there are some lines in this psalm that are not as easy to digest as they used to be and i am not going to focus on that, because i am clearly not exegiting the psalms, but simply pulling out lines and ideas that strike me... and with psalm 20, it is verse 6 and 7: 'Surely You have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of Your presence.' [verse 6] [...]
we read this as part of morning prayer this morning: 'Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies. At the end, all of His disciples deserted Him. On the cross He was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause He had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life, but in the thick of [...]
psalm 19 is a tough one. because there is just so much in it. it is a beautiful, beautiful psalm. make sure you read the whole thing. It starts so powerfully with a declaration of who God is: 'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.' [Psalm 19.1] This makes me think of Jesus calming the storm in the boat ['The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, [...]
WAITING FOR A MIRACLE There's a glimpse of heartache and pain in 31-year-old Debbie lvin’s eyes, but just for a moment, and then it’s gone, swallowed up by a smile, a nervous chuckle as she launches into an account of her painful journey through infertility. It's a much greater problem than people think. It was only after I started talking openly about it, that I discovered that some of my friends and their friends were [...]
so i know my latest blog series on Taboo Topics has been difficult for a number of people to read, both those having gone through it and also those who are on the way to having their first child... i do think they are extremely valuable for those people the are meant for though and so will continue to post them but in the meantime for everyone else [and also those people] i thort it [...]
another short psalm but a lot in it, although the part i want to pick up on is the last line: 'You, LORD, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.' [vs.7-8] this is quite a tricky one and i won't go deeply into specifics, but i see this line as a warning for us who [...]
the danger of this, for me, much like for a preacher to be planning a preach, is that the reading becomes preparation for blogging as in reading to find my blog point... and so i am doing my best to ensure that doesn't happen by trying to read the psalm a number of times, where a later one of those will be to draw out the point i am wanting to share, but the first [...]
i have seen this video around on FB for the last long while and wanted to check it out but not enough to actually do so and so i didn't til today - it's called 'Why I hate religion, but love Jesus' and it's a spoken word piece by a young guy called jeff bethke. i didn't watch it til i started skim reading this really good but really too long for me to read [...]
it is 29 minutes til my birthday... well, for me anyways, my south african family and friends have been celebrating it for hours already, as have the few contacts i know in Australia and different friends across Europe... have not heard from so many UK friends yet, but they'll be waking up soon and joining in... and then when i sleep and wake up, americaland will have caught on and i will finally be able [...]
looking at life-transforming changes you can bring to yourself in 2012, here is another great idea: if you sneak your car in front of me when i am in a long line of traffic heading towards the off-ramp, i can respond in two ways - swear loudly and flip you the finger while holding my hand down on the hooter [horn to the americanese!] or i can choose to smile and give you the spot [...]