fidzbit

Since the earliest days the Christian church has met to worship on a Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. There have been some disagreements between Christians over the details of how exactly this relates to the Old Testament Sabbath. Those arguments are not my concern here! The vast majority of Christians agree that the ‘spirit of the law’ goes back to the creation story. God set a principle of one day in seven for rest and worship and in practice for most Christians this happens on ‘church day’, Sunday. But what happens in times when churches cannot meet, when doctors and nurses have more night shifts than usual, and any of us might find ourselves having to care for sick loved ones? This is a story from Mark’s gospel: Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely  to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.  Jesus said to th...

A good friend of mine enjoys conspiracy theories. He is always suspicious that behind big world events there are hidden organisations pulling the strings. Sometimes he might even be on to something! A conspiracy theorist is never quite sure who to trust... God made people for relationship. He gave Adam and Eve a huge amount of freedom and just one rule. There was just one way they could isolate themselves from God: eating the fruit He had forbidden them to eat. He didn't want their relationship to break and He told them so: “ You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. ” To self-isolate from the God who gave you life can only result in death. It is a commandment but it is something more than a cold legal demand. It is a commandment intended to prevent the tragic events of a broken relationship with ...