Jesus said, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). Note the condition? Faith in Jesus. For the first five keys (faith in his love, sacrifice, word, power, and example,) see my earlier […]
Jesus said many crazy things, but this is right up there: I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). How could we possibly do what he did, never mind even greater things? Surely, […]
Or why we sometimes don’t hear God. We blame the donkey, but in the story of Balaam and the Ass (Numbers 22), it was Balaam who wasn’t listening. The donkey knew all along. God speaks even through donkeys, which gives me great comfort. The Pride Earplug Nineteen times the Lord calls his people stiff-necked. “Today, if you hear his voice, […]
“I haven’t heard from God for years.” “God only speaks to me through scripture.” I hear these comments regularly. But the Lord recently showed me something astonishing! The Bible tells us we consist of spirit, soul, and body, and 1 Corinthians 2:11 says, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him.” Thoughts […]
I was busy wiping a cow’s backside when the Lord spoke. On our farm in England, we kept 150 dairy cows. We struggled to make money, so we decided to keep pedigree Holsteins, worth several times an ordinary cow. Their daughters could fetch thousands of pounds. The only thing was, you had to take them to livestock shows. If they […]
“Commissioned,” Ali said. “We’re commissioned by the star. We can’t go home, Ben.” Ben pointed behind them. “The king’s lying, that’s all. Didn’t you see his eyes?” They left the city gates and passed a lively market. Shouts echoed from the stone walls. Produce cluttered the pavement―melons, onions and pomegranates. They steered their donkeys away from the crowds. A third […]
The Ten Commandments begin: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.” Pretty stern, but what exactly is an idol? Other gods are things we’ve not made, like the sun, moon, angels or people. An idol is something we’ve made, images or art, sport or entertainment, as long as we worship it. […]
When we come together, what do we do? Sing, pray, preach, offering, notices, communion and coffee. That’s church, surely? Actually, the Scriptures suggest otherwise. The Apostle Paul has a very different picture in mind. When you come together, he writes in 1 Corinthians 14:26, Everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue of an interpretation. […]
The worship service seemed to dissolve. I became aware of a small church on a broad rise, set in rolling countryside. A small crowd emerged from the south door, laughing together. To the right, beneath the sun-bright sky, a gentle breeze wafted the scent of elderflowers from the verdant hedgerows. It was a perfect English day in May. But not […]
He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Did he ignore them? No, because he held fast to them in love (1 Kings 11:2). He loved them! Was he infertile? No! He had a son and two daughters. There was another, much greater, problem. Perhaps he had unrecorded children? In those days many sons was a sign of strength […]