Category Archives: Discernment

Judging Mona Lisa

Posted on November 24, 2017 by vincentsmithauthor

These days the church doesn’t command the same respect as in previous generations. This is not surprising, given the stories of abuse by some of its representatives. Sadly, there have always been people whose actions have betrayed Jesus, rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in Discernment, Judgement, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Touching the invisible

Posted on July 13, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The capacities of various creatures to connect with their environment is truly amazing. We only perceive thirty percent of the range of the sun’s light, and one seventieth of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy, but many animals do much better. … Continue reading →

Posted in Discernment, Faith, Fingerprints of God, God, Knowing God, Seeing Jesus, Seeking and Finding, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding God in the Loneliest of Places

Posted on April 9, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a wonderful story in the Bible about a man named Jacob who had to leave home in a hurry to flee for his life. That first night he ended up at a lonely spot where he settled down miserable … Continue reading →

Posted in Anxiety, Awareness, Contradictions, Discernment, Divine Protection, God, Guidance, Heaven, Hope, inner peace, Inspirational, Life's journey, Loneliness, pilgrimage, Promise, Seeing Jesus, Spiritual discernment, Trust in God, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Contradictions that are true

Posted on March 26, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Movie mogul Sam Goldwyn used to mangle the English language so badly that his mixed metaphors came to be known as Goldwynisms. Some of his classics are: ‘A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,’ ‘Every Tom, Dick, … Continue reading →

Posted in Contradictions, Discernment, Faith, Happiness, Inspirational, Jesus, Life's journey, Living Life, Seeing the possibilities, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No ‘Ifs’ about it.

Posted on March 26, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The great pianist Artur Rubinstein said: “As long as we have what we have inside, the capacity to love, to work, to hear music, to see a flower… nothing can stop us from being happy…but we must get rid of … Continue reading →

Posted in angry with God, Artur Rubinstein, Attitude, Contentment, Discernment, If, Life's journey, Living Life, Making the most of what you've got, Regret, Seeing the possibilities, Spiritual Insight, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Pain – ‘God’s Megaphone’

Posted on March 26, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s nothing that challenges faith in a loving God more than the problem of pain. C.S. Lewis said that of all the things that come to us in life, pain is the one thing guaranteed to get our attention. Joys … Continue reading →

Posted in angry with God, Discernment, Encouragement, Faith, God, Grace, Hope, Life's journey, Living Life, Pain, pilgrimage, Religion, Spiritual Insight, Trials and testings, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Dollar isn’t God

Posted on March 24, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

On the anniversary of nine/eleven, the boys choir of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London visited the trading floor of the British arm of Cantor Fitzgerald, a stock broking company whose six hundred and fifty eight American employees all perished in … Continue reading →

Posted in Awareness, Discernment, God, inner peace, Inspirational, Law of Jungle, Money, Remembrance, Self Deception, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Insight, Terror, Terrorists, Trust in God, Uncertainty of Life, War, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Religion and War

Posted on March 24, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

It’s often claimed that if we could rid the world of religion we’d rid the world of war. Well, the past century has certainly demonstrated the naivety of that idea. The Twentieth Century produced something totally new in human history … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Discernment, Hatred, Injustice, Power over People, Religion, Self Deception, Spiritual discernment, True and False Religion, War, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A little silver changes everything

Posted on March 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an old Jewish story about a rich man who went to see a rabbi because he couldn’t understand why he always felt so unhappy even though he was wealthy. The rabbi took him to a window and asked him … Continue reading →

Posted in Attitude, Compassion, Discernment, emptiness, Life's journey, Living Life, Money, Riches, Self Deception, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight, Unselfishness, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eyes that do not see

Posted on March 2, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Russell H Conwell, in his famous lecture entitled ‘Acres of Diamonds’, used to tell the story of a Pennsylvania farmer, whose cousin was in the oil business and refused to give him a job until he’d studied hard enough to … Continue reading →

Posted in Awareness, Blindness, Contentment, Discernment, Life's journey, Making the most of what you've got, Possessions, Riches, Seeing the possibilities, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Insight, thankfulness | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment