Topics

The Tenant & The Visitor ~ A Parable

28/3/2020

Trial is not only to approve, but improve. ~ Thomas Manton An elderly man continued to struggle and stumble until he topped the steep, square stairwell.

The Mankind Project

14/3/2020

Mankind is a multi-talented tribute to the glorious abilities of God, the only creator.

The Race for your Soul

7/3/2020

There is a competitor for each human's soul. The body returns to dust, the spirit returns to He who gave it, but the soul lives on - forever.

Pursuing French Breezes

2/3/2020

Foolishly stilI, I am too inspired by me.

The Hermit's Surprising Lesson

27/2/2020

A hermit possesses nothing save solitude and the presence of the Lord. He neither owns his cave nor even his breath.

WHO AM I - I take all & Give nothing?#

3/12/2019

Ruins extend worldwide. They are the promise of a history to be remembered and learnt from, a decaying witness to yesterday and its decisions.

8 ANCIENT TRUTHS

16/7/2019

It appears that the desire for virtue by men and women may have been stronger in seasons long past. History records their unusual pursuits, reflections and affections.

The March of the Inner Man

14/7/2019

Even the cleverest of men rarely perceive their need to change their mind about themselves.

HYPOCRISY

12/7/2019

Mankind drapes himself in habits that will hide him from himself. We don costumes to deny the true self from self (and from many others).

When There Is No Tomorrow

8/7/2019

Mankind only travels earth for a few short years before his silver cord is severed, the golden pitcher smashed and he takes that journey he hopes is to a calm...

The Parable of a Snake & a Saw

7/7/2019

A snake slid into a carpentry workshop. It slithered over a wood-saw and received light wounds.

APOCALYPSE

6/7/2019

Upon whom does God's light not rise? (Job 25:3b)God's eyes fall upon the ways of all men. He knows and examines the paths they take.

If Time & Chance Fall

5/7/2019

When reason evades suffering (as it usually does) and life appears unfair - only 'time and chance' can add but a dissatisfying explanation.

Stirred towards Mercy

3/7/2019

Mercy is the door a man opens to his enemy, still knowing he need not, still knowing he continues safe from his enemy, and most notable of all - that...

5 Worthy Desires

3/7/2019

'The heart of Christ desires peace' (anon), so too men. Desires of the soul trump the desires of the flesh.

Choose your refuge carefully...

2/7/2019

The time to re-set thinking is never too soon. There are vital and life-giving thoughts belonging to those who would re-script and even resist mankind's processes of thinking.

When Honor Is Safe

2/7/2019

In the hustle of life the good men can be the most hidden men. This is as it should be.

'A Secret to Wealth' + much more

1/7/2019

Does wealth fear any predators within a man's soul? Maybe wealth devours the mind above all other consuming desire? Is it mankind's native instinct to choose the paths that may lead to...

The False Shepherd

30/6/2019

Can you discern the voice of false teachers? They are sure to blare on your radio, your podcast and your TV set. They may even lean on your pulpit.

The Authentic Shepherd

28/6/2019

Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.

Driven to Holiness

24/6/2019

Until you know that life is war you cannot know what prayer is for. ~ John Piper Prayer is meant for men, that they should seek God.

How to Torture the Soul

19/3/2019

I wrote to the church, but Diotrophes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.

The Power of Unmeasured Patience

11/3/2019

Countless seasons have waxed and waned upon their necessary reliability. These are fortunately equal to my great skill at slow learning.

WISDOM from ABOVE

9/3/2019

Six centuries ago Martin Luther examined his heart. His report ended with ~ I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.

A Parable of Slow Suffering

24/2/2019

An empty large jar sat disused, neglected for an extended time on a kitchen shelf. It was well made and strong. The glass thicker than most.

Poking the Dragon

24/11/2018

The good Lord discriminates. His verdict is soon for earth. The harvesting sickle hovers. Mankind abhors discrimination, for he holds no discerning heart.

A Heart for Wisdom.

22/11/2018

Israel's second king, King Solomon remains synonymous with wisdom. He was wiser than any other man. Solomon spoke 3000 proverbs, he wrote 1005 songs and also described God's creation.

That Evil Man-Flu!

13/11/2018

Weighed down under the wicked suffering of the world's 'second-best/worst' man-flu - I thought! Honestly, it was all I could do. As almost a man-flu survivor (N. B.

9 Challenges to Common Thought

5/11/2018

Voltaire (1694 - 1778) lived dangerously. A fine thinker and author, he challenged French authority, spent two sentences in jail and lived in exile.

