Psalm 107: 23-30 (KJV) They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up...
For who hath despised the day of small things? (Zech 4:10, KJV) It’s the small things that get to you. I was twenty-seven years old when I entered serious discernment about becoming a Christian. I had been feeling the draw of Jesus since I was a child, but it took...
I cannot remember exactly when or where it was, but the challenge was set. We were asked; “What is your favourite Bible verse, one that both describes you and encourages you?” At that point in my Christian voyage I did not know the Bible very well at all. It was...
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” -Matthew 8:26 There’s a popular mantra that fear and faith cannot coexist, that when we’re feeling fear, it’s because we’re not trusting God enough. This verse from today’s lectionary is often trotted out as evidence for...
So he [Jesus] came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints...
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord...
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to...
When I was flipping through a book a couple of weeks into the pandemic lock-down I found a postcard tucked inside. It was bought when Jane and I visited the 12th century cathedral of Monreale in Palermo, Sicily, and gazed awestruck at the mosaics made of gold and coloured glass...
1 Thessalonians 5: 12-28 In this strange period we’re experiencing, time itself seems to have changed. The indistinguishable days go by in a blur, without the structure of our former schedules. Some of us are out of work; others are adapting to working in completely different ways; suddenly we’re faced...
The biblical wisdom found in 1st Thessalonians is this: Encourage one another and build each other up. It’s a beautiful verse. It’s poetic. It’s what so many of us have been trying to do during the COVID-19 pandemic. I should find this comforting. I should use this as evidence that...
Today the Anglican Church celebrates the feast of Dame Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – 1416). She lived during the second wave of the Black Death, a pandemic which ravaged Europe. She was an Anchorite, someone who chooses to withdraw from secular life and live a life of asceticism, in...
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life and...