The Cross
“The Cross is a blazing fire from which the flame of love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us.” John Stott.
Whose will – Father or Son?
In his book ‘The Rebellion of Absalom’, Keith Bodner picks up on Augustine’s reflections on the will. In 2 Samuel 17 we read about Absalom’s decision to follow the advice of Hushai the Arkite. But, as Bodner observes: “Was it…
Real Estate for Souls
Today, I listened to a sermon that I preached back in September 2023 on 2 Samuel 17:1-14, 23. It was just over two years ago but I’d forgotten this quote by the 19th Century preacher Charles Spurgeon who spoke of…
Destiny
I watched the movie, ‘Letters to Juliet’, some years ago. It was at the time that my Dad would have turned 75 if he’d still been alive. I came across this little excerpt which I wrote linking the film to…
Dallas Willard wisdom
“failure to attain a deeply satisfying life always has the effect of making sinful actions seem good. Here lies the strength of temptation…Normally our success in overcoming temptation will be easier if we are basically happy in our lives. To…
Luke on God and Money
“Luke writes about wealth as if dollar bills should come with an alert, “WARNING: Money may erode your character, endanger your safety, and impair your eternal destiny.” Riches are like swimming in an ocean with a big weight around your…
The Gospel – God’s Meeting Time
“And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did…
929 and Isaiah 53
In June this year, I attended a seminar presentation about the Scriptures hosted by the Council of Christians and Jews NSW. The venue was a hall of the Great Synagogue, Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Two presentations were given. The first by…
A woman’s wit
I read Bishop Hall’s reflection on 2 Samuel 17, verses 15-20, and I was struck first by his vivid description of the woman’s action, and second by the archaic word ‘bewray’ (meaning betray): “Jonathan and Ahimaaz are sent, descried, pursued,…
Bishop Hall and Terra Australis
I’ve made another surprising discovery about Joseph Hall, the Bishop of Exeter (see previous post). Back in the early 1600s, he is busy writing about Australia…or, at least, Terra Australis as it was known. It turns out that he wrote…