DAY 35 John 11.35 is often quoted as the shortest verse in the Bible - 'Jesus wept' - but in actual fact that honour should really go to Job 3.2 which simply states, 'He said' [less strokes on a keyboard!] However, 'He said' is a lot less interesting. Task: Take some time to consider this story where Jesus is moved to tears. Take some time today to express some grief for something. It might be [...]
At first I was reluctant to write about this, because it can open up a whole can of worms or feels like kicking a sleeping dog… But if it’s going to help build relationships across the grey areas of race – then so be it. Firstly, I speak to white people who generalise and stereotype people of colour. I myself, had to challenge myself to see beyond colour and actually get to know people for [...]
i don't know if this is the right place to begin this conversation on race, but it is a place and so will hopefully get the ball rolling and then we can see where it goes from there. i think we would be foolish to believe that this conversation will be easy or comfortable all the way through - i am hoping we will be able to get to a place where people can be [...]
Well it has been a long time coming but Brad Fish is back and with him a brand new Dangerous Things You Can Least Expect video, this time dishing out his wisdom and warnings of the kind of titles we give to people at weddings which can set us up for a whole lot of danger if we are not careful. If you're wondering who Brad Fish is, he is an [...]
DAY 32 The Bible mentions seven things that Jesus says while hanging on the cross. I found this online site that looks at each statement [calling each one a 'word'] and thought it would be a great resource for us as we head towards Easter. Task: Meditate and reflect on ‘The fifth word of Jesus.’ The fifth word is based on Jesus’ words in John 19. 28-29 "I am thirsty." Spend some time of reflection on [...]
if you stopped reading after the 'b' this becomes a completely different post... so don't. the beautiful Val, in case you didn't know, and yes only i get to call her that and really mean it in the way i do. [you can of course refer to her as 'tbV' th0ugh, and i love it when other people do, but it has also been fun to me through the years how so many of you have [...]
Words have power! If you don't think that's true, try being hit in the face by a thesaurus. In the previous post in this series on different aspects of character, i took a look at the power and importance of living out your words. If there is no action, the words tend towards meaningless and ineffectual. i spoke about the phrase: "What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying." In terms [...]
DAY 33 Easter is arriving at a pace of knots and so really be mindful in the next ten days or more to create spaces to slow down, to meditate, to just be, to look back and remember, to ingest some scripture, to speak some prayers, to love on those around you... slow it down... Task: In the next 24 hours, buy or make someone a gift, just because. Maybe there is someone in your life [...]
This story might be a whole lot more profound than we normally pay attention to. Jesus having a last meal with His disciples who He has grown to know and really love after three years of spending time with them. But during the meal He indicates to them that one of them is going to betray Him. So to put it another way He points out the fact that He has an enemy sitting at the [...]
DAY 32 The Bible mentions seven things that Jesus says while hanging on the cross. I found this online site that looks at each statement [calling each one a 'word'] and thought it would be a great resource for us as we head towards Easter. Task: Meditate and reflect on ‘The fourth word of Jesus.’ The fourth word is based on Jesus’ words in Mark 15:33-34. 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?' Spend some time [...]