Encouragements

ry on this parable by Bede, an English monk and scholar around the 6th-7th century AD. His historical works are among the greatest sources of information on the early history of England; he also had many theological works shared across the church during his time. On the priest and the Levite, Bede surmised that “The priest and the Levite who saw the wounded man and passed by denote the priests and ministers of the Old Testament who could only show up the wounds of the sick world by the decrees of the law, but could not cure them”. Bede – the Good Samaritan. Perhaps this is not a new take for you; I guess it had not struck me in that way before. Unfortunately, highlighting the wounds of others is way too easy to do, but overcoming the broken state of our neighbor is sometimes too hard to do, and often means getting our hands dirty with work. As with many parables, this story speaks on many levels, and the person of the Samaritan is multi-faceted. Firstly, he was the one who cared....

Iron sharpens Iron As iron sharpens iron,So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.Proverbs 27:17 The word of God is deep. The book Proverbs is certainly no exception. On reading this verse, I wondered at how many ways this verse is true. Firstly, of the metals used in sharp tools and weapons, iron was the hardest for thousands of years. A tool or spear is only useful if it is sharp, but to sharpen metal, you generally need something harder to scrape away what is dull. If you tried to use a bronze file, the softer (bronze) metal would have little effect on the iron, and the harder iron would scrape the bronze.  You need iron to sharpen iron. In our lives, we may hope to be a positive influence on those around us. But if we are immature, if our character is not developed – we won’t have an impact on the lives we are trying to help – instead, we ourselves will probably find ourselves wounded by the abrasiveness of others. Secondly, it’s not just any iron that ...

I was listening to an old sermon the other day, during which a conversation was recounted that made me think. A grieving man was talking to his pastor; he had prayed for a long time for God to intervene in a dire situation, praying for a miracle that would have saved someone’s life. The miracle didn’t happen, despite his believing he was standing in faith for the victory. While I sympathised with the man in the story, it became a challenge to my heart to better understand the dynamic of faith, especially if we are to take the words of Jesus seriously. “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20) Jesus himself spoke that nothing will be impossible to anyone who has faith – even faith the size of a tiny seed. I, too, have believed with all my heart that a circumstance will turn out in one way or oth...

As I have been looking through the fruit of the Spirit of late, my focus has been turned to the seventh fruit listed, faithfulness. Faithfulness, to me, speaks of dependability, fidelity and reliability. It is an essential quality in marriage, and a powerful foundation in friendship. It is the relationship between Jonathan and his armour-bearer, or, in Tolkien, Sam to Frodo. With faithful companionship, terrible circumstances are traversed with a sense of peace because of the mutual support and confidence they share. We know faithfulness is a trait of God. God’s love and faithfulness could be seen as his most hope-inspiring qualities.   Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Ps 23:4) The Psalmist, David, lived a life that was ever aware of the threat of death. He has faced many dangers – fighting wild animals in defence of his sheep, standing against Goliath on behalf of Go...

Creation I marvel at the miracle of creation, that one event would perpetuate on a seemingly infinite cycle. God created the world in 6 days, but even while He rested, His creation continued to create further generations of itself in a cycle that has not ended since the creation of space and time itself.   Adam and Eve were not the first created entities. But compared to the rest of creation, God created mankind differently. All of the rest of creation was spoken into being at the very utterance of God’s words, yet for man, God took something he had already created (dirt) and created the first human body from it. The soul, however, was not created in the same way – it was not created from dirt but came upon the dirt when God breathed the breath of life upon the nostrils of the dirt. Why is that significant? We all know that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation – he existed even before the earth was formed. Adam was the firstborn from creation, while ever...

Last time I wrote, I focused on the first commandment that Jesus highlighted – love the Lord your God with all your heart. I intended to write about the fruit of Kindness today, but as I pondered the matter, I realised that it was also the second commandment in practice – love your neighbour as you love yourself. The most basic definition of kindness is simply being good to others who are in need of goodness. In scripture, we see it at play in the parable of the Good Samaritan, but we also see it in God’s relationship and actions with the people of God, as He of his own accord saves and restores the nation of Israel repeatedly during the Old Testament. In every example, there is no action out of obligation, but in each case, one party intervenes in the pain and despair of another. When things get hard, kindness may not be our first response to a situation. In some seasons, I have grown tired of my fellow human and found it harder to find the necessity to aid and assist despite he...

