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Here is my latest article on unit in the body of Christ. Is it a call to our generation?

How do you react when faith is tested?

Here is my latest article on the life of David:

I wrote this article on Medium in response to a discussion on "The Bible, Reincarnation and the Parable of the Lost Son", and it turned out to also be about how we correctly handle God's word. I hope you find it helpful:

I recently read:

“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.�� (Psalm 111:2 NIV)

My mind went straight back to school, when one Christmas I was asked to read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. After telling us about: the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus; laying the new born Jesus in a manger, because there was no room for them in the Inn; and the visit of the shepherds, because of the angels�� appearance; Luke says:

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.�� (Luke 2:19 NIV)

This sentenced puzzled me 45 years ago and, come to think of it, it has puzzled me ever since. But now God has given me a new insight, so I thought I would share it with you��

There are two levels of response to God’s mighty works:

1) Be amazed at them. This was the reaction of those who heard the shepherds�� testimony.

2) Ponder them. To ponder means to think deeply about something. This was Mary’s reaction.

Luke seems to contrast Mary’s pondering with the amazement of those who heard the shepherds, because he says:

“and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. BUT Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.�� (Luke 2:18,19 NIV)

Being amazed at God’s works is a natural and healthy reaction, but it perhaps remains superficial. Pondering is the deeper response that follows being delighted by God’s works (Psalm 111:2).

So this Christmas, let’s make some time to be like Mary; let’s ponder the wonder of God writing himself into human history; let’s think deeply about the infinite becoming finite; the ocean becoming a drop; a baby being fully God and fully human.

I like to ponder these words from my favourite Christmas carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter��, which is based on a poem by Christina Rossetti:

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty ��
Jesus Christ.

Angels and Archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? ��
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, ��
Yet what I can I give Him, ��
Give my heart.

"Psalm 23 was written by a man who knew what it was to put his life on the line to protect his sheep."

Here is the second part in a series looking at the life of King David, as an introduction to my book The Psalm 23 Life: Experiencing the Love of God Every Day

You can read it for free on Medium here:

Here is the first in a series looking at the life of King David, as an introduction to my book "THE PSALM 23 LIFE: Experiencing the Love of God Every Day".

I'm so thankful that The Psalm 23 Life: Experiencing the Love of God Every Day has reached #4 in the Best Seller charts on Amazon.

My prayer is that the love of God, revealed to use in Psalm 23, will transform many lives.

The Bible tells us we are not alone; it tells us that aliens from another dimension have visited earth; it calls them angels.

I have turned a stimulating discussion with "naysayer" into this article that you can access via this free friend link. How will you know unless you look:

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.�� (Psalm 89:14)

I love that picture of God’s power and authority being built on righteousness and justice. It is impossible for God to do the wrong thing. The apostle John puts it like this, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all�� (1 John 1:5).

The wonderful thing about our Shepherd is that love and faithfulness go before him. If we ask for forgiveness, he will give it freely, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.�� (1 John 1:8,9)

Even as Christians who trust in Jesus, we are not perfect. As sheep, we continue to wander from the righteous path. When we confess our sins to God, his righteousness says, “Your sin needs punishment��, but in his faithfulness God remembers that Jesus has paid for your sin on the Cross. So then his justice says, “Because Jesus has PAID the penalty for your sin, I will cleanse you from it completely, I will make you as white as snow��. In this way, God’s righteousness and justice are satisfied completely, and he sees us as if we had never sinned. This amazing gift of forgiveness is possible because God’s love went before him, and moved him to provide such a great salvation.

Hallelujah, what a saviour! Does your heart leap for joy at the wonder of his grace? The majesty of it hit me in a fresh way through this picture of God’s character, in the way that his righteousness and his justice and his love and his faithfulness work together to reveal the glory of his amazing grace. It is as if they form the four corners of an enormous banner that declares the wonder and glory of God’s grace to all of heaven and earth for all eternity. They form a glorious tension, because the greater his righteousness, the greater his love must be that desires to save us. And the greater his Justice, the greater his faithfulness must be in forgiving us. Is it any wonder that we sing “Amazing Grace��?

(Taken from The Psalm 23 Life: Experiencing the Love of God Every Day )

My latest article explores how loving as Jesus did can not only realise Martin Luther King Jr's dream, but also transform our view of success: