PJBelfast

    Passages :   “A  star  shall come forth from Jacob, A sceptre shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth.”  (Numbers 24:17)   “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His  star  in the east and have come to worship Him.” … Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the  star  appeared…After hearing the king, they went their way; and the  star , which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was…When they saw the  star , they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy (Matthew 2:2,7,9,10).   “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning  star  rises in your hearts.  (2 Peter 1:19)   “I, Jesus, have sent My angel  to testify to you these things  for the churches. I am the    root 

Did you ever want to rediscover the reason for the season?  Well, Advent is the start of the Christian liturgical calendar. Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas (or sometimes from the 1st December to Christmas Day!).  Advent means ' Coming ' in Latin. This is the coming of Jesus into the world.  Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas. Join me as we discover, through the easy to read Passion Translation, the events leading up to Jesus' birth and through until his family move to Nazareth.   Following the Star comprises 25 Devotions of Advent . In 25 daily devotions we will cover all that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke have to say on the matter. 

Life has been tough and can easily drain our energy levels. Not only has Covid-19 unfortunately taken so many lives, but also people are weary from Zoom fatigue, social distancing regulations and wearing masks rules. Christmas parties have been cancelled and family gatherings currently are limited. This winter really can seem like "in the bleak midwinter snow."  I saw the picture above and was reminded that many of us are probably needing to "recharge our emotional batteries." If your mood is low, tell someone how you're feeling. "A burden shared is a burden halved." It's not just our mobile phones that need recharging. It's our emotional lives. Loneliness and lack of social contact so easily drain the life from us.  So, please take time to look out for yourself and for others.  I heard of a church here in the East who are lifting their game on pastoral support by phoning round each of their parishioners.  Like the TV programme '

I've been blogging now for almost two years, with a worldwide readership that has surpassed my wildest expectations, with stats verifying over 18000 reads to date.  The main social media platforms I use include Facebook, Twitter and Redditt. Usually readers give me the Facebook thumb-up "like", Twitter retweets or add a brief comment.  The beauty of blogging, for geeks like myself, is that behind every blog read are the Stats. These statistics measure the actual readership and the country the readers come from.  When there is a popular yet contentious article, people often (PM) private message me with their commendation or opposition, rather than get involved directly in the debate thread.  I tend to stick my head above the parapet. Either I've the skin of a pachyderm or as has been verified, I'm just a tad mad:)  Maybe you'd like to blog?  Your opinion is worth hearing.  It's free if you use www.blogger.com. Tip - The key is to keep your thoug

I always appreciate opposing views and the arguments against my opinions. That is the beauty of living in a democracy. In the words of Thomas Jefferson to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800 "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." -  Mr Biden is a devout Roman Catholic and Kamala Harris a member of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, led by the Rev. Amos Brown.  I do however believe that, although holding to Christian values, we cannot Christianize a secular society. Therefore we need to let democracy take its course while continuing personally to be "salt and light." I, too, have many Christian friends who are Republicans and are, like Ruth, no doubt unhappy with the election result.  The Telegraph today has just confirmed that " nearly 80 per cent of Americans, including more than half of Republicans, recognise President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the e

It's worth reading the thirteen verses to understand powerful leadership . It is known as the baby battle 1 Kings chapter 3 versus 16-28 Solomon Makes a Difficult Decision 16  One day two women came to King Solomon,  17  and one of them said: Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. Not long ago my baby was born at home,  18  and three days later her baby was born. Nobody else was there with us. 19  One night while we were all asleep, she rolled over on her baby, and he died.  20  Then while I was still asleep, she got up and took my son out of my bed. She put him in her bed, then she put her dead baby next to me. 21  In the morning when I got up to feed my son, I saw that he was dead. But when I looked at him in the light, I knew he wasn’t my son . 22  “ No !” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive !” “ The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “ Mine is alive! ” They argued back and forth in front of Solomon,  23  until f

In 1995, divers noticed a beautiful, strange circular pattern on the seafloor off Japan, and soon after, more circles were discovered nearby (see photo above). It was a geometric masterpiece in symmetry that had been designed in the sand. Some likened these formations to "underwater crop circles." The geometric formations mysteriously came and went, and for more than a decade, nobody knew what made them.  Finally, the creator of these remarkable formations was found: a newly discovered species of pufferfish. Further study showed these small pufferfish make the ornate circles to attract mates. Males laboriously flap their fins (watch the video link below) as they swim along the seafloor, resulting in disrupted sediment and creating amazing circular patterns. Although the fish are only about 5 inches long, the formations they make measure about 7 feet in diameter. When the circles are finished, females come to inspect them. Hiroshi Kawase, the curator of the Coastal

There is a commonly held mindset that exists, (within church circles particularly), that ' the minister ' is the one that does the christian ministry.  Just because " the reverend " , or " the vicar ,"  leads the service on a Sunday or visits a home, is this really true? Indulge me with a simple illustration.  Go with me in your thoughts to IKEA,the Swedish furniture superstore. If you have ever bought one of their flat packs you'll know what I'm getting at. The staff serve you the product, but it's then down to your own do-it-yourself skills to assemble the flat pack. Read with me Acts 2 verse 42 " They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."  Notice that it says " they devoted themselves " to various spiritual disciplines. New Testament christianity was originally a DIY spirituality .  Paul the Apostle concurs with Dr Luke, the writer of Acts,