Listening at work

July 22, 2024

What do you listen to while you work?

What do I listen to at work? Being a School Chaplain I listen to people. Listening is a big part of my job. Listening, asking questions and encouraging.

I must add though, being a Chaplain I am always conscious of listening to the Holy Spirit as I work. Most days I am prompted to go to a particular classroom or part of the school. Quite often there is someone there who needs encouraging or a listening ear.

So what do I listen to while I work? People and the Holy Spirit.

35 years of following Jesus

July 21, 2024

Thirty five years ago today I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I always celebrate this day like it was my birthday because it was the day that changed my life forever.

I am very lucky in a sense as I know the day and time I came to faith in Jesus. I know because I read a tract called, “A journey in to life” and I wrote the date and time on it.

I would love to say that I still had it, but being evangelistically inclined I gave it to someone who I was sharing my faith with. I said this pamphlet changed my life, I hope it will change yours too.

Usually on this day I look back and remember what my life was like before Jesus and how it has changed for the better. I reflect on how I felt before I prayed the prayer above and how I felt afterwards.

It is my hope and prayer that as you read this post that you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If not I would encourage you to visit my finding salvation page here.

Watering down the Gospel

July 19, 2024

Galatians 1:10 TPT – I’m obviously not trying to flatter you or water down my message to be popular with men, but my supreme passion is to please God. For if all I attempt to do is please people, I would not be the true servant of the Messiah.

In today’s world we can be tempted to water down the Gospel to make it palatable to more people. But the truth of the Gospel is Jesus came to earth to save sinners. He came to die on the cross for our sin. This opened the way back to the Father in heaven from whom we were separated. He took our punishment, so we could find peace with God.

If our Gospel message does not talk about sin and the need to find peace with God, is it really the Gospel of the Bible?

Reflection passage – Romans 5:8-11 NLT

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. [9] And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. [10] For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. [11] So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Bible for new Christians

July 18, 2024

I was asked recently, “What is the best Bible for a new Christian”. This is a really good question as it is important to start off right.

I believe the best Bible for new Christians is the Life Application Study Bible (LASB). The reason I believe this is because it has a book introduction for each book, maps of key locations, profiles of the authors and most importantly a commentary in the margins.

The commentary in the margins is a great feature. Some Bible verses do not make sense at first reading. They might have a cultural or historical meaning that we find hard to understand in today’s world. Having these notes can help us understand how it applies to us today.

As far as a Bible translation goes I think it is important to find one that you find easy to read and understand. With the LASB it has a number of English translations that range from a simple plain English versions, right through to the older King James style of writing.

For my personal Bible reading and preaching I mostly use the New Living Translation. I find this simple to read as it paraphrases the original text (Hebrew or Greek) in a way I find easy to read and understand. I have a large print paper version and I also have copies on my iPad and iPhone…so it goes with me everywhere!

If you are interested you can find more information on the LASB website here.