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The sacrifice God desires
‘The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.’ — Psalm 51:17
‘My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you to enlarge it. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It contains much that you will not be pleased to see: this I know and do not hide. But who is to rid it of these things? There is no one but you.’ — Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
The further I travel through the Christian life, the more I realise just how broken I am.
Even though I love Jesus, my words and actions so often fail to reflect His goodness and beauty.
Even though my mind is being renewed by the Spirit, my thoughts and desires still continue to stray from His truth.
Even though I am in Christ, sin and selfishness still have their way in my life and my relationships.
In fact, the more that God opens my eyes to see more of His holiness, the more I realise just how far I fall short without Him.
And yet, even though I know the glorious gospel truth that Jesus has taken my guilt and given me His righteousness so that I can come freely to the Father—I can still feel frustrated, defeated and disillusioned in my relationship with Him.
But rather than taking these things to God in prayer and repentance, I can allow shame to fester and grow in my life until it feels like an insurmountable barrier to His presence.
In this place of despondency, I continue going through the motions of prayer, worship, reading the Word and meeting with other believers—all without really being present to God.
I say all the right words, do all the right things—all while my heart feels far from Him.
I’m not alone. These are feelings that countless believers—from the apostle Paul, to Augustine, to thousands of us today—have experienced.
In times like these, there’s one verse in one of my favourite Psalms that I’ve come back to time and time again: “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17).
The sacrifice that God desires
Where do we turn when we feel broken, ashamed, and defeated in our continued battle with sin?
We aren’t meant to run away from God in shame—but towards Him in repentance, trust and renewed obedience.
We run to Jesus.
David, the author of Psalm 51, was a man well acquainted with the reality of sin—and the shame that follows closely after it.
He had forced Bathsheba, a married woman, to sleep with him—and then, after finding out that she was pregnant with his son, had arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle to cover it up (2 Samuel 11–12).
It’s a horrific story. David’s actions are inexcusable. But it gets worse.
David thinks he has got away with it—until he is confronted by Nathan the prophet, who tells David a parable of a rich man who steals and slaughters a treasured lamb from a poor man.
David is enraged at the story—the rich man deserves death! But then comes Nathan’s famous rebuke: “You are that man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).
Until this point, David is a terrible example of godly living and leadership. He has committed some of the most evil offences possible.
But it’s what he does next that gives broken sinners like you and me hope.
He will not reject a broken heart
After Nathan confronts his sin, David finally takes his guilt to God: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13).
Psalm 51 records David’s famous prayer of repentance, in which he appeals to God’s “unfailing love” and “great compassion” for forgiveness.
Where does David go with his brokenness?
He doesn’t hide it from God. Faced with the reality of his sin, he delays no longer in taking it straight to his Father in heaven—the only one who can forgive, cleanse and ultimately restore him.
Astonishingly, scandalously, God forgives David: “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin” (2 Samuel 12:13).
God opens up a way back to relationship with Himself—not because David deserves it, but because of His own lavish grace and mercy.
Of course, there are still consequences to be paid for David’s catastrophic failure. His newborn son dies. His kingdom would be divided and eventually fall in the generations to come.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that there aren’t repercussions for our sin. God has ordered His world such that we often need to live with—and work to repair—the personal and relational effects of our wrongdoing.
But what forgiveness does mean is that, for those who come to return to Him in repentance, there is always a way back to the Father in the aftermath of sin.
We, like David, can experience the joy of our salvation once more, no matter how far we have run or low we have fallen (see Psalm 51:12). He will never “reject a broken and repentant heart” (Psalm 51:17)—what a wonderful promise for us to cling to!
If David was able to run to God in his most vile, most evil moment, how much more are we able to run to Him now that we are in Jesus—the One in whom God has revealed to us the fullness of His love, grace and mercy?
If, today, you feel far from God and unable to come to Him because of your guilt and shame, look to Him. Remember all that He did for you at the cross—not just for some of your sins, but “once for all time” (Hebrews 10:10).
Don’t let your guilt and shame keep you from God’s presence—instead, let it be an invitation for you to run to Him.
If you are in Christ, you have been clothed in His righteousness—and you can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16).
Run to Him in repentance. Rest in His unconditional, unreserved grace and love for you.
If you find yourself struggling for words, why not use Psalm 51 to guide you—or the beautiful prayer of Augustine that opened this email:
“My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you to enlarge it. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It contains much that you will not be pleased to see: this I know and do not hide. But who is to rid it of these things? There is no one but you.”
Friend, as you run to Him, I pray that you “may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is” (Ephesians 3:18).
With love,
Mike
Give until it gets funny
‘And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.’ — 2 Corinthians 9:8
‘The most mature Christians I’ve known haven’t been pearl-clutching, grouchy misers. The holiest people I know have a twinkle in their eye—like they know a secret (Guess what? It’s grace).’ — Carissa Early
At the start of this year, my wife and I took a sabbatical and went as far away from the cold, dark, endless grey-ness of the UK as we could go, which inevitably meant heading to Australia.
On the third day of our trip, we went to a donut shop in Perth. After we made our order (one single-glazed to avoid outright indulgence), the girl behind the till packaged it up, and then told us it was on the house.
It was a lovely surprise.
But after we left and headed down the street, we checked the bag—and there were two donuts in there.
She’d somehow snuck in another free donut.
We couldn’t really believe it.
After we got over our initial shock and then suspicion of whether these donuts were really legit, we laughed and realised we had been on the receiving end of a totally unexpected act of generosity.
Sure, it was just donuts. It’s not like she gave us her dog or her life savings.
But that’s beside the point. That girl’s small act of generosity gave us a massive dose of joy (and sugar). She blessed us when she didn’t have to—and we’ll always remember her and thank God for giving us that moment.
Give until it gets funny
God is generous. He gives and gives and gives with infinite abundance and out of endless kindness. And He wants us, His children, to do the same.
Paul says that God loves a ‘cheerful’ giver—but the Greek word is ‘hilaros’, which is the root for the English word, ‘hilarious’.
It’s almost like Paul has in mind someone who gives away what they have to others so freely, so eagerly, so unconditionally, that it starts to become funny.
