Author Archives: vincentsmithauthor

Transitory prejudices don’t matter

The Eiffel Tower is one of the world’s most famous landmarks. Its creator, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, designed it for an international exposition in eighteen eighty nine. But not everyone was as proud of his creation as he was, and many … Continue reading

Posted in Negative thinking, Popular opinion, Positive Thoughts, Prejudice | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘The objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent.’

In C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters, the Devil gives some advice to his nephew, a demon named Wormwood, on the techniques of tempting people. The Devil tells him that the objective is not to make people wicked but … Continue reading

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New heart brings new love

US Senator Bill Frist, who is also a famous heart and lung transplant surgeon, tells the story of a twenty four year old Australian who received a heart transplant from a teenage boy killed in an accident. One of the … Continue reading

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Kennedy and God

When the late President Kennedy’s son Patrick, suffering from a lung ailment, was fighting for his life, his father went to see him in a part of the hospital specially cleared of all visitors. On his way there he passed … Continue reading

Posted in Compassion, God, God's love, Suffering, Suffering love, Sympathy and Support | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Beautiful music is the art of the prophets.’

Those of us who live with teenagers know that music can cause intense suffering. But despite this, music is one of our most accessible sources of blessing. Martin Luther said: ‘Beautiful music is the art of the prophets.’ And speaking … Continue reading

Posted in Access to God, Blessings, Music, Music of life, Spiritual blessing | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Remember to Forget

The late Dr Sangster once preached a sermon with the intriguing title: Remember to Forget. He got the idea from a line in Immanuel Kant’s journal, which simply said: ‘Remember to forget Lampe.’ Lampe was his manservant who had been … Continue reading

Posted in Forgetting, Memories, Negative thinking, Remembering the past, Remembrance | Leave a comment

Memories that never leave us

Some years ago I had a flashback memory that upset me deeply. When I was seven there was a boy in my class from a very poor family. He had no friends in the class. On a day when we … Continue reading

Posted in Conscience, consequences, Guilt, Memories | Leave a comment

Is Jesus like Joe?

Tony Campolo tells a story about Joe, the town drunk, who was converted in a street outreach mission. Following his conversion everything changed. Joe would spend his days at the mission, doing whatever needed to be done. To those hardened … Continue reading

Posted in Christlikeness, Conversion, Spiritual blessing, Spiritual growth, Transformation, Transformed mind | Leave a comment

Dying without ever having lived

The Dalai Lama was once asked what surprised him most about humankind. He replied that it was man, because he sacrifices his health to make money, then sacrifices his money to get his health back. And then he is so … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Life, Life's journey, Living Life | Tagged | Leave a comment

Taking stock

It’s important every now and then to take stock of our lives and ask ourselves, where am I going? Am I still on track? One of the most enduring images of the Christian life is that of a journey through … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Life, Life's journey, Spiritual comfort, Spiritual Insight | Leave a comment