One of the most amazing things Jesus ever said was that we are his friends.

If we are sons and daughters of the King, that makes us brothers and sisters of one another.  And if we all friends of Jesus, that makes us friends of one another.  The apostle John closed a letter by saying, “The friends greet you.”  That’s how he described the church.

The word “celebrity” does not exist in God’s kingdom.  And shouldn’t exist in his church.

If the kingdom is the place where God dwells in eternal purity and power, the church is the community of imperfect people he gathers together on earth for a purpose.  That purpose is to give him glory.  Included in that purpose comes lots of other things, including evangelism, healing, discipling, teaching, community and so on.  But everything God does has the ultimate goal of bringing himself glory.

“For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to do wrong.”  Thus says Psalm 125, one of the psalms written as songs of pilgrimage. These psalms were sung as the pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem for one of the great national festivals.  As they headed to the capital city, they were praying for the nation.

What the psalmist is saying is God’s people would go astray if they were under ungodly leadership.  The sad fact is it often happened just that way in Israel’s history.

For six days God was engaged in his work of creating, and on the seventh day he rested.  The six days of creation we understand, but what about the “rest”?

To take it literally means God took a break.  But how likely is it that God retired to a shuffleboard court in Florida where he has been ever since?

One of the foundations of Christian faith is our belief in the Trinity.  Although the word itself does not appear in the New Testament, it is absolutely remarkable how fundamental it is to how the Bible presents God.

A conversation with friends this week revolved around the role of the Trinity from a counselling perspective.  Are we properly related to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?  Each has a role in our functioning in spiritual, emotional and mental health.