Why do things go wrong in life? When one issue after another arises, we can find it difficult. In the story of Joseph, as a young boy, his brothers sell him as a slave. He serves a master who likes him, only to have his master’s wife lie about him, so he’s thrown in prison.… Continue reading Psa 105v17-19 – Testing of character
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows “mighty vengeance” against Hamas“(BBC). “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Jesus – Matthew 5:44). It’s hard to comprehend these two sentences together. After the violence perpetrated on innocent people in Israel, our natural response is vengeance. But God says he is the… Continue reading Mat 5v44-45 – Not a normal love
My marathon training was halted due to an Achilles injury. After a visit to the physio, I learned that my Achilles was not the issue but rather an imbalance in my hamstrings. After some further rehab, I realised that the hamstring imbalance was due to a weakness in my glutes. So I focused on fixing… Continue reading Joh 6v35 – Root cause analysis
“Too soon!” Our cry of despair when someone precious unexpectedly dies. While life is filled with joy and challenge, hope and disappointment, death is a blade that slices across everything. A devastating finality. A searing anguish. There is only one occasion where the gospels mention Jesus crying, and it is when he is standing outside… Continue reading Isa 57v1-2 Gone too soon
My marathon training was halted due to an Achilles injury. After a visit to the physio, I learned that my Achilles was not the issue but rather an imbalance in my hamstrings. After some further rehab, I realised that the hamstring imbalance was due to a weakness in my glutes. So I focused on fixing… Continue reading Joh 6v35 – Root cause analysis
At 103 years old and a survivor of Auschwitz’s horrors, Ella Blumenthal is seated in front of a packed auditorium. She beams her smile as laughter rolls across the audience in response to her sharp sense of humour. The audience is enraptured as Ella shares snippets of her life, from the cutting loss of all… Continue reading Isa 43v18-19 – Looking forward
Falling is never something we want to do. Think about riding a bike; you will never tell yourself, “Yeah, I think I’ll just go ahead and fall right over there”. We usually try to avoid such experiences. However, if you have noticed someone who is very good at a sport, you will have also noticed… Continue reading Psa 56v4 – Falling for God
There is a worship song I enjoy singing that start as follows; “How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son, To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the… Continue reading Isa 53v5 – Depth of love
We spot a waterfall cascading down the mountain above us and decide to see if we can reach it. We follow a path heading toward it. After a while, a red arrow painted on a rock points to a path to the right. We ignore this as our path seems to be heading where we… Continue reading 1Jo 1v7 – The missed sign
I was walking along a path in the mountains when I came across a small bush being strangled by a snake-like weed. It made me think of the parable of the sower that Jesus told – “Now the seed that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked… Continue reading Mat 6v13 – The strangling weed