Tag: Jody Bennett

Christianity is not for cowards

People might think that being a Christian is easy, a crutch that gets you through your traumas, a Father Christmas in the sky to pray to, a list of dos and don’ts that you do your best to follow but get forgiveness for when you fail.

However, as a Christian of several decades, I can tell you Christianity is not for cowards; being a Christian requires you to do some very, very hard stuff. Some of the things I find hardest are: forgiving over and over again, submitting to authority, waiting with patience and coping with suffering.Continue reading

Filed under: About God, Jody Bennett, Thoughts on lifeTagged with: , , , ,

A letter from God to those feeling unloved

Dear Child, I heard when you said today
That your life has no purpose or worth,
And I cried because it’s had meaning
Since before the foundations of earth.

I knit you together in the depth of the womb
And I’ve numbered the hairs on your head.
I’ve cherished each smile, I’ve caught every tear
I’ve heard all the words that you’ve said.Continue reading

Filed under: Jody Bennett, PoemsTagged with: , , ,

Jesus in Jeans – A 21st century parable

If Jesus had chosen to come to earth in modern times, some of His parables may have been a bit different. He used stories and pictures that the people could readily identify with from what they saw around them. For instance, maybe John 15:1-8, instead of being about vinedressing, would have sounded something like this:

Continue reading
Filed under: About the Bible, Jody Bennett, Thoughts on lifeTagged with: , , ,

Bible Basics 101

What do the Babel fish of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the movie Apocolypse Now and  U2’s The Joshua Tree album have in common? They all refer to things found in the Bible.

So maybe your interest is piqued and you might like to dust it off and check it out, but where do you start?

And there are so many versions! Does it matter which one you read?

Continue reading
Filed under: About the Bible, Jody BennettTagged with: ,

God’s character – light

When we try to imagine God, so often we think of some sort of superhuman. That, if God exists, He must be like us but stronger, faster and invincible. Maybe like some sort of Father Christmas or Father Time, old, bearded and benevolent. Or like Zeus, angry and vengeful like a warrior.

However, the Bible tells us that God is not human. We are made in His image – we are like Him in some aspects – and He revealed Himself to us as the man Jesus, but God the Father is not a man, He is a spirit (John 4:24). God does call Himself in the Bible a Father and there is mention of His hands and eyes and hears. But the Bible also uses animal imagery to try to describe God, it talks about God’s wings and Jesus is compared to both a lion and a lamb. And God also uses inanimate things to convey information about His attributes, like God being a pillar of fire and the cloud that the Israelites saw in the wilderness.

Continue reading
Filed under: About God, Jody BennettTagged with: , , , ,

Things I have learnt about God – mercy.

Mercy is not really a word used in modern language – except maybe in the US South as an exclamation, “Have mercy!” It is not a concept we bandy about in conversation, although I imagine most people generally know that it is similar to the legal idea of clemency – getting off or getting a lighter sentence when you deserve punishment.

Continue reading
Filed under: About God, Jody Bennett, Thoughts on lifeTagged with: , , , , , , ,

Lessons from a Sausage Dog – part 2

 

 

This last week our sausage dog got parvo virus, a gastro-intestional disease that can easily kill a dog through dehydration or secondary infection.

Carrie was very ill and the vet warned me that should she not improve with treatment at home, she may have to be hospitalised, for which they would require a $3 000 deposit!

Continue reading

Filed under: Jody Bennett, Sausage Dog StoriesTagged with: , ,

Lessons from a Sausage Dog – part 3

The favourite thing in my day is sitting on the couch after the dinner dishes have been done and reading a book or watching TV with my sausage dog curled up on my lap.

Carrie’s presence is a great tonic for the stresses of the day and I find every little stretch or sigh so cute that I constantly want to reach out and cuddle her.

Continue reading
Filed under: Jody Bennett, Sausage Dog StoriesTagged with: , ,