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If you are cooling off in the latest heatwave with an ice-cold drink, you might want to raise a glass to Frederick Tudor. Tudor lived in New England in the early 19th century and one day hit upon the idea of selling ice to people in countries where it was hot. Everyone thought he was mad. Firstly, there was no demand and secondly, all the ice was sure to melt before it reached its destination. But he didn’t give up and gradually persuaded people that cold drinks were a good idea. He also worked out how to insulate the ice in transit, using sawdust and wood shavings. One shipment left Boston carrying 180 tons of ice and arrived months later in Calcutta with 100 tons left. It turned out that he was genius and not a fool. Someone else who was considered a fool but to whom we should be similarly grateful is Noah. One day he hit upon the idea of building a boat. But he lived in a desert where it hadn’t rained for years. Like Tudor, everyone laughed. But he was convinced he was right and no matter how much he was mocked he kept going, and in the end was proved right. Tudor’s perseverance led to the widespread availability of cold drinks. Noah’s would one day lead to the widespread availability of the water of life found in Jesus who said, ‘whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst’. The post Water of Life appeared first on Turn the Page.

Forty days on and Christmas is a distant memory. The bright lights that lit up our homes are back in the box, and we’ve long since eaten the last of the turkey curry leftovers. Now we’re just holding on through the storms of winter for the first signs of spring. But hold on a minute, what’s this? In the midst of the winter gloom followers of Jesus are not quite done with Christmas. The 2nd of February marked the celebration of Candlemass, remembering the time that the infant Jesus was dedicated in the Temple at Jerusalem. How fitting that in the depths of winter a candle should be lit, a light shining in the darkness. On that occasion an old man called Simeon met Jesus and his parents in the Temple and declared, ‘Sovereign Lord, my eyes have seen your salvation1’. It may be that today you long for a light to shine in the darkness of your current circumstances. Well, the message of Candlemass is that it can. Jesus came as a light to the world that would never be extinguished, and he promises peace and wholeness to all who will come to him.  1Luke 2:29,30 The post A candle in the dark appeared first on Turn the Page.

In James Cameron’s film Titanic, Bruce Ismay, the Managing Director of the White Star Line declares, ‘This ship can’t sink!’ With a line that sends shivers down the spine the ship’s architect replies, ‘She’s made of iron Sir, I assure you she can’.  I’m reminded of this episode as yet another luminary of the Christian world turns out not be as perfect as we had hoped. For decades Philip Yancy inspired millions of Christians around the world. His book What’s so amazing about grace? sold 15 million copies. But then suddenly came his recent confession. An eight-year affair with a married woman. Pain, hurt, and disillusionment have followed. But like Titanic there is no such thing as a perfect, unsinkable human being. Titanic was made of iron, and humans have a corrupt heart, an accident waiting to happen. The prophet Jeremiah once declared, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure’. If someone like Yancy can be deceived by his heart, then all of us should beware. Ismay was so confident in the unsinkability of his ship that he reduced the number of lifeboats from 48 to the legal minimum of 16. May we not be so complacent and so shipwreck our lives. The post This ship can’t sink appeared first on Turn the Page.

I moved home on 2nd January. This seemed like a good idea back in September. But as the weeks rolled by and the busyness of preparing for Christmas picked up, I became less sure. You see the issue was not just that I was moving but that I was downsizing from a three-bedroomed house with a large loft to a two-bed flat with limited storage space. I simply couldn’t take everything with me and after fifteen years there was an enormous amount to sort through. I was shocked by how much s I had accumulated that I didn’t need and never used. The effort of sorting through it all was exhausting but ultimately liberating. I’ve arrived in my new home lighter and freer. So, perhaps moving on 2nd January was a good idea after all. It’s that time when we make our new year resolutions and decide to leave some things behind. I’m encouraged by some words of St Paul who urged Christians in Colosse to rid themselves of bad habits and old practices, and put on instead more godly characteristics of kindness, compassion, patience and love. Like moving house these changes will take effort on our part but leave us lighter and freer. The post Downsizing appeared first on Turn the Page.

Once again evolutionary scientists are scratching their heads trying to find the reason behind one of our most common behaviours – kissing. We’ve been doing it for a very long time, and not just humans but animals as well including wolves, prairie dogs, polar bears and even albatrosses. To be fair the scientist’s definition of a kiss is the rather unromantic ‘non-aggressive, directed oral-oral contact with some movement of lips or mouthparts and no food transfer!’ The problem is that kissing serves no obvious survival or reproductive benefits. As usual science can help us understand when and how but not why. For that answer we need to turn elsewhere and for Christians that elsewhere is the Bible that begins with the simple phrase ‘In the beginning God.’ God is love and creation was an act of divine love; and the centrepiece of God’s creation were men and women designed to reflect his love and live in divine intimacy. So, no surprise that the Bible begins and ends with a marriage and the book literally in the middle of the Bible is a romantic love poem which begins with these words, ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.’ The post Kissing appeared first on Turn the Page.

As he nears the end of his life Anthony Hopkins has made this candid assessment about the prospect of dying: ‘We are all going to die eventually, aren’t we? And now my thing is, screw it. Who cares. Nobody really cares. We all think we do. It’s all a dream within a dream. So, I am happy with that. Now I am not scared of it. I have no fear. I am too old to be frightened. Because one day, I will learn the big secret’. Well, two thousand years ago another old man, by the name of Simeon, discovered the big secret. He was standing in the Temple in Jerusalem and holding the infant Jesus in his arms. He praised God and said, ‘My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel’. So, the big secret that Hopkins is waiting to discover is no secret all but has been plainly known for thousands of years. We were created for eternity and in Jesus the door is open to fulness life in this age and perfect peace in the life to come. The post The Big Secret appeared first on Turn the Page.

After two long years the hostages taken by Hamas have finally been returned. For the families left behind it has been two years of longing, waiting and hoping. No wonder there has been such an outpouring of joy and celebration as those who have survived have been reunited with their loved ones. The emotions have been raw and visceral and shared around the world. Perhaps the strength of these family bonds and the joy we feel is the result of some evolutionary process. Or perhaps not. Could it be that the love that binds us together is more than just a matter of chemicals? Could it be that the emotion we feel points us to a love that has divine origin and eternal significance? Writing two thousand years ago St Paul wrote, ‘Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love never fails.’ It was radical thinking in a world where life was cheap and acts of love more often than not seen as weakness. What had Paul seen to convince him that love could be so different? Simply the life of Jesus. A man whose love was so powerful and self-sacrificial that he gave up his life and made possible the greatest homecoming of them all. The post Homecoming appeared first on Turn the Page.

It’s seventy years since the first TV advert was broadcast in the UK. In the years since billions of pounds have been spent by advertisers with ever more imaginative ways of grabbing our attention and persuading us that our lives will be diminished without their product. Sadly, the truth is that most ads overpromise and underdeliver. In the 1970’s ladies swooned at the ad depicting James Bond delivering a box of Cadbury’s Milk Tray, only to be jolted back into reality by the price tag from the local corner shop. Not to mention the guys imagining the fantasy adventure brought on with one spray of Lynx deodorant. Some contrast then with the promotion surrounding the greatest offer ever made. The offer of Jesus to give us life in all its fulness now and for eternity. According to the Bible Jesus ‘had nothing in his appearance that we should desire him’ – surely the very opposite of a successful advertising strategy? But Jesus didn’t need a fancy ad campaign when he simply delivered what he promised, and what he promised was out of this world. The post Those promising adverts appeared first on Turn the Page.