Your pause isn’t the end… God is about to do something unprecedented in the Church and in the heart of the nation… Those three dots. Pitch, pace, pause – pounce! Have you ever had a moment where everything hangs on one breath? Genesis 3:22 gives us the first biblical example of ellipsis (…) Then the Lord God said,… Read More »
This changes everything … Years ago whilst leading a church in London I was given a financial sign-writing gift to put ‘a bible text’ above the platform at the front of the church. The mind raced. I was planning on preaching from Hebrews and settled with a fantastic verse that became a focus to everything we did trying… Read More »
a 233 word update … Hello again. Last email from me until next Friday, I promise. The survey results are in. If you didn’t get round to responding, no worries. Here’s what came back. About sixty percent said the posts are the right length, and eighty percent want that familiar tap on their phone when the post lands… Read More »
When tired isn’t the same as called. After being with your local church for years, have you ever sat there at times and felt unsettled, not because on surface level anything is wrong, but because you just felt weary or tired? John 15 brings a great nudge for that weariness. You may know it well, it’s the one… Read More »
Recovered from the archive by request! I deleted this because basically it was sent to my free subscibers’s to let them know there would be a pause whilst I think what to do next… Ooh, did you like that? You wait for ages, and then four f’s arrive like a fleet of London buses all at the same… Read More »
Two clicks to help me! Have you ever paused halfway through one of my pieces and thought, this is good, but it’s a bit longer than I expected? I’ve been thinking about that. I know First Edition can run on the long side. That’s intentional. I tend to take an idea and hold it close, turn it over,… Read More »
You move before the oil does. Most people, usually me, don’t like asking for help. We’d rather struggle in silence than admit we’re struggling or stuck. God, in His great wisdom and mercy, sometimes lets us get to that position just to teach us how to ask for His help. There’s a widow in 2 Kings 4 with… Read More »
More than you realise … It’s long, but you are going to love this. It’s a challenge, an encouragement and something of a call, all wrapped in a “God wants you to step up” gift-wrapper. Our starting point is one that draws on your deepest empathy. You read it, grimace, and then press on. But not today. The… Read More »
How we shrank him down, and how he walks back in Those who honour me I will honour. The text sounds simple until you sit with it and realise how much it is asking of you… In 1 Samuel 2:30 God speaks into a corrupt spiritual house. Eli’s sons are mishandling sacrifices, despising what is holy while still… Read More »
What if God is closer than your hesitation. Here’s a challenge – have you ever felt that brief nudge from the Spirit and then watched it fade as you hesitated? It’s easy to put the ear plugs in as Paul calls to the church in these difficult days; “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that… Read More »
It’s not for the weird ones. It’s for you. It’s today. You’re here. Nothing’s missing, no steps skipped. If you want this day to carry more of God’s presence than usual, begin by simply thanking Him – really thanking Him. Bless Him. Praise Him. And while you’re at it, mumble some profound mysteries that should leave you stunned.… Read More »
Relearning to Follow Have you noticed how someone will binge watch the entire box set of The Last Of Us, but when you quote more than 2 verses of scripture they don’t have the attention span for it? It seems that we make room for whatever we already like – caught in the web of our own life-choice… Read More »
Truth just walked in, and it’s not taking questions. I once asked Arnold Bell, on a ministry flight to the NFI training centre in Goa, India, what doctrine he valued most. “Scripture,” he said, without hesitation. “Because everything else flows from it.” He wasn’t making a theological point. He was laying out a conviction. If you lose the… Read More »
Not just the message. The mandate. Grab a coffee and sit virtually with me for five minutes and look at this verse that has just stopped me hurtling through my five chapters a day regime. “I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment – what to… Read More »
We’ve got 1,440 minutes in a day. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Pause for a brief moment (not too long), and let that sink in. Squint at the last word. Richly. Not sparsely. Not occasionally. Not just enough to keep your head above water. Richly. Like rain soaking into parched earth. Slowly seeping in,… Read More »
Helping you find hope in hard times I once travelled across the Sinai desert and as my camel veered into a wadi sheltered from the wind the silence hit me, surreal and total. I could hear the noise of my thumb and forefinger as I rubbed them together, clearly! There was no chance of a snake sneaking up… Read More »
Returning to the stronghold that unlocks tomorrow Unless you are guarding your heart it can be very easy to become fluent in disappointment. It doesn’t take long or much to trigger it. One or two setbacks, a few prayers unanswered in the way we expected or when we wanted, and suddenly we’ve built a whole theology around what… Read More »
Breakfast with a second chance. You’re invited. Have you ever had regret so intense it shook you down to the core? Despite my obvious godliness, sensitivity and gentle spirit, I have. Flicking on the bible app to that ‘awful’ night, Peter had. He knew that regret. Not just like the flickering flame that warmed his hands in that… Read More »
Remember what He has done… What’s the big text that has stayed with you over the years? For me, 1 Samuel 21:1–9 is a big one; I preached on it 20 years ago. In life we learn to take what God gives, remember what He’s done, and keep walking under orders from the King. I’m going to have… Read More »
Before your eyelids opened today … Need something to give a bit of skibidi to your day? How about, Jeremiah’s contention; “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” And it gets better, “His mercies never come to an end – they are new every morning.” That’s textbook Jeremiah, straight from his latest podcast in Lamentations 3:22-23. It’s… Read More »