CCBC

Posts by Paul Brice (Page 12)

You Only Live Once – 20 June 2021

Growing up we constantly used the acronym ‘YOLO’.  The letters stand for You Only Live Once, and we usually said it before we did something stupid.  My friends and I would take our bikes in and around the town and jump off things, but we made sure to say ‘YOLO’ before we did to attempt to justify our careless abandon for our…

God’s rainbow – 30 May 2021

A few weeks ago I referred to a book of daily readings “Reading between the lines” written by Glen Scrivener.  I have continued to very much enjoy each day’s reading – let me summarise one recent reading. Have you ever wondered why a rainbow is so called?  We could, perhaps, describe it as a rain-arc or a rain-dome – but it is…

The choice is yours! – 9 May 2021

As I write ballot papers are continuing to be counted for many of Thursday’s elections.  I hope, if you were able, you exercised your responsibility and privilege to vote. The Bible contains several references to the choices you and I have before us.  Perhaps the one that comes immediately to mind is in Joshua 24v15.  Joshua is drawing near to the end…

Completion – 2 May 2021

As a birthday present this year, Gill bought me Volume 1 of ‘Reading Between The Lines’ by Glen Scrivener, which is a book of daily readings based on passages in the Old Testament.  I’ve only dipped into it so far, but already I’m discovering wonderful, refreshing truths – new perspectives on very familiar passages.  Let me summarise some thoughts on the creation…

“Farewell, my beloved” – 11 April 2021

We mourn with Her Majesty the Queen the death of Prince Philip.  Today’s newspapers (Saturday) have front page headlines using the above, or similar words.  How the Queen must be feeling the loss of her husband after 73 years marriage. The word ‘Farewell’ is used to express good wishes on parting and is more formal than ‘Goodbye’.  ‘Farewell’ usually implies that we…

Shrouded in mystery? – 4 April 2021

The famous (or infamous?) Shroud of Turin is claimed to be the linen cloth in which the body of Jesus was wrapped after His crucifixion.  It seems, however, that this shroud actually dates from the Middle Ages. John gives a very detailed and fascinating account of the linen / cloth left behind following Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; he and Peter were…

Christ’s Kingdom – 28 March 2021

We are tentatively planning to commence limited meeting together again from next Sunday, Easter Day, as we seek to follow carefully the Government’s Roadmap out of lockdown.  Summary details are given in the Notices on page 3 and will be announced this morning.  How we all long for ‘normality’ to be restored and how we give thanks to God, as well as…

Taking a census – 21 March 2021

Today is census day!  We’re told that this enables the gathering of “vital information to help plan services such as transport, education and healthcare”, although it seems to me that a particular new area of questioning has been introduced and made prominent this time. The above objective of the UK census is good and we should all complete our ‘forms’.  We remember,…

Keeping your reputation intact – 7 March 2021

A very unpleasant incident involving a leading horse race trainer has been in the news over the last few days.  He has now been banned for a year and faces a very uncertain future in the ‘sport’.  I was particularly struck by the comment of another trainer who said that his father had taught him that a good reputation takes a lifetime…

A Christian’s Family – 28 February 2021

One of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian is that by choosing God you often end up choosing to stand out.  Again and again, we are faced with tough choices about how to live and behave, as well as responding to challenges whilst maintaining our trust in God.  A natural product of this way of living is that people look…