Category Archives: Knowing God

Not in the ’empty firmament of the mind’

Posted on March 16, 2016 by vincentsmithauthor

The Russian novelist Dostoevsky once said: ‘He who desires to see the living God face to face should not seek him in the empty firmament of his mind, but in love.’ The great mistake of the current crop of evangelical … Continue reading →

Posted in God, God's presence, Knowing God, love, Searching, Seeing Jesus | Leave a comment

Trying to empty the sea

Posted on July 6, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

St Augustine, one of the greatest theological thinkers of history, once saw a boy running backwards and forwards from the sea shore to a lagoon with a bowl full of sea water that he would pour into the lagoon. Augustine … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, God, Knowing God, understanding, Wisdom | Leave a comment

Salt of the earth

Posted on May 9, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Sodium is an extremely active element that always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its unpleasant smell. However, when sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride … Continue reading →

Posted in Discerning God's Will, Faith, Faithfulness, God in us, Judgementalism, Kindness, Kingdom of God, Knowing God, Living Life, Power for good, Salt of the earth | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Six degrees of separation, but only two from God

Posted on May 9, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

According to the concept known as the Six Degrees of Separation everyone can be connected to everyone else by no more than six steps. To test this a magazine asked Ben Ghaly, an Iraqi immigrant, to nominate who he would … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Jesus, Knowing God, relationships, Six degrees of separation | Tagged | Leave a comment

Which way did he go?

Posted on February 12, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s an epitaph on a headstone outside an English parish church that says: ‘Behold all you who pass by, for as you are so once was I; and as I am so you will be; prepare yourself to follow me.’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Eternity, Judgement, Kingdom of God, Knowing God, Life's journey, Spiritual Insight | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

There are some things you don’t have to see to believe

Posted on October 6, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

C.T. Powell in his book ‘Seeing is Believing’ reports on an interchange between a high school teacher and one of her students about evidence for the existence of God. The teacher had challenged the students to provide one piece of … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Believing, Evidence, Faith, Fingerprints of God, Knowing God | Tagged , | 4 Comments

What will they say about me?

Posted on September 8, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Some years ago the Indiana Department of Social Services sent a letter to a former client which said: “Your food stamps will be stopped in March because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may … Continue reading →

Posted in Affirmation, Aspiration, Eternity, Faithfulness, God's pleasure, Heaven, Hope of Glory, Judgement, Knowing God, pilgrimage, Regret | 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

Eternity in our hearts

Posted on May 10, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

Anne Rice, whose bestsellers including The Vampire Chronicles have sold over one hundred million copies, is one of the most widely read authors in the world. After spending most of her adult life a self-described atheist, a few years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Conversion, Eternity, Faith, God, inner peace, Knowing God, Life's journey, Spiritual discernment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Virus Called Peace

Posted on March 24, 2014 by vincentsmithauthor

I once received an email warning me of the spread of a virus called “Inner Peace.” It told me to be alert for symptoms that could pose a serious threat to my usual stable condition of conflict. These symptoms include: … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts of Kindness, Appreciation, Attitude, Awareness, Compassion, Contentment, Faith, Forgiveness, Generous spirit, Grace, Happiness, Healing, hope and love, inner peace, Inspirational, Jesus, Joy, Knowing God, love, Mercy, Personal Growth, Seeing Jesus, Spirituality, thankfulness, Transformation, Unselfishness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment