All of us have someone we look up to. Celebrity culture means that a great many people obsess over rock stars, sportspeople and actors. They know everything they can about their favourite celebrity. They read blogs, watch movies, go to concerts, buy merchandise, whatever it takes to know more about their person or to understand …
If you had been freed from prison today after a long time inside, what do you think you would do with your freedom? I suspect all kinds of ordinary things would seem like luxuries. Eating when you want to, lying outside in the sun by yourself, and going where you want for as long as …
We’d all like to believe in a world where everything made easy, logical sense. In this ideal world, all the faithful people would be rewarded with a blessed and easy life. All those who reject God and hate Him would go through struggles and all kinds of problems. That’s why the idea of karma seems …
My most recent book, Distinctively Christian Retirement, has been named as a finalist in the ‘Christian Living’ section of the Christian Indie Awards. These awards, based in the USA, are for books published by individuals or small publishers. The winners will be announced on April 22. It has been encouraging to see the book getting …
When Barack Obama finished his two terms as US President, he wrote books recounting his version of what happened in those years. These are heavy tomes; apparently, a lot happens when you are the leader of a country! Yet King Jehoash of the kingdom of Israel in 2 Kings 13 had his sixteen years of …
It is easy to notice the things that are wrong in our lives and our society. Wherever you live, I am sure you could legitimately complain about all kinds of things. The government has likely made some decision that contradicts Christian beliefs. Your friends and family members have probably been thoughtless or difficult in some …
Most of us have many good intentions. We really do intend to clean the house, or get around to fixing that problem, or to start that exercise programme. We mean to do it, but it never seems to get done. This is not a new problem. People have always been like this. We see this …
In 2 Kings 11, there was a leadership vacuum in Judah. King Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu when visiting the northern kingdom of Israel. The queen mother took her opportunity to take power for herself. Athaliah, a daughter of King Ahab, systematically killed all of her family members that she considered a threat. She …
Christians love to use the words ‘grace’ and ‘faith’. You would be hard pressed to listen to a Christian sermon or sing a Christian song without mention of one of these words. But what do they mean? Can you come up with a short and simple definition of each one? Sometimes we assume we know …
Have you ever read the descriptions of Old Testament sacrifices and found them very odd? After all, most of us don’t have much experience of sacrifices, never having even seen one. They seem like some kind of relic of an ancient past completely disconnected from our present-day world. In fact, they seem barbaric and bloody …