thinking honestly about life and faith
‘Blessed are the peace makers’ is one of the ‘beatitudes’, set at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 5.Peace making is a difficult thing to do, and I want to suggest is an activity … Read More »
The idea of ‘peace’ has so many different possible meanings. Popularly, it has two broad meanings: the absence of war, and a more personal and everyday sense of tranquility, or just the absence of hassle. Biblically, ‘peace’ is the translation … Read More »
Joy has been delayed again! I have a collection of thoughts, ideas and comments to share on this topic. It has been great to recognize and own some of these things. Others are more things I agree with, in my … Read More »
It has really been rewarding, reflecting on the fruits of the Spirit, in a concentrated way. I’ve found it valuable to consider not just my intellectual understanding of these things, but to appreciate personal growth, insights gained over the years, … Read More »
Thinking about love is a good spiritual discipline! There is so much that could be said.But maybe in another sense really engaging with this theme brings me to hold back. Really I should not say much at all, as I … Read More »
Love: What does it mean to say that the Spirit produces love? That’s what I am thinking about. What is the nature of this love, and to whom is it directed? One of the most challenging thoughts is that the … Read More »
I’m doing some deliberate reflection on the classic idea of the ‘fruits of the Spirit’: love joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.I want to engage with each of them in turn, but just now I am thinking about … Read More »
I’ve just finished reading A J Jacob’s The Year of Living Biblically, (Heinemann, 2008). It’s a great read: Jacobs is a secular, agnostic Jew from New York, a writer, who decides that he would personally like to engage with the … Read More »
The newspapers are today reporting that the Roman Catholic Church has revised the classic list of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, to include a few more. It’s worth thinking about: what are these deadly sins, and what makes them deadly? And what … Read More »
I wrote this reflection on St Valentine’s Day, thinking about the difficulty many Evangelical Christians have with the basic idea that we can enjoy life—even romantic love! I have a resistance to the kind of commercialization we see on St … Read More »