Blessed Is The Man Who Crawls...

1/11/2018

Proverbs speak of things hidden from men's minds, but necessary to their hearts. Proverbs can hold surprising notions and predict unseen outcomes.

4 Lesser Taught Divine Principles

31/10/2018

Principles are a man's compass, the center lines down his roads, and the sign-posts at his life's intersections - those points of response and decision.

Formed by Christ

21/10/2018

I saw a man now stronger and wise, noteworthy for his distance from his fellow men.

Shaping the Soul

17/9/2018

A man is formed by what informs him. Ten reflections to shape the soul within. For, from the soul arises life or death.

Lubricating the Mind

1/8/2018

Proverbs lubricate a man's thinking and enquire of his soul. They can be soft or sharp truths to dwell upon, to savor as sweet or sour.

The Wonder of Heaven! ~ A Parable

29/7/2018

I sit and I imagine heaven.

Colonizing the Mind

11/7/2018

I am not perfect, but I am a limited edition. ~ anon My thoughts can define me as much as my successes honor me.

Christianity Confidential.

10/7/2018

The Lord lives in secrets, canopied by deep and unsearchable things. Man can no more fathom God's mind than he will submit to the Lord's righteousness.

Reclaiming the Children & Youth

9/7/2018

Children see heaven not only because they are innocent, but also incompetent. ~ Brennan Manning God has written His own divine youth project.

The Place Reached by Waiting

28/6/2018

The story is told of an ageing lady who had waited long upon the Lord. This woman was well accustomed to stopping and stillness.

Reaching into Softness

11/6/2018

Somewhere around 430 AD Abba John travelled to Syria to consult the great Egyptian monk, Abba Poemen. He was now well advanced in years.

A Prayer from Life's Valley#

7/5/2018

MY DEAR LORD. . .

The Unfamiliar Way

12/4/2018

A highway winds through life's valleys, climbs the ridges and paradoxically reaches to the sky. It is both pot-holed from unimaginable weather, and then sealed again by heaven itself.

Should Your Hills Fall

19/3/2018

The Psalmists knew God as their life's constant, their foundations, their ever present 'go-to' person.

Of Sacrifice & Virtue ~ B

26/2/2018

The choice of sacrifice is the pursuit of virtue. Both sacrifice and thus virtue Jesus chose.

Of Sacrifice & Virtue ~ A

25/2/2018

Sacrifice is known as a very fearful thing. It looms as a gaping abyss upon the evangelical landscape. But, sacrifice is the spiritual life-breath to any forward-moving believer.

Wealth Without Hardship

20/2/2018

Money is morally neutral, but wealth wobbles. Wealth holds one of two paths. It is either a life-blesser or a life-claimer, constructive or destructive. Wealth resists restraint.

The Mastery of the Heart

17/2/2018

Is not the heart a spiritual commentary upon the life of its owner? Of the heart and the head there is that matter of much difference.

The Guarding of the Heart

8/2/2018

The smart soldier is conscious that it is unwise to lower defenses.

The Crucifixion of the Soul

7/2/2018

All who would be strong in the Lord, all who would do much for the Lord, will of priority, first seek to be much with their Lord.

The Thirsting of the Soul

6/2/2018

A thirsting soul longs for more. Those who audit their heart in times of difficulty and not just check their head will see a soul gazing upwards to heaven.

The Seeking of God's Face

5/2/2018

We seek the face of those we wish to know. This is the desiring and delight of another's presence.

The Shelter of Humility

4/2/2018

John the Baptist died humbly as a martyr, that Jesus might increase and he might decrease.

The Tethering of the Mind

28/1/2018

When my mind is soaked in a weakness (or my soul is crushed) I am unsure whether the sage rules the silly, or the silly rules the sage.

3 RIGHT IDEAS for 2018

7/1/2018

1) Righteousness is a man's only shield against judgement.

Shaking a Sacred Tree

27/12/2017

With more than a hint of courage Martin Luther peeled back the accumulated Christian thinking of the church five centuries ago. Christian knowledge and theology were most necessarily refined.

Make us Lord in Thee be Kind#

29/11/2017

It is the heart that grips a man's walking stick, not his hands. His travels are according to his desires.

Of Virtue & Vice

27/11/2017

The world as it stands is at apocalyptic odds with the God of the Cross.

The Mother of all Passions#

14/11/2017

A disciple once approached Abba Agathon in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and inquired - I want to live with other brothers, tell me how...

A Parable of an Old Man#

11/11/2017

An old man was sitting in his 'cell' (a hut or a cave where the desert monks lived) and a voice came to him which invited: come and I will show...

