God promised He would…

“After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. I will bless you with a future filled with hope – a future of success, not of suffering” (Jer. 29:10-11).

The text above is a very famous message from the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah.

Priorities

Why is it so difficult to get our priorities straight? No matter how important or imminent the exam was I still had to tidy my room to a state of perfection before I would begin studying. No matter how crucial a deadline is at work I still find myself using up my time on emails and easily achieved tasks.

A Bump in the Road

One of the things I love about my job is the partnership with other youth working organizations. I get such energy when we join up together to achieve something, and quite frankly it’s comforting to know we’re all in this together.

When something comes in the way of working with others, it can be really discouraging.

It Actually Happened

I really disliked history when I was in school. I ran as far away from it as possible and made sure it wasn’t one of my majors for my final exams. Looking back though I wonder what was wrong with me?! Was I lazy, did I really not care about the past? Maybe I was living too much in the present!

A God of the Detail

I had a fascinating discussion/debate with one of my Christian friends many moons ago. She was trying to get her head around the love that God has for people. She was making a case that God’s love is for the collective and not necessarily for the individual.

God Is Always At Work

When I was younger in my faith I had a wayward outlook on ministry. I can remember thinking that when we had an opportunity to speak at a school or event that we were bringing Jesus to that place. I don’t think anyone necessarily brings Jesus in that sense as if Jesus has never worked in that place before!

You Belong To God

Reading and studying the Old Testament is both exhilarating and at times confusing! We need to be careful when we read it not to assume that we are always meant to copy the actions of the people we read about. Ezra 8 I think is a good example.

A Light to the Nations

I love my job as a youth worker because young people today are so inquisitive. They also ask some great questions like, ‘Hey Jonny, what’s the deal with God showing favoritism and picking only a select few?”

Brave Obedience

“These men divorced their foreign wives, then sent them and their children away” (10:44). I know some of the psalms are awfully bleak but this has to be one of the saddest endings to a biblical book.