thoughts out !oud

a Christian’s news, views, opinions and occasional poetry …

“Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man”

Jesus was very much a master provoker - the stories he often told were well engineered to whack you up-side the head. His parables not only carried with them profound truths, some of them would have made some great stand-up comedy (plank in your eye, anyone?) while others just sought to directly stir the religiosity and prejudices of men.

As a pioneer panning for gold would often find, the parables of Jesus sift through our lives to reveal the worthless stones that clutter, weigh down and mar our souls.

By way of example, the Gospel of Luke records Jesus’ story of a Pharisee and a Tax Collector who were at the Temple to pray (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisee rattled off a litany of reasons why he was better than a… Continue reading "Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man"

Repenting in the face of unforgiveness

How hard is it to forgive? Is there a point where you have hurt someone so much that, despite the deep sincerity of your apology, the humbling act of admitting you were wrong, and the heartfelt plea for another chance, that there is absolutely no room to be forgiven?

I know that God, in his perfect grace, offers his forgiveness - and I take that with gratitude and thankfulness and joy. I know also that, while we are made in the image of God, we’re not perfect - every human is flawed and sinful. We hurt each other - even those we love - sometimes often without realising. And in our sin, perhaps we come to a point where offering forgiveness to another becomes nigh impossible for… Continue reading Repenting in the face of unforgiveness

What’s your ‘christian’ flava?, or ‘Why Christian Creeds are important’

Stemming from a recent online forum debate I was involved in, one of the queries leveled at me was along the lines of: what variant of Christianity do I subscribe to?

Initially, I found this to be a curious question. For to me, Christianity is Christianity - how can truth be varied? But there is an important lesson within this question for those of us Christians who aspire to share and argue for the truth of the Gospel. And the lesson stems from the fact that, to the unbeliever, to ask what ‘variant’ of Christianity you adhere to reveals that the face of Christianity is obscured or blurred at the best of times.

This reminds me of a story of a traveling Christian businessman. One weekend, when… Continue reading What's your 'christian' flava?, or 'Why Christian Creeds are important'

When God says ‘No’

In the last few days, I’ve been reading over 2 Samuel 12:13-23. It is pretty mind-blowing to think that this story of the results of David’s double-sin of murder and adultery has powerful application for us Christians in our lives in the here and now, despite being written approx. 2500 years ago.

Perhaps I say this because I can see a lot of myself in David in this account in 2 Sam 12. There have been some wrongs in my life in recent years that I have committed and did not repent of - always putting them off, putting them off. It is not so much that I’ve committed the same sins as David had in this story, but rather the impact of his sins’ consequences that I’m… Continue reading When God says 'No'

God’s a real ‘devil’?

We look around us and see all the evil in the world and those incited by the mass injustice (whether personally against them, or against groups of others) brings with it a cursing of God. God’s the real devil of it all, apparently. After all, if He is as good and all benevolent as some believe Him to be, how can he let the things that have ravaged human history and cause pain and suffering to millions to this very day?

I was reading an address on this earlier today, and the following proverb was mentioned:

A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD. (Prov 19:3)

This goes as much as to say that our own poor choices are the ones that make our life… Continue reading God's a real 'devil'?

Making Good Friday ‘Better’

The Reverend John Evans, based on comments he made in an article on Thursday 20 March, would have you believe that Good Friday should be done away with. Apparently, it is no longer relevant, having lost any meaning outside of the Christian community. Wow. Talk about insight. Fancy a significant day in the Christian calendar not having much significance to non-Christians! Give the guy a… Continue reading Making Good Friday 'Better'

Last Roll of the Dice for Gary Gygax

Mr Gary Gygax died on Tuesday morning, 2nd March 2008.

My high-school friends (who are also my old Dungeons & Dragons playing co-horts) may know who Gary Gygax is. My church-going friends might not - though I know the odd one or two who may be able to cast their memory back to younger days. For those of you playing at home, Gary Gygax was the co-founder of the… Continue reading Last Roll of the Dice for Gary Gygax

(Kicking) The Bucket List

Now, in order not to disappoint some, I must state up front that this is not a movie-review. But in our mainstream media today we can find ample opportunities of stories and tales and illustrations that help us to understand deeper truths - and I love media that does this (unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the majority of Hollywood’s offerings). If you were after a movie-review of The Bucket List, I would recommend the reviewer site, Rotten Tomatoes.

Sometimes I think the best way to see a movie is when you have no idea what the movie is going to be about. This, of course, could be dangerous - if you hate blood and gore, a horror flick is the last thing you’d like to pay… Continue reading (Kicking) The Bucket List