Learning He Was Wrong

6/11/2017

I saw a man who wore that shining necklace of pride. (See Psalm 73:6) Then I saw the same man both weak and knowledgeable.

The Child is Father to the Man

5/11/2017

My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall...

My Sins Run Out Behind Me

23/10/2017

Sadly, I am a skilled gardener. Too often I have potted life in the rich soils of poor judgements. This dirt I have watered well and fertilized frequently.

Apples of Gold

16/10/2017

The sage bridles his mouth before the mind dangles the tongue. Intense emotions, overwhelming feelings cause a man to speak the unthinkable, or think the unspeakable.

Of Wise Men There Are Few

4/10/2017

Through proverbs an attentive man becomes wise. He will gain the understandings of life, and draw good water from the deepest of wells.

The Quickened Man

24/9/2017

A man's troubled journey, as he kicks this earth's dust, is to spiritual formation. The alert know this.

The Blessed Man#

17/9/2017

He who trusts in the Lord, indeed thirsts for Him, is truly blessed above all men. Each morning his heart reaches to Heaven before his head turns his hands.

10 Proverbs for the Doves (& others) of this World

11/9/2017

A Proverb equally informs the sage or the simple alike. They are fonts of understanding.

The End of the Longest Day

7/8/2017

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Life's Most Necessary Measure

2/8/2017

The true way of the disciple is humility. They bow their back before they raise their hands. A disciple must be humbled before they can be cleansed.

3 Rocks from the Son

1/8/2017

Rocks are formidable. Even small ones fell giants. Many times rocks are described with god-like qualities. Immovable, unchallengeable and unchangeable. Firm, strong, steadfast and resilient.

The Strained Eyes of Humans

30/7/2017

Would you consider the eyes of mankind? They wander and weave through life, straining to pursue desires that satisfy a man's heart.

The Day of the Eagle

12/7/2017

Eagles are the undisputed warriors of the heavens, the veterans and victors of the skies. Their wing's payloads are both the graces and judgements of God.

If it was dead safe I wouldn't do it!

29/6/2017

Mountaineering is a mind captivating extreme sport. Prior to 2007 the death rate for climbers of Mt Everest was 10%.

We Have Been Sold A Pup!

12/6/2017

Eight decades ago Francis Schaeffer argued: The concept that the final reality is energy which has existed forever in some form and takes its present form by chance has totally destructive...

4 Ways I Betray Me!

6/6/2017

There is a powerful and painful education when a man chooses to learn truths about himself; he will gain wisdom, for is not such humility wisdom's father? Learning about myself: The lips...

7 Natural Awakenings ~ Part B

5/6/2017

Proverbs arouse a mind to pause and consider the wonder of what works in life, and the impotence to not know.

7 Natural Awakenings ~ Part A

3/6/2017

Proverbs prime the mind with a pithy wisdom and a seer's understanding. They are easy to remember, too valuable to forget.

Carpe Diem!

25/5/2017

Not long before Christ's birth an ancient Greek scholar Horace penned the aphorism, Carpe Diem - Seize the Day. Inspired by Horace's time-sealed footprint I paused again to ponder.

7 Benefits of Righteousness

11/5/2017

Highly desirable is the world's wealth, but it fades to bankruptcy if measured against the wealth of heaven.

4 Benefits of Devotion

4/5/2017

Devotion places me within the house of praise, it is my temple to God. There I find blessing for my heart and spirit.

9 Things Youth Can't Know

3/5/2017

Youth don't stop, few are able to cease from their play. The elderly do stop, less able to play. There is a health between them both.

8 Ways to Flee Chasing the Wind

2/5/2017

Stillness is sweet to the soul and a necessary duty to the body. It is the divine prescription for both knowledge and refreshment.

9 Shelters of Wisdom

1/5/2017

When I pause my body I also still my soul. It is then my soul reaches a safe shelter, and I can set my mind to dwell above.

6 Thoughts I had @ 60

29/4/2017

In my 60th year, approaching the only birthday I have thought noteworthy - I reflected much (too much?).

How Peace Peeps into the Soul

19/3/2017

There is a time to start and a time to stop.

A Sweet or Two for the Soul

7/3/2017

As a body craves for sugar, so too the soul for that sweetness of understanding: Every morning the Lord's rich mercies are deeper than the oceans and wider than the skies....

How A Man Rises To God

19/2/2017

Few men walk in the knowledge of righteousness, even fewer meditate upon its wisdom. Righteousness is disdained, lambasted and refused by good and bad men alike.

