[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
When Satan tempts me to despair or tells me of the guilt within …
As you look around on a Sunday morning and see all those super-saints worshipping God so confidently are you ever tempted to echo the words of a song rooted in a certain period in American history?
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
Have there been times when you decide to hold your tongue rather than provoke a pointless argument over some minor matter? Or perhaps you prefer to be pedantic, setting the record straight at the risk of upsetting someone who has a different recollection of events. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
Psalm 119 v18 [NIVUK]
When, last year, the then Polish government took some actions that were contrary to the expectations of the European Commission the Poles were accused of defying the ‘rule of law’. Whose law were they breaking? Surely, as an independent sovereign state, they were entitled to make their own laws. What is ‘the rule of law’ anyway? (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
The 1972 film ‘The Godfather’ tells the story of Vito Corleone, the patriarch of a New York gangster family. Despite his involvement in a wide range of nefarious business activities he was noted for his devotion to his family. By contrast, James Hilton’s 1933 novel ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ describes how a lonely school teacher became a father-figure for hundreds of boys, not just earning not just their respect but also their devotion.[1] It has been said many times that our perception of God as ‘Father’ is often conditioned by our relationship with our own father or other father figures that we have known. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during June 2024]
Picture the scene – you are calming playing your favourite musical instrument to an appreciative audience when suddenly a spear embeds itself in the wall beside you. Clearly, someone does not like your choice of music and a hasty change to the evening’s programme is in order. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during June 2024]
“Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed in the well of silence [1]