When I first came to Christ in 1982, I didn’t know very much at all. I wasn’t quite ten years old. I had attended church every Sunday (not very enthusiastically, as I admitted yesterday), and all I really knew was that Jesus loved me and died for me. As I write this reflection more than … Read more
July 25th 1982. Just a normal Sunday. I went to church with my family, to (what we then called) the Family Service. My Dad was giving the talk, about Jesus meeting Nicodemus in John chapter 3. It was the days of Overhead Projectors (OHPs – remember them?!), and he showed this acetate of a wooden … Read more
‘Crucify, torture, condemn, crush us. For the proof of our innocence is found in your injustice. It is on this account that God suffers us to suffer this… Yet no cruelty of yours, though each were to exceed the last in its exquisite refinement, profits you in the least; but forms rather an attraction to … Read more
In January every year, the charity Open Doors publishes the World Watch List: a list of the 50 countries where persecution of Christians is most severe. If 50 sounds like a large number, bear in mind that the Bible is restricted, banned, or heavily controlled in at least 52 countries. An estimated 400 million Christians … Read more
‘I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.’ (v15) Just take a moment to let that sink in. The Almighty Creator of the universe calls you his friend. No other … Read more
Some things are so important they need to be repeated. As Jesus talks with his disciples on the night before he dies, he shares deeply about many vital, life-changing things. If you were to read chapters 13-17 in one sitting (or listen, as the disciples did), it’s clear that this extraordinary teaching revolves around a … Read more
Over the winter I’ve been clearing a lot of dead ivy off the trees in my garden. Ivy is an incredibly efficient plant. It seems to be able to grow at will, usually quickly, and it wraps itself around whatever other objects – be they trees, shrubs, posts or walls – are at hand. But … Read more
In April 2013 we had a week’s holiday near Toulouse in the South of France. It was bitterly cold – that freak winter which didn’t really end until later in April – and the landscape was striking. Field after field was full of rows of small stumps, hacked down to little over a foot above … Read more
This has been a tumultuous fifteen minutes or so for the disciples. Imagine hearing that your best friend is going away – you’ve heard it before, but this time it is said with such conviction that you have to believe it. In response, Jesus has given them some of the most beautiful and profound encouragement … Read more
‘But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’ Judas’ question is a good one, isn’t it? Do certain people get special treatment by God? Wouldn’t it be better to reveal yourself to as many people as possible? Jesus’ answer makes it clear that this isn’t just favouritism. … Read more