It’s a type of joyful generosity that causes a chain-reaction of joy in others.
It’s a kind of giving that just doesn’t make worldly sense, because it’s a kind of giving that comes from another world—from Heaven.
Now, this doesn’t mean stewarding what we have foolishly. There’s no point of emptying your savings if your heart is full of resentment, misery or desperation for people to applaud you for your good deed.
This kind of generosity is all about the posture of our hearts.
Everything we have is from God and for Him. By being generous, we simply pass on what He’s already given us, fully confident that He is always full of grace, and that He will always give us what we need.
And that’s one of the hard lessons of trust that every child of God needs to learn: that He will provide for us.
It’s far easier for us to hang on to a mindset of scarcity—thinking that God will somehow fail us or leave us to fend for ourselves in this world—than to have an attitude of generosity, which only comes when we fully trust God to give us what we need.
We worry that by giving generously—or ‘hilariously’—we might be taken advantage of, or get left with nothing.
But the beautiful thing about generosity—when practised wisely with the guidance of the Holy Spirit—is that it is freeing.
It frees us from fear about our purses and possessions.
It frees us from attempting to control our lives.
It frees us to respond kindly to those around us.
It frees us to bless the world just like our Heavenly Father does every day.
It’s meant to be fun
Living generously for God is fun because you can be so creative with it. There are no rules!
If you sense Him inviting you to give something away, or do something kind, or treat someone lavishly, or donate something, then follow His lead, and see where it takes you.
Generosity is not meant to be a burden, but a joyful practice that we get to share with God Himself.
So, enjoy it.
Enjoy buying that person in the queue in front of you their coffee.
Enjoy covering a friend’s flights for a much-needed holiday.
Enjoy baby-sitting for a couple so they can finally enjoy a date night.
Enjoy helping that stranger hit their GoFundMe target.
Give away hilariously, knowing that God loves you and will joyfully give you ‘everything you need and plenty left over to share with others’ (2 Corinthians 9:8).
Who knows, that might even include a couple of donuts.
Love,
Theo
Get busy living
“I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!” — Ezekiel 18:32
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living, or get busy dying” — Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption
There’s a line in The Shawshank Redemption that’s stuck with me ever since I first watched it.
It comes during a key conversation between the film’s protagonists and fellow inmates—Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman).
They’re talking in the prison yard about what years on the inside can do to a person—how, over time, a place like Shawshank can become familiar, even comfortable, until the promise of freedom feels frightening.
Most men can’t make it on the outside, says Red—they can’t cope with freedom after years on the inside.
But Andy refuses to surrender to Red’s bleak verdict. He shares his dream of life beyond prison—of Mexico, down by the Pacific, “a warm place with no memory” where life can begin again.
Their conversation ends with Andy’s famous words: “I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
What are you choosing today?
Are you busy living, or busy dying?
Freedom—too good to be true?
As followers of Jesus, we can so often find ourselves trapped in our own ‘Shawshanks’.
Of course, I don’t mean incarceration in a physical building. I’m talking about spiritual imprisonment in our self-made cells of sin, guilt and shame.
The reality of God’s lavish, unconditional, extravagent grace can feel bewildering—frightening, even—to hearts that have spent years both sinning and being sinned against.
We find it easy to wrap our heads around notions of justice, law and punishment: do wrong, and you’ll face the consequences.
Feelings of shame, guilt and embarrassment come naturally to us. In our fallen world, these are emotions we learn and absorb from a young age. They might be unpleasant—but we get comfortable living with them.
But grace? That’s something supernatural, extraordinary, fantastic—something we can barely dream of. It sounds too good to be true.
Of course, as Christians, we know that freedom from sin isn’t just possible—it’s a reality that we now enjoy in Jesus by His Spirit (see John 8:36, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1).
Even so, we can find ourselves yearning for the familiarity of our old lives imprisoned under sin.
We hold on to the guilt that God has already forgiven us by the blood of His Son, through the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).
We dredge up the shame of our past that God has already plunged to the depths of His ocean of mercy (Micah 7:18–19).
We beat ourselves up with failures that God has chosen to blot out from His remembrance (Isaiah 43:25).
We submit ourselves again to cycles of sin and rebellion that, now that we are in Christ, no longer master us (Romans 6:14).
In other words, we settle for the squalor of Shawshank when God has offered us the shores of Mexico—“a warm place with no memory” of our sin or shame.
Get busy living
If, today, you find yourself trapped in a prison of sin, guilt and shame—there’s good news.
The way to freedom isn’t by working harder, doing better, or (spoiler alert) attempting a heroic attempt at self-rescue involving a tiny sewage pipe.
It is found by returning to Jesus, who is “…the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
Only the light of His glorious, dazzling, illuminating grace can dispel the darkness of our prison cells of guilt and shame.
Freedom is found as we lift our eyes from ourselves and gaze again on Him—trusting Him, resting in His grace, and surrendering everything to Him.
It comes by bringing ourselves again to the foot of the cross—laying our sin there, and plunging ourselves beneath the cleansing, purifying, life-giving blood of Christ that He has freely poured out for our salvation.
It is in Him, and Him alone, that we find the fullness of life, forgiveness, joy and peace that our hearts long for.
He has brought you into a spacious place—He has rescued you from the prison of your sin because he delights in you (see Psalm 18:19, NIV). His presence truly is “a warm place with no memory” of sin, guilt and shame.
Do you want to get busy living?
Abide in Jesus. Root yourself in His Word, rest in His grace, and be filled with His Spirit.
Today, I pray that you would know again the wonder of the gospel—not just as a comforting idea, but as a glorious reality that shapes and defines your whole life.
I pray that you would get busy living the life God made you for—the life of radical freedom, joy and peace enjoyed by those who know they have been forgiven and redeemed by God.
Run to Jesus—“Turn back and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32).
With love,
Mike
Relying on God’s love
‘If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.’ — 1 John 4:15–16 (NIV)
“Nothing binds me to my Lord like a strong belief in His changeless love.” — Charles Spurgeon
Recently, there’s a little phrase that has been jumping out at me as I’ve been reading my Bible:
‘But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.’ — Psalm 33:18
‘And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.’ — 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
What does it mean to ‘rely on’ God’s love?
