These Lively Oracles

As we go through our lives some people have the luxury of being able to remember back to people and places of days gone by. They can look back along the road of their lives and still see people and places that they knew from years before. Friends, relatives, old schools, old churches, old bars that they drank in. But I am different. I look back to think of the two main churches that I attended while growing up and they are no longer there. Demolished, to make way for new housing. I look back to the two little primary (junior)   schools that I attended as a child. They have now been demolished and are currently awaiting new housing being built on them. My secondary (senior) school that I attended has now been repurposed so much that it no longer functions as a school and only the outside façade shows any semblance of the school I once attended. The same thing goes for the technical college that I attended as an apprentice. It has also been repurposed and expanded beyond all ...

I went out for a short walk recently. Nowhere far. Just up around a few corners where I live and then back again. It was the first walk of Springtime. I called for a neighbour to see if they wanted to join me but they weren’t around. So I went on my own. And as I walked along a thought came into my head. And I imagined Jesus saying, “Why don’t you go for a short walk with me?” It made me momentarily stop and think. “Indeed Lord. Why not go for a walk with you?” So, I doubled the length of my planned walk and gently strolled on. I walked past some more neighbour’s homes. Past one of my local churches. I look into the carpark to see if there was any life about the building. It was shut. And as I strolled along so many metaphors and thoughts came into my mind about going for a walk with Jesus. And I decided to try and think up some biblical benefits about physically going out for a walk in His company. The Bible tells us of Adam and Eve walking and talking with God in the Garden o...

Many years ago when I was a teenager I was just learning about all these extra books that are used for aids in bible studies. I had recently learned of the existence of   Strong’s Concordance, of various expositories, and all these extra dictionaries that can help a bible student along. On one particular visit into my local bible bookstore I met a men from my church. He was studying at Bible College and was looking through some books also. We chatted and I told him that I was just learning about these new study books and didn’t really know what to look for in my searches. There was just so much to chose from. He then took a few moments to give me some guidelines on which publisher or author to choose, and how to select a particular book to suit my needs. That conversation stayed in my memory for the rest of my days. He had mentored me without him even knowing it. There have been other mentors for me over the years. Some were able to guide and help me by talking and teaching m...

Ancient explorers used a method for finding their directions when wandering through forests or densely covered areas. It is known as “Dead Reckoning”. When trying to walk forward in a straight line they will continue looking back at the way they have came and see their trail behind them. It will show them if they have deviated to one side or the other. Ships and sailing craft can do the same thing by looking backwards at their wake in the ocean. And although as Christians it’s not always good to look backwards sometimes it’s a good idea to do it just to see how far we have come and what direction we are heading. Pillars are mentioned many times throughout the Old Testament accounts. They are used as way-markers or memorials, depending on their context. Many times through their journeys in the Wilderness of Sinai the Children of Israel would leave way-markers as a sign that they had been somewhere. Consider Exodus Ch24 (4)… Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He go...