At the right time

11 Oct

Recently I had a holiday at Uluru, the iconic sacred site in central Australia which used to be known as Ayer's Rock.It is a fabulous place, and we enjoyed a number of opportunities not only to see the Rock in … Read More »

Fruits of the Spirit: Kindness (2)

20 Aug

In this post I will comment on some other people's ideas about kindness and the sense in which kindness is part of the harvest of God's presence and life with us.Let me emphasize what I said earlier, too: I do … Read More »

Fruits of the Spirit: Kindness (1)

19 Aug

What does it mean to say the Spirit creates or produces kindness?I would like to suggest a few things I think I have learned about kindness. But I hasten to say this is not a claim to sort of moral … Read More »

Fruits of the Spirit: Patience (2)

15 Jun

From a simple net search for quotations, I found a number of insightful statements about patience. I would like to consider a few of these, in terms of how they relate to the patience the Spirit gives.

Fruits of the Spirit: Patience (1)

5 Jun

This post has been a long time coming! It has been a lesson in patience. What does it mean to say that patience is a fruit of the Spirit? This requires more than reflection on what patience is. It also … Read More »

Fruits of the Spirit: Peace (2)

14 May

‘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 »

Fruits of the Spirit: Peace (1)

3 May

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 »

Fruits of the Spirit: Joy (2)

22 Apr

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 »

Fruits of the Spirit: Joy (1)

10 Apr

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 »

Fruits of the Spirit: Love (2)

4 Apr

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 »