Windows On The Soul

What a sad pair of words they are - “If only...”. Often expressed as a matter of ‘fact’, they really express an attitude . It can be an attitude about the past , expressing regret about some-thing that did or did not happen. It can also express an attitude about the future - an attitude of not being able to progress in the here-and-now until some perceived future “need” has been met. Both attitudes run counter to the Bible’s teaching. Our failings and omissions of the past are covered, dead, buried and forgiven through Christ. In the present we are called to live by faith, not worrying about tomorrow ( Mt.6:25-34 ) . We are called to be good stewards of what we do have , even though we are all given different talents, opportunities and challenges (obstacles?). When we are good stewards in the use of the talents we do have (instead of whingeing about what we don’t have), then we will be blessed with further talents, opportunities and challenges ( Mt.25:15-29 ). If ...

What a paradoxical metaphor Peter uses ( 1 Ptr.2:4-5 ) - "Living Stones"! "Stones" conjures thoughts of hardness, solidness, deadness: the very antithesis of "Living". Yet in the hands of God, the master builder, the passive "stone" is chosen and fitted into the correct place in the building of His spiritual temple.  Just as Jesus " the living stone rejected by man as worthless but chosen by God as valuable " submitted to God's plan, right to the cross and the grave, so we are called to obedience. Just as no two stones are exactly the same, so we all have our own shape and niche into which we fit - to one the door-step, to another the lintel, another the underground foundation, yet another the carved capping stone.  Then in the beauty of the whole, the very stones "will proclaim the wonderful acts of God". ----xxxXxxx---- Ps.118:22 "The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most...

One of the marks of the Bible that gives it its ring of truth, is its portrayal of God's people in real life - the good, the bad and the ugly. As Nehemiah describes the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem, the human detail shows through. In 3:5, the leaders of the town of Tekoa refused to do any manual labour, but in 3:12 we find that the daughters of Shallum get a special mention for working with the men. Then in 3:27, the men of Tekoa rebuild a second section (did the men, ashamed of their leaders offer to work double, or was it a punishment?). The descriptions of various jobs (stone workers, wood workers, lock-smiths, metal workers, etc) also reminds us of Corinthians 12 , that in the Church there is a myriad of skills and gifts that we bring in our service for The Lord. ----xxxXxxx---- Jas.4:17 "He who knows what is right and does not do it, is sinning" Pr.31:30 "Charm is deceptive, beauty disappears, but a woman who honours God should be praised...

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool; To weep is to risk appearing sentimental; To reach-out to another is to risk involvement; To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self; To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their wrath; To love is to risk not being loved in return; To live is to risk dying; To hope is to risk despair; To try is to risk failure. BUT....Risks must be taken Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, has nothing, does nothing, and is nothing. He simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live. Chained by his certitudes he is a slave; He has forfeited freedom because only a person who risks is free.