A famous author sat in his study, took out his pen and started writing: “Last year, I had surgery to remove my gallstones. I had to lie in bed for a long time. In the same year, I turned 60 and entered retirement age. I left the job that I really enjoyed doing, at a…

Today is the very last day of 2023. And while there’s nothing really but a societally imposed difference between today, the last day of 2023, and tomorrow, the first day of 2024, it’s still a useful marker for us. It’s a time when people reflect about the year that has passed and start thinking about…

The birth of Jesus is momentous and changed the course of world history. More importantly, Jesus offers eternal life to whosoever believes in him. Due to him, countless lives have been transformed and spiritually uplifted. One evening, as I reflected on the birth of Jesus, the following thoughts came to my mind: In view of…

I love country songs, partly because they often tell a story. Brad Paisley’s country song He Didn’t Have to Be tells the story of a single mother who is hoping for a remarriage but potential suitors are put off by the fact that she has a little son. The little boy cannot do anything but…

Humans are hard. That’s not a typo or a grammatical error, by the way. Being human is hard, being around humans is also hard, relating to humans is hard. This is true everywhere. But when faith and discipleship come into this equation, many times it means humans are harder. There’s just more at stake when…

What comes to mind when you picture a lion in your mind? For me, the verse from 1 Peter 5:8 pops into my head right away —“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But as we dwell upon the imagery a…

You remember the story? Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city—a big project for his team of Jewish exiles! We read from vv. 1-4 that Nehemiah was troubled when he received report that the Jewish people in Judah were in distress, and the wall of Jerusalem was broken down. This left…

When we are at life’s crossroads, we often wish we knew what God’s will for us is so that we can make the right decision.  Scripture speaks of God’s will in two ways. First is God’s sovereign will whereby He has decreed all things to happen according to His counsel. This was what Christ submitted…

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4) “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.” (Colossians 3:21) In Ephesians, Paul advises fathers against causing anger or bitterness in their children, urging instead to raise them up in…

Which is more important: the self, the immediate community, or the wider community? I suspect when it comes down to it, all of us would have the self as our primary motivation. Each of us is the centre of our own universes, and the immediate and wider communities are only important insofar as they impact…