People are frightened by coronavirus to such an extent that some people are in denial that it will come to their area. Many forget that God is in control and that there are benefits from God's providence. International benefits Climate change, international terrorism and epidemics have the benefit of knocking international heads together who do …
Category: Personal development
Medicine cannot make up for stupidity
The success of modern medicine has made some people behave in a reckless manner, risking their own life and the lives of others, in the false belief and mistaken hope that medicine can save them from any of the consequences of their risky behaviour. Coronavirus The coronavirus outbreak is an example. The USA has repatriated …
John Bunyan and biblical metaphors
I attended a useful lecture last night on The Forgotten John Bunyan, whose Pilgrim's Progress is a Christian classic. The adjective 'Forgotten' in the title referred not so much to Bunyan himself but in part to Bunyan's language, imagination and use of metaphors, which were controversial in 17th-century British Christianity. Pilgrim's Progress is sometimes described …
Jesus’ conversational topics
"Jesus answered and said: ..." The Synoptic Gospels How often do we read this comment "Jesus answered and said" in the Gospels! Well – 34 times in the King James Version to be exact, and many more times in various combinations – but what I meant was – look how common it is! It is …
Christian excuses
You know the phenomenon – someone promises you that they will do something and they don't. After a while you realise that it will not be done, possibly after several enquiries and further promises. First, there are the lame excuses, and then there is the justification, which does not stand up to examination. It would …
Learning basic Exegesis
There are some basics in exegesis that Christians can learn and develop to improve their personal Bible study and their discussion at collective Bible studies. Drawing out of (ex-egesis) the Scripture will feed the soul. Which is the most significant word in the following sentence? "The red car went down the hill." You may say …
What constitutes a ‘good’ minister?
Not so long ago I discussed the subjective nature of a 'good' sermon. A good minister is not so subjective to assess as a sermon, because the apostle Paul discusses it in his letters and when writing to Timothy he gives advice about a good minister 1Tim 4:6 and evangelist 2Tim 4:5. Ministers and preachers …
Confidence to converse
This is a continuation of my series to help Christians to witness to their neighbour. Lack of confidence Young Christians usually want to witness to their friends about their faith in Christ but they lack confidence. They need guidance but they do not have many examples to follow. It is important for those who lack …
Will I meet you in heaven?
I promised a follow-up on my "Will I meet you in heaven?" parting greeting. It is a very useful one-liner. The purpose of one-liners is to capture interest and to convey information in short compass. It provokes thought on an important topic. There should be many one-liners in the repertoire of Christians who wish to …
Evangelistic one-liners
This is one in a series of evangelistic one-liners that Christians should practice. Recently I drew attention to Goodbye meaning 'God be with you'. Christians need to learn how to use one-liners. The role of one-liners There was a time when people read books. As advertising became more prominent, leaflets were used, not so much …
Donald's Thoughts 