» Animal Problems
12/08/22 22:04 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
After a particularly frustrating week once, I said to a farmer friend, "I think I'm going to take up farming. Animals are easier." He said to me, "No! Please! Don't!" He said, "They stole 150 sheep off my farm in eight months. I was down...
» Followers
12/08/22 21:54 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Last week, I curiously made it to no. 11 in South Africa, with regard to followers on Goodreads. It didn't last long, as I dropped some 40 places this week. OBSERVATION: Fame is fleeting, and may often be an illusion.
» Who said this? - "Life is not easy for any of us."
12/08/22 14:44 from Living In Grace
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie In celebrati...
» How is Your Story Told?
12/08/22 07:38 from An African's Reflections.
If you think about your life and the memories that you recall, what involuntarily pops up? Isn’t it interesting that some memories stick, and others don’t? Why would we be able to recall certain memories, but others seem to be lost? Acco...
» Indigenous Languages in South Africa
11/08/22 21:34 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
There are eleven official languages in South Africa -- so I was surprised to learn today that there are nearly thirty indigenous languages in reality. Arguably so, though, because some might not be considered languages. OBSERVATION: Ther...
» Renting a Room
11/08/22 19:36 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Ministers, particularly in urban areas, are not exempt from various enticements -- and sometimes they are strangely presented. Here's an example. A young woman said that she wanted to see me -- she was a young professional in the area --...
» Struggling with discontentment?
11/08/22 10:50 from Living In Grace
There are so many of us struggling with discontentment at the moment. I joked with a friend the other day, suggesting that if I could manufacture a pill that could offer people 'contentment' I would be a very rich man. The reality ...
» Porsche
10/08/22 20:15 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Our nephew J was hired today as an engineer by Porsche. It looks like an apprenticeship to me. He has been studying engineering, and restoring Rolls Royces in his spare time -- or is that restoring Rolls Royces, and studying engineering ...
» Love Muddle
10/08/22 19:58 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I find that Christians are frequently unable to distinguish between love for one's Christian brother or sister, and love for one's Church. Another way of putting this is that they are unable to distinguish between commandments intended f...
» Companions of haste
10/08/22 12:33 from Living In Grace
Our busy lives seem to drain a lot of energy from us and often leave us feeling too tired for the things of God. Reading through his book of devotions I came across these thoughts from Edward Bounds: "Calmness and strength are never the ...
» Vulnerability
10/08/22 08:05 from An African's Reflections.
» Kindle Grief
09/08/22 17:34 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
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» Linguistic Theory of Creation
08/08/22 19:00 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
This morning I had a philosophy of religion article published at Pi (click here): A Linguistic Theory of Creation . The article puts forward, tentatively, an alternative to existing theories of the creation account of Genesis. OBSERVATIO...
» Product of South Africa
08/08/22 18:49 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Many times, I have seen South African plugs and cables -- at least, those which one buys in South Africa -- fail. Last week, a mains plug-bank ended its life with a loud bang and a shower of sparks -- for no apparent reason. I turned it ...
» Trust me
08/08/22 13:07 from Living In Grace
"Trust me in the depths of your being..." Sarah Young writes a delightful devotional called Jesus Calling . Her writing style personalises the thoughts of God as if Jesus were speaking directly to us and so when I read these words...
» Sunshine Coast DRC
07/08/22 19:04 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I attended the Sunshine Coast (Sonnekus) DRC today. This made a favourable impression. Among other things, several people noticed and welcomed me. Reservations: the message may have been too simple, and there was a middle-age gap. The Ch...
» Depression's Cause
07/08/22 11:59 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Over the years, in ministry, I have sometimes come under fire for treating depression as problems of thought -- and problems resulting from thought -- though I do not hold that thought is entirely responsible. Counsellors need to know, t...
» How Fast to Act?
06/08/22 17:40 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
A question that ministers often ask themselves is, if there is significant strife or conflict between members or office-bearers of the Church, how fast do I act? Immediately? Or wait? Yet wait on what? And for how long? My answer to this...
» † Judith Durham
06/08/22 15:14 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
When wife E and I were married, the famous Judith Durham congratulated us. We were delighted, of course. Sadly, she died today. With The Seekers , she sang various hits, among them Now the Carnival is Over , Hey There Georgie Girl , and ...
» Alphabet Soup
05/08/22 20:02 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
It was a whirlwind of a week or two for an author. My Goodreads account grew from zero to 1,000+ friends, I accepted an invitation for an interview from Australia, had an article accepted on the philosopy of religion, sketched an article...
» He does not ask much of us
05/08/22 14:10 from Living In Grace
He does not ask much of us. Well, this is the opinion of Brother Lawrence, in his book Practising the Presence of God. He writes to all followers of Jesus: “He (Jesus) does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to t...
» Vygies (Mesembryanthemums)
04/08/22 22:08 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
In 2015-2017, Cape Town experienced a severe drought. Since then, the city has been planting indigenous flora. I took this photo today of an island between roads. It is vygies (mesembryanthemums). These bear edible fruit. OBSERVATION: My...
» Strengthen my faith
04/08/22 09:06 from Living In Grace
For those who receive this blog via email I notice that there is a big issue with the subscription service I was using - my apologies about that. I am working on sorting this out, but in the meantime, please access the devotion directly ...
» Bible Quote
03/08/22 19:47 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Occasionally, people ask me whether I could take a post down, or amend it. I usually do. Hardly ever do they ask me to put one back up where I removed it. This is a simple Bible quote, which I took down -- merely on a personal whim, as I...
» Everything, Briefly: 40% Discount
03/08/22 07:18 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
One may, incidentally, buy my book Everything, Briefly at 40% discount, with a coupon offered by the British journal (click here) The Philosopher . Naturally, I may not offer the discount here on my blog. One notes the name of the coupon...