While reflecting on 2022, my wife asked me: “what would you like to achieve in 2023?”. My immediate response was: “Spiritual growth”, that is, deeper intimacy with God. I promise you I wasn’t being sanctimonious. The overriding revelation from the last few years of my Christian experience is that spiritual growth results in a better …
Four times the Bible says: “…the just shall live by (his) faith” [Habakkuk 2:4], and elsewhere, it also says: “…for we (believers, or the just) walk by faith, and not by sight” [2 Corinthians 5:7]. These are just some of the many verses in Scripture emphasising the truth that faith is an essential virtue in …
It takes time to know God. Sadly, investing time and effort to develop beneficial relationships is anathema to our modern ears. We want instant returns on our investments, and often we aren’t interested if that isn’t the case. The God of the Bible is one of principles and patterns [Jeremiah 6:16, Leviticus 6:9]. Therefore, a …
Imagine you needed water, and you went to the sea to fetch some. The amount of water you collect would be dependent on the capacity of your container. A cup would get you a cup of water, and a bucket would fetch a bucket of water. This analogy somewhat explains my ability to receive all …
It can be difficult for us to be honest with ourselves. It’s even harder to make changes after an honest self-appraisal. Consequently, many of us become adept at making excuses for ourselves or ignoring aspects of our lives we need to change, either by avoiding introspection or constructive criticism from others. Unfortunately, without a willingness …
There’s a classic novel by Mark Twain called the Prince and the Pauper. It tells the story of a young prince who swapped places with a poor boy on the street who had an uncanny resemblance to the prince. The swap was supposed to be temporal, but the prince ended up experiencing more than he …
Do you know what Jesus was like? What was He like to be around? Would you have liked to hang out with Him? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Sometimes, we can focus so much on the deity of Jesus and ignore His humanity. Whatever your imaginations of Jesus might be, what is certain …
After creating man and woman, God blessed them and said to them, “be fruitful…” [Genesis 1:28]. This was God’s first command to human beings. The Hebrew phrase translated as “be fruitful” means to grow or to increase. It’s repeated about 40 times in the Old Testament and 14 times in the book of Genesis. Twelve …
Before God created human beings, He declared His will for them. They were to be made in His image and have dominion over His creation [Genesis 1:26]. It struck me recently that God hasn’t changed His mind on this. Dominion was our birthright, but the first humans gave up that birthright to the devil for …
What we know of God isn’t all there is to know of God. God being infinite means we cannot exhaust all there is to know of Him. Nevertheless, we’re to desire to know Him more and seek His presence because to know God and His Son is the precise definition of eternal life [John 17:3]. …
