For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
On the weekend we took Nathan to a small guest farm, and on the way back, passing through Modimolle, we passed a memorial for the elderly, women and children who died in the British concentration camp there during the Boer War. The majority of the headstones on the 500 odd graves carry the names of... Continue Reading →
I think that as Christians we are often guilty of reducing the meaning of Jesus’s life to the mere forgiveness of sins. That may sound heretical, but hear me out. I am not suggesting by any means that Jesus’ death on the cross was inconsequential. Far from it. I just think we miss out on... Continue Reading →
The story goes that during the American civil war Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers to pray. One of the ministers is alleged to have remarked: “Mr President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s response could teach all of us something vital about prayer and about God’s guidance: “No,... Continue Reading →
For as long as I can remember, I have had a morbid fear of having my haircut. I do not believe that it is an irrational fear. Hairdressers are, frankly, terrifying. I have long argued that anybody over the age of three who requires training to use a pair of scissors should probably not be... Continue Reading →
… suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature;... Continue Reading →
I confess to being a bit of a cultural snob. I can be quite disdainful about the mindless drivel that is being fed to the all-too-willing masses over the radio and on television. It is completely beyond me that thinly-veiled sexual innuendo and exhortations to live recklessly are considered good art. Although I do find... Continue Reading →
When I was younger, many in the church were fearful of a process called backmasking. There was much concern that certain (usually metal) bands were leaving subliminal Satanic messages on their albums, which you could hear if you played songs backwards. One of my favourite gospel bands at the time, Petra, decided to do some... Continue Reading →
I believe that those who refuse to read certain books, or listen to certain types of music, on the basis that they are not “Christian”, are on dangerous theological ground. Such refusal reflects – in my opinion - a fundamental misunderstanding of the Biblical concepts of law and grace. It also neglects to take into... Continue Reading →
It was with great sadness that I learned yesterday of sir Terry Pratchett’s passing away. To quote a friend and colleague of mine, it “felt like losing a close friend”. He was certainly one of the great minds of our time, and was a writer who made me think very deeply about my world and... Continue Reading →
Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, once made the claim that “joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness”. Much of the current research into human resources management would bear this out... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 