Phils focus

This Sunday i will be doing what many of my neighbours do, at least those without small people in the family. l be waking up slowly and enjoying a short lie in before having a leisurely breakfast and a read of the news. I'll then help my wife with a few chores and prepare for a late lunch together with a few local friends from The Well. We'll enjoy our meal together as an extended family and then pray briefly for the late afternoon gathering of people in our local park. Each year a large number of locals gather for a 'Christingle'  celebration around our park bandstand.  Christingle  means 'Christ Light' and is a symbolic advent object used in many denominations to celebrate Jesus Christ  as the "Light of the world". Usually this is an orange - representing the world - with a candle and four cocktail sticks with sweet on them representing the four gospels and the gifts of the Magi. Most of those present won't be churchgoers, nor even have a...

I have realised that I have a small issue with a commonly and popularly held way of looking at the life and ministry of Jesus.  I think it was John Wimber in the late eighties who coined a popular phrase; 'the words, the works, and the wonders of Jesus'. This was a neat little alliteration that summed up the three areas which most people saw as the life of Jesus; his amazing teaching (words), his remarkable acts of kindness (works) and his supernatural miracles (wonders). This remains a valuable lens. However, it is possible in some peoples minds that there is a distinction between Jesus' 'acts of kindness' and his supernatural acts. I am referring to the fact that some people will point to Jesus' feeding of the 5000, or his healing of the sick, as examples of a kingdom value of kindness and justice, but in so doing miss the fact that most of his 'acts of kindness' were simultaneously miraculous! He fed the hungry supernaturally! He healed ...

There are times when no amount of slow breathing or relaxation excercise will achieve the goal of inner rest and calm. Our agitation at the demands and duties of life can accumulate to where we cannot resource our own peace. This morning a thousand thoughts and anxieties rushed at me and took my wind before I was even fully awake. They were each insistent that they were the priority of the day, each threatening that if I didn't give them my full attention I would pay the price. I felt literally overwhelmed.  My frequent response is to seek a caffeine or sugar rush to enable me to kick start my day and gain the upper hand in some measure. 'I NEED coffee!' my body screams.   Our conditioned response to pressure is so often to seek an adrenalin 'kick start' that makes us feel alive enough to face the challenges of the day. These can come in various forms, and as we know, practices become habits which become lifestyles that affect our health and lead to other is...