Every Day with Jesus

My TV news watching has dropped to virtually zero. It seems most reporting is in reality opinion based on the few facts available. My prayer for this world is not improved by these opinion pieces; I have sufficient opinions of my own, often born of cynicism, political bias or grumpiness. Keeping as clear a conscience as possible and praying for God’s glory to be revealed is challenging enough.

In the UK we enjoy free access to excellent medical support. Early diagnosis increases the chances of successful treatment. However, there is the risk that undiagnosed, underlying conditions remain untreated and could cause unexpected death. What’s true of our physical health is true of our spiritual health. Jesus is our spiritual physician, but can only deal with what we bring for His diagnosis a...

Jesus enjoyed a charisma that drew the crowds to Him to listen to His wise words. The Gospels contain those wise words, as remembered by those who followed Him. They were being collated within years of Jesus’ death, so with plenty of eyewitnesses to contradict misinformation.

In a time of obvious nervousness about what is acceptable, where carefully thought through perspectives are subject to ‘cancel culture’, it’s perhaps essential we remind ourselves that we all ultimately go before a judge who will separate the wheat from the chaff, the good from the bad (Luke 3:17). In short, ‘cancel culture’ means preventing thought leaders from prominent public platforms or caree...

Jesus’ death ended any need for a bloody sacrificial system and gave humanity the opportunity to taste and see God’s goodness (Ps. 34:8). Once tasted, our hunger can never be assuaged by something nothing else can satisfy.

What is the gospel? It is the unique and compelling announcement that God has restored the open relationship between Himself and His creation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. For me, this is indeed the heart of the good news that Jesus invited us all as disciples to make known to a world that is described as ‘lost’, which means wasted, ruined and worn out.

We often realise our call in the world through our obedience. We become a physical expression of God’s call. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu is best remembered for the work she led in the slums of Kolkata. However, initially principal of a Loreto Sisters school for girls, she was riding on a train from Kolkata to the Himalayan foothills for a retreat, when Christ called her to abandon teaching and work in t...

A call is a summons or an invitation; its object determines which it is. God never overrides free will (Gen 3). We’re often anxious about missing God’s call, but this is unlikely. A call is always dependent on someone listening and responding. We’re familiar with the phrase, ‘There’s none so deaf as those who do not wish to hear’, an idiom taken from Scripture (Jer. 5:21–31). We are often anxious,...

At 28 Camus wrote, ‘Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.’* We all search for life’s meaning to define our existence. Selwyn Hughes argued that Significance (the opposite of meaningless) offered one of three pillars offering a purposeful life, along with Security and Self-Worth.**

Isaiah prophesies about a blessed king who doesn’t know Yahweh, the God of Israel, some 150 years before his rule. He speaks of Cyrus who reigned over the Babylonian empire from 539 to 530 BC. He gave the Jewish captives permission to return to Jerusalem. Without acknowledgement from Cyrus, God blesses him even though he never realised the significant role he was playing in God’s plan. 

Our prayers are directed towards establishing God’s rule so that all nations can enjoy God’s blessing. It sounds simplistic, but Scripture declares that without God’s authority chaos asserts itself. Whilst human brilliance is evident in the skill and speed of scientists creating a vaccine for Covid-19, such brilliance isn’t the same as wisdom. Brilliance brings sudden flashes of insight; wisdom se...

Whilst Christianity is often seen to be overwhelmed by current-thought leadership and offering little by way of creative responses to the cultural and social movements impacting global debate, we turn to the story of David who brought down an intimidating, warrior giant with a Stone-Age slingshot. It reminds us that what appears outdated, in the right hands can prove irresistible.

in an age of growing disillusionment with leadership, it is encouraging to note that God ‘shows no partiality and accepts no bribes’. Strange that deceit has such a powerful pull on our human nature. I confess to having been tempted to cheat in my past, and historically there have been times when I have done so. I am not proud, but it took some years of walking with Jesus to discover that He wante...

The OT presents God’s Law given to Moses in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20). This was never replaced by Jesus – ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matt. 5:17) – a fulfilment accomplished by Jesus inhabiting the Law. He now invites us to become a living expression of God’s life on earth.

Many struggle with an apparent contradiction between the God of the OT contrasted with the NT. Marcion (cAD 85–160) attempted to distinguish between the NT’s ‘benevolent’ God and the ‘malevolent creator god’ of the OT. His early canon was rejected, and the ministry of Jesus accepted as the fulfilment of the OT narrative. So we are left with the picture of a God who exercises judgment and to whom t...

Plunged into the cut and thrust of daily living we quickly lose perspective on life. We can withdraw from what offends and confuses us into a community that reinforces our own beliefs. Or we can use Scripture to accommodate the prevailing cultural context and social mores. Neither responses can reveal ‘the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living’ (Ps. 27:13).

Vines take time to grow. As natural climbers they need support, and as we are grafted into Jesus the vine so we find the support our lives need to flourish. This support ensures the vine grows upright, and God intends that we learn to live upright lives. The vinedresser, who is our Father, carefully prunes it into shape, and ensures that the grapes are accessible whilst enjoying maximum light for...

Christian life and witness is challenging. Lambs have a healthy regard for wolves who can easily destroy them. One reason Christianity is fragile in our world is that it does not have the ability to sustain itself. The source of all its power is in God. Jesus Himself is described as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and reveals that He does not win through might and power, but through obedience to His F...

It’s all too easy to think God’s mission sits with me. Somehow my performance will make the difference between success and failure. Oh, that we carried such importance in the purpose of God. Our work is both to pray and love God, whilst collaborating with others to demonstrate the truth of the gospel. This is simply the announcement that Jesus died and rose again, is now with God, and invites us i...

Sometimes we’re over eager to serve God in what we do. In my twenties with Youth for Christ, I mistook my youthful enthusiasm and zeal for the authority and strength of God. Six months of physical exhaustion followed at age 27. A hard lesson taught me by God. However, Jeremiah humbly responds, acknowledging concerns about his youthfulness. God encourages him, for when God calls it is neither age n...

We’ve been sold an empty promise. Caricatured as the ‘American Dream’ (the belief that anyone might realise their highest aspirations and goals), it proves an empty aphorism for most. The phrase emerged in 1931, when the USA enjoyed competitive advantage over every other nation, and was coined in the book, The Epic of America by James Truslow Adams.

This brief sentence carries a lot of weight. Jesus commissions, or entrusts, His disciples with delegated authority to go out and share the gospel with the world. Their mission is no different from that committed to Jesus by His Father. Indeed, the Church inherits Jesus’ call to make disciples throughout the world. This forms the basis for Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples following His r...

As disciples of Jesus and embracing His call to mission, the great news is that we need not depend on our own abilities. The power, or simply the capability to be good news, is given by God through the Holy Spirit. Coming from God, it carries His authority. Authority and ability are entrusted to us as God’s ambassadors on earth to serve the purpose of God on earth.

Life slides by at its own pace. Demanding daily schedules mean we can feel we haven’t time to breathe. The older I get the faster time passes, but I also become more aware of my mortality. My end was always in my beginning; now, with some excitement, I can almost taste that end. I’m acutely aware of my opportunities to live good news in my neighbourhood and with family and colleagues. Scripture re...

Our missional message applies to the whole world. God is creator and Lord of all, for nothing can exist without God. Indeed, time itself is dependent on God’s word, ending at His command. Whilst we must consider and contend with many conflicting worldviews in deciding what we want to believe, we can place full confidence in God’s revelation. That confidence is something we choose to embrace in par...