Why does God allow suffering? Here is one possible reason. In one of his letters the early Christian leader Paul gives a list of what he calls “fruit of the spirit”: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) What is a “fruit of …
Tag Archives: faith
Are you a child of God?
As any Christian will know, what God wants from human beings is that we become his children. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:18) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. (Galatians 3:26) What does …
Life is a gift from God
As I write this, around 210,000 people have died worldwide as a result of the coronavirus. Many people find it difficult or impossible to believe that a loving God can exist when something like this happens. Why wouldn’t he do something about it? As a Christian I see life as a gift from God. Today …
When life is darkest
When life is at its darkest it can be difficult to see any light ahead. At a time of personal crisis it can seem as if there is no way for things to get any better. Sometimes we find ourselves thinking we would give anything to get our lives back to where we were before. …
Coping with financial stress
We live at a time when many people are worried about their financial situation. Here in the UK the lockdown has been going on for almost a month and for most of us that has meant being unable to work. For some people it has meant no income at all. Currently there is no certainty …
Jesus – responsibility and priority
During the last three and a half years of his time on Earth, Jesus was given access to God’s power to a greater extent than any other human being before him. He could heal sicknesses and injuries, disabilities and mental illnesses. He could produce enormous quantities of food from nothing. He could even raise dead …
Hope at Easter time
At a time when it may be difficult for many of us to find things to be positive or hopeful about, let us reflect on the events of the first Easter almost 2000 years ago. In chapter 1 of the letter Paul wrote to the Christians in and around the city of Ephesus, he expressed …
Why truth matters
At a time of uncertainty and danger such as this we look for information and guidance to come from those who are in a position to give it. We should listen to advice and restrictions from the medical experts in the NHS or the government for one simple reason: it could save lives. To ignore …
Do not give up meeting together
It’s not good for Christians to be unable to meet together. An early Christian leader wrote: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as …
Is our time God’s time?
In the Old Testament God gave his people what we call “the ten commandments”. We probably all know some of them, particularly the more obvious ones such as “Do not murder” or “Do not steal”. One of the less well known ones, and probably the hardest to make sense of today, is the fourth commandment: …
Nihilist to Christian 