I think we find the answer in John 15, as Jesus teaches His disciples in the upper room just before His death.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing... I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.” — John 15:5, 9
Earlier in the story, Jesus has promised that He has come to bring us life in all its fullness (John 10:10)—and here, He tells us how we get to live this full life by using the metaphor of a vine and its branches.
A branch can’t generate its own life. It can’t produce its own fruit. It can’t be independent at all, otherwise it’ll die. A branch relies completely on the vine to fill, grow and sustain it with life.
So it is with us and Jesus.
He made us to be one with Him. He made us for Himself—to depend on Him, and to find in Him everything we need and desire. In perfect love, He made us; and in perfect love, He fills those united to Him by faith so that they come fully alive: knowing Him personally, experiencing Him deeply, living like Him powerfully in this world.
His love is our souls’ life. But we must choose to remain in it.
When we choose to go it alone in life—relying on ourselves instead of Jesus’ love—we wilt and waste away, like a branch severed from the vine it belongs to. We deprive ourselves of the very purpose we were made for: to be one with Jesus.
I know the feeling of trying to live independently of Jesus and His love. It’s that soul-level dryness that displays itself in the un-Christlike ways I live: prioritising my comfort over others’ needs, losing my patience at trivial things, fraying with anxiety, lacking love for God and for people.
In other words, it feels like death on the inside. It really is a miserable place to be.
But when we choose to surrender to Him every day—relying on His love instead of ourselves—we flourish with all the fruits of His Spirit living within us.
Jesus’ love is the only thing we can truly rely on in this world, because unlike everything else, His love is unfailing because He is unfailing. He Himself is the love He shows us—and because He never changes, His love for us will never change.
That’s why Paul exclaims that despite every kind of tragic and terrible thing that could happen to us, ‘overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us’ (Romans 8:37), because we can never be separated from Him and His love living in us.
How awesome is that!
So, whatever you’re going through right now, rely on nothing less than Jesus Himself.
He loves you, forever.
He is with you, forever.
He is yours, forever.
Today, may we know ‘… how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love’ (Romans 5:5).
Love,
Theo
Is this revival?
“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” — Matthew 4:17
‘Revival, above anything else, is a glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is the restoration of him to the centre of the life of the Church.’ — Martyn Lloyd-Jones
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been excited by recent headlines about a revived curiosity in God, the Bible and Christianity.
There’s lots of talk of a ‘quiet revival’.
Reports of Gen Z flocking back to church.
Evidence of Bible sales reaching record highs.
Stories of people walking into churches off the street, compelled by a desire to find meaning, purpose and community.
It’s good news—amazing news. We should rejoice in these reports. We should give thanks that people are waking up to the reality that there is something more—that life is found only in Jesus.
But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?)…
As God’s people, we cannot let these encouraging headlines (and they are encouraging!) lead us to complacency.
What do I mean?
Repentance precedes revival
Times of revival—both in individual lives and nations—are always accompanied by personal and corporate repentance, as people turn away from sin and towards God.
We see this pattern in God’s words to Solomon following the dedication of the Temple:
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” — 2 Chronicles 7:14
For the people of Israel, revival and restoration would come only in the context of true, humble repentance and seeking after God.
It’s a pattern we also see in the verse that opened this email. At the beginning of His ministry on earth, Jesus says: “…repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Not, “Debate Christian ideas, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
Not, “Be a ‘spiritual person’, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
Not even, “Find a Christian community, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
He says: “Repent of your sins, and turn to God.”
In the midst of renewed interest and curiosity about Christianity, this is not a time for the Church to sit back, congratulating ourselves that people are starting to take us seriously again.
This is a moment to root ourselves again in the truth of the gospel, to repent where we have failed to share it boldly, to turn back to God, and to commit ourselves to wholehearted obedience and surrender.
Jesus, the only way
We cannot be complacent. We cannot confuse sympathy for Christianity with saving faith in Christ.
The way of Jesus isn’t just a lifestyle choice. He isn’t just an add-on that enriches our lives with a bit more meaning and purpose.
He doesn’t just provide us with a set of moral values or ethical principles to make us ‘better people’ or build a better society.
His Word isn’t just a self-help manual from which we can pick and choose ideas we like, and dismiss the ones we disagree with.
His Church isn’t just a community of nice people in which we find friendship and belonging.
Only repentance and belief in Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit works in hearts to expose sin and lead us to faith in Him, can save people.
Of course, the way to life with Jesus is a journey. That journey often begins with interest in the Bible (the book of Jesus), Christianity (the way of Jesus), and the Church (the people of Jesus).
We should give thanks for the many, many people who have taken their first steps on that journey in recent weeks and months.
But if that journey doesn’t lead to Jesus Himself—to repentance, trust and surrender—it cannot rightly be called ‘revival’.
We can and should give thanks for indicators like ‘spiritual interest’, church attendance and Bible sales.
These things might be early signs of revival—but only if they lead to real faith in the real Jesus.
Ideas alone can’t save people. Christian values—or so-called ‘Cultural Christianity’—can’t save people. ‘Spirituality’ can’t save people.
Jesus isn’t just some other way among many other ways—He is the only way. He is reality itself. His Word is truth. His way demands everything.
A call to boldness
What is our response in all this, as God’s people?
Repentance.
Prayer.
And boldness.
We must do what God’s people have always done in times of revival—we must examine ourselves, repent of our own sin and failures, and turn back to God in wholehearted devotion and surrender.
We must get on our knees in faith-filled, Spirit-empowered prayer.
And we must preach the gospel boldly—not a diluted, watered-down, people-pleasing gospel—but the real, true, eternal-life-changing gospel.
We must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ—that the only way to salvation and life is in Him, and Him alone, as we lay hold of God’s grace by faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This is the message the Church is called to herald in this cultural moment. This is the only message that changes lives and eternal destinies. This message alone is good news.
Today, join me in praying that the ‘quiet revival’ would become real, heart-changing, culture-shaking revival.
