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The Lord Rodney....

The Lord Rodney….

   Today, whilst driving in town we had to visit a DIY store. It is situated on a small but recent shopping precinct, with other larger stores supplying furniture and carpets, you know the type of place with a large car park situated along the front of all the stores for ease of access. That part of the town has changed continually, even since we have lived here. There is a sports stadium nearby…

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Artists impression.....

Artists impression…..

  The picture to the left is a photograph of a painting which hangs on a wall in my home. It depicts the childhood home of Judy, my wife. An artist painted it from a series of coloured photographs that I sent to her. It is a lovely painting and very much captures the house and its surroundings. But, the other day I was looking at it and noticed a couple of minor problems with the picture. In…

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Hopeful New Year....

365 x 24

 A new year has begun. Many people ask out loud or in quieter moments what does this year hold for me?Knowing the future is of course impossible for us to discern. Yet many will try, by consulting mediums, having palm readings, turning to tarot cards. For others the future year remains regimentally planned; special dates for birthdays, holidays and special events. Others still hold to the ethos…

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Missing a voice...

Missing a voice…

I woke this morning during a bad dream. Infact, I woke myself by crying in my dream. I awoke feeling very emotional and drained. As I lay in bed, trying to make sense of what I had been dreaming about I remembered that the dream was one in which my wife had died. But, the crying and upset was not about her actual death, it seemed that the dream was set some time after that event had happened. The…

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Thirsty for God's word - Nehemiah 8:1-12

Thirsty for God’s word – Nehemiah 8:1-12

Thirsty for God’s word – Nehemiah 8:1-12

What does it mean to be thirsty for the word of God?It may be helpful, in the first instance to consider some aspects of being thirsty. Firstly, we must acknowledge that being thirsty is not something we can ignore; we need water. It is essential to living. Likewise, the word of God is essential to maintain our Christian lives. But thirst does not come…

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A Grey T-Shirt....

   I heard on the radio recently that Mark Zuckerberg, one of the founding inventors of the giant social media that is Facebook always wears the same grey t-shirt to work every day. Clearly, it is not the same one, he must have hundreds. But, each day he wears the same as the day before. Recently in an a question and answer session he was asked why he wears the same top to work every day. Here is…

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You have God's word....

There is a trend emerging in churches today. You can see it in many that you visit personally and in those that populate the internet. It is a trend that is often veiled behind the clever use of media and communication tools available to pastors and teachers and preachers. It is a trend, that I am sorry to say this very blog has fallen into;allowing personal opinion and experience to usurp the…

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Castles in the air....

I recently visited a castle in Wales; Beaumaris Castle on Anglesey. It is beautifully preserved and in a lovely part of Wales. As you enter the Castle’s main entrance, over what would have been a drawbridge, you enter the outer walls. But, what is surprising is that you are then faced with a large stone wall of a tower directly in front of you. In order to progress any further into the castle you…

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Philemon

Philemon http://wp.me/s41vhA-philemon

A Plea for usefulness (Onesimus)  

It is no coincidence that on the month where our church home groups are leading the services that God has led me to talk about the letter of Philemon. A letter written by Paul but addressed, amongst other people, to one of the first home groups; Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend, to Apphia our sister, to…

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Being a flower...

Being a flower…

It always amazes me how much some people know about flowers and plants, particularly since I know very little. The other day we were taking a walk in a local park with some friends. They have young children and the children were running off and exploring as kids do. We, the adults, followed them to a secluded part of the park. There were some lovely flowers blooming, and one especially caught my…

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Face to face....

Face to face….

Driving home the other day I came to a set of traffic lights which were on red. I stopped, and as all good drivers should do checked my rear view mirror. In the car behind were two people; the driver was a man of about 60-70yrs and the front seat passenger looked like his grand-daughter about 16-18yrs. During those brief moments that I watched them, they were having a conversation. The…

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True light....

True light….

I walked past the door of one of the bedrooms in my house this morning, quite early. I thought someone had left the light on as I could see it reflecting off the wall as the door was slightly open. So I knocked thinking someone was inside. When I opened the door I realised that it was the sunshine brightly shining through the yellow blind that was still down over the window. There was no…

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Radio Ga ga....

Radio Ga ga….

Where I work, one of the workers has a digital radio, which we often have playing softly in the background on any working day. Over recent days, I have noticed that this radio has been switched off. So, I asked the person who owned it why this was. ” Someone broke it” she explained. She didn’t know who or how, but there was just no sound coming out of it at all. The power cable was plugged into…

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we have history...

we have history…

 I have had the same barber over many years. Throughout that time we have got to know each other quite well. As we have discovered more about each other through chatting we have found similarities in our lives.

First, after about twelve years of cutting my hair, I discovered that he had been in the military Police. I also had joined the military police after leaving school. We found out that we…

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Good Roids....

Good Roids….

I went to the gym this morning and I got into conversation with another gym member. We started talking about the amount of steroids that are used in some gyms. As we talked, I thought this man held the same views as me that putting anything in your body that is foreign and not prescribed by a doctor is just plain stupid. But something he said stopped me in my tracks. I had been explaining to him…

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I can't rub it out

I can’t rub it out

   I recently observed something at work which reminded me of God’s love for each of us. We have a wipe board at work. It’s used to indicate which of the employees has taken which car out for the day. On each line of the board is the car registration number, and it’s make and model. All the employee has to do is write their name in the space provided and take the vehicle keys. However, because…

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I haven't been here before...

I haven’t been here before…

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you [Psalm 32:8]

    Many Christians will have read the verse above on occasions, or heard it preached on in Church. It is a favourite verse for encouragement to a person who feels lost or in need of God’s direction. The facts that it contains; that God is able to direct our paths by instruction…

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