Category Archives: God

Think yourself to happiness

Posted on September 17, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

“Most people,” said Abraham Lincoln, “Are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Well, that may be an oversimplification, but there is still great truth in it. A positive mental attitude does have a powerful effect … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, God, God with us, Happiness, Living Life, Peace, Personal Growth, Positive Thoughts, thankfulness | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gambling for big stakes

Posted on September 11, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

A group of atheists have been paying for ads on buses telling people that there might not be a God so stop worrying. Well, believing there is a God who cares for me is the very thing that keeps me … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Eternity, Faith, God, Seeking and Finding, Spiritual blindness, Spiritual Insight, Superficial judgements, The God Delusion, Trust in God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The joy of the Lord is my strength

Posted on September 8, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Dr Trisha MacNair, in her book The Long Life Equation – one hundred factors that can add or subtract years from your life, says that the choices we make now often have enormous consequences in later life. Drawing on hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, God, Joy, Life, Life's journey, Strength | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sparks of God

Posted on September 3, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The Stoics were a group of philosophers in ancient Greece. One of their great beliefs was that there was a spark of God in every living creature. The Sceptics – another group of Greek philosophers – laughed at this concept … Continue reading →

Posted in Discerning God's Will, Faith, God, God in us, Obedience | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A message from moths

Posted on August 30, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

The poet Shelly referred to the way that moths are drawn irresistably to the light of a star as a powerful symbol of our own yearning for something beyond the limitations of this life. For some reason we don’t understand, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alistair McGrath, God, inner yearning, Spiritual discernment, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 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

Disappointed, discouraged, defeated?

Posted on July 13, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

I have a friend who has spent most of his life working with people in distress. He has a motto based on some words from the Bible that say: “We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Defeated, Disappointed, Discouraged, Faith, God, God with us, Hope, Love of Christ, Trials and testings | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Queen’s Commission

Posted on June 15, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

When I became an Army chaplain I felt embarrassed that I’d been given the Queen’s Commission without having gone through the same long and gruelling military process that general service officers went through to earn theirs. Eventually it was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Accepting, Faith, Gift of God, God, Grace, Works | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

God has no favourites

Posted on June 15, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

A minister who parked his car in a no-parking zone, hoping that the parking police would take pity on him, attached a note to his windscreen that read, ‘I am a minister of religion and I have an important appointment … Continue reading →

Posted in Faithfulness, Favourites, Forgiveness, God, God's pleasure, Obedience, Temptation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Measured against a false standard

Posted on June 5, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Mark Twain once said that the sections of the Bible that gave him the most trouble were not those he couldn’t understand, but rather the sections he could. That’s the thing about Jesus’ teaching; it challenges the assumptions that so … Continue reading →

Posted in Following the Crowd, Forgiveness, God, Spiritual Insight, Spirituality, Standards, Transformation, Truth, Wisdom | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment