One thing that strikes even the casual reader of 1 Kings is the sheer wealth of Solomon. Chapter after chapter describe his building projects, his food, his trading partners, and his exotic animal collection. He was so wealthy that his ivory throne stood out in an age when kings often flaunted their wealth, and he …
When I was a university student, I became a member of the local church that I had grown up in. I distinctly remember the first congregational meeting I ever attended. There was the kind of pressing, controversial issue found in churches everywhere: the organ had recently died. This was in a church that had (at …
Do you get wiser as you get older? Is it fair to say that, in general, those who are older are wiser? Instinctively, most of us would like to think this is true. And it often is! As we grow older, as we have more experiences and make more mistakes, we should learn things. And …
Organisation matters. If we are organised and use our administrative gifts, it will mean that we are more likely to do what we promise to do. It will mean that we don’t forget the important things we need to do. And we will reflect our Heavenly Father, who loves order. Solomon’s kingdom in 1 Kings …
Jesus is the King of the whole world. That is the essence of the gospel. When you look for the shortest expression of the gospel in the Bible, it is “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3, 2 Cor 4:5). Jesus is God’s chosen King, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, the one with all …
The world is in the midst of a coronavirus panic. Many aspects of life we usually take for granted are being changed or removed. It is all that anyone is talking about. How do we respond to such a crisis? In this brief blog post, I want to mention two unhelpful responses to the crisis …
Christians should expect that serving Jesus in this world will mean people will be unhappy with us. Jesus warned his disciples as much in Matthew 10. When giving them instructions about their mission to the world, he said: 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise …
It is easy for Christians to be angry when we look at the people in our society. So many are lost in sin. So many live their lives for their families, for their work, for their bucket list, and they care nothing for Jesus. There are those who block out their thinking with drugs and …
You need to have faith in Jesus to be saved. That is a refrain we see in many places in the New Testament. Repent and believe. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31). We need faith in Jesus who died and rose again in order to …
The coronavirus is big news. Every day we find out something new. We find some shocking statistic about infection rates or the number of deaths or lack of containment. Flights in and out of China are stopped. People who have recently visited China are banned from school or work for 14 days. This latest epidemic …