Author Archives: vincentsmithauthor

Am I one of God’s blunders, or is he one of mine?

The atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used to say: ‘Is man one of God’s blunders, or is God one of man’s blunders?’ But H. G. Wells, who was never particularly religious, having studied the history of the human race and having … Continue reading

Posted in Agnosticism, Atheism, Faith, Faithfulness, God, God in us, Going Nowhere, Meaninglessness, Purpose in life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

God’s promises are not given to be carried round in our heads

According to the Prarie Overcomer, Crowfoot, the great chief of the Blackfoot tribes living in southern Alberta, gave the Canadian Pacific Railway permission to cross Blackfoot land from the town of Medicine Hat right through to Calgary. In return, the … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Gift of God, God, God's faithfulness, Promise, Treasure, Value | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A fortune within its pages

Years ago a man living in New Jersey became the sole heir of his aunt’s estate. Her will read: ‘To my beloved Steven Marsh I bequeath my family Bible and all it contains, along with the residue of my estate.’ … Continue reading

Posted in Bible, Scriptures, Spiritual blessing, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Treasure, wealth | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Jesus and the Beatles

In 1966 John Lennon announced that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, and that Christianity would vanish from the face of the earth. Well, it’s still going, but the Beatles, as a group, only lasted another four years. … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Finding oneself, Futility, Pride, Returning to God, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Darkness, Unbelief | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gambling my soul

I heard about a bit of anti-religious graffiti quoting the philosopher Nietsche. It said: ‘God is dead – Nietsche.’ But then someone added another line which said: ‘Neitsche is dead – God.’ Which line had it right do you think? … Continue reading

Posted in Death, God, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A message to deliver

There’s an old Jewish tradition that God sends each of us into the world with a special message to deliver and with a special act of love to bestow, which only we are equipped to do. That’s why comparing ourselves … Continue reading

Posted in Called and Chosen, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, Purpose in life | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The obstacle man

Norman Vincent Peale, author of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’, tells the story of someone he called ‘the obstacle man’. He was a company director whose standard response to every imaginative proposal was: ‘Now let’s consider the obstacles involved.’ Eventually, … Continue reading

Posted in Caution, Faith, Opportunities, Positive Thoughts, Possibilities, Power, Removing Obstacles | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Crown of splendour

Someone once said there are four ages of man: the first is when you believe in Santa Claus, the second is when you don’t believe in Santa Claus, the third is when you are Santa Claus and the fourth is … Continue reading

Posted in Accomplishments, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, old age, Opportunities | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The holiest Holy Communion

James W. Moore of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston tells a story about one of his minister friends. His name is Tom and, despite a very heavy schedule, every month he would go to the homeless shelter in … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, God, God in us, God with us, Holy Communion, Jesus, Unworthiness, Worship | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Add some applause and watch things grow

One of the most difficult musical instruments to learn is the violin, but in recent times the Suzuki method has taken much of the pain out of it. The first thing it teaches children is a proper stance, and the … Continue reading

Posted in Acts of Kindness, Affirmation, Applause, Appreciation, Life, Life's journey, Living Life, Motivation | Leave a comment