Looking to the Lord to fill our emptiness
2 Kings 4:38-44 In several factories in the United States in the late 1910s and the 1920s, watch dials and hands were painted with a radioactive luminescent paint containing radium. The young women working there were instructed to take the…
The distance God calls us to bridge
2 Kings 4:18-37 For a while as a young adult, I went to an international church in Hungary. It was in the early days after Communism fell and missionaries were streaming in to spread the gospel. While many of them…
The God who can give a future and a hope
2 Kings 4:8-17 Despite the affluence and comforts of our culture, many people live with a sense of hopelessness. Losing a job through redundancy or retirement may be infused with futility for some, if their sense of purpose was wrapped…
God’s lesson of going from empty to full
2 Kings 4:1-7 The widow’s oil in our reading, along with Elijah’s similar miracle involving a Gentile widow (1 Kings 17:8-16) are much loved by Christians. Who does not feel uplifted and encouraged by seeing God’s provision in these stories?…
What can hinder us from living our full potential?
2 Kings 3:1-27 When I was considering a teaching career, I was fighting fears over the idea. A friend from church told me of a woman who was a talented musician but never pursued a musical career because of performance…
The secret of going from curse to life
2 Kings 2:14-25 Towards the end of my gap year in a Christian youth hostel in Haifa, I discovered that my visa was not renewed in time. The temporary manager, whose responsibility this was, forgot to submit the paperwork. Instead,…
Seeing right: Where the real battle is
2 Kings 2:1-13 We continue with the series on the Book of Kings. For anyone new here, below are previous posts on Solomon, on the early divided kingdom and on Elijah’s career. And for a refresher, here is the introduction…
How to access God’s resources (Psalm 23)
Ps 23:1-6 Spending a week near a sheep farm a few summers ago, I noticed one evening a sheep that scrambled up the hillside and refused to budge from there when the rest of the flock was brought into the…
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I am taking a break over the holidays and shall be back with a New Year’s reflection on 6 January. Wishing you all a joyful celebration as we remember the Word who became flesh and ‘tabernacled’ among us (John 1:14).
The Law and Jesus: from grace to grace
John 1:14-18 I always enjoy hearing how people ended up in a relationship and once asked an elderly couple I met in the UK, who shared their story. He was from England learning Spanish at university and wanted a penfriend,…