FRESH Official Podcast

Okay, so we're two days out from celebrating the birth of Jesus. Winding the clock back, do you think they'd have arrived by now and settled into their accommodation? Or were they still on the road? Either way, it wasn't a pretty picture. I've done a lot of travelling over the years and as glamorous as it all sounds, I can tell you travelling is hard work; squashed into a middle seat in the econom...

One of humanity's greatest pursuits is comfort. We all want a soft, warm bed to sleep in, a hot shower when we wake up. And we want life to be predictable. Yep, perfect! Until it ain't. Stepping through the cold hard realities of that first Christmas, as we've been doing this past week, isn't all that comfortable. We like to think of Christmas more as a pantomime played out for our benefit – God s...

When a royal child is born, it's a time of great celebration. And it certainly was that when Prince William, the current heir to the British throne, was born on the 21 st of June 1982. So, who do you imagine might have been the first people to visit him? Well, it doesn't take a lot of imagining, does it? The then Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh; other Royal family members...

Have you ever felt, even with all the well-meaning people around you – friends, family, loved ones – that somehow you're different; somehow you don't belong; somehow you're just not the same as everyone else? And it's a lonely place to be, isn't it? I think we've all felt that somewhere along the line. No matter what anyone says or does, how much others might encourage you, you still feel rejected...

If I asked you to take a wild guess at how many refugees there are in the world today, what number would you choose? Well, in total, 122.6 million people globally were forcibly displaced over the past twelve months. That's mind-blowing, isn't it? The thing about refugees is that, by and large, they aren't treated very well. In some parts of the globe, there are so many that the numbers simply over...

Life-threatening danger has a way of focussing the mind like nothing else. As the adrenalin pumps, that flight-or-fight instinct that's been woven into our DNA kicks in. I was chatting with a friend recently, whose cancer has returned for a third time with some messy, embarrassing and frightening physiological symptoms –  and that fear of dying envelopes him like a dark cloud, 24 hours a day. He's...

Any woman who's ever given birth knows that bringing a new life into this world is painful and messy. And whilst God, early on, gives Adam and Eve a reason for that, having a reason doesn't make it any easier. Pretty much everyone, whether they acknowledge its truth or not, knows the story of Christmas – that God allegedly took on human form, being born in a stable in Bethlehem two thousand plus y...

Masculinity is much spoken and written about these days and, in many circles, derided. Are men still allowed to be masculine? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Well, that depends. Without doubt, we men are built quite differently to women. Physically stronger, to be sure, and mostly driven to protect and provide for our families. So, provided that we keep those instincts under control, masculinit...

And so, the countdown begins – just ten days until Christmas. So much to get ready, so much to get done. Are you perhaps one of these people who've  left their Christmas shopping to the last minute? Better get cracking! Depending on where you live and how you celebrate it, Christmas can be an exceedingly disruptive time. It's this kind of once-in-a-year upheaval of your routine, with the potential...

Rejection is singularly one of the most painful things that we can ever go through, because we're made to be loved. We're social creatures made to be part of a family, part of a community. Yep, rejection can be devastating, but it's not the end. Rejection doesn't have to define us. It doesn't have to stop us living our best life. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1822, in Dorchester County,...

Rejection, in and of itself, is bad enough. But when you're rejected by those close to you – I can tell you firsthand – it's devastating. When those who should have stood by you, instead stab you in the back and leave you by the side of the road, bleeding … well, words can't describe how that feels. Perhaps you have been too. What makes it worse is when those close to you – work colleagues, family...

As life bubbles along and we focus on the things coming our way, the appointments in our diary, the obligations before us, the fun we want to have, the things, perhaps, that we want to buy … it's so easy to lose sight of what truly matters. And when that happens, as it's bound to, we just drift along like a rudderless boat on the ocean. Back in 1774, at age nineteen, Louis XVI of France ascended t...

