Another day with Jesus

  Seen it on your phone?  Worried, and you wonder ... A meditation on Psalm 2                                                                                         Photo attributed to Freepik.   The news bulletins fill the airwaves, their words heavy with worry and despair, casting a shadow over our hearts. How long will the world suffer? Will the tide ever turn?                           God offers us hope, and if we’re wise, we'll accept it.            Let's pray...      Heavenly Father, Your words comfort us, and we thank you for their insights and relevance in our current circumstances. Speak wisdom and peace into our he...

                                             Ever since I reinvigorated this blog, we've followed the stories of women in the Bible. Today, we begin a new series and we'll focus on the Psalms.   Are they relevant to twenty-first century life?          That's what we'll discover.              Each episode will be a story or a meditation, and you can apply Psalm 1 to the first episode.           What do personal insults and storms have in common?                    How do you survive an onslaught?                                         Melissa    During her final year at her high school, Melissa’s teacher asked the cla...

                                       She’d seen him with her own eyes!   Beauty is in the beholder’s eye. A couple of months ago, I pruned the rosebushes in my garden, and the thorny stalks didn’t attract a second glance. Now pink buds and white velvety flowers flourish, brimming with vitality and beauty. As those tiny buds burst into full bloom, they overpower the stems, delighting us by their perfection.     Rhoda was a young servant girl whose name means ‘rose.’ She guarded the entrance to the Jerusalem home of Mary, John Mark’s mother, where first century Christians gathered for fellowship and worship. King Herod had martyred James to curry favor among the Jews. Their approval incited him to arrest more Christians, such as Peter, Herod’s next prized trophy.   Imagine if you were a first century believer in Jesus, or if our twenty-first century go...

                                                                   Mismatched                                                                           And God is good      A homeless man slouched on a park bench beside St Andrews Cathedral. I watched a group of teenagers in smart navy blue uniforms from the college skirt past him, and the stark contrast startled me. Why was he living on Sydney’s streets? Although I didn't know what had cause his situation, my heart overflowe...

  Sarah: mother of a nation            God kept her waiting until it seemed  i mpossible...   I glanced in my rear vision mirror as I drove at the speed limit down the highway. The guy on my tail was so close I couldn’t see his number plate. The right lane cleared, and he sped past me, maneuvering to the front of the queue. I drew up at the next traffic lights, and there he was, drumming the steering wheel with his fingers. Was he running late, or was his entire life spent in the fast lane, never enjoying a moment’s peace?     What can’t you wait for? A better home? To finish your studies? To recover from illness? Or significantly, a partner or a baby?       The centuries haven’t changed our yearning for precious little people. Abraham and Sarah were childless at seventy-five and sixty-five, expecting a lonely retirement. Instead, God sent these gray nomads from Haran on an epic journey into the unknown. T...

                                      Jesus won her heart.                                                                                                                               The Bride “I’m going to marry him!” “Oh! You’re his chosen bride?” “Yes, will you be one of my bridesmaids? I’m going to ask all our nine sisters because I can’t choose between them for our wedding party.” I’ve been discussing my wedding with my sisters. Dorcas is a seamstress and Lydia sells purple fabrics. My father agreed, signed the contract, and paid the price for my marriage. Althoug...

     Special moments...      and l ife-changing memories.  As I grow older, I spend more time reflecting on incidents of my childhood. I vividly remember my grandmother sending me a beautiful doll for my birthday. Mum took me to the post office after school to collect the large parcel and told me it contained something I'd been wanting for a long time. That's over sixty years ago, but the excitement and mystery of that moment will always stay with me.  What's your special memory? I imagine his disciples shared nostalgic memories about Jesus after he returned to heaven.   “Do you remember when he healed the little girl?” “Or the time he cooked breakfast at the beach?”     “Or when I sank into the Sea of Galilee, and he reached out and rescued me?”   “We met him on the road to Emmaus, and he explained the scriptures …I realized he was talking about himself. He is the Messiah!”   If you had been in Bethany durin...