Weekly Bible Reflection
FORGOTTEN SOMETHING
In her Wall Street Journal opinion piece two weeks ago in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation of southern Texas (September 7, 2017), Peggy Noonan canvassed the range of responses to assist people in need following the storm. At one point she...
BLESSING
On the occasions – all too rare these days – when there is a serious conversation about God, the discussion focuses on what we might think of God. Dr. Benjamin Jowett was at one time Master of Balliol College, Oxford, England. He was renowned for his sharp mind and...
INGRATITUDE
One of the marks of human selfishness is our failure to say, ‘Thank you.' King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, illustrates this theme. The play tells the story of a man who voluntarily set aside his titles and property in favor of his three daughters,...
ANXIETY
The build up of arms in North Korea and the associated threats are troubling – as we see for example, in the fluctuations of the equity markets. In a world where there is so much division and uncertainty, we need wise and cool heads – wisdom for leaders and cool,...
DOUBT
The Bible also understands our questions in the face of terrorism and the realities of fire and flood, drought and famine. Why doesn’t God just step in? It seems so out of character.
CLARITY
Moral equivalence – saying that something is ‘as bad’ or ‘as good as’, or ‘not as bad as’ by comparison with something else – increasingly dominates many conversations. Commenting on those who say that democracy is just ‘as bad as’ totalitarianism, George Orwell noted...
WHO AM I
‘Who Am I?’ Shakespeare’s Hamlet observed: What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! (Hamlet, II.ii) Consider the bookends...
INTERCESSION
Governments everywhere in the West are so dogged by division that we wonder what the future holds. In an article this week on the failure of the (US) Senate to pass a bill on healthcare reform (Trump, Obamacare and the Art of Fail), Peggy Noonan asks, ‘Is there any...
CONFESSION
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans… I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy… I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great...
POWER
As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him....
TRUSTWORTHY
Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” (Daniel 6:21,22). Many New Yorkers,...
WARNING
And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin (Daniel 5:25). Most of us find ourselves in situations where the name of God is mocked and the values that for so long have undergirded Western culture and behavior, promoted. In Daniel 5 we...
COURAGE
“…Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18) It takes courage to stand up for what you believe to be the truth. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were, like Daniel, exiles...
A DREAM
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night… (Daniel 2:19) Dreams fascinate us. They can tease us with the hope they may come true, but they can also terrify. In the past, as in some cultures today, dreams were often treated as portents of the...
‘UNCERTAINTY’
The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court… But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal...
‘Trust’
The terrorist acts in Manchester and London over the last two weeks remind us of the fragility of life. Two young Australian women were amongst those who died in London. Our hearts go out to families who have lost loved ones. And we pray for them. Because of the...
‘Assurance’
There are times when we feel cut off from God – by feelings of failure or unworthiness, feelings of ignorance or unbelief, or by feelings of abandonment. In times like this it is important we remember Jesus’ words to his disciples during the last hours before his...
‘Not Alone’
this Helper or Comforter is not just ‘a comforter’ like Linus’s blanket, nor simply a hot water bottle for cold, hard times. The Spirit comes to strengthen us – to put strength into our hearts, into the backbone of our lives, especially when we are challenged.