Lord, do it in our time.
With love,
Mike
The treasure of trials
“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.” — Job 23:10
‘Dear brothers and sisters, I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures he bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee.’ — St John of Avila
Around this time last year, I found myself facing one of the hardest experiences of my life.
It all started with a phone call on an ordinary Monday evening at 5:45pm.
From the tone of the doctor’s voice, I instantly knew that something was wrong.
“Your recent test results unfortunately came back positive, and we’ll need to refer you to the fast-track diagnostic team to check whether you have cancer or not.”
As soon as I hung up the phone, everything felt like it had changed. It was as if the lights had suddenly gone out, and I was left flailing in the dark.
Moments before, I had been happily getting on with my life. Now, I had no real certainty of how long I would have that life.
As much as I didn’t want to even accept that this was the situation I was now in, I knew I had to walk through it, and that I had no hope of making it to the other side without Jesus.
There are times in life when you realise that there really is nowhere else to turn other than to Him. When the things that form the blocks we build our lives with—relationships, health, jobs, plans and dreams—are suddenly gone, and you are brought face to face with your fragility.
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” — Matthew 7:24–25
Jesus says that the storms of life are inevitable. No matter who we are, all of us will face difficulty, disappointment and disaster of some kind. When these storms suddenly rise up against us, they expose the foundation that we have chosen to build our lives on.
If it is anything other than Jesus, we will collapse into ruin. But if it is Jesus, we are safe, forever.
Suffering brings us to the end of ourselves—and it is there that we find Jesus. When we have no other choice but to cling to Him, we are closer to Him than ever. Our distracted minds regain a single focus on Him, and our disordered hearts rediscover their true desire for Him.
It is so much better to go through a trial that draws us so inextricably close to Jesus rather than enjoy a thousand comforts that only distract us from Him.
The unwanted gift
In a mysterious way, trials are a gift. We never want them, but we need them. Without them, we will never become the people that God has made, saved and called us to be.
God isn’t committed to our convenience, but to conforming us into the image of Jesus. He will always prioritise our long-term holiness over our short-term happiness. He knows which parts in us need to die so that our whole beings can flourish, and He is relentless in cutting out of our lives anything that threatens this.
It’s only when we become holy like Him that we can live in the way He made us to. When we become truly holy—when we become more and more like Jesus—we become truly happy: content, joyful and peaceful people who glimmer ever more brightly with His glory.
If gold is left in the ground, it never reaches its full, magnificent potential. In the same way, if we bury ourselves in the comforts, pleasures and ease of the world, we will never become the glorious people that God desires us to be.
Only when we surrender to God and allow ourselves to be placed in the refining fire of His love will we come out gleaming in His holiness.
Nearly all of the most memorable encounters and experiences I’ve had with God have come not on the peaks when things are going well, but in the valleys where things are really hard.
I love the mountaintops; but I’m more thankful for the valleys.
It’s only when the black shadows of fear and uncertainty have loomed over me that I become more aware of Jesus’ light shining in the darkness, His presence comforting me in my anxiety, His voice guiding me in my confusion.
God does some of His deepest and most transformative work in us through the suffering He allows us and helps us to go through. He leads and accompanies us into the wilderness so that all our pretend, self-sourced strength withers away under the beating sun of our trials, and we are brought to a place of complete surrender to Him.
And in that place of utter weakness, we find that we can trust in nothing else other than God. We finally see that He alone is our strength, our source, everything that we need and desire.
He does this because He loves us. We only have to look at Jesus to see that this is true.
The suffering Saviour
God is love. The Father, the Son and the Spirit love one another perfectly in never-ending joy and delight. In their perfect love for one another, the Father enabled the Son in the power of the Spirit to endure the suffering of the cross, so that we might be reconciled to Him—saved from sin and death, and freed into fullness of life.
We trust in a God who doesn’t look at a distance at our suffering, but who has willingly stepped into it Himself.
Apart from sin, Jesus experienced the whole spectrum of human life in a fallen world. He lived the perfect life—but it wasn’t a privileged, luxurious and out-of-touch kind of life. His joy was complete and His peace secure, but He was also the ‘man of sorrows’ and a ‘suffering servant’.
He experienced exhaustion, frustration, hunger, thirst, anger and loss. He wept. He was deeply moved by the suffering people He encountered at every turn. His love was never self-preserving; He loved others selflessly at the expense of His comfort, His reputation—even His very life.
Jesus went through it all for us to rescue us from the destruction of sin and death. He suffered so that we might be saved.
Now, we must do the same for Him and for others.
Every challenge, every pain, every loss, every circumstance is an opportunity to follow Jesus’ example in learning how to fully trust, obey and depend on the Father.
As we do this, we catch the attention of those around us. People notice that even in the face of our trials, we stand firm in the peace, power and presence of God. They feel able to trust us by sharing their own pain with us.
The way we approach suffering—seeing it as a hard but necessary part of our obedience to Jesus and becoming like Him—is one of the most compelling ways to show Him to others.
The certain future
We don’t suffer in detached stoicism or determined heroism—we can choose to go through suffering with joy, because we are completely confident in Jesus to sustain us, lead us and bring us safely into an unimaginably glorious future.
‘Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.’ — Romans 8:18
No more tears.
No more pain.
No more sickness.
No more disasters.
No more death.
Endless peace.
Endless joy.
Endless delight.
Endless life.
Endless glory.
This is the firm, fast-approaching future for those who are in Jesus. He will return to put all wrongs right, to make all things new, and to reign with us over a fully-restored universe.
No matter how dark our circumstances might feel right now, the light of Jesus is always shining around us, and the glory of Heaven is always glimmering on the horizon ahead.
Trust in Jesus
Mercifully, after months of tests, I found out that I didn’t have cancer.
But I know that there will be more trials ahead of me: more unexpected storms, more dark valleys, more barren wildernesses, and ultimately an inevitable death that I will have to go through.
It’s the same for all of us. It is simply the way that life in this fallen world works.
But if we are in Jesus—if we believe in Him, love Him and live for Him—we can go through all our days with Him in peace, confidence and joy.
