In a world where almost every week I think things cannot get more bizarre, The Satanic Temple of Idaho has posted on Facebook at the end of a longer message “Just know that Satan loves you for you!”Continue reading
Tag: sin
Lifeboat
My teenager was asked by a boy at school this week “I’m an atheist does that mean that I am condemned to hell?” She wasn’t sure what to say – as a Christian she knows that the Bible teaches that apart from belief in the atoning death of Jesus on the cross we all go to hell, but how to say that in a way that doesn’t sound harsh and judgemental?
Continue readingIt is all about how you finish
Are you in prison? Have you done a lot of stuff you’re not proud of? Hurt a lot of people? Broke a lot of laws? Do you think you have done too many bad things for God to forgive you or make your life right?
Let me tell you the story of Manny.
Continue readingGrace and Jeffery Dahmer
Grace. You might know it as a girl’s name or a prayer at meal times, but that is not the amazing kind of grace I want to talk about here.
Grace is a Biblical concept that basically means getting something we don’t deserve (sometimes paired with the term mercy, which means not getting what we do deserve). For instance, getting a promotion when we deserve to be fired, or getting a prize when we deserve a fine.
Christians talk about the grace of God in terms of us receiving His undeserved, free forgiveness which is not earned by moral living, but accepted as a gift, through faith.Continue reading
Sweet but deadly
I HAVE HEARD sugar called “white poison” by some health experts, who believe it should be eliminated from our diets altogether. But that is really hard to do because, of course, sugar tastes so wickedly delicious!
That idea of something we know is wrong and should avoid but are continually drawn to by our appetites, reminds me of the problem each of us have with sin.
Whether it be a little white lie here and there, gossip, jealousy, angry outbursts, illegally downloading content off the Internet, disobeying road signs, or something more sinister, we feel that a little “sugar” won’t do any harm.
Continue readingHow dare you say that!
The other day I went to the doctor for a blood pressure script and she made me stand on the scale, worked out my BMI and told me I was fat and needed to lose weight. Needless to say my first response was “How dare she! Who does she think she is?!”
In my offence I went through a million justifications: “How could she embarrass me like that! Does she think she is telling me something I don’t already know? I’m not nearly as fat as some people! Doesn’t she know I’ve tried? Does she think I want to be like this? I was born with this body type.” etc. etc.
Continue readingDon’t become a victim of victimhood
Easter article 2021
Have you ever heard someone disparage the Easter story by saying, “Well how could God have done that to His Son – send Him to the cross. It’s child abuse!”? Besides the obvious fact that Jesus was a 33-year-old man by this stage, and not a child; He Himself refutes this argument when He says in John 10:18
No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.
Continue readingDisrupting redesigns
I have been watching interior design shows on Netflix recently. I’m inspired by the creativity and cleverness of those who take nice but ordinary rooms and turn them into works of art.
What I have noticed though is that, without fail, those rooms always look worse before they look better. The day before the big reveal, you couldn’t possibly imagine how it is all going to come together.
Continue readingCovid Christmas
Appeared in December 2020 edition
Let us imagine that this Christmas a Covid vaccine was released that was not only free but that those that took it said was 100% effective and lasted your whole lifetime. If you took it, you would never test positive and you would never sicken or die of Covid-19. You might get a few symptoms – a cough or a bit of chest pain – but you would never get the disease.
Would you take it?Continue reading
Long-term effects
I read today that doctors suspect a link between Covid-19 and Parkinson’s disease. Apparently the inflammation caused by Covid could have long-term effects on the body and lead to more serious repercussions later in life.
The longer the pandemic progresses, I imagine that may prove to be only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the ripple-effects of the scourge. Who knows what else one might be susceptible to after surviving Covid-19?
Continue reading