John 3:1-21 (AD 27) – Part 2 When I direct people to our house, the last part of my instructions vary. To one person I might say, “Turn right towards the supermarket”; to another, “Turn left when you get to the supermarket roundabout”. I will then tell them to get on to a specific road, … More Day 19: Bible vs. the Bible?
Luke 3:21-4:13 (AD 27) If only all of our temptation experiences went like this. Luke, focused on establishing Jesus’ identity, deliberately put the baptism and genealogy of Jesus together. Passage no.3– the back-to-back-to-back of who Jesus is – opens with Satan, in epic futility, attacking Jesus’ idea of his own identity. Here’s the sequence: 1a.) … More Day 14: Satan didn’t understand Jesus
Luke 2:1-21 (5-4 BC) I always thought the word, “manger” was far too pleasant a word, perhaps because we never use it in everyday English. It conjures the idea of Jesus was in a cozy cot. Even the Christmas cards tend to have a very Jesus-sized manger with straw nicely arranged and the animals totally … More Day 8: A trough in a shed
Luke 1:46-80; 7-6BC Zechariah’s failings weren’t bad on an epoch-ending scale, and his sins aren’t good movie material. His song of a fully-experienced faith, enhanced by great blessing from God through Holy Spirit doesn’t have a special name for its moment in church history, like Mary’s preceding ‘Magnificat’. So really, he’s a lot more like … More Day 6: Zechariah’s Big Comeback. Sort of.
New Year, new resolutions, new determination, new hope…same old likelihood that the ship of our good intentions will run aground on the rocks of Leviticus in early February. The benefits, necessity and responsibility as Christians to be serious, “devoted” even (Acts 2:42), to reading our Bibles can be oppressive when we’re struggling. In early January … More Daily Devotions through the New Testament
(These are the transcripts of a series of ‘Midday Meditations’ – 60-second devotionals – broadcast on Radio Cayman in April 2019) Imagine you sit down with your spouse and they say to you something like this: “Darling, I’m committed to our relationship, you’re the one I love and I don’t want anything to come between … More 6 Indicators of a Christian, part 6: how they live
(These are the transcripts of a series of ‘Midday Meditations’ – 60-second devotionals – broadcast on Radio Cayman in April 2019) Magic duo Penn and Teller are atheists. Not just agnostics, who say that they’re not sure whether there’s a god or not, but atheists: they’re SURE there isn’t a God and will happily argue … More 6 Indicators of a Christian, part 4: telling other people
About half the time when I travel through the US I get detained. Somewhere out there is a guy with my name who’s been up to no good and the American government really don’t want him in the country. So although I claim to be not that Paul Reynolds, they need to examine my passport … More 11 Names of Jesus: Part V – Son of God
For some people, they only have to mention their name and long queues disappear, booked-out restaurants suddenly have a spare table, and doors to opportunity that were closed become open. To be friends with someone like that can be amazing – “Just tell Frank that I sent you” – and you know that as soon … More 11 Names of Jesus – Part IV: LOGOS
[Broadcast as a ‘Midday Meditation’ on Radio Cayman, January 2016] What’s the most admirable thing you can think of that anyone has ever done? When we hear stories of war heroes, most of them are dead because what made them heroes is that they risked or deliberately sacrificed their lives so that others could be … More 11 Names of Jesus – Part III: Lamb of God
Paul T Reynolds 