3 Bible Verses I Taught My 3 Kids

26/1/2017

I hope you are not like me? Children are not born with an owner's manual, much to my dismay.

6 Betterments of Childhood

24/1/2017

Childhood is life's season of blacks and whites; where simple remains simple and innocence stays so.

19 Proverbs Afresh (11-19)#

23/1/2017

Proverbs are the seam between the head and the heart. Proverbs are a well of understanding, a Divine stream of wisdom.

19 Proverbs Afresh (1-10)#

22/1/2017

Proverbs were first penned by the King of Wisdom - Solomon. Three millennia have washed the sundials and clock faces of earth since their writing.

The Liberation of the Soul

10/1/2017

My Lord spent His life to draw me out of me, that I could be in Him and He too in me.

Shaking the Tree of Knowledge

28/11/2016

'Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers'. ~ Calvin Coolidge Our knowledge piles up, so too its impact.

Brushed by Contentment

28/8/2016

Too much of this world fills our western eyes. It is one or the other - this world doesn't fit with us or we don't fit with it.

The Cancer of Resentment

24/8/2016

Resentment swings as a dull grey pall above relationships. Anger then turns this grey to black. Resentment promises an unspoken vengeance.

The Rising Sins of Knowledge

14/8/2016

Diotrophes has been dishonorably remembered for two thousand years because he loved to be first. Not a pleasing epitaph. (See 3 John 9) Self-promotion is not an original thought.

4 Tips to Choose Good Company

11/8/2016

Could this be true: good company is easier to choose than bad company is to lose? The Lord offers these tips on choosing friends: 1) A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but...

Dividing Good & Evil

14/6/2016

Mankind sings himself hoarse to his own changing tunes. He dances in Babylon but refuses join hands with Jerusalem. The libraries of this world become our kitchens.

Little Gifts

7/3/2016

Could these following affirmations just be droplets from heaven? Maybe they are the true drip of Divine reality, YES - to the souls so caught up in what is highly valued...

A Wisdom for NOW!

28/1/2015

Familiar and comfortably proud lives blanket the western world, selfishly sculpted by ambition and desires.

Enemy 3 ~ Corralling Impatience#

1/10/2014

Soul Snack 189/14 . . . Impatience is first bound in the agony of a man's soul. The impatient man seeks to salve his soul with immediate well-being.

Enemy 2 ~ Uncrowning Covetousness#

30/9/2014

Soul Snack 188/14 . . . The helmet of covetousness crowns many a man's thinking. It is the ongoing expression of dissatisfaction.

Enemy 1 ~ Spoiling Discontent#

29/9/2014

Soul Snack 187/14 . . . The shirt of discontentment is woven with prickly threads, it irritates the soul.

4 Enemies to the Soul

28/9/2014

Soul Snack 186/14 . . . Rest is the life-long chase of all souls. Rest is stolen when wickedness punctures the soul.

Missing Dawn!

22/9/2014

Soul Snack 182/14 . . . Sweeping with a tiresome regularity across each man are life's changes and chances. There are days of joy and days of sadness.

Gaining Harmony

20/8/2014

Soul Snack 159/14 . . . A young man ripped and fit as a fiddle stood nearby.

Peeping to Tomorrow

19/8/2014

Soul Snack 158/14 . . . What has been built will be broken. What has been found will be lost. What has been done will be undone.

Souvenirs of Solitude ~ Humility & Pride

29/4/2014

Soul Snack 80/14 . . . Humility is becoming what you have despised and realising that you were wrong.

Souvenirs of Solitude ~ Devotion's Harvest

28/4/2014

Soul Snack 79/14 . . . Life's treasures are never found by the strivings of the body, only the strivings in the soul.

Souvenirs of Solitude ~ Poverty & Wealth

27/4/2014

Soul Snack 78/14 . . . Time is more precious than wealth.

Souvenirs of Solitude ~ Love & Speech

23/4/2014

Soul Snack 77/14 . . . Of learning there is no end, of lust there is no satisfaction, but from love there is life forever.

Souvenirs of Solitude ~ Life Below the Clouds

22/4/2014

Soul Snack 76/14 . . . Man has exchanged all kinds of wild adventure for only pictures of what could have been.

The Peace Thief

30/1/2014

Soul Snack 21/14 . . . All I ask is the chance to prove that money won't make me happy.

Perfection upon earth?

3/10/2013

Soul Snack 191/13 . . . Perfection upon earth?A certain elderly Christian man approached another and enquired, I am indeed already dead unto the world.