When I was a boy my father used to take me twice a year to Newport. The object of the exercise was hopefully to see Cardiff RFC tank our near neighbours and rivals which usually, but not as frequently as I would have liked, they did. (Little did he or I suspect that I…
Read more
And just what is the gospel? Now before you are tempted to move on to the next article rather than waste your time reading one that asks such a naïve question, let me urge you to pause a while and hear me out. Why ask the question at all? Surely we who are evangelicals…
Read more
Sometimes I wonder if we realise the extent to which our own country has become a mission-field. In reality it is something that we ought never to have forgotten. Has Britain ever been a 'Christian country' in the sense that a majority of its people could lay claim to that identity? Disturbing facts The…
Read more
A few years ago my wife and I spent a delightful holiday in Ireland and we found it was as beautiful as it is reputed to be. One very interesting thing that I noted there was the signposts. I had often seen picture postcards of the heavily over-loaded posts with signs pointing in every…
Read more
In the early years of my ministry in Cardiff I read a book which had been recommended to me, and in my opinion it would leave a lasting impression on anyone who read it. It is the sort of book that, as you lay it aside, causes you to become very thoughtful, because you…
Read more
In today’s world of haste and stress there seems very little opportunity to stay awhile and recall the past. Yet it is a good thing to do occasionally, and just bring to mind past acquaintances and events. For me, many folk that have been a help to me on life’s journey are like milestones…
Read more
Since feminism has become a non-negotiable creed, ‘sexism’ is now seen as one of the major sins left in modern society. To call someone a sexist is to accuse him of being a boorish dinosaur who has yet to catch up with the progressive ethics of our day. We have come a long way…
Read more
There are a multitude of ways of going wrong in the Christian life, but Eli’s way is particularly sad. Eli was an Old Testament priest who seems to have known God and bowed to his will. When Samuel informed him of God’s judgement upon his household, Eli responded with both grace and realism: ‘It…
Read more
In the epistle of James we read: 'Is anyone sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he…
Read more
There is such a thing as quietness of soul. We don't hear much about it today. This is because many Christians don't experience it. It is not part and parcel of their daily lives. This being so, it is little wonder that so many of the Lord's people, particularly pastors and full-time Christians workers,…
Read more
Countless Christians read their Bible every day without it doing them very much good. Why is this? It is because there is always some distance between the print in the Book and the experience of their souls. The Word on the page does not become the Word in them. This is tragic, because there…
Read more
Once upon a time (during the second century, to be precise) a man called Montanus mixed a pleasant-tasting poison and put it in a large unbreakable bottle. The poison had the power to reproduce itself so, as long as a few drops remained, it didn’t matter how much of it was used. Given time,…
Read more
