Dan Wells

cross

Will you take up your cross?

> ”If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What does it mean to follow Jesus? There are plenty of answers we could give to that question and many of them would give some helpful insights.

easter

The Greatest Love

A few years ago the Telegraph newspaper ran a story about ‘The greatest love stories ever told’. “If there’s one thing we all enjoy, it’s a decent love story,” the article began, and I would imagine that most of us would agree with that sentiment. The choice of

change

Giving up and not giving up

> “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?” (Isaiah 58:5) Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the start of Lent.

closeness

The Lord is near

> “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18) We live in very strange times. The coronavirus pandemic has affected our lives in many different ways. We are affected in unique ways, but there are also effects

character

The audience of one and many

I wonder how much you think about your character? Character is a way of talking about how we essentially are. Our character is what makes us, is what describes us. What is unique in our character is what makes us, us. Take a glass of wine, for example. Wine tasters

distraction

Teach us to be still

> “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Psalm 46 is always a helpful place to turn, especially as we continue to struggle with the effects of a global pandemic. The psalm opens with the reassuring words: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help

church

Praying for unity

This week is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It’s an opportunity for Christians of different churches and denominations to share with one another, recognise their common ground and look at ways to continue that unity beyond a single week. Yet it is sad to acknowledge that we

change

Not without effect

> “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10) Here in the UK we

help

Set up a stone

> Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:10) One of my favourite hymns is ‘Come, O fount of every blessing.’ It’s a terrific song of praise and

new year

The turning of the year

> Who is wise? He will realise these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. (Hosea 14:9) As we come to the end of the year, we tend to focus in two different directions. One is to look back on the year just gone and what we have

advent

Are you a squidger?

> All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:22, 23) Christmas Day is almost upon us, which

advent

An unexpected Christmas

Christmas is upon us, which means there are lots and lots of preparations to do. Apparently in the UK, each Christmas we write and send around 750 million Christmas cards; we will cook some 10 million turkeys; and we will go crazy on presents. I don’t know about you,

advent

Christmas can be touched

There are lots of part of the Bible that we associate with Christmas and evoke the atmosphere of Christmas for us. The stories of Jesus’ birth in Matthew and Luke, for example, or Isaiah’s prophecy that “to us a child is born”. Hearing one of these passages read in

advent

Stretching

> ”But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20) Over the past few weeks I have begun to work on my fitness. I reckon I’m not the only person who has put on a few ‘pandemic

advent

The end is nigh

> ”The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (1 Peter 4:7) I will be honest with you: I don’t always find prayer easy. Most people I know struggle with prayer at some time or other; many of

action

The other Lord’s Prayer

I am guessing that many of us are familiar with the Lord’s Prayer – either from church services or school or other settings. As a pastor I am regularly taking funerals and even if someone has not been to church in years, if at all, the Lord’s Prayer is

coronavirus

Chariots and horses

> “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (Psalm 20:7) We are all looking for some kind of saviour. That’s a bold statement, especially if you don’t consider yourself particularly religious or spiritual. Yet every

change

The scariness of the ‘new’

> He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5) Sometimes it can feel as if we are obsessed with everything new. The latest phone becomes the new ‘must have’ item, new movies are trending and new series have new episodes to watch

coronavirus

Whispering worship

Our present situation is a strange time for worship and singing. If you are worshipping at home, you can sing as much and as loudly as you like (provided the people you live with are happy with that of course). In our church buildings, however, singing is still not possible.

coronavirus

Ploughing comes before growth

This past Sunday our church had its annual church meeting. Postponed from the Spring because of the pandemic, the annual meeting is a good chance to reflect on the past year and consider where God might be moving us in the future. The standpoint for all of this, of course,

life

The thing we all need

Water is one of those things that is all around us and we can’t live without. Water covers 71% of the earth’s surface, and 70% of our own bodies are made of water. It is essential to all life on earth, and human beings certainly can’t live

care

Learning from the fishes

It is the time of year when we typically think about harvest. Churches have harvest festivals to celebrate and that tends to focus on the things that grow in the ground that we eat: wheat, grain, fruit, vegetables and so on. Perhaps there is another harvest we can overlook, however:

anxiety

Don’t fear what others fear

Fear is very easy to pick up from others, isn’t it? Our world seems to be surrounded by fears, anxieties and worries at the moment. But I don’t think the coronavirus pandemic has created this situation, it has just brought into sharper focus perhaps. I don’t know

future

The lifter of my head

> “But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.” (Psalm 3:3) Where are you looking at the moment? If you are reading this, then you are probably looking at your computer, or a device of some kind, or

garden

God and gardens

> “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden” (Genesis 2:8) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” (John 15:1) Those who know me, will know that I am not a very good gardener. I suffer from hay fever