Thought for the week

Tag: mercy

  • The rebirth is real

    A few years ago, Matthew Parris, a former MP and a distinguished journalist, visited Malawi, where he had lived as a child. He was impressed by the development work of Pump Aid, a small British charity, helping rural communities to have safe water. But, to his surprise, something else impacted him: “Travelling in Malawi refreshed…

  • Comfort in suffering

    We live in a world of suffering. The city of Mariupol in Ukraine is a graphic example of great suffering. The constant indiscriminate bombardment of Mariupol by Vladimir Putin’s soldiers has reduced a beautiful city to rubble. Civilians trying to leave the city have repeatedly been hindered by continued shelling from the Russian army. Hundreds…

  • God’s moral law matters

    For the past 16 months we have lived under emergency laws made by the Government to protect us from the Covid-19 virus. Most people have kept these laws and recent events have revealed the strong disapproval felt towards those who break them. Ordinary people, who have kept the laws, resent people in power breaking them…

  • If anyone is without sin

    Personal attacks on individuals through social media have become a common feature of modern life. People who express what may be perfectly legitimate opinions find themselves being condemned on social media by strangers. Or they may receive hundreds of abusive emails, some making serious threats to personally attack them or their families. Those who make…

  • Through my own fault

    Frank Bough, who died recently, was described by his colleagues as a “consummate broadcaster”. For many years he presented BBC’s Saturday afternoon sports programme, Grandstand, and later the early-evening news programme Nationwide. His calmness and easy style made him very popular and, in 1983, he was chosen to present the BBC’s new breakfast show which…

  • Great is your faithfulness

    The last autumn leaves will soon have fallen. Once again, we have witnessed the spectacular autumn colours – yellows, browns and red. On bright sunny mornings the kaleidoscope of colour has been glorious. This is one of the ways in which the great God of creation tells us that he is there, and that this…

  • God is merciful

    The case of Omar Farouq, a 13-year-old boy, in northern Kano state in Nigeria has attracted international attention. In August Omar was convicted in a Sharia court of making uncomplimentary remarks about Allah during an argument with a friend and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with menial labour for blasphemy. Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s…

  • Finding forgiveness

    The lives of some well-known people are coming under critical scrutiny. In the past statues have been erected to men who did notable things that benefited the societies in which they lived. Now, however, attention is being drawn to the bad things they did, including being involved in or supporting the evil slave trade. William…

  • Remembering VE Day

    This weekend there will be an international celebration of the 75th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. On 8 May 1945 there was a great joy when the Allied Forces announced the surrender of Germany; World War II in Europe was over. More than a million people celebrated in the streets, including the young…