St Jude's Articles

The goodness of God is fundamental to his character. God reveals the heart of who he is to Moses in Exodus 34. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. That is, at the core of his being, God is good. This means that everything God does is good, and that everything he says is good.

As I was reading Ephesians 5 recently, I was struck by the kind of disciplined attention Paul calls Christians to in this chapter. Believers are to pay close attention to their lives, so that they might live wisely for the Lord, making the most of every moment. But such attentiveness to how we live can be so difficult can’t it? Life is so busy, and often we can feel like we’re just keeping our heads above water with all the responsibilities we have: work and family life, friendships, school, community events, health challenges etc. It’s far easier for us to simply drift through life, letting life pull us along so to speak.

Late last year, I went to a 25 year reunion for Youthworks College. Reconnecting with old friends, I was struck by how much has changed. We're all older. There are different lecturers at college now. Hundreds of former students were there — significantly more than the 26 in my class. So much has changed!

We are nearing the end of our sermon series on 1 Thessalonians where Paul, and his co-writers Silas and Timothy, offer helpful instructions to the young church in Thessalonica on aspects of a believer’s life. We, like the Thessalonians, live in a time of "now and not yet".

As the saying goes ‘seeing is believing’. If I can see something with my own eyes, then I can believe what I see. One problem with this of course is can I really trust what I see? We now live in a world in which videos or photographs regularly appear that seem to be amazing and unbelievable, only for us to later realise that they are the products of A.I. and they really are unbelievable. For us the question of what we can believe has become even sharper. Seeing is no longer believing.

Have you ever had a moment of bewilderment where you wonder, “how can people not see the truth of Christianity?” You look up at the night sky, in awe at the glory of it, and marvel at how clearly it points to a Creator. You read of Christ’s death and resurrection in God’s word, and you’re amazed at the beauty of God’s saving plan. How can people not see the truth of this? Why can’t my friend or family member see it?

People today often observe that we are living through a period of remarkable and rapid change. I am never sure whether such an assessment is accurate, or if every generation has this same perception. Change, sometimes rapid and disconcerting change, seems to be an ever-present part of human experience. In education, in manners and customs, in language, in politics, in music, and even in church life, change appears almost constant.

Christmas is all about God speaking to us. Now that seems like an unusual claim considering that it is at Christmas that we chiefly contemplate the birth of Jesus, and newborns are not well known for their eloquent speech.

As we dig deeper into Psalm 23, we see how the Lord our Shepherd offers insights into how our souls are renewed, in ways that no-one or nothing else can. The first way God will restore us is bringing us back from wandering like sheep, turning to him in repentance and trust (Luke 15:4).