‘What, we may ask, is the nature of the resurrection body? It is not a speculative or a useless question because the criterion of what is useless and speculative is that there is no teaching on it in scripture; and there is some clear teaching in the Bible with regard to the resurrection body. For example, we read in Philippians 3:21 that the Lord Jesus Christ ‘will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body’.…
It was the joy of the angels of heaven to be subject and serviceable unto Jesus Christ.
(i.) Before the incarnation of Christ, an angel instructed Daniel concerning the Messiah, and how long it should be before his coming. (Dan. 9:24, 25.)
(ii.) When the fulness of time was come, an angel comes to the blessed virgin, and said, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”…
Without an interest in Christ, we shall have no comfort in any attribute of God. To a Christless sinner, all the attributes of God are against him; as, for instance,
(i.) God is wise: that is the worse for a wicked man; for he knows all that wickedness [which] thine own heart is privy to, (Jer. 17:10,) and much more evil by thee than thine own heart knoweth. (1 John 3:20.)
(ii.) God is holy: and therefore he must needs hate those that are filthy, being “of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.”…
‘It is a pity that we call it ‘Ascension Day’, for the Bible speaks more of Christ’s exaltation than of his ascension. This is an interesting avenue to explore. The four great events in the saving career of Jesus are described in the Bible both actively and passively, as deeds done both by Jesus and to Jesus. Thus, we are told with reference to his birth both that he came and that he was sent; with reference to his death both that he gave himself and that he was offered; with reference to his resurrection both that he rose and that he was raised; with reference to his ascension both that he ascended and that he was exalted.…
The following forms the substance of a talk given in October, 2020 as part of a webinar from Holy Trinity Church, Norwich.
I am giving it some prominence now (February, 2023) because of its relevance to the challenging situation documented in the series of bulletins entitled “I’ll Walk Beside You”.
The video of the talk may be found here.
Intro
We were being shown round the charming spa town of Great Malvern, in Worcestershire. Our friendly guide pointed out the statue of Sir Edward Elgar, the famous composer. …
This may seem rather a pointless question, until we consider that it admits of two (if not more) possible answers:
Certainly, the first of these reflects what many Christians believe and say. They talk about ‘accepting Christ’, or ‘receiving Jesus into the heart’.
As the old chorus would have us sing:
You ask me how I know he lives –
He lives within my heart!
The idea that Jesus resides ‘in the heart’ of the believer is not without some plausibility.…
Popular, intelligent, and athletic, 17-year-old Joni Earekson had her whole life before her.
Then, one fateful day in 1967, she dived into water that was too shallow, smashed her head on a rock, and broke her neck.
Her sister pulled her out of the water, and she was rushed to hospital. A doctor with a metal pin kept asking her, “Can you feel this?” But she felt nothing from the neck down. She was paralysed.
At first, doctors held out the hope that the damaged nerves might heal themselves. …
A Catholic nun named Monica Hellwig proposed a list of ‘advantages’ of being poor. These have been adapted by Philip Yancey, who has broadened the list to include all who suffer:
1. Suffering, the great equalizer, brings us to a point where we may realize our urgent need for redemption.
2. Those who suffer know not only their dependence on God and on healthy people but also their interdependence with one another.
3. Those who suffer rest their security not on things, which often cannot be enjoyed and may soon be taken away, but rather on people.…
Shall we argue that God, although perfectly loving, lacks the power to prevent or relieve human suffering? If we are to take the conclusion of the book of Job seriously, the answer must be, ‘No’.
Philip Yancey writes:
Much has been made about God’s magnificent speech in Job 38– 41. In a passage that could be addressed to the Sierra Club or Audubon Society, God took Job on a verbal tour of all the wonders of nature.…
Philip Yancey writes of some of visits that a seriously ill young woman – Claudia – received while in hospital:
The teacher
A deacon from her church solemnly advised her to reflect on what God was trying to teach her. “Surely something in your life must displease God,” he said. “Somewhere, you must have stepped out of his will. These things don’t just happen. God uses circumstances to warn us, and to punish us. What is he telling you?”…
