It has struck me recently how foolish it is when we seek to divide the truth of God’s and the work of the Spirit. In order to illustrate the point, I share with you two separate texts. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul instructs the believers to ‘be filled with the Spirit’;...
At the prayer meeting on Wednesday evening, we read what would have been a familiar passage to very many. The challenge was to listen to Mark’s account of Jesus healing a woman who had suffered for twelve years before raising a child from the dead, with attentive spirits (Mark 5:21-43)...
Earlier this week, rather than jumping in the car, I decided to cycle to an evening meeting in Didcot. Getting there was great. I enjoyed the cool breeze and the lovely views. However, the meeting scheduled to finish at 9.00 pm, ran for a good hour extra. Cycling home along...
The believers in Corinth seemed to be ‘hung up’ on what they should and shouldn’t do as followers of Jesus. Therefore, Paul says; ‘whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’ (1 Co 10:31). That’s a great test of each of...
On Thursday, hundreds of people gathered at Dorchester Abbey to give thanks to God for the life of the Revd John Burrell. John had served a number of parishes in both the UK and across Africa, before spending the last three years of his life and ministry at St. Helen’s...
I have recently been reading Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians as part of my own private devotions. Although I have been both challenged and encouraged by different things within the text, one thing has stood out to me more clearly than any other. On this occasion Paul writes to...
Over the years I have spent many hours with Christians who, for reasons unknown, have believed that walking with God should make them immune from struggling or suffering. How should we then respond when things in our lives, whether family, health, occupation or relationships ‘go belly up’? In my experience,...
I want to share with you something that should thrill your heart from the brilliant American preacher and teacher A.W. Tozer. Tozer writes ‘An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each...
I was asked to email a few words for ‘the front page for the bulletin’, by Wednesday instead of the more usual Friday last week. This of course gave me something of a dilemma. Because not even the pollsters are confident in predicting what Friday will hold; who will be...
Amidst the political jostling of the General Election campaign, one news item seemed to grab the attention of the world’s media this week. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Indonesia executed eight prisoners convicted of drug smuggling. Pastors who spent time with the condemned up until they faced the...