He is with us (Matthew 28:20).
He is for us (Romans 8:31).
He has made us forever right with Him (Romans 5:1–2).
He carries our burdens (1 Peter 5:7).
He shows us the way (Psalm 32:8).
He is our strength (Psalm 46:1).
He bottles up our tears (Psalm 56:8).
He listens to us (Psalm 34:17–18).
He weeps with us (John 11:35).
He prays for us (Hebrews 7:25).
He will bring us safely home (John 14:3).
And through it all, He is transforming us to become like Him, so that we’re ready to be with Him forever.
Whatever you face—either today or one day—take heart, trust in Jesus, and treasure the trials that bring you closer to Him.
Love,
Theo
Lessons from the nihilist penguin
What does a viral penguin teach us about life, faith and our longing for more?
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”’ — Isaiah 30:15
‘Even if he caught him and brought him back to the colony, he would immediately head right back for the mountains—but why?’ — Werner Herzog, ‘Encounters at the End of the World’
Over the past couple of weeks, a penguin has taken the internet by storm—and not for the reasons you might think.
If you missed it, this particular penguin—an Adélie penguin, apparently—is the unexpected hero of a viral clip from Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary, ‘Encounters at the End of the World’, shot in Antarctica (take a look here).
In the video, we watch on as the penguin breaks away from the colony, turns its back on its mates, and begins marching inland towards the distant mountains—away from its source of food, away from the protection of the group, and towards certain death.
In his narration of the scene, Werner Herzog voices the obvious question: ‘But why?’
What a penguin teaches us about our longing for more
Of course, it’s just a penguin. It’s not really that deep. I’m sure there are good scientific reasons for why it acted the way it did.
But what interested me is how this viral moment put a finger on something deeper—our longing for purpose and meaning.
The penguin’s lonely march to the mountains resonated with a desire so many of us feel—to escape the grind of modern life that often leaves us feeling burnt out, anxious and restless.
Even if they can’t quite articulate it, so many people sense that modern life and its idols—success, status, money, pleasure—haven’t delivered on their promises.
Instead of providing the satisfaction and freedom we’re looking for, the pursuit of these things only leaves us empty, exhausted and lost.
Disappointed and disillusioned, escape begins to feel like the answer.
Is escaping courageous, or is it cowardice? Either way, it can seem like the only way to satisfy our longing for more.
Hand in your notice. Book your ticket. Pack your bags. Start again somewhere new—the way to peace and freedom is found on the other side of escape, isn’t it?
Less dramatically, maybe you could just reinvent yourself by taking up new interests, new hobbies and new relationships—surely that will fill the emptiness?
Where are we to run?
Not escaping, but returning
God’s Word points us towards a much better, more glorious answer.
The purpose and peace we’re looking for doesn’t ultimately come from escaping our circumstances and creating a new life for ourselves—it comes from returning to and resting in Jesus.
Reflect, for a moment, on the verse that opened this email:
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”’ — Isaiah 30:15
Surrounded by enemies and facing the Lord’s punishment, the people of Israel were facing an existential crisis—the future of their nation and their lives were under threat from the Assyrian empire.
The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, says something surprising—something that probably sounded absurd to a people facing imminent destruction.
The way to salvation was neither through escaping nor through fighting in their own power. It was only through returning and resting in Him that they would be delivered. Strength was to be found not in themselves, but in quiet confidence in the Lord.
And here’s where the penguin comes back in.
Like the people Isaiah was addressing, so many of us today feel surrounded and without a way out. We feel overwhelmed, anxious, and boxed in—not by physical enemies, but by the pressures, burdens and expectations of modern life.
Sometimes, like the penguin, escape feels like the way to salvation:
‘I’ll finally feel free when I get out of that workplace, that situation, that relationship.’
‘I’ll finally be at peace when I stop living for other people’s approval.’
‘Life will make sense when I just live “my truth” and forge my own path.’
God’s Word points us in an entirely different direction. The salvation we’re looking for isn’t from escaping our circumstances, but in returning to the One who made us.
We were made for Him—to know and be known by Him, to love and be loved by Him, and to live for His glory.
He alone saves us from our greatest need—not just the pressures and anxieties of the world around us, but the ultimate problem of the sin within us—by sending His Son to bear our guilt, carry our shame and share with us His righteousness.
He died a criminal’s death outside the city walls—alone, rejected and abandoned—so that we could be brought into relationship with His Father and experience the joy, love and peace He has enjoyed for all eternity.
He walked the loneliest road any human being has ever travelled so that we wouldn’t have to. He endured the oblivion of Calvary so that we could experience the bliss of restored relationship with His Father.
This is what we were made for.
This is what we were saved for.
This is the truth that our world is crying out for.
Not the vague hope of freedom symbolised by some viral penguin’s march to the mountains, but the real, substantial, satisfying hope that comes when we surrender everything to Jesus and receive the life that is in Him.
True life—the life we’re looking for—doesn’t come from escaping, but from returning: to the One who made us, loves us and provides for our every need.
Freedom comes neither from struggling on in our own strength nor running away from our circumstances—it comes from falling once again into His arms, embracing His purpose for our lives, and trusting that His ways are the best ways.
So, today, don’t follow the nihilist penguin towards the mountains.
Instead, run back to Jesus. Anchor yourself in Him and His promises. And be the one who tells others where true life is to be found—not by escaping, but by returning to and resting in Him.
He alone is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6).
With love,
Mike
Re-learning how to pray
…‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ — Luke 18:13
‘Prayer is not a place to be good, it is a place to be honest. Prayer is not a place to perform, it is a place to be present. Prayer is not a place to be right, it is a place to be known.’ — Kyle Strobel
What’s the prayer you find yourself praying most?
Recently, I’ve found myself praying just three words over and over again throughout the day:
God, help me.
When I feel overwhelmed by things that I can’t control—God, help me.
When I’m faced with decisions and I don’t know what to do—God, help me.
When I’m confronted with temptation or shame—God, help me.
There’s nothing special about these three words other than the fact that they’re honest. I really mean it when I ask God for help, because I know I desperately need Him.
