(Continuing from the previous blog…) And going on to look at Paul in Corinth and Ephesus adds more fascinating detail on his preaching. He preached in both sacred (synagogues) and secular buildings (the lecture hall of Tyrannus). He argued (dialegomai) and persuaded (peitho). Both these verbs are used several times. Of course, argument and persuasion […]
In my daily times of prayer recently I’ve been going through the Acts of the Apostles and of course came to Paul in Athens: Paul the “simple”(?) disciple of Christ in that city of giant philosophers and intellectuals. He was “greatly provoked” by their idolatry (that is the same word that is used in Greek […]
From My Utmost for His Highest Classic Edition by Oswald Chambers At that day ye shall ask in My name. JOHN 16:26 We are too much given to thinking of the Cross as something we have to get through; we get through it only in order to get into it. The Cross stands for one […]
“The fruit of the Spirit is…..SELF CONTROL”(Gal 5:22). Paul illustrates this 9th virtue when writing to the Christians in Corinth where the Ithmian Games were held every 3 years. Before the contest every athlete had to submit himself to rigorous training. For 10 months he was under oath to keep to a prescribed diet and […]
“The fruit of the Spirit is…..MEEKNESS”(Gal 5:22). We are taught with such emphasis at school that adjectives qualify nouns and we forget the reverse is true. And the reverse is certainly true when the noun is “Jesus” and the adjective is “meek.” If we think of meekness without taking Jesus into account, then straightaway the […]
“The fruit of the Spirit is…FAITHFULNESS”. (Gal 5:22). Jesus did not ask his followers to be clever or successful, but he did require them to be reliable and trustworthy. So it is not surprising that faithfulness is in the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Strictly speaking the word in Galatians is “faith” which […]
“The fruit of the Spirit is…..GOODNESS”(Galatians 5:22). J.B. Lightfoot suggests that “kindness” refers to a kind disposition, whereas “goodness” refers to kindness in action. Some people think it a rather fuddy-duddy word and make fun of it. George Bernard Shaw wrote a play called “Too True to be Good.” The main character was Private Meek; […]
Paul encourages us to pray continually (1 Thess. 5:17). Why? To invite His presence/ peace/ healing/ rule into our daily lives and others. What does it mean to pray continually? Some clues given in Ephesians 6:18: Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be […]
From our friends at the World Prayer Centre This really is a new Government with significantly different players, policies and priorities from Theresa May’s. Sometimes it is hard to separate our political views, which will range from Boris is awful to Boris is the answer – from our spiritual call to pray and protect our […]
Natasha Ruddock Drugs destroy lives. Addiction leaves a legacy of death, suicide, mental health, and family breakdown and it is driving a rise in organised crime. We have been researching this war – and we use that word carefully. We are very grateful for insight the Christian Police Association have given us. We believe this is […]
