It’s been a very long time since you heard from me and you’ve probably forgotten that you ever signed up for my blog. I apologize! Two reasons for my silence: firstly, I had run out of things to say and didn’t want to repeat myself incessantly. Secondly, I had just been diagnosed with an incurable… Read More
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Penelope Dale: in memoriam
Yesterday evening, my mother-in-law, Penelope (often known as Penny) Dale graduated from this life into the presence of Jesus. She has been longing to see him for many years, and so for her, this was a joyous release. Born in New Zealand, in 1924, Penny spent most of the formative years of her life in… Read More
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Paul Harvey: “If I were the devil…”
In 1965,Paul Harvey was a renowned radio newsman and commentator, his talks, at their height reaching as many as 24 million people per week. In 1965, he gave a talk entitled “If I were the devil…” I was recently stunned by this talk when I heard it at a fundraising banquet. It is eerily prophetic. Remember,… Read More
Anita Scott is a good friend of mine–a teacher who makes a profound difference in the lives of the kids she teaches. (You should hear her stories.) Anita is passionate about justice, especially for women, and the problems of gender violence. I’ve blogged about her before–how she brought a meeting I was at to a… Read More
In the late 70s and 80s, Tony and I lived in the East End of London, an area of London where people ended up when there was no place lower to go. (The PBS series, “Call the Midwife” took place right where our medical practice was. We were there a couple of decades later, but most of… Read More
From time to time, I come across people with such painful issues in their background that they find it almost impossible to forgive the person who has wronged them. It’s easy for me to advise them that forgiveness is a choice, that Jesus will help them, and so on. Yet despite an apparent willingness, they have an ongoing… Read More
As a young Christian, I was profoundly influenced by the biographies of various women and men of God. Remarkable saints of God like Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, James Fraser and Helen Rosaveare were the ones who mentored and discipled me through their stories and writings. So I’m firmly convinced of the effectiveness of the biographies of heroes and… Read More
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Does healing still happen today?
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing much in the way of healing. I’ve been in meetings where people have been prayed for who walked for the first time, or whose hearing was restored. I’ve seen arthritis disappear, legs lengthened, epilepsy healed. (It’s not that I prayed for most of these people–just that I… Read More
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Freedom from sin and sickness?
I’ve recently been re-reading Christ the Healer by F. F. Bosworth (the second time through in the last three months). An excellent book on healing. Bosworth continuously raises the question, is physical healing part of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross? His conclusion is, yes, Christ died to redeem us physically as well as spiritually. We… Read More
I recently came across this fascinating TED talk. For those who are not familiar with this organization, TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a non-profit dedicated to spreading ideas in 18 minutes or less. It’s well worth the time investment. In this TED talk, Michael Kimmel shares why gender equality is not just good for women. He… Read More