In today's Explore Bible-reading notes, I made an editorial mistake which meant that the notes said something that is totally wrong…
In Colossians 1 v 24, Paul says: "I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions". The notes comment: "What he can't mean is that there is nothing lacking in the sufferings of Christ when it comes to salvation." That is precisely the opposite of the truth—Paul (and the rest of the Bible) repeatedly teaches that there in fact IS nothing lacking in Christ's sufferings when it comes to saving us—his death is sufficient (eg: Colossians 1 v 21-23; 1 Peter 3 v 18). The notes should therefore have said: "What he can't mean is that there is SOMETHING lacking…"... continue reading
I'm sure, like me, you are thrilled that the un-named Kestrel recently accused of being an Israeli spy has been cleared of all charges by the Turkish authorities! Like me, you may have been enjoying the many other stories of animal spies across the centuries that have made the press as a result (notwithstanding the tinge of ethical uneasiness that comes with such tales ... or should that be tails?). I think my particular favourite has to be "acoustic kitty" - the feline listening device developed by the CIA in the 1960s, sadly run over by a passing car just moments after beginning its security mission. That was 10 million dollars well spent then!... continue reading
It's not a bad idea. In fact there's a lot to commend it. The Prime Minister has suggested that internet service providers should automatically block porn sites. Residents in the UK would need to "opt in" to be able to access explicit material. It's an idea that could become law in the coming years. It's designed to protect our children.
There's no doubt that our children need some protection. Statistics from Covenant Eyes suggest that 9 out of 10 boys and 6 out of 10 girls watch pornography before the age of 18. The majority have seen scenes of group-sex and same-sex interaction. Such images drag our children away from God's design for sex and preach the lie that instant gratification is the ultimate goal, regardless of the consequences.... continue reading
Praise God for the safe arrival of the Duke and Duchess' baby boy.
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
Psalm 127:3
My prayer is that Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster will come to understand and experience the love and kindness of the God who made them in his own image and that God’s great mercy will inspire both of them to true repentance.
So came the courageous words of Mrs Maureen Greaves on the day her husband's killers were found guilty of murder.
An act of undeserved compassion. A sentence brimming with grace and hope. A sentiment silenced by the British media.... continue reading
What an awesome day!
So many of us had been yearning for it for years. So many times, it seemed to be close but then had slipped away. So much hard work. So many prayers. So many sighs of frustration. So much disappointment in the past.
But on 7th July 2013 everything changed.
I couldn't quite believe it at first. It didn't seem real. But then my pulse started to race. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to cheer, punch the air and hug someone. It was so wonderful...
A friend who has been convinced that God dislikes her, suddenly got it. "Because of Jesus, he delights in me!" came her words. A great, great outcome of God's good work.
Oh, and Murray won the tennis too. That was quite good then ...
Everyone has been enjoying "Hawkeye" at Wimbledon in the last 10 days. Any time a line call at the tennis championships is challenged, the slow handclap builds to a frenzy as the slow-mo animated replay tells us: was the ball in or out! Brilliant. If only all matters of legal judgement were as simple.
Take what happened outside a shopping centre in Wimbledon Town Centre last Monday. A retired Californian Police officer was preaching in the street when he was arrested after someone took offence at his describing homosexuality as a "sin". He spent the next 6 hours being interviewed by police and being held in a cell on suspicion of "hate speech" before being released without charge. You can watch a youtube video in this news report.... continue reading
I imagine there aren’t many people who don’t know that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Wills and Kate) are due to have their first child shortly. So they are receiving masses of presents. Not so much a “baby shower” as a “baby thunderstorm”. But the one that caught my eye comes from the Finnish Government.
In Finland they have the brilliant idea of giving expectant mothers a baby box, with a wide range of clothing and accessories the new baby and parents might need: babygrows, romper suits, nappies, towels, wash cloth, teething toy etc. And the box itself has a fitted mattress and can act as the baby’s first cot.
The Finns have sent one of these baby boxes to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a gift. Their baby is a future king or queen – third in line to the throne. So the question is this: Will the baby sleep in a cardboard box?
Of course, everyone expects the answer to be No. A royal baby? In a cardboard box?? But it got me thinking. At least the cardboard box is new. It hasn’t been pre-used by a bunch of hungry animals. But that’s the “unsuitable” first bed of the most royal baby ever – the King of kings.
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2 v 6-7
It is with sadness that we bid farewell today to our youth editor of many years, Martin Cole. Martin has been with The Good Book Company for 16 years and in that time has been responsible for the writing of every issue of Discover and Engage ... not to mention quite a few youth tracts too.
His inimitable sense of humour and unending stream of sports trivia will be a great loss to the office. His devotion to the football team of his home town Chesterfield United - was only exceeded by his devotion to the Lord - and his love of sharing God's word with teenagers. We praise God greatly for the fruit that his writing has produced in young lives around the world.
Martin had a special skill as a wordsmith - and his love of wordplay led to many hilarious headlines. Here are some of my favourites:
Bye Martin! Thanks a ton. We'll miss you heaps. And every blessing for the future ...
All of us in The Good Book Team
The Evangelical Ministry Assembly, which has just finished, moved from its traditional home at St Helens Bishopsgate to the Barbican - and what a great conference it turned out to be.
The move, masterminded by PT Director of Ministry Adrian Reynolds, was designed to give space for the conference to grow, and the increase in numbers to around 1200 delegates over the 3 days has already endorsed the decision as wise.
But it was the quality of the content that remained the highlight. Vaughan Robert's expositions on 1 Peter in the mornings were nothing short of outstanding. Mark Dever, Paul Mallard, Rico Tice and Garry Williams all sparkled with enthusiasm and insight. And there was no hesitation in grasping some particularly difficult nettles in the afternoon seminar streams. I urge you to listen again to any and all of the sessions when the audio is released on the PT website.... continue reading
