you may not like this, but...

For this article, you should first read 2 Kings 1.1 - 18.  1. Go Up. Elijah hears a message from the Lord about Ahaziah. Something is very wrong here. Elijah was in no way spying on Ahaziah, yet he knew the situation well. The situation, that is, with regard to his soul. Like the whole of humanity, Ahaziah was a sinner in need of repentance. But it was worse even than that. Ahaziah was injured by an accident and it was likely to be fatal. Worse again, he was in a state of constant rebellion against God. This put him in a far worse state than anyone else. This state of rebellion against God manifested by his action in seeking a word from the devil himself. A terrible sin. So a word is given to Elijah and it was not a word of comfort. 2. Go Back. Elijah meets with the King's messengers and sends them back with the word that God has given him first. And to be fair they did their duty, both to God and the King. Not only that but they were prevented from committing the sin that they wou...

The LORD knoweth. Psalm 94.11 A Pious Platitude Or A Useful Observation? In the world that confronts us as it does today with Corona Virus, Black Lives Matter, natural disasters, industrial disasters, a tidal wave of unemployment, horrific child abuse, corruption, greed and a host of other things, life, we can safely say, is definitely not what it used to be. Added to that is the inescapable fact that when we ask religious people for their advice on how to possibly cope with things as we have them today, what do they say? The LORD knows! Really? Well, let's see how that's working out, shall we? Uh, not very well! If the LORD knows, why is life going down the tubes? And just how does that statement give us anything even remotely resembling a solution? Then, to make matters even worse (you thought that was impossible, I'm guessing!) they tell us that to react this way is sinful! In other words, to quote an old Bob Dylan song “You never ask questions when...

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark Chapter 1, verse 15. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;" Romans chapter 1 verse 18. These may seem to be two very unlikely verses of Holy Scripture to pair up, but please be patient with me.  There is something very important at the heart of what I have to say and my motive in doing so. First of all, I wish to restate the four bed-rock points that form the pretext of this blog: One and without doubt the most important of all is that God loves you. Two is that you need to be saved.  This is the direct implication of the fact that we are all loved by God. Three is you can be saved.  It would indeed paint a very miserable and poor picture of the God of the Bible that in spite of His loving us He is not able to save us after revealing to us the two points as ...

The Revelation Of Gratitude. It is the daily morning habit of this writer to “do my chapter”. What I mean, of course, is that I take a chapter of Holy Scripture and read slowly, prayerfully and reverently through it, asking myself at each point what this is teaching me about God and life. It's a practice I have maintained since my early teenage years and now, in my sixties, I can certainly assert that it has definitely stood the test of time (thumbs up, smiley face)! And yet, as profitable as it consistently is, some mornings are more special than others. And this morning is definitely one of those more special mornings. I think, wistfully, that they are all like this if I was equally willing to unpack the Scripture before me and not be in such a hurry to get on with the rest of my day. But this morning I felt divinely arrested when I stopped to think about what I had just read. Just take a look at the opening verses from the Apostle Paul's first Epistl...

The subject of integrity is not exactly a headline-grabbing one, these days, is it?  In fact, I will go as far as to say that it is largely forgotten. We have all repeatedly witnessed the sickening scene on TV news bulletins: the stoical expression on the public figure in question's face, recently exposed for either financial or sexual misconduct (be it politician, clergyman or other) with his long-suffering spouse at his side, parrying questions from the gathered media pack, all hungry for blood!  But the calm, and quite possibly smug, response seems to be broadly along the following lines: "I understand everyone's reaction, but all I can ask at this present time is that my family and I be allowed to consider the events of the last couple of weeks together, for which I can only unreservedly apologise, so that our lives can regain at least some of our previously now cherished but sadly missed normality.  Let me assure, firstly, the general public at large, and also all ...

Show-off's are a strange species.  We all say we don't like them, but we all have televisions in our homes, and the majority of our viewing is entertainment.  Does it not strike you as strange that the actors, writers and general celebrities that we all watch at home, who give us such great pleasure, have to be very strongly inclined to show off?  Also, do you ever consider how boring and mundane our lives would be without them?  Yes, I know that they make a mountain of money and they are insufferable, but I'm putting a word in, here, for, well, showing off! By now, you must be seriously confused, but bear with me, because I do have an important point.  And here it is... I saw something in my daily Bible reading the other day that made me stop stock still in my tracks.  And I must tell you that this is not exactly something that happens on what you might describe as a regular basis.  The simplest way is to tell you straight out what it wa...

Hello again.  I would like to tell you about something that happened to me whilst on my travels.  This was while I travelled across Europe, and insodoing, alighted upon the Eternal City itself.  Yes, that's right, none other than Rome!  I always remember that the book I hated most in the world was one I had been made to read in school.  And this was Edward Gibbons' "Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire".  Nothing was more sure to anybody off a subject than this dewy-eyed piece of mental and verbal bromide!  I have no doubt that it was written to instill in its readers a right-wing, reactionary mind-set.  Trust me, The august and overtly prolific Mr. Gibbons' words fell on very stony ground in my case!  I spent the rest of my formative years, and the early part of my adult years, for that matter, arguing, pamphleteering and generally disagreeing at every given opportunity with anything and anyone who crossed my path with the merest passing res...