The oil stain Many years ago, on a Saturday afternoon, I was changing the oil in my car in the car park of the apartment block we lived in. I’m generally quite capable of this without spilling oil and making a mess, but this time, something fell and splashed oil everywhere. I cleaned up all I could, but I was worried about a stain on the concrete—something that would attract an angry letter from the apartment block manager. I had no time to attend to it any further, I locked my car and rushed in for dinner. The next day it still weighed heavily on my mind while I drove…

Walking with a Cast On Hi friends, Lana and I were teaching in our school last week on the importance of being free of a victim mentality. During the session, a picture came to mind that I felt to share as an encouragement and exhortation to you on this list. Imagine, you hear about a friend who had broken their leg, and now had a plaster cast on – as is the process of healing. I have known people to have a cast on for six weeks, sometimes twelve, depending on the break. But if you saw your friend six months later still with a cast, trying to walk on it (as…

In the Image of God The Bible begins its story with perhaps the most amazing example of power. With words: God spoke, and His words manifested physical realities. It once occurred to me that God could never lie, at the utterance of His word, whatever He uttered would be manifest. If He spoke something that was not yet truth – it would be truth by the time He finished the statement. What is remarkable also, is the concept that we are made in His image. The word ‘image’ is ‘tselem.’ (Hebrew) It is used 17 times in the Old Testament. A few times about man being made in the image…

Belt of Truth ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ That’s a phrase my mother used to say, often, as we were growing up. I was a rambunctious kid like many others, although generally well natured (in my recollection).  Nonetheless, there still occurred the occasional broken plant pot, cracked window or other broken item that I would be tempted to conceal my responsibility in their destruction. It rarely worked, and repercussions were often greater because of it. Truth, today, seems to be an easily lost commodity. It can be shaded to hide injustices or even to create injustice. Especially in our social and political climate. In our day as much as it was…

Encouragement – Too Tired to Worship This is an encouragement for those who are very tired. Maybe it is from grieving, maybe it’s burnout, maybe it’s just been a long season of warfare.  When David pursued the Amalekites, his army was tired. He and his army were in exile, fleeing Saul. He allied with Philistines to fight against their enemies, returning home to find everything  – the families and belongings of him and his men – had been taken by the Amalekites, one of the armies the Philistines had warred against. They pursued their enemies, but two hundred of David’s men had to break off, as they were too exhausted to even cross…

Who made your voice? Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4:11-12) In this verse, God said to Moses during his conversation at the burning bush. God had announced to Moses that he had heard the cries of his people, he knew their sorrows and had come to deliver them to the land promised through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Standing before God was Moses. Moses was uniquely capable because of what he had experienced in Pharoah’s house – he knew protocol, he knew…

Hi Friends. Continuing the subject of the Armor of God, I just wanted to share a quick encouragement on faith. Faith is like air. We can always have it, and not be aware of it – but by the time we realize we are languishing things are in a bad way. For the longest time in my life, faith was an abstract concept. It was something I was sure that existed in my life, but ask me what it was, or how I knew it was a reality and I could not give a good answer. To be honest, I never gave it much thought. Of course, we all know the verse: Now…

Good Fruit Hi friends, I will come back to the Armour of God more in the future, but as I was worshipping the other day, the story of the Fall came to mind, particularly one verse that I feel is often overlooked. ‘So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.‘ Genesis 3:6 Firstly, this is a deep and consequential story, for the purpose…

The Armor of God – Shoes of Gospel of Peace The book of Ephesians (where the text of the Armor of God) is quite interested in the walk of the Christian. This theme continues through the book even to the end, as Paul describes the Armor of God. “having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15) In Ephesians chapter 2, he begins by noting how before we were saved, we walked in the same way that everyone else did in this world, conducting ourselves to the lusts of the flesh and were by nature children of wrath. He follows this up by describing the amazing grace…

Put on the Armour of God—Breastplate of Righteousness. The book of Job is interesting, it really shapes up the value of human opinion compared to God’s perspective. Another thing of interest is the courtroom type scene at the beginning, when Satan, the accuser, makes this claim against Job. ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’ (Job 1:9-11)…