We live in tumultuous times. You pick up a newspaper and people in authority, not always but often, are behaving badly. Churches are spectacularly riddled with financial scandals ...

Wisdom is something that, on balance, we’d all like to have.  Really.  Problem is, it involves sacrifice.  Sure it’s a great investment in our futures, even in the present ...

To a great extent, how we experience life – what we get, what we give, how much we enjoy it … or not – is determined by the prevailing attitude we adopt. I think you’d ...

Have you ever tried navigating your way around an unfamiliar place? Which way’s north? Should I hold the map up this way or that way? Where’s the bus stop? Does this next one ...

So, how much do you think of your life as being the journey of a pilgrim in search of something? The answer for most of us is; not all that much. Because, after all, we’re busy. ...

In a world that seems to be a cacophony of competing voices, opinions, posts, messages – you name it – all bombarding us at the same time, it feels often as though ...

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to lose sight of the truly important things in life when you’re pedalling so hard just to make it through each day? That’s why, every now ...

We fight so many battles in life. And when you’re in the midst of one, winning seems so incredibly important. Most times, in the scheme of things, it’s not, but that’s how ...

Spending your life pleasing others, working your way into their favour, is hard work because people are fickle. They can be with you one day … and against you the next. ...

Wisdom is something that, on balance, we’d all like to have.  Really.  Problem is, it involves sacrifice.  Sure it’s a great investment in our futures, even in the present ...

In many parts of the world, the way children are being raised these days differs markedly from the past. And to a great extent, those changes lie at the heart of many of the ...

Being part of a loving family is one of the greatest blessings in life, wouldn’t you agree? But at the same time, being part of a loving family can be hard work. There’s ...

So, how do you feel about the people running your country, your state or region, your city or town? Are they, in your opinion, doing a good job … or are you, like many, outraged ...

So many people have such a bleak outlook on life. You may or may not relate to that right in this moment, but you’ve been there too, as have I. The question is, how do you ...

When someone shows you some sort of kindness, even just the smallest thing, how does that change how you feel toward them, how you see them, how you treat them? Without doubt, a ...

Question: how do wars end? Answer: after a protracted conflict with more casualties than either side would have liked, the parties come to the table to negotiate a peace. The ...

Today is Armistice Day, when we turn our hearts and minds toward the commemoration of the end of World War I. At the time, it was said to be the war to end all wars. But things ...

Wisdom is something that, on balance, we’d all like to have.  Really.  Problem is, it involves sacrifice.  Sure it’s a great investment in our futures, even in the present ...

I marvel at the amazing things that elite athletes are able to achieve … yes, no doubt through a natural gifting, but also by incredible dedication and sheer hard work. The ...

I wonder, what battles are you facing at the moment? A struggling marriage, just keeping your head above water financially, low self-esteem, a lurking sense of dread about the ...

There are many things in this world that promise so much – career, success, money, holidays, that new car, even that new pair of shoes or fresh makeup. But at the end of the ...

How would you react if someone rich or powerful – royalty, a famous pop star, a celebrity, somebody who is somebody – came to your place for dinner? Come on, how would you ...

I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that there have been times in my life when I felt so inadequate within myself that I was afraid to follow my dreams. How about you? The ...

Have you ever been so full of joy – the sort that remains with you, even in times of trouble – to the point where you can’t contain it? Perhaps you’re thinking … joy in ...

So many people, without even realising it, are expending so much emotional energy running from their past. I did, for a good many years. How about you? Running from your past, the ...

Wisdom is something that, on balance, we’d all like to have.  Really.  Problem is, it involves sacrifice.  Sure it’s a great investment in our futures, even in the present ...

Wisdom is something that, on balance, we’d all like to have.  Really.  Problem is, it involves sacrifice.  Sure it’s a great investment in our futures, even in the present ...

It seems these days that a wife leaving her husband for another or a husband leaving his wife in the same way is pretty much considered to be a lifestyle choice. How can that ...

I remember way back in my life that when those Christians started talking about Jesus and sin and forgiveness and “being saved” and eternal life, all that stuff, it seemed so ...

Have you ever jammed your finger in a door? Your day was just going along fine and then, bang. The pain shoots up your arm and into your brain and ouch! It hurts. The whole of the ...

We all, from time to time, find ourselves in need of the good will of others; of their merciful kindness to get us through things we just can’t get through on our own. We simply ...

Every parent at some point is terrified that their child might end up with the wrong crowd; that those people will lead their beloved son or daughter astray. And well they should ...

Most of us want a changed life. Why? Well, none of us is perfect. We know we have foibles and failures. We’d love to get on top of them and so we want a changed life. You ...

Cruising has become the vacation of choice for many. In fact, over 30 million people around the world went cruising last year, a number that’s set to rise to 40 million within ...

