Good Samaritans & Nested Subroutines

"So which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among the thieves?"

And he said "He who showed mercy on him"

Then Jesus said "Go and do likewise". (Luke 10:36-37). 

Sometimes when we hear a story, we get so engrossed, so drawn in, that we forget the context in which it was written. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is like that. We read this powerful tale in the context of 'it's just a story', and forget the true meaning behind it. And when we do that, we lose its' real context, and its' importance.

Thought For The Season

 

This Wretched Man

Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and ask why I bother...

The person looking back is overflowing with pride, and yet empty of humility
The person looking back is a self-professed leader, with no one following him
The person looking back talks of good, yet constantly wanders off into evil
The person looking back is full of great intentions and criticisms, while sitting on his hands
The person looking back talks of how wonderful God is, while constantly turning his back on Him.

Whom Shall I Fear? Pt 2

Hi Everyone

Last Sunday the Pastor was unavailable, so asked me if I could do the teaching that morning.
I was a bit hesitant to say yes, as I hadn't taught for over 10 years!

He said I could teach on whatever I wanted (brave man!). So I decided to expand on the post Whom Shall I Fear? I wrote last year.

If you want to listen, you can find the message here.

Please note that I was extremely nervous! I have not listened to the recording, as I don't like the sound of my own recorded voice.

Enjoy!

Blessings.

Scenes of Kolkata - Hope Amid The Havoc

In 2002 my wife and I were blessed to travel through Kolkata while on a Mission Trip.

After seeing the poverty, smelling the horrible stench, and feeling claustrophobic with the overcrowding, I became angry and bitter towards God.

But rather than God changing Kolkata, He changed my heart instead...

Gospel Nuggets - God is an Abomination!!! - ??? (Prov 17:15)

Prov 17:15:

He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just; both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

God's Beautiful Tapestry Of Life

I used to love watching those performers on television that could juggle plates. It was like they had 10 pairs of eyes that could dart between each plate, determining which ones were OK, and which ones needed a bit more of a spin.
I imagined God being like that - The Great Magician In The Sky, with all creation dancing to His tune like some great cosmic Pied Piper...

Gospel Nuggets - The Seed (Gen 3:14-16)

Hi Everyone

This month I'm starting a new series called "Gospel Nuggets".

Littered throughout scripture are seemingly mundane stories and statements that we scratch our head at and wonder "Why is that in the Bible?".

But when we do a bit of digging and scratching around, we can uncover precious Gospel nuggets, evidence of God's plan of salvation for mankind. 

Gen 3:15:
 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Waiting...waiting...waiting

One of the most frustrating things we came across in our Missions trip to India was the time it took to move anywhere.
And if anything involved state or government officials, you could guarantee that would make it all that much worse, and the whole process would grind to a snail's pace. It was obvious that speed and efficiency was not their forte.

For example; there were six of us in the Mission party. We needed to cross the border from Bangladesh to India, near Brahambaria, on foot. Apart from a couple of men in an old blue truck, we were the only people making a crossing at that time.
There were 2 huts on the side of the dusty road in both countries, with two big barrier arms blocking the road and a no-mans land in between - much like you saw in those old Cold War spy movies (but without the barbed wire and machine guns!).
The Bangladesh side took about an hour to process the group - not bad, given the poor resources at their disposal.
But when we passed through the barrier into India, well, that's another story...

They would look over every page of our passports and visas, ask questions, then write the answers manually in a book. Then the book would be passed to another, who would copy details from that book into another book. This happened about four times. Then finally the last person would stamp the visa.

Three and a half hours later in the exhausting heat we finally left the border area and collapsed into the waiting vans.

After many ordeals like this one, I penned my frustrations...

Whom Shall I Fear?

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

(A study of Psalm 27:1-5)