I’ve also found that short prayers like this also help me avoid performance or pretence in my relationship with God.
Often without realising it, we so often end up treating prayer as something we need to get right in front of God and other people.
That’s why we can end up praying with a lot of words and trying to say them in the correct way—convincing ourselves that the longer and more eloquent we are, the more God will take notice and listen to us, and the more people will approve of us.
We can often feel this pressure to perform when we’re praying, because deep down, we’re worried about praying in a way that’s acceptable to God and others.
But praying as a performance—either to get God’s attention or gain people’s approval—is missing the whole point of it.
Jesus knows this. That’s why He spoke directly to this problem:
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them” (Matthew 6:5).
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again” (Matthew 6:7).
Elsewhere, He tells the story of how a Pharisee and a tax collector chose to pray in the Temple: the Pharisee publicly thanked God that He was not like other sinners, while the tax collector sorrowfully cried out to God to have mercy on him (Luke 18:9–14).
Both were there to confess their sin before God. But while the Pharisee performed self-righteously, the tax collector simply prayed honestly.
And it was the tax collector, not the Pharisee, was the one who was made right in God’s sight.
God doesn’t want me to perform or pretend when I pray. He’s not interested in me putting on a show or hiding behind a facade.
He wants me. He wants me as I am. Whatever I’m doing, however I’m feeling, wherever I’m going, He wants me to be with Him and to talk with Him honestly.
That’s what all good fathers want for their children—and our God is the perfect Father, who knows what we need before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8), and who loves to give Himself to us (Luke 11:13).
So, with His help, I’m trying to re-learn how to pray.
To speak honestly with my Father.
To tell Him simply that I need Him and that I love Him.
To know Him better and enjoy Him more every day.
If you want to join me on this journey, let me know—I’d love to hear from you and pray for you, too!
Love,
Theo
The longest way round is the shortest way home
The long way round may not be the easy way. But it is better, because it is along this narrow, hard way that God is making you into the person He has created you to be.
‘We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.’ — Romans 5:3–5
‘Longest way round is the shortest way home’ — James Joyce, Ulysses
The things that matter most in life are often the things that take most time.
Or—as Joyce memorably puts it in Ulysses—the longest way round is the shortest way home.
The same, I believe, is true of the Christian life. There are no quick-fixes, cheat-codes or shortcuts in our journey of discipleship.
Sanctification is the slow work of the Spirit across years and decades—not just hours and days. The race of faith really is a marathon, not a sprint.
The ‘longest way round’, you could say, is the way God has chosen for us to experience the fullness of life He made us for—a life of ever-increasing holiness, obedience and communion with Him.
Of course, having made us right with Himself through Christ, God could have chosen to also complete His work of making us like Christ in an instant.
We might think that the ‘shortest way home’—the most convenient way—would have been for God to pick us up and pluck us from our trials, temptations and setbacks. Having saved us, He could have immediately taken us up to be with Him in eternity, where sin, suffering and death trouble us no longer.
But that wasn’t His purpose for us. Instead, mysteriously, gloriously, He chose that we would remain in this fallen world—full of disappointment, struggle and pain—for a short time until we dwell with Him in eternal perfection, peace and delight.
This reality contains both a profound challenge and an incredible encouragement for us as we step into 2026—let me explain why.
The challenge—rejoice in suffering
Consider how Paul describes the Christian life in the passage that opened this email.
Problems and trials, says Paul, shouldn’t surprise us—in fact, they are a certainty. But our response to difficult circumstances isn’t to despair as though God has abandoned us—it is to rejoice because God is working in us (Romans 5:3).
Why should we do that?
It’s not because these trials are pleasant or enjoyable. Paul himself had experienced first-hand the pain of persecution, ill-health, relational breakdown, imprisonment, poverty and disappointment.
He isn’t dismissing or brushing away the reality of our suffering. He isn’t pretending that it doesn’t hurt. Instead, he challenges us to see our suffering as the mysterious means through which God sanctifies those whom He has justified.
In a world that does everything it can to run at the first signs of inconvenience and difficulty, this exhortation to ‘rejoice’ in the midst of our problems and trials seems entirely counter-intuitive.
But Paul lifts our eyes to see the sovereign purposes of God in the midst of our troubles: ‘…for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment’ (Romans 5:3b–5a).
Can you see Paul’s argument? Through our troubles, God’s Spirit works in us to produce endurance, which produces character, which strengthens our confident hope in God. We rejoice, because through it all God is making us into people fit to dwell with Him in endless perfection and peace.
That’s Paul’s challenge—to rejoice in our suffering. But here’s the wonderful encouragement—the promise of sanctification.
The promise—sanctification
This year will likely bring its share of heartbreak and hurt—this is the reality of living in this broken world. But these things do not mean that God has abandoned you, rejected you or stopped working in you.
In fact, the opposite is true. These things are the very means through which He delights to work in you—teaching you to trust in Him, to rely on Him, to surrender every part of your life to Him in love and dependence.
If you are experiencing the storms of life right now, it doesn’t mean that God has forsaken or forgotten you. These may be the very waves and winds He is using to plunge you into the sure and steadfast rock of His merciful power.
Through suffering, He is sanctifying you—loosening your grip on the things of this world that can’t give you life, and drawing you more closely to Himself, the One who is Life Himself.
The long way round may not be the easy way. But it is better, because it is along this narrow, hard way that God is making you into the person He has created you to be—conforming you to the image of His beloved Son and producing a glory that outweighs our temporary troubles (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Through it all, we can be confident of ‘…how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love’ (Romans 5:5).
He loves you, He is with you in your suffering, and by His Spirit He is completing the work He began in you.
Rejoice, because this long road is preparing you for your eternal home.
With love,
Mike
You can become all flame
“Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.” — Leviticus 6:13
‘If you will, you can become all flame.’ — Abba Joseph, Sayings of the Desert Fathers
At the moment, I’m studying theology part time—and recently, I wrote an essay on the desert fathers and mothers.
If you haven’t heard of them before, well, you’re in for a treat.
