Bible reading notes
The missing piece we need in our image of God
Hab 3:1-15 Among secular people today, as well as among many Christians, God is viewed as good, loving and kind, close when we need Him and caring for us. Our church buildings also reflect this perspective – they tend to…
Knowing the reality of God and the difference it makes
Hab 2:15-20 The twentieth century novel, Lord of the Flies, is the story about a group of public-school boys who land on an uninhabited island. Without adult authority, their behaviour degenerates into violence and savagery with one boy eventually bludgeoned…
The outcomes of a self-sufficient life and its remedy
Hab 2:5-14 We finally begin to see in our reading an answer to Habakkuk’s question about the wickedness of the Babylonians and whether God is going to judge them (Hab 1:13). The portrait of the oppressor describes the way of…
The righteous shall live by his faith and the NT
Hab 2:4; Rom 1:16-17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:32-39 The study of this famous verse, ‘The righteous will live by his faith’ (Hab 2:4) would not be complete without a reflection on how this line is used in the NT, most…
How can we know God’s power in us? (Eph 1:18-23; Psalm 110)
Eph 1:18-23; Ps 110:1-7 A common greeting at Easter is the jubilant little exchange of ‘He is risen!’ answered with ‘He is risen indeed!’. But why does the resurrection matter at all? Is not the cross and atonement for sin…
The need for cleansing: Healing our blind spots
Matt 21:12-17 Some years ago, Transport for London put out a short ad for their awareness test, a humorous whodunnit, to alert drivers to the dangers of not noticing what they do not expect to see. I won’t give the…
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem: The unexpected way of salvation
Matt 21:1-11 As I mentioned elsewhere on this blog, my father was barred from entering university by the Communist regime back in 1950s’ Hungary. Every year for fifteen years, he sat the entrance exam with success but failed in the…
How to live through catastrophe
Hab 2:1-4 During a summer outreach to international students in the UK, I met a Russian girl on the team, who was particularly excited about the work and seemed to have aptitude for it. The mission that organised the event…
Wrestling to understand God’s ways
Hab 1:12-17 Where you stand determines what you see. It is self-evident in a physical sense that perspective is dependent on location, but it is equally true in a more abstract sense when we think of our context (intellectual, emotional,…
God’s surprising involvement in the world
Hab 1:5-11 One of the most common questions that seekers of truth ask in a Western context is ‘If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?’. Suffering and pain are seen as the worst enemy…