When it comes to doing the things you have to do each day, your job or caring for children, whatever your particular obligations happen to be, how often are you tempted to cut corners? Do you see an opportunity, and think to yourself, "I wonder if I could get away with that?" Back in 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, engineers ran a test on Reactor No. 4 to simulate power loss...

When you hear the word "obedience" what comes immediately to mind? A burdensome sense of obligation, perhaps? Memories of a strict upbringing? That difficult boss at work? I think for most of us that word – obedience – has negative connotations.  Negative though it may at first appear, if we dig below the surface, it turns out that obedience is an incredibly positive influence. Who knows how many...

It's funny how, in this modern world, we take so much for granted. Things like good government, an honest judiciary, hot and cold running water, electricity. Yep, if you're used to having them day after day, you doubtless take them for granted … until all of a sudden they're not there. Take electricity, for example. Last year, the world consumed almost 31,000 terawatt hours of power. That's 32,000...

So, what is it about you that makes you different to anyone else you know? Is it a particular ability that you have, or a motivation, or perhaps your faith? And, here's the kicker, are you happy about it or not? Being different is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, perhaps there's some particular ability that you have that you delight in. Great. But on the other, we don't like to...

Living your best life ain't easy. If it was, everyone'd be doing it. As it is, most aren't. Sure, sometimes we decide to ditch this bad habit or start that good habit, but eventually it all gets too hard, so we slip back into what we know. We've all been there. Good intent is hard enough to trigger a change of habit, but nigh on impossible to sustain. There are many more people in this world who'v...

When the heat's on, when we find ourselves under unbearable pressures in life as we sometimes do, it seems to go on forever. It's excruciating. When will this end?! Diamonds, which are so highly prized in this world, are formed deep within the Earth's mantle, some 190 kilometres or 120 miles below the surface. It happens under extreme pressure and temperatures – we're talking 60,000 times atmosphe...

You know how it goes. We know that life has its ups and downs, its bumps and bruises, the occasional body blow. And yet still, deep down, we hope, we expect actually, that it'll go much easier for us. After all, we're special, right? Of course we each think we're special. Those bad things shouldn't happen to us! And yet, they do. It's hard to imagine anyone more special than Jesus, God's beloved S...

Simply living life in this imperfect world in which we reside takes its toll on each one of us. There are bumps and bruises, not to mention the occasional body blow, that wear us down; that eat away at our wellbeing; that make us feel broken beyond repair. Now, for many, that's not the whole story – thank God for that. But there are times when the grind of life (whatever that looks like for you) g...

This past year has been a turbulent one on the world stage, wouldn't you agree? So many geopolitical forces clashing over so many things. How do the little people – people like you and me – respond to all that? Well, some retreat into their own shell of self-interest. What does it mean to my finances, my wellbeing, my mortgage or rent, my grocery prices, my future? Others, though, see it as an opp...

There's a fine line, isn't there, between boldness and arrogance? Boldness is a courageous confidence rooted in purpose, humility, conviction. Arrogance, on the other hand, is rooted in a self-centred pride. In short, arrogance pushes others down; boldness lifts truth up. Boldness honours God and others; arrogance merely honours self. We admire people whose boldness comes from a good heart. But ar...

I, like you, have often thought to myself, "Shouldn't it be easier than this?" Well, shouldn't it? Why is life such a grind sometimes? Why do we have to carry these heavy burdens? Why can't it be easier than this? You've doubtless heard it said that life wasn't meant to be easy, which is all well and good until you find yourself going through a rough patch. Surely if God is indeed God, if He does...

There can sometimes be a gap between our talk and our walk; between saying something that sounds great and following through to do what we said we were going to do. We all know that … but do we really know it? Back when I was an IT consultant, getting things done for my clients by and large involved analysing their needs and convincing their senior management of a proposed course of action. Now, I...

Duplicity and unfaithfulness are personal attributes that we don't warm to. And rightly so. Who wants to be associated with someone who's two-faced, who hides their intentions, who in the end will betray you? John F. Kennedy is remembered as one of America's great presidents. He married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. Yet despite publicly expressing great admiration and affection for her, often speaki...