The story of Joseph is a fascinating story of hope amidst disappointment and difficulty. He was tossed into a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully imprisoned and yet what was intended for evil God intended for good. In this post we will wrestle a little with God’s Sovereignty as we look from a perspective of hope at the story of Joseph which is recorded for us in Genesis 37-50. Our privilege is to look down over the story but remember…
Having withdrawn with His disciples Jesus quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 about Himself saying; “This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet. “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought…
Sometimes I am asked ‘why blog?’ It’s a good question but I guess my answer comes on two levels. First and foremost I find it really helpful to write as a way of processing, capturing and expressing all that I am thinking about and experiencing. Secondly there is also a sense that it is good to share with others from what God is doing in me. I don’t know exactly what draws you in to read this blog but I am glad…
This week is the local Christian Union’s annual events week and so my thoughts turn today to the staggeringly good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a gospel that brings us hope because it is a gospel that is by nature a gospel of hope. This hope is a hope for the past, present and the future…read on and find out more. 1. Good news of a Living Hope Paul says he thanks God the Father when he prays for…
The backdrop to this post is our recent news (see Newsletters) that we are expecting a 5th baby at the beginning of May. We learned this just after Christmas and suffice to say that it was quite a surprise especially given that Debbie was already around half way through! Questions about such as; Why us? Why now? Why not for others? How are we going to cope with five? We’ve been wrestling with this but feel like we are starting to get our heads…
As I reflect back upon this past year (2015), I would have to say that it has not been an easy year for me or for my family. There have of course been high points such as the fantastic times we had as a family in the Lake District (2 weeks at Easter) and Norway (4 weeks at summer). Its also been a year in which I have spent much time with my children and its been such fun in…
As we move rapidly into the heart of another Christmas season (its only 8 more sleeps until Christmas Day!) I have been reflecting somewhat on the incarnation and that moment when “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14a). In my earlier post Rediscovering Hope we thought about the nature of hope and Paul’s depiction of God as “the God of Hope” (Romans 15:13). This notion of hope was not wishful thinking but something that is certain, confident and…
Yesterday we finished our series at Southampton Student NAVS with our seventh session entitled “An Invitation to Pray – The Lord of the Harvest”. Our series this term has essentially focused on what it means to ‘make our lives count’ through the lens of what it means to ‘follow Jesus’ and to ‘labour in God’s harvest-field’ which we defined as being those we live, work and study with. We thought about Jesus’ call to go and make disciples and finally about how our intrinsic worth should motivate our…
For some time now I have been thinking a little on the subject of fear. Such thoughts have been stirred by my seemingly never ending study of the topic of hope but also from observing the cries of my heart. All to often my default reaction to pressure, difficult and suffering is not faith and hope but rather fear… There goes the fear… The Oxford Dictionary defines fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm”…
Yesterday we continued our series at Southampton Student NAVS with our sixth session entitled “An Invitation to Serve – The worth of the Individual”. As we continue to consider the vision on God’s heart for our lives we now turn to the intrinsic ‘worth of the individual’ and how that truth could and should, inspire, motivate and fuel our service with the people living, working and studying around us. To this end we consider nine key lessons about our intrinsic worth, the kind of people God…