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [a]This is the first commandment. Mark 12:30 When you think of it, love is a strange thing to command. I have written briefly on agape, of serving love, but did not write much on the heart element of love at that time. We have all heard the saying “love is a choice”; that is certainly true of the agape love we share between our Christian family members. But to love something with one’s whole heart demands more than service. The love described in the commandment is more than agape. To love with soul, mind and strength is to love with an emotional and some would even say passionate bond. As I mentioned previously, there are many words for love in the Greek language, because Love can take many forms. Love is more than just compassion and service; it is not always something we can rationalise or make happen through willpower.  Relational love is a thin...

Wrath strong vengeful anger or indignationretributory punishment for an offense or a crime. Lately, in my writings, I have been exploring some of the Fruits of the Spirit, but this time I want to examine something that Paul considers a lust of the flesh. We are experiencing a period of healing and repentance in the Church. Many things have been exposed, and no doubt there will be many more to come. This is a good thing – no Christian should have unrepentant sin in their lives, leaders especially. For wounds to heal, they need to be exposed. The offence must be dealt with and actions corrected, which is the real meaning of repentance. While there are many things being publicly exposed, I want to highlight something that is happening simultaneously and is not being discussed all that much. It is hard not to feel grief when you see someone whom you held in high honour have grievous flaws exposed in their lives. Anger is a natural response, as trust has been broken. Even i...

A phrase I often heard growing up was “Don’t pray for patience, because God will only make you wait for something”. While these things may have been said in jest, there may have also been some experience behind it. Experience is a great way to learn, and for something as important as patience, I have no doubt that God would take any opportunity to train us. Consider this verse: Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35) Patience (endurance) is key to us walking through life and even receiving anything that God has promised us. Confidence comes from faith and experience – it is our times in prayer as much as it is walking in faith and receiving a reward in its season. Our testimonies and experiences are important to remember and keep close to heart.  Patience is therefore the outworking of our knowing that God is good and that H...

Believe in Him I was in prayer a few nights ago, and God highlighted something to me. I was praying for something that was quite important, yet in my heart, I had fallen into despair. I was praying for something as if I had already lost the battle. In that moment, God brought the most unlikely verse to my heart. John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As I heard that verse repeated, three words stuck out to me. ‘Believe in Him” Suddenly, it was like an awakening to the reality I had placed myself in. I was believing in the problem, but had lost sight of God’s powerful hand. We are saved through faith, and we are saved into faith. Our relationship with God is one of dynamic trust that is so much more than the key to our salvation. It is the foundation on which we stand that enthrones God over not only our lives, but our circumstances. I don’...

Originally sent December 2025, updated on website Jan 2026 We all want peace. Especially when it seems the whole world is frantic around us. The commercial version of Christmas promises peace, purchased through gifts and decorated with trees and carols. Yet, for some, it fails to deliver peace and is a reminder of what was lost in seasons past. For us in Christ, peace is the third fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians – and this world needs us to hold it more and more. The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom and even though the text was translated from Greek, it is the Hebrew understanding of the word that is most accurate for reasons I will explain later.  The word Shalom is sometimes referenced in Churches, and its depth is known by many. Even for the initiated, it’s good to be reminded. A life of Shalom is a long life, with good health. It is lived in God’s blessing – in prosperity and safety. Shalom is the peace we have with God, where there is no longer enm...

I’m not talking about anything lewd, nor am I suggesting anything to do with being unclad before the Lord. This is not a matter of being amorous, but being honest. What I am talking about is exposure, in a spiritual sense, and through shame, our attempts. It has been on my heart for a week or so to write, it’s not something that has come from any recent event or occurrence… just something that I have seen in my life – and others, and felt to write. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”  So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10) It was no surprise to God that Adam and Eve were naked – he had formed them that way, after all. However, after eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, Adam and Eve perceived their shame and had only one thought: to hide that shame from God. The word, knowledge, יָדַע (Yada) is,...