POWER, LOVE, A SOUND MIND (2 Timothy 1:7)
We have nothing to fear from the devil. His temptations are not too powerful for us. The barbs of doubt and fear and worry and envy and lust that he throws our way can be readily dealt with. Temptation becomes something to be dismissed, not something to be feared. It is easy for us to […]
A CREATIVE IMAGINATION
What is the difference between animals and humans? From a practical point of view, we can sum it up simply by saying that people are talkers and makers. We have an ability to communicate and create that animals do not have. These unique abilities enable us to exercise mastery over creation and to reign in […]
THE MARATHON
One of the most exciting races I have watched was a children’s marathon–a race of 400 metres in which my seven-year-old son Luke was a competitor. He sprinted to an early lead and looked certain to win. But then he began to slow down and some of the others started to catch up. I thought […]
THE VERY STUFF OF PROPHECY
Dreams, visions and riddles are the very stuff of which prophecy is made (Numbers 12:6-8; Proverbs 1:6). God uses such things to convey his message. Possibly a vivid imagination is a pre-requisite for the ministry of prophecy, and prophets were often called ‘seers’ in Bible days (e.g. 1 Chronicles 29:29). Years ago, when my wife […]
THE ABILITY TO IMAGINE IS A DIVINE GIFT
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… (Ephesians 3:20). When we read the Scriptures, we find imaginative expression a-plenty. Ancient prophets used parables, stories and object lessons in the most innovative ways. For the prophets, imagination […]
THE GREATEST VICTORY
The ultimate victory of Christ. Over Satan. It was through the cross that Jesus made this victory sure. There, at what appeared to be his final moment of defeat, Jesus turned the tables and won his greatest victory. Paul puts it like this– Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of […]
CHRIST HAS DONE IT ALL
All heresy is the Cross plus something. Whenever we add anything to the all-sufficient merit of Christ we are sliding into legalism. The one thing Satan wants us most to believe is that we must do something to please God in order to make us acceptable. But the truth is that Jesus has done everything […]
THE DECEIT OF GUILT
Jesus was born as a man and lived among us in order to share our sin and our guilt; to take it to himself; to relieve us from its burden; to enable us to be free! Hence, the Bible says that for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no longer any condemnation (Romans […]
GOD THE IMAGINATOR
Albert Einstein is said to have claimed that imagination is more important than knowledge. You can’t be creative without being imaginative. Creative people actually commission their imagination to go searching for new vistas, new horizons. Out of this dreamland, they create new concepts and new ideals. This is the case with God himself As soon […]
RUTHLESS INTEGRITY
We need to be ruthlessly honest with ourselves so that we will not tolerate even a slight deviation from what is upright and true. We should be more inexcusable of our own faults than of those of others. Living in the image of God means living uprightly in every respect. Without exception. In a lecture […]