Often around this time of year when I notice the date on the calendar I feel my heart rate quicken. The time until Christmas Day is no longer counted in weeks but in days. There is a feeling of dread in amongst the delight and anticipation, because the Christmas season is usually so full. Full of busy and bustle, obligations and appointments, expectation and shopping – all the things that must be done before the hard deadline of the 25th.
Continue reading “The deep breath of Advent”The munificence of the God who initiates conversation
I remember clearly the first time God asked me a question. It was ambiguous, puzzling, and frustrating. I was confused. Was there a right answer and a wrong answer? Surely there must be, for God was asking. And clearly, the correct answer was the one that I dreaded? Wasn’t it? The answer that I did not want to give? But how was I to know? What was I supposed to do with this question? And why would God ask me a question in the first place?
Continue reading “The munificence of the God who initiates conversation”In the times when God seems far away
This past week I have thinking about times when God seems far away. How often we hear, and perhaps speak, the language of distance when we are discussing God and our relationship, or lack of relationship, with him. We speak of God as far away. As removed. We talk about prayer going nowhere, of our words reverberating around our room but never reaching the ears of God. God is remote. Disinterested. Busy. Busy with anything, everything.
Continue reading “In the times when God seems far away”Extreme generosity and certain wastefulness in the sowing
In writing this blog, I searched for an online version of the Bible that is both visually appealing and easy to read as I wanted the ability to offer any readers a place where they could go to read the Bible, or at least one of the gospels.
Continue reading “Extreme generosity and certain wastefulness in the sowing”Where is Jesus to be found?
We often talk about seeking God, and of finding him. Of searching for him, and of longing for him. Oh, how I long to find him, to see him, to touch him. I long for the day that I will see him face to face. (See the end of this post for a list of our previous posts that have touched on this topic). Oddly enough, though, in the context of those thoughts, I have not often given much consideration to the following verses. But over the past few days, these are the words I have been pondering. These words of Jesus have echoed in my heart and reverberated in my mind.
Continue reading “Where is Jesus to be found?”Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety
If I had to describe the dominant emotion of this year, I’d call it anxious. This year has been marked by bouts of intense collective uncertainty and rapid change as we’ve faced the initial, and then further, outbreaks of Covid-19. Between those bouts, the persistent hum of heightened tension about the pandemic locally and globally has become our soundtrack.
Here in New Zealand we have been in the enviable position of being Covid-free for long stretches. Though we’re currently in a state close to normal (albeit a normality awash with sanitiser, tracer apps and daily Ministry of Health updates), we are undeniably still living under a cloud. We know our world could change at any time.
Continue reading “Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety”To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible
Who is God? How are we even to begin to think about him? Is there somewhere, somehow, to unravel the vastness of the seemingly incomprehensible? God can so easily seem distant, severe, austere and disapproving. But where do we begin if we really have no idea what or who this God, followed by millions for millennia, is?
Continue reading “To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible”Cultivating quiet in the cacophony of life
Our world is a cacophony of noise. From the moment that we wake until we finally drift off to sleep at night, we are bombarded by sound. Furthermore, our lives are filled with demands, requests, deadlines and expectations. We are complicated, self-obsessed, and selfish – so often driven by desire. And the world and culture that we find ourselves in simply pours fuel on the fire. How are we, in the midst of all this, to cultivate a life and an attitude of quiet?
Continue reading “Cultivating quiet in the cacophony of life”The staggering reality of God contending with man
For the past couple of weeks, even while writing my last post ‘Hearing God part 3 – Hope for those who don’t‘, one passage from the Bible has sat in my mind and refused to budge. This has taken me by surprise for this particular passage is not one I have ever given a great deal of thought. I have only ever read it, thought that it was rather strange and then continued on. But as I have pondered upon it, and read about it, I have wondered if there are lessons that we can and should learn from it.
Continue reading “The staggering reality of God contending with man”Hearing God part 3 – Hope for those who don’t
I was in conversation with someone recently, and they spoke to me about how they have never heard from God. They said that they have tried. That they have sought to listen, and they have asked God to speak, but they do not hear anything. They told me how they longed to hear from God in the way so many others seem to, and yet that has not been their experience. And I said that I understood. For I too was once in that place.
Continue reading “Hearing God part 3 – Hope for those who don’t”