As a bit of context, they were ordinary Christians who—after seeing the Church become increasingly distracted from the gospel as it became more institutionalised under the Roman Empire—fled to the deserts in the Near East, so that they might become like Jesus and enter fully into His Kingdom.
Some of their stories are pretty wild—but there’s one that has stuck with me ever since I first came across it.
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, 'Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?' Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, 'If you will, you can become all flame.'
Wow.
If you will, you can become all flame.
That’s what I want more than anything: to become all flame for God.
Around a thousand years before the desert fathers and mothers were around, the Israelites were travelling through the same desert on their way to the Promised Land.
God gave them instructions so that they could live safely in His presence while He personally led them through the wilderness—and one of them was to keep the fire on the altar burning in the Tabernacle at all times.
Leviticus 9 tells us how this fire started, when it blazed forth from God’s presence and consumed the first burnt offering on the altar. After that, the Israelite priests would have kept this fire burning day and night for 40 years.
If you believe in Jesus, He has lit a fire in you by His Spirit. Only He can start the fire.
But, empowered by His grace, it’s our responsibility to keep it burning.
To fuel it through spending time with God in His Word, prayer and worship.
To grow it by surrendering ourselves to Him every day.
To build it by committing ourselves to a loving community of believers.
To let others see its light by showing them Jesus in everything we say and do.
I know that when I don’t do these things—when I settle by doing the bare minimum in following Jesus—I feel the flame within me diminishing.
Whenever that happens, I always go back to Romans 12, where Paul urges us to ‘…offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to the Lord…’ (Romans 12:1), and to ’never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord’ (Romans 12:11).
I don’t want to settle for a distracted, disinterested faith. I don’t want to let the fire of my faith flicker into embers.
I want to become all flame for Jesus.
I want to keep the fire burning on the altar of my life at all times.
I want to carry the light and heat of His holy presence wherever I go and to whoever I meet.
Keep us ablaze for you, Lord.
Love,
Theo
Moving forwards by looking backwards
'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.' — Ephesians 2:8–10
'The gospel is not just the ABCs but the A to Z of the Christian life. The gospel is not the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom but the way we make all progress in the kingdom.' — Tim Keller
Resolutions.
Maybe you’re smashing yours (just 363 more days to go).
Maybe you think they’re pointless.
Maybe you’ve already given up—it’s okay.
Whether you love them or hate them, I believe the very act of setting resolutions is an expression of a deeper desire shared by every human being:
The desire to change.
All of us want things to be better than they currently are—whether that's in our lives, in our relationships, in the world around us.
We pour vast amounts of time, money and energy into improving our health, our lifestyle, our circumstances, our work and our relationships. We read the latest self-help books, listen to the trending podcasts and adopt new habits—all in an effort to transcend our present reality and transform our lives for the better.
As followers of Jesus, the desire for change runs even deeper—we long to be free from sin, to grow in holiness, and to experience more of the life of joy, purpose and peace that God made us for.
While our pursuit of change can be positive and constructive, when we rely on our own power and effort it can leave us feeling frustrated, exhausted and demoralised.
Despite our best efforts, things sometimes seem to get worse before they get better. The storms of life come, derailing our best-laid plans. The pressures and worries of life crowd out our well-meaning intentions.
Our problem isn’t that we desire change. It’s that our desire for change is often directed to the wrong end, and pursued by the wrong means.
Let me explain why—and how the gospel gives us a better, more beautiful and ultimately more glorious vision for change.
The way in is the way on
God’s purpose for our lives isn’t just that we’d become ‘better versions of ourselves’. It isn’t that we’d be a bit happier, a bit nicer, a bit more fulfilled.
God’s purpose for our lives, in the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, is to ‘glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever’.
It is that we would know Him more deeply, love Him more wholeheartedly, and delight in Him more fully each and every day of our lives.
It is that we would be ‘conformed to the image of His Son’ (Romans 8:29)—putting to death our sin and living in ever-increasing love and obedience, in union with Christ and empowered by His Spirit.
It is that we would bring glory and honour to Him as we bear fruit and ‘do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10).
This is what true change looks like—and the good news is that the power to bring it about isn’t something we find in ourselves.
It is all by grace.
‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.’ — Ephesians 2:8–9
If the goal of the Christian life is ever-increasing knowledge, love, obedience and worship of God, the means by which we grow is grace alone, through faith alone.
Grace was your way in to life with God, and grace is your way on. The way forwards in the Christian life comes by looking backwards—by resting in all that Christ has already done for you. Real change happens ‘in view of God’s mercy’ (Romans 12:1—rooted in His grace and enabled by His Spirit.
If you are looking for change in your life in 2026, don’t just rely on setting resolutions or making some new habits. These might be helpful things, but they can never deliver the lasting transformation you're looking for.
Instead, move forwards by looking backwards. Rejoice in all that Jesus has done on your behalf—dying in your place on the cross, bearing the punishment for your sin, clothing you with His righteousness, and sharing with you His eternal life—all so that you can know and enjoy His Father forever.
Grace was your way in.
Grace is your way on.
Rest in this amazing grace today, and every day of the year to come.
With love,
Mike
The best gift God has ever given
‘But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.’ — Ecclesiastes 2:11
‘Man’s maker was made man, that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that the Truth might be accused of false witness, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.’ — Augustine
I hope you had a joyful time on Christmas Day yesterday!
Family and friends, food and drink, gifts and games, time to rest, reflect and celebrate—Christmas is full of good things for us to enjoy.
All good things come from God, and He generously gives them so that we would worship Him in gratitude. At Christmas, these good things are meant to enhance our celebration of Christ’s arrival here on earth.
But, as always, sin spoils it. So many people have ended up pushing Christ out of Christmas and, ultimately, out of their lives. They try to enjoy His blessings without enjoying Him.
In one way or another, we’ve all done this. We’ve all fallen into the temptation of elevating the gifts above the Giver—of wanting the benefits of living in the Kingdom without having to serve the King. We push the glorious Creator away and instead grab at His created glories.
The Teacher in Ecclesiastes tries everything in the world that people look to for ultimate satisfaction, fulfilment, and meaning. Pleasure, success, power, wealth, fame—he tries it all, he gains it all, but he discovers that having it all doesn’t mean anything.
