Category: Vision

You’ve never had it so good

war deaths
Contrary to common perception, the number of people dying through war and conflict has drastically reduced.

Pessimists and scare-mongerers like to say that the world is getting worse and worse. The opposite is true. Television news and newspapers make us more aware of problems throughout the world but statistics paint a very different picture. As Harold Macmillan said back in 1957,  “Most of our people have never had it so good”. Extreme poverty is reducing, diseases are being eliminated, fewer people are dying because of war and life expectancy is improving. If you want a fuller picture, read on. Continue reading “You’ve never had it so good”

The Kingdom of God is around us

oak-treeThis blog article is a repeat from the my first article in March 2012. I was in Sri Lanka, and having time on my hand, started a blog. I have since published 161 articles, and have had 30,000 hits on my blog from around 150 countries.

Here is the original article, just tweaked a little.

 

The Kingdom of God is at hand

We look around us and see a world in great need, and we look forward to a day when the world reflects God’s nature. We ask,

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven“.

The question is, “When is this going to be true in reality, and are we meant to wait passively for it?”

But the reality can be here and now. The kingdom of God is AT HAND. It is for now. It is among us. The complete fulfilment may be yet to come, but it has already started. Continue reading “The Kingdom of God is around us”

Sri Lanka 27 years on

Colombo
The modern city of Colombo

I first visited Sri Lanka early in 1988, but have just returned from what must be about my 30th visit. The roots of the poverty relief charity, Kingscare/Karuna Action developed here, and the country has been central to it’s work and vision.

I remember well my first visit. I came with a burden and a dream along with a certain amount of idealism. I knew that God had called me to take some action to relieve poverty which I knew held so many in it’s grip of slavery. I had read every book I could find, both Christian and secular, on the subject of poverty and world problems. I was anxious to find ways that the Church of Jesus Christ could be a blessing to the whole world.

Continue reading “Sri Lanka 27 years on”

Dream again, Believe again

Vision refreshedYesterday we sang a song, and 4 words seemed to stand out from the rest. “Dream again, Believe again”. Ten years ago, I wrote about “My Dream” and recently included it in my blog. But I am aware that I need to keep dreaming. Yesterdays’s dream is not adequate for today. As we sang that song, I felt that God was saying to me that it was time to dream again.
Continue reading “Dream again, Believe again”

The beauty of the earth

Earth from Space

In a world full of so much suffering, it is easy to lose sight of the beauty all around us in this world we live in. Yes, there is the ugliness of poverty and injustice, but there is so much beauty to be thankful for as well.

Last week, Christine and I went to Yorkshire and visited the beautiful village of West Burton where I had lived, but only as a baby. My parents had moved north to a safe place, far away from the bombs and noise of the second world war, and I had been born there. Travelling in the Yorkshire Dales, the beauty of the hills and the valleys in between took our breath away.

Continue reading “The beauty of the earth”

Taking seriously what Jesus actually said

Jesus teachingMany of us call ourselves Christians.  How different our Christianity would be if we all took the words of Jesus seriously. Jesus said some radical and amazing things, but they are often forgotten, sidelined, ignored or treated as being hopelessly idealistic.

I want to be a part of a new generation of Jesus followers. People who place importance on the words and life of Jesus and try to live accordingly no matter what the cost. At the age of 69, I am starting a new journey of discovery. I cannot do it on my own. Will you join me on this journey? Continue reading “Taking seriously what Jesus actually said”

Why do I care?

p1000941.jpgIt is normal for me to care for my extended family and for people in my social group. But why do I care about people I have never met?

  • Why do I care about a bonded labourer, treated as a slave in India?
  • Why do I care about a child in Africa, denied an education because his parents cannot afford to send him to school?
  • Why do I care about a young woman in Thailand, forced into prostitution by ruthless traffickers in human misery?
  • Why do I care about a single mother in England, working on a minimum wage, facing the humiliation of visiting a food bank to feed her children?

Continue reading “Why do I care?”

The King who washes feet

washing-feetPeter looked on with horror as the person who he had recognised as the Son of the Living God, got up from a meal they were sharing, took off his clothes and wrapped a towel around himself. He poured water into a basin and did the job of the lowliest of servants as he started  to wash the feet of his disciples and dry them with his towel.

Peter was in a turmoil. How could his Lord, Master and Teacher stoop so low and be a servant? How can I let him wash my feet? I should have washed his feet when we first arrived but I thought one of the others would do it.

Continue reading “The King who washes feet”