by Peter Barfoot | Apr 14, 2025 | Blog
“Which is easier?” Jesus asked his critics: “To say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or (turning to the paralysed man) ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk.'” (Mark 3, Luke 5, Matthew 9). In the time of Jesus, people believed in...
by Peter Barfoot | Apr 14, 2025 | Blog
The term “pastor” is mentioned only once in the New Testament (in Ephesians 4:11). Elsewhere, it is translated “shepherd”, and except for a reference to the Lord as “the Great Shepherd” and pastors as “overseers” (Acts...
by Peter Barfoot | Apr 14, 2025 | Blog
The four seasons influence us more than we realize. In autumn we plant seeds without thinking of how they relate to other things we hope for. Not to plant would be not to hope, which is unthinkable. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat,...
by Peter Barfoot | Apr 14, 2025 | Blog
Spirituality is like yachting: the wind in your sails and a spinnaker hoisted! The wind of God in your spiritual sails is an empowering and forward moving influence. Religion, on the other hand, is demanding, like rowing a boat while facing backward to move forward....
by Peter Barfoot | Apr 11, 2025 | Blog
Jesus said that healing is the children’s bread and taught his followers to ask their Father in Heaven to “give us this day our daily bread.” Those who maintain that this bread is spiritual, not physical, miss the provision provided for them through...
by Peter Barfoot | Apr 11, 2025 | Blog
Involuntary, impromptu, spontaneous confessions are different forms of acknowledgements. They are genuine because they come straight from the heart. Written confessions have their place, of course; for example, criminal ones that lead to convictions. Or the political...