Author Archives: firebrandnotes

How We Have Fallen

What would dear Horatius have written had he lived in 2017? We’ll chat one day. ______________________________________ “Man is now thinking out a Bible for himself; framing a religion in harmony with the development of liberal thought; constructing a worship on the principles of taste and culture; shaping a god to suit the expanding aspirations ofContinue reading “How We Have Fallen”

Respect Your Elders

If you’re a millennial, listen up for a minute! One of the generational characteristics of millennials – though not always – is often a fundamental lack of respect for adults older than them – “elders” if you want an old-school word. At some point you will have been negatively influenced by this through peers, poorContinue reading “Respect Your Elders”

Call Him Abba

I bumped in to a neighbour today out on the street on the way home from work. He’s an Iraqi Muslim who’s lived in Scotland for probably longer than I’ve been alive, has a wife and children and grand-children. He’s such a great guy…so gentle and willing to genuinely discuss and talk about loving God.Continue reading “Call Him Abba”

The Miracle of Soft-Heartedness: Escaping Our Hate

There isn’t a greater healing possible than that of the human heart. Not a healing from angina, leaky valve problems, left ventricular hypertrophy or some other kind of disease, but healing from the unbelieving, human spirit condition of hard-heartedness, common to us all.

Masquerading Messengers of Light

In Matthew chapter 10, we read Jesus sending out His sheepish yet hard-core company of followers into a dangerous world with the gospel and an express set of instructions that are particularly interesting – particularly interesting because He usually didn’t prescribe formulas for miracles. There was no Visa, no North Face apparel, no weekending bagContinue reading “Masquerading Messengers of Light”

Exercising an Exorcising Faith 

I love thinking about Jesus. Because  His name is inextricably linked with infinite, creative power, even my thoughts about Him hold potential to change my heart. Indeed, the epic hymn Be Thy My Vision exclaims, Thou my best Thought, by day or by night… So, settling down with the Bible in hand and regularly spending timeContinue reading “Exercising an Exorcising Faith “

Manchester’s 23rd Body

I write a lot. I actually write an average of thee blog articles every week including for several online magazines. This means that I can occasionally lapse into carelessness when it comes to forming ideas, concepts and sentences; or rush and take the proverbial half-baked loaf out of the blog oven before a post is reallyContinue reading “Manchester’s 23rd Body”