We live in a world that’s increasingly focussed on “celebrity status”  People can’t get enough of the sordid details of the lives of these so-called celebrities. And ...

Imagine with me, if you will, a world without the sun and, of course then, without the moon too – a constant state of darkness, one that’ll never end. Under those ...

I wonder, as you look back on your life, what are the things – the people, the relationships, the circumstances, the trials perhaps, the blessings – that’ve shaped you, ...

There’s something about a sunny day that just lifts your spirits. Have you ever wondered why that is? Why do we naturally prefer sunshine to rain, or a warm breeze to a cold ...

So, the last time you said or did something that on reflection just wasn’t the right thing to say or do, did you stop to ask yourself why? Mostly, we don’t. We just plough ...

Self-promotion is an ugly thing. People saying or doing things publicly, overtly, just so that others will think well of them … it just ain’t pretty. Why do they do that? I ...

Swimming against the tide, adopting a stance, say, that your friends, family, even society disagree with, is a very difficult thing to do. That’s why most people don’t do it. ...

Have you ever felt a disconnect between what you truly long for, how you’d like to be living your life and the way you’re actually living your life day by day, and where ...

God’s given each one of us a race to run.  It’s called life.  The life that He has planed for us. But all too often, we want to pull over and give up. When His plan  all ...

Allowing someone else to lead us, in this day and age, is for many an abhorrent idea. Come on man, I want to do my own thing. I don’t want to conform. How about you? As an ...

As any athlete will tell you, if you want to grow stronger you have to exercise. The problem is that so many of us, me included, I have to say, simply don’t enjoy exercise. At ...

I’m pretty sure that you, like most of us, have things in your makeup that you’d like to change. You’d like to be a better person in this area, or in that situation. But ...

Okay, can I ask you today to take a deep breath and ask yourself: How am I living my life? Okay, life’s complicated … messy sometimes. But in the middle of all that, how are ...

There’s a reason why successful athletes tend not to carry a lot of extra weight. If they did, they wouldn’t be competitive – they’d never have become successful athletes ...

Do you, like me, sometimes struggle to remember a person’s name two minutes after you’ve met them? It’s hard, right? And yet, their name is incredibly important to them. So, ...

I think we’ve all had the exceedingly frustrating experience of dealing with a call centre – bank, utility, insurance company, whatever – where the operator simply can’t ...

Many people are missing the essential skills they need, to live the life they want to live. All too often, life skills are left to chance. We’re meant to absorb them by ...

Love is such a simple word. And when you think about being loved – by your loved ones, by God – that’s such a beautiful thing. Nothing beats that. So why is it then that we ...

I’d like you, if you would, please, to picture the face of the most difficult person in your life. Hold it there. Now think of the last few interactions you’ve had with them. ...

You and I will possibly never be the fastest, smartest, or most successful person in the room. But there is something that’ll get us to the front of the pack. Would you like to ...

Have you ever tried to kick a bad habit? It’s not easy. Whether it’s smoking, eating the wrong foods, being a nasty piece of work, gossiping – whatever it happens to be – ...

Can I be honest with you? I used to be … well, not a very nice person. In my younger years I was so focused on winning, on succeeding, that I’d walk over the top of anyone and ...

Anyone who’s ever brought up children knows how important it is to celebrate their achievements with them, and to be there for them when they’re hurting. We know that ...

So you’re cooking this great meal, but then you discover that you’re missing a key ingredient. Quick, down to the local grocery store. But when you arrive there’s a ...

Many people are missing the essential skills they need, to live the life they want to live. All too often, life skills are left to chance. We’re meant to absorb them by ...

Good life skills are essential to living a good, effective a fulfilling life. And yet in most cultures, the learning of those life skills is left to chance – particularly in ...

If someone wrote you a letter from prison with some advice for how you should live, would you accept that advice? I guess that depends, but you’d be sceptical, right? Most ...

Have you ever done something so bad, so wrong, so hurtful to someone you love, that you can’t imagine ever coming back from that? You can’t imagine that this relationship ...

Sometimes we’re faced with an ethical dilemma. On the one hand, you know what’s right and deep down you want to do the right thing. But the short-term rewards of doing the ...

Have you ever noticed how, when life’s toddling along well, you seem to have plenty of people around you. But when all of a sudden things take a turn for the worse, how so many ...

When you’re trying to live your life well … with goodness, with integrity … and yet everyone around you is behaving badly, you begin to wonder, “Is it worth it?” Well, ...

The world’s powerbrokers – national leaders, billionaires, celebrities, social media ‘influencers’ – all have a couple of things in common. For the moment, they carry a ...

The self-help sections of newspapers, or newsfeeds if you’ve gone digital, are bulging these days with worldly wisdom that ranges from the seductive through to the bizarre ...

