Today the world celebrates (or commiserates) the passing of another year. It is the opportunity to reflect on the recent past, and to look towards the future. [node:read-more:link]

Sometimes we do not feel like being here. By "here", I mean in this world; on earth. Sometimes we are distressed about big, insurmountable things, like war and famine. Other times, we are personally wronged. These things can make us want to flee; whether to a desolated island, another planet, or even depart this realm completely for heaven. [node:read-more:link]

Merry Christmas! This year I am unashamedly sharing a special message by Evan Coons, who was involved with For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles. Like other messages from FLOW, it is not only encouraging, but a call to action as well. In this video, we look at the examples of the Christ child and what we can learn from Him, namely:

• Vulnerability
• Humility
• Presence

You, Christian,

You, follower of the true and living Christ, you need to remember that we are strangers and foreigners and aliens in this world. This world is hostile towards us. This is the natural order of things. This is what our Lord warned us about. And this means that we need to accept a few things. [node:read-more:link]

In the year A.D. 70, less than 40 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans and utterly destroyed—even the magnificent Jewish Temple therein. This was a final and decisive act: unlike with the destruction of the first temple by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., there were no prophecies promising restoration. And two thousand years later, a new temple seems exceedingly unlikely as different factions vie for control over the Temple Mount. [node:read-more:link]

It is Christmas time again: a time of goodwill, charity and, of course, gifts. These all simbolise (at least in part, whether one realises it or not) what God gave humanity: that is, Jesus Christ. [node:read-more:link]

Christianity is unique amongst world religions in that it explicitly provides a way through which it can be destroyed. Here is how. [node:read-more:link]

Some time ago a friend told me of a Jewish friend of his whom he invited to attend a church service. "I'm sorry," said his friend, "but I cannot go into a church. We [Jews] believe that idolatry is wrong, and Christians worship the cross as an idol." I must admit to being a bit stunned when I heard this story—I had never before heard the accusation that Christians are idolatrous for worshipping the cross. Was this accusation perhaps true? What is the relationship between Christians and the cross? [node:read-more:link]