be of practical use and we would be foolish not to make use of it for study, teaching, sermon preparation…
Read more
From time to time — usually when I’m on holiday — I have the opportunity to join another church at its prayer meeting. That’s always a very interesting experience. You can learn a lot by attending the prayer meeting in another church — often more than by attending its Lord’s Day services. You learn…
Read more
We are repeatedly warned that modern technology is changing the way we think, the way we remember. Tech gurus tell us that no longer do we remember information, we remember where to find it. So, for example, rather than remembering the kings and queens of England, we remember the webpage (or kind of webpage,…
Read more
Have you ever wondered about the unpredictability of God’s grace? In other words, have you wondered why so many different men and women, from all social classes, have been brought into the kingdom of God? Perplexity Acts 4:13 reads, ‘Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were…
Read more
The love of God as understood from the Scriptures is a most precious doctrine. To be loved by God and to love him in return is the joy of salvation, ‘Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory’…
Read more
A junior researcher recently sent me an email with a small typo. She referred to me as an ‘old aged psychiatrist’. I replied that I may not be as young as I was but I’m not aged yet! I explained that I think the current UK term for my NHS job ‘Old Age Psychiatrist’…
Read more
How many times has it happened over the past few weeks? I’m accosted by a smiling lady as I leave the supermarket. ‘Hi, we’re raising funds for the local hospital. Would you like to buy a lottery ticket?’ One of the neighbours’ children is standing on the doorstep looking hopeful. ‘We’ve got a raffle…
Read more
I filled my car up with diesel this morning. I pulled up alongside the pump, climbed out of the car, pushed my credit card into a slot, pressed my pin number into the keypad, started fuelling, collected my receipt from another slot, drove away. Quick, convenient — and I was in and out of…
Read more
