These Lively Oracles

Life throws so many unexpected experiences at us. I remember once saying to some friends that if someone sat us down on our eighteenth birthday and showed us a movie of how our lives were going to work out, then each one of us would all chose to live our lives very differently. But the reality is that God’s marvellous will and destiny is worked out through our own life mistakes and achievements whether we recognise it, or not. The problems we have with “life decisions” are that, firstly, we are never allowed to know what an outcome would have been if we had chosen a different decision. And secondly, we are not allowed to know what God’s alternatives are when we are considering His work within us. God never ever shows us the “what ifs”. Certainly, we can make educated guesses about daily scenarios and decisions. But when it comes to God’s will for our lives He doesn’t show us everything at once. His will is revealed one step at a time. And even then,  we can only really see it ...

At various times over the years on my various church visits I always liked to look around at the people and the congregation. I loved to see the various connections that people made with each other. Music groups, people who are borrowing or lending books, various groups of friends all whispering to each other, etc. Whilst there were those who loved to interact and socialise with each other, there were others who just liked to come along and, like me, just sit and watch the others talk and communicate amongst. And the day of Jesus’ crucifixion was another day like any other gathering in Jerusalem. The Roman guards favoured the whippings, beatings and crucifixions of criminals. And people came to watch and stare at the spectacle. But there were others in the crowds that particular day 2000 years ago. There were the Disciples of Jesus who were fearful about what was to happen next now that their leader was dead. Some of Jesus’ family were there also - His mother, His brothers and si...

…..Ok. Who didn’t think of Lee Marvin singing that song? The song, “I Was Born Under A Wand’rin’ Star” was a No 1 song in the U.K. hit parades in 1970. It came from the stageshow and movie, Paint Your Wagon. The Bible also makes reference to a wandering star. But it is in reference to false teachers… Jude 1:13 “They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever”. Indeed the Bible uses the word several times and in the most cases use it within the context of people who wander from place to place, who never commit, and who spread false teaching and dissent among God’s people. But this is not the context that I’m thinking of. I am thinking of my thoughts that continually bounce around from subject to subject within the bible, always looking for some things that all link together in a common thread. And when devising these blogs, I can tell you, my mind certainly races around the most unexpecte...

Many, many years ago, I had a disagreement with a neighbour. It was entirely my fault and it was so long ago I don’t even remember what it was about. But we both just kept our distance from each other and the years rolled by. Some years later I started to attend a new church. I’d never been to this church before, and everything, and everyone in it was new to me. After a few weeks of attending I happened to be glancing across the congregation and there I spotted my neighbour that I had fallen out with. I looked at him, and he glanced at me, and we both just turned and paid attention to the rest of the service. And so, a few months rolled by like this. One day, I was walking along the street where I lived and I happened to notice my neighbour outside his home working on his car. His head was buried deep inside the engine bay and he did not see me coming past. But something inside me made a decision to stop and say hello to him and see if we could put the tension behind us and continu...