Judg 8:28-35 The house we are currently living in used to have a cactus at the end of a row of spider plants along the garage wall. When we moved in, that cactus was small, easy to care for and…

Judg 8:22-27 A pastor in Hungary was serving a small church in the countryside. Like many that the Communist regime considered politically unreliable, he was barred from preaching in the capital, so his influence was limited despite his obvious talents.…

Judg 8:18-21 It is the typical format of whodunnits to keep an element of surprise until the end. As you read along and wonder who the murderer is, you are led down various promising avenues that turn out to be…

Judg 8:4-17 A man was looking for a parking space in a busy carpark. He prayed, ‘Please, Lord, help me find a space, pleeeeaaase’. He kept circling round but saw no opening and his prayer got more frantic with every…

Judg 7:24-25; 8:1-3 In my early years of teaching, student feedback forms were the things I dreaded most. Under the cloak of anonymity, some used this opportunity to vent their anger at something I said or did, never thinking of…

Judg 7:15-23 If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that a pandemic cannot be overcome by an individual alone. Wise leadership is essential, but so is the co-operation of the rank and file. The ongoing mantra of the NZ…

Judg 7:9-14 In his book, The Great Good Thing, Andrew Klavan tells his own story of coming to faith and he relates an incident when he felt overwhelmed by life and by his failures. He was working late that night…

Judg 7:1-8 When we are facing decisions or new situations, we take stock and ask, is what we have enough to achieve our purpose? Do we have the ability for that new job, the energy or vision for a new…

Judg 6:33-40 Gideon’s experiment with the fleece is a well-known story familiar from Sunday school and the concept of a test is a popular method among less mature Christians to discern God’s will. This, however, is a misunderstanding, since as…

Judg 6:28-32 I wonder how Gideon spent the night after he had pulled down his father’s altar for Baal and Asherah. Did he sleep at all or was he worried about what might happen next? Would he be found out?…