Tag Archives: Jesus

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 “

Ready: Developing Affections in an Adulterous World

“Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.” He’s leaping and bounding towards us. He’s coming over the horizon. He’s walking up the road. He’ll be here any moment. What do you do? Tidy the house? Hide? Run out to meet him. And he says: Arise, come withContinue reading “Ready: Developing Affections in an Adulterous World”

Ready: The No. 1 Hallmark of a Healthy Christian

Your Spiritual Spring Clean “I will agree with something Godly, righteous and true, nod my head, allow my heart to rise, even say ‘amen!’ out loud and then…do nothing.” Last week I encouraged you to go away, get alone with God and begin a conversation with Him about how you might begin to convert thoughtsContinue reading “Ready: The No. 1 Hallmark of a Healthy Christian”

Ready: Living Prepared For The Coming Storm

Living urgently, alertly and appropriately replete in the 21st Century has been the focus of this blog series so far. Thomas, Andy and Joshua have kindly helped us to honestly consider our Christian lifestyles, provoked by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and to what extent we’re living with urgency or lethargy, with alertness or sleepinessContinue reading “Ready: Living Prepared For The Coming Storm”

Ready: Living Full in a Bloated World

The Need For Learning The early church exploded from a small group of misfit disciples into the most dynamic and cohesive movement within the Roman empire in just three hundred years. They were the new kids on the block and they were taking over the place. One early critic was claiming that they had ‘turnedContinue reading “Ready: Living Full in a Bloated World”

Ready: Living Alert in a Sleepy World

Are we asleep to this gospel? Am I really living as if this is true – that Jesus is coming back – maybe later today – to punish rebels and reward his waiting bride? Have we replaced the bracing realities of the gospel with “evenings without number obliterated by television, evenings neither of entertainment nor of education, but of narcotised defence against time” (Neuhaus, Freedom for Ministry, p. 227)?