Bible reading notes
God’s overruling sovereignty in the face of our failures
1 Kings 1:1-53 Prior to my doctoral studies, I was given much well-meaning advice about where to get funding. None of it seemed appropriate to me and I felt a little lost about what to do. Supporting higher academic study…
Introduction to Kings
In our Bibles, Kings is divided into two parts (1-2 Kings), but it is meant to be read as one book. The division is purely for practical reasons at roughly the half-way point because ancient scrolls became unmanageable beyond a…
The difference that hope in God’s promise makes
Amos 9:11-15 There used to be a memorable advert for Hungarian Airlines whose tagline was, ‘We give wings to your dreams’. I think of hope as the wings that carry us through dark patches in life and keep us going.…
Learning the skill of listening well
Amos 7:10-17; 8:1-3 I was once asked to contribute a part to a document on a biblical issue compiled by the bible college where I taught. This was later publicised in the denomination of the college. One church’s leadership particularly…
Intercession: the power to shape the future and its limits
Amos 7:1-9 After a tsunami hit Samoa in 2009, many there had physical injuries and/or suffered mentally in the aftermath of the disaster. When the little daughter of a plastic surgeon in New Zealand heard what had happened, she earnestly…
The temptation of wealth and how to fight it
Amos 6:1-14 John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist in the 19th century and arguably the richest American in history, was once asked how much money was enough. He famously replied, ‘Just a little bit more’. His observation brilliantly captures…
The challenge to confront our false cultural beliefs
Amos 5:18-27 A commonly raised objection to the Christian faith is, ‘If God is love, how can He judge and condemn people?’ Behind the question are a host of cultural assumptions. For instance, God’s love is taken as self-evident even…
Is the relationship with God conditional on good deeds?
Amos 5:1-17 Protestant Christians like to emphasise that we are only saved by God’s grace as we trust Him to do it (Eph 2:8). However, in many churches the emphasis on grace has become so dominant that obedience to God…
What makes worship God-honouring?
Amos 4:4-13 In the mid-2010s a new trend took off, especially among Asian women, to organise wedding ceremonies where they were ‘marrying themselves’. The wedding industry jumped in with packages complete with wedding dress, a vow, reception and honeymoon. There…
The forgotten side of the relationship with God
Amos 3:1-15, 4:1-3 A while back, a friend shared an incident about taking her son to a birthday party where the birthday boy received the newest iPhone model from his parents. As the boys were horsing around, he dropped the…