A Clean Slate
There are two theories for the origin of the idiom ‘a clean slate’, which means to be given a fresh start, an opportunity to begin again with no strikes against you. The first refers to a time when slates were used to tabulate orders when a party came into a tavern for food and drinks. It was subsequently and literally ‘wiped clean’ when the patrons paid their bill in full. The second theory is something I’m quite familiar with. When […]
A Future and A Hope
“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) This is one of the most loved and frequently quoted verses of the Old Testament. And well it should be! It contains one of the greatest messages of all time – one worth shouting from the rooftops. It’s a message the world desperately needs to hear in our […]
Cultivating a Tinder Heart
“In the eighth year of his reign … he began to seek the God of his father David, and … purge Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 34:3 During camping trips growing up, as the youngest of four boys, I was often tasked with foraging the woods for tinder to light the campfire. Spiritually-speaking, as God prepares to set His people ablaze, His eyes run to and fro throughout the earth looking for tinder among us. 2,650 years ago in Judah, […]
A Battery of Tests
”I got an A, Dad!” Few things bring a broader smile to a parent than this announcement following late nights and cram sessions at the close of a semester. For our kids who have been through the Singapore school system, it seems you’ve hardly taken a bow for one job well done and the pressure is already building for the next jarring series of exams. Maybe God helped to write the curriculum! If your walk with Him has been anything […]
Contending
‘The children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem and took it.’ Joshua 19:47 My natural disposition is of one who avoids conflict. When our family took a personality profile test together and the result showed that I was a ‘Peacemaker’, my kids all echoed, “That’s you, Dad!” This does not give me an excuse to be passive or refuse to take up a matter that requires attention any more than being poor is an excuse for stealing. I […]
Lion or Lamb?
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah… has prevailed… And I looked, and behold… stood a Lamb as though it has just been slain.” Revelation 5:5-6 In Revelation 5:5, John describes a vision of Jesus as a powerful, fearful, yet majestic Lion. As his knocking knees buckled, verse 6 says he lifted his eyes and Jesus had been mystically transformed into a gentle, irresistibly approachable Lamb. So which is Jesus, a Lion or a Lamb? How we answer this […]
Sing, O Barren!
Scripture is full of paradoxes. The poor are made rich, the weak strong, the humble lifted up. In reading the Word, we’re continually confronted with real life stories of situations which are downright shocking. Seas and rivers part. City walls fall flat. Donkeys talk. Magi from distant lands travel for months following a star representing the arrival of a long-awaited Lord and King, only to find him wrapped in strips of cloth, a baby bedded in an animal’s feeding trough. […]
A Man of the Spirit
As we turn the corner to a new decade, it’s a great time to affirm our commitment to things that really matter. At Cornerstone, we don’t want to be a people who merely ‘talk the talk’, we want to be people who are born of, filled with, and walk in the Spirit. Some four million Jews spread throughout the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus’ birth. Sects and schools arosing within Judaism memorised huge portions of Scripture. Until that time, […]
The Shame Pandemic
“You shall not testify falsely against your neighbour.” Deuteronomy 5:20 I learned the 10 Commandments when I was very young. The image of Moses angrily demolishing the tablets when he discovered Israel had grievously sinned against the Lord – worshipping the golden calf while Moses lingered on the mountain – left a deep, restraining impression on me. The commandments written by the very finger of God were daunting: Thou shalt not murder, steal, nor commit adultery. At the time, I […]
The Code of Honour
‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22 I can think of no greater epitaph than to be known as a man after God’s own heart. This was God’s accolade of David, not just man’s. Wow! There are many reasons why David fits this description, but the one I’d like to share with you is this – David lived by a Code of Honour. Let me […]
