I’ve been reflecting on the story of the wise men who visited Jesus [Matthew 2:1-12]. Matthew calls them magi, which could mean wise men, astrologers, teachers, physicians, seers or even sorcerers. It’s safe to presume they were erudite men. It’s also safe to assume they weren’t the only ones in their profession. So, what made …
Ever considered Christmas from Mary’s perspective? In a moment, the life she envisioned for herself was altered permanently by a celestial visit. In God’s eyes, she was highly favoured – about to become the mother of His Son. Yet, in man’s eyes, she was another duplicitous teenager pregnant out of wedlock, despite her outward piety. …
There’s an intriguing phrase tucked into Hebrews 13:2. It cautions Christians not to neglect hospitality to strangers because some have unknowingly entertained angels. One implication of this phrase is that not everyone who crosses our path is human, a thought which warrants some reflection. In any case, I suspect the author of Hebrews may have …
For many of us, Christmas 2020 is befitting of the year we’ve had. On a global level, we’re battling a pandemic, wars, natural disasters and an economic crisis. Large parts of the world are experiencing political upheaval and racial tensions, and now, the emergence of two new, more infectious variants of Covid-19. While on an …
I wrote previously about the challenge when God doesn’t answer our difficult questions. Often, we think about the difficult questions of life from the perspective of pain, suffering, death, etc. Yet, there are other significant questions which we sometimes overlook. For instance, when Adam and Eve sinned, why didn’t God abandon the whole human experiment …
Have you ever wondered how things would be if there was no Christmas? Or put another way, how would life be different for you if the first Christmas never happened? Honestly, it’s a question I never considered until recently. Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year for many and usually, a time most families …
If you have ever spent some time in a church or a Christian school, you have probably come across the Lord’s Prayer. This is quite possibly the most well-known prayer in the world. The prayer has five requests but only one of the requests is conditional on how we behave. We can rush through the …
These days you can barely sit through a movie without one of the actors exclaiming “Jesus!” Sadly, Christians and non-Christians alike use the name of Jesus irreverently, sometimes profanely. Yet, it is a noun, not an exclamation. It is the name of a Person, the Person whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day. More importantly, …
On the 14th of December, 1999, a cold winter evening, I landed at Heathrow terminal 3. Six hours earlier, I had left behind friends and family to emigrate to England. I had left behind the comfort of the familiar and plough straight into the unknown. Although I was born in London, my parents emigrated to …