Let’s face it, we only get one crack at living our lives on this earth. Before you know it, it’s over. So why waste it? I mean … we can live an ordinary life. A safe life. A ...

If you look around the world, there are more than a few despots ruling over nations, dictating how people should live and what they should believe. It’s not nice. But that ...

Do you know how sometimes you meet someone and they seem to have their act completely together – the perfect job, plenty of money and a family that you can only dream of? I was ...

There can scarcely be anything more frightening than an earthquake. With the ground shaking beneath your feet, you’re just waiting for the building to collapse around you and ...

Whatever language you happen to speak at home, new words and phrases are being added to your dictionary much more frequently than you might expect. But that’s by no means a new ...

We’ve all had that experience when someone not only does something for you (as though that weren’t enough) but does it with a good intention, with a pure heart. Isn’t that ...

The world seems, by and large, to be fixated on wealth, wouldn’t you agree? Money, money, money. How can I make more of it? How can I have even just a bit more to afford some of ...

Have you been asked for advice and, as you were sharing your thoughts, wondered why this person came to you in the first place? They don’t seem to want to know. They’re not ...

Let’s face it, we only get one crack at living our lives on this earth. Before you know it, it’s over. So why waste it? I mean … we can live an ordinary life. A safe life. A ...

It’s really quite striking, when you stop and think about it, how much the negativity and challenges of the past, coupled with the pressures that we face today, tend to distort ...

We’ve been chatting this week about achieving greatness – true greatness; not the sort of sham that our celebrity culture holds out, but the sort that impacts the lives of ...

Salt is something that most of us use daily to add flavour to otherwise boring food, or to enhance even further the flavour of the most delicious of foods. And yet, important ...

It never ceases to amaze me how tribalistic we’ve become without even being aware of it. It happens in sport –  okay, fine. It happens in politics – something I guess ...

Serving others is something that, on the one hand, we know we need to do. But on the other, we often find it inconvenient, undesirable … even downright demeaning. When you think ...

A lot of the bickering that goes on in this world is about who’s the greatest; who’s first; who’s going to be seen to be the most impressive, the leader of the pack. It ...

The desire to be thought well of is a secret that many harbour in their hearts. Oft times it spills over into our words, our behaviour … and at that point … well, let’s just ...

Let’s face it, we only get one crack at living our lives on this earth. Before you know it, it’s over. So why waste it? I mean … we can live an ordinary life. A safe life. A ...

It’s all too easy to fool ourselves into thinking that we’re rather more important in this world than we actually are; that our services are in high demand; that “busy, ...

Evil is something that we see all around us, if only we’ll look. Often though, we don’t look because it’s just all too much. So we just get on with life. But there’s one ...

I don’t know how many church services you’ve sat through in your life but I’ve lost count. It all began for me as a young child. Sitting still for an hour was excruciating. ...

Setting out on a new venture is always dicey. You take that first step somewhat tentatively. You want it to be a good start. You don’t want to upset people on day one. Back in ...

Whenever things press in on us – be they physical, emotional or spiritual – have you noticed this; temptation seems to come at you at a far greater rate of knots? It’s ...

Have you ever wondered what baptism is all about? It’s an odd little ritual that’s been practised for millennia – first in Judaism and then in Christianity. Even Jesus was ...

In my experience – perhaps in yours, too – God does some rather … well, odd things; things that we don’t expect; things that leave us wondering … why? Take for instance ...

Let’s face it, we only get one crack at living our lives on this earth. Before you know it, it’s over. So why waste it? I mean … we can live an ordinary life. A safe life. A ...

Let’s face it, we only get one crack at living our lives on this earth. Before you know it, it’s over. So why waste it? I mean … we can live an ordinary life. A safe life. A ...

So what keeps you going through the incessant daily grind of life; through the tough patches that come your way on such a regular basis? What are you looking forward to? What’s ...

There’s a tectonic shift going on in people’s mindsets – one that’s been evident for quite some time. It’s the global shift from a collective, mutually responsible world ...

Can I ask you today just to stop and think … what’s the highest priority in your life? Because your priorities end up dictating the course of your life. If we don’t think ...

Cleaning up your act, whatever act you’re needing to clean up in your life, is tough. Those old habits die hard. They just seem to want to cling to you and drag you down. Or is ...

Many a time we know all too well that we’re falling short – that we need to do better here or there in our lives – but it’s so hard to have all your bases covered at once. ...

Question: If God forgives us our sin through Jesus’ sacrifice on that blood-drenched Cross, do we then need to change the way we live, turn away from our sin that alienated us ...

Every now and then, it pays to go back to basics – both to ensure that we’re getting them right, and to remind ourselves of what’s truly important. And the single most ...