Daily Inspiration

How do you test the value of anything?  It’s a good question to ask, and nowadays we have lots of clever analytical tools to do just that for almost any type of situation.  But Jesus’ answer to this question was disarmingly simple: look at the fruit it produces.  Is it good or bad?  Is there lots … Read more

When I was a student, I used to earn my money in the long summers working for a builder.  Sometimes the work would be nice and easy – glossing outdoor window frames in the sunshine, with factor 15 and the radio on.  Other times the work would be much harder.  My least favourite job of … Read more

How do you imagine heaven?  For many of us, it’s hard to shake that idea of sitting on a cloud, maybe wearing a halo, quite possibly getting a bit bored. This is not the bible’s view of heaven!  The great story of Scripture is that, at the end of time, heaven and earth come together … Read more

When our kids were little, we didn’t own a car, so all our journeys were by public transport.  With a toddler and a baby, our double buggy was effectively our ‘car’ – the kids sat or slept side by side, and the buggy also functioned as our ‘boot’, holding everything on its handles or in … Read more

What do you think of when you hear the word prophet?  Perhaps a wizened old seer living hermit-like in a remote place.  Perhaps a gold-toothed charlatan with a white suit and flash car.  Perhaps a harmless eccentric stockpiling food and waiting for the end of days. Or perhaps someone just like us.  The remarkable truth … Read more

I’ve always loved football.  Well into my 30s I would play on Wednesday evenings with a group of blokes who were all old enough to know better.  We never agreed teams in advance – we would just separate into two teams on the night, depending on who was there.  Some nights I would look at … Read more

Hope.  It’s a tricky word, isn’t it?  I must confess I used to be suspicious of it.  I found the word too vague, too intangible.  I used to see it as little more than wishful thinking, as do many people. And yet, as I came to see, this is not the view of the New … Read more

I confess to being someone who builds their life around words.  I love to read, to write, to communicate in words.  And we live in a content-rich culture.  Wherever we go, whatever we see, on billboards in the streets or screens in our homes, there are words, words, words. But sometimes there are no words.  Sometimes … Read more

A few years ago, there was a period drama on TV called ‘Belgravia’.  The central character of the story was a young man called Charles Pope.  Originally given up by his grandparents to be adopted, ashamed that he was (so it was thought) born out of wedlock, it turns out that Charles was in fact … Read more

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the crown jewels at the Tower of London.  It’s a long time since I went, but I still recall the sense of wonder at seeing the breathtaking, dazzling display for the first time as a child.  One of the highlights is the Queen Mother’s Crown.  Worn at her … Read more