The other week, I found myself drawn into daytime TV (which isn’t a regular occurrence these days). I was folding some laundry and it just gave me something to occupy my mind whilst engaged in a mundane, everyday task. In particular, I found myself drawn to a game show called The Edge. I quite like a quiz so I stopped flicking through the channels and stuck with it. For those who don’t know and/or don’t have access to BBC programming, it is a quiz which combines general knowledge, and bowling. Each contestant is seeking to gain the advantage over their fellow competitors by answering more que ..read more

The first part of this article Why read the Bible (1)? explained how more modern versions of the Bible use words and phrases which are recognisable and easier to follow, and hence help readers better understand it. However, another reason why people may not wish to read the Bible is because they think its message is out of date for life in the 21st century.  For example, what does it have to say about inequality between the rich and the poor?  In fact, there is a constant message in the Bible that people should look after orphans and widows and the less-well-off in general.  It ..read more

I recently went to our local cinema to see the film ‘One Life’. It tells the remarkable story of Sir Nicholas Winton. He was a man working in London who was instrumental in saving the lives of over 600 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. What struck me most about watching the film was that ‘Nicky’ was just an ordinary man who saw a desperate need and decided to do something about it. Nicky could not bear to see the suffering of all these children, knowing that at home, British children were being taken to safety in the countryside. I struggle with the concept of ..read more

I started writing this on 29 March 2024 which was Good Friday; but what does that mean? Some people will make a connection with the Christian religion, and those who do will then say what is it that’s so good about it? Given that it is the day when people throughout the world acknowledge Jesus’ savagely violent death, to say that this is good would be pretty awful! The lead-up to Christ’s death would prove testing in a number of different ways. Jesus knew that it was in his purpose to die – indeed he told this to people around him (John 3:14, John 8:28). And when that terrible time drew near ..read more

During Easter we so often focus on the main stories surrounding the terrible death and then the wonderful resurrection of Jesus. But there are other stories linked in with it which can be so helpful to us. One of these is the story of Thomas, and it begins not long after Jesus had been resurrected. Jesus appeared miraculously to his disciples when they were in a locked room, showing them the marks in his hands and his side to prove it was really him. But then we read about Thomas: But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciple ..read more

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:46 (NKJV ..read more

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:17-18 NKJV ..read more

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path Psalm 119:105 (NKJV ..read more

How many promises do we find in Scripture, and who has made them? Noah’ s flood is an early example. God is displeased by the continual sinfulness of mankind, as a result of which He decides to punish them by the flood, but faithful Noah and his family are reprieved. We read of this account in Genesis, chapters 6, 7 & 8. Afterwards, God promises Noah that He will never destroy the earth with a flood again and the rainbow is a sign of this – see Genesis 9 v 12-17. By contrast, covenants of promise are established, for example, between God and Abraham on account of the faithfulness of the l ..read more

I was recently on holiday in Spain, and was one day visiting a zoo. The very first thing I saw was a glass case full of thousands of ants! You might think of ants as being those annoying creatures which we try to kill if they find their way into our homes, but you might not know that these little creatures are actually mentioned in the Bible. Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer and gathers its sustenance in harvest. Proverbs 6v6-8 Ants are well known to have super strength and are always har ..read more