The Incongruent Believer

It is interesting that I follow yesterdays blog about King David, with a focus on one of the psalms. Psalm 46 begins,  "God is our refuge and strength,     a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,     though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam,     though the mountains tremble at its swelling." It reassures us that whatever our situation God is there, not just to help us but to provide us a refuge. This year of 2025 seems to be a year of difficult decisions for me and this week was no different, I have spent several weeks trying to make an very difficult decision and where did I find the help that I need? In scripture, in the God-breathed word that can also be a help, a refuge, and our strength when we are struggling. The thing is I didn't open the Bible to look for an answer, the answer came to me, and that is a testament to the need for us to not just read, but...

I am always saddened by the account of the death of David in 1 Kings 2. I think he's the kind of guy I could have followed; a faulty yet faithful Man of God who spent his entire life fighting, literally, to help Israel claim it's inheritance, whilst in the face of persecution and treachery, even amongst his own sons. To me he comes across as authentic, a characteristic I admire in people and look for in my friends. It is a shame more wasn't written about him and his life, a biography on him would have been a best-seller with an obvious title; David, Man of God . Although he wouldn't write about himself, I think he was too humble and modest for that. Yet we do get a hint of him being a deeply emotive person and also we can look at the psyche of the man from his Psalms, which often reflect the ebb and flow of his life, but always display a deep faith in God, seeking to honour and glorify Him at all times. There are some books outside the Bible that take a biographical app...

  I am a great lover of science, particularly the biological sciences; avidly reading all the articles fed to me by may various news channels, as well as being a subscriber to National Geographic. I love the Natural History Museum and while I feel a lot of the exhibits fail to keep up with the march of progress in many of the academic fields, the exhibition on the origins of humanity is one of my favourites and a must see when I am in "our nations capital" and have some time to spare. If I had my time again, I would keep on the path I originally choose for myself when I was at school and study biology at Uni, with a particular emphasis on Palaeoanthropology. So, I guess what I am trying to convey here is that I am not a luddite or a member of the flat earth society.  I am also a Christian, an avid reader of the Bible, and fortunate enough to have studied the Old Testament under Rev. Dr Ernest Lucas, who held PhD’s in both Biology and Theology. So, neither could you give me th...