God’s gifts can’t ever fulfil us like God Himself can, because they were never meant to. Every good thing we have is from Him and is meant to be enjoyed for His glory, and every attempt to bypass this reality eventually leaves us empty, disappointed and in despair.
Jesus came into this world to save us from these sinful, silly attempts to find life outside of Him. He came to take the punishment we deserved for our rebellion against God, so that we could be made right with Him forever. He came to show us that the full life we want is the Spirit-empowered life that’s lived wholly for God and not for ourselves.
In Jesus, we can find everything we’ve been looking for, and we can enjoy the good things He gives us rightly: for our good and His glory.
Christ alone gives us the only life worth living. Christ alone makes Christmas worth celebrating.
Whatever our experience has been this Christmas, may we always look to Him to find our full satisfaction.
Love,
Theo
P.S. This week’s Journal is an adaptation from our One Year Devotional: 365 Days of Looking to Jesus. I’m unashamedly a bit biased, but the team and I agree that this really is the best thing we’ve ever made. You can find out more about it and grab a late Christmas gift for yourself or someone else here!
Don’t lose your wonder this Christmas
‘So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.’ — John 1:14
‘He became what we are so that he might make us what he is.’ — Athanasius
Ho ho ho-my goodness, Christmas is next week!
But I’ll admit, I’m fighting hard to stay enthusiastic about it.
The truth is, after seeing the same Morrisons great-value turkey deal TV ad and heard dear Mariah blaring in the shops for the 100th time, I can start to feel more and more un-Christmassy.
Now, before you roll your eyes at my Grinchy Scroogeness and bin this email alongside your most recent wrapping paper disaster, stay with me.
I promise you I don’t hate Christmas.
What I do hate is how, by the time Christmas Day arrives, I’ve often lost my wonder of the reason why we even celebrate it.
Because, honestly, the glory of Jesus—the infinite, eternal, perfect Son of God—being born as a tiny human baby should overwhelm us with awe.
It is indescribably amazing.
The infinite Son of God became an infant child.
The Word couldn’t utter a single syllable.
The Creator chose to enter His creation.
The King of the universe arrived on Earth without anyone really knowing about it—born not in a royal palace to great fanfare, but in an ordinary Bethlehem inn surrounded by his parents, some shepherds and a host of wise men.
He came, knowing that this would be His entrance. He came, knowing that, except for sin, He would endure the full human experience with all its highs and lows.
He came, knowing that He would have no home to call His own. He came, knowing that He would be constantly misunderstood, shunned, harassed, rejected—even by His own family and friends. He came, knowing that He would be the lowest of the low.
He came, knowing that He would ultimately suffer one of the worst deaths the people He made had come up with.
He came, knowing that He had to go through the horror of the cross to defeat the devil, sin and death, before coming triumphantly out of an empty grave.
He came knowing all of this, because He loves us.
It is absolutely breathtaking. We simply can’t fully grasp the glory of it.
But what we can do is let the glory of the incarnation grasp us.
We can reflect on it with wonder. We can sing about it with joy. We can feast on it in our hearts with gratitude. We can tell our family and friends about it with confidence.
All I want for Christmas is to be in wonder of Jesus.
I’m praying that more than anything else, we find ourselves captivated by the glory of His arrival here on earth—becoming one of us, so that we might become one with Him, forever.
Have a wonderful time celebrating Him this Christmas!
Love,
Theo
The Prince of Shalom
‘For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ — Isaiah 9:6
‘Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King:
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”’ — Charles Wesley
Last week, Donald Trump received the inaugural ‘Fifa Peace Prize’ at the draw for the 2026 World Cup.
How... interesting.
But regardless of your opinions on Trump, Fifa, and the legitimacy of this shiny new ‘prize’—it begs the question: what is true peace?
We tend to think of peace as the absence of something—of conflict, war and hostility.
Peace is a good night’s sleep free from anxiety and worry. It’s people getting along without insulting and hurting each other. It’s nations agreeing to stop fighting and killing one another.
But the Bible gives us a much fuller, comprehensive and ultimately more glorious definition of peace.
Shalom.
Shalom isn’t merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of something greater. Shalom is completeness, wholeness, well-being.
Shalom is life as God created it to be—people living in harmony with themselves, each other and God. Shalom is the fullness and blessing that comes when our whole lives are aligned with God’s pattern and design.
Shalom was what Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden, where they dwelt in perfect communion and blessing with God and one another.
Shalom is what was shattered when Adam and Eve set themselves up in rebellion against God and rejected His created order by eating from the tree (Genesis 3).
Since that tragic day, humanity has lived in a state of enmity with ourselves, God and one another. In this fallen, sin-ravaged world, we feel restless, unsettled and anxious, striving for a sense of inner peace and completeness that no thing in this world can ever deliver.
Driven by fear and envy, we compete and war against and kill our fellow image-bearers for resources, land and prestige.
Worst of all, we curse and reject the God we were made for communion with.
We long for shalom—and yet it always seems to evade us.
So, where is shalom to be found?
Shalom is a Person
The good news is that shalom isn’t just a limited commodity that we need to compete and strive for.
Shalom is a person—Jesus Christ.
As Isaiah 9:6 majestically declares, He is the ‘Prince of Peace’—the Prince of Shalom.
The Son has existed for all eternity in shalom—a state of wholeness, completeness and blessing in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
In a stunning act of divine love and grace, He stepped into our fallen world so that we, too, could enjoy His shalom. By shedding His blood on the cross, He made peace between us and God, taking on Himself the Father’s wrath against sin so that all who trust in Him could be reconciled to God:
‘For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.’ — Colossians 1:19–20
At the heart of the Christmas story—at the heart of the gospel— is the promise of shalom. It is the hope that all who put their trust in this infant King, this ‘Prince of Peace’, can live in peace, blessing and unbroken communion with God the Father now and for all eternity.
True shalom is to know that our sin is forgiven, that our future is secure, and that we are beloved sons and daughters of God. Through our union with Christ, we now share the same status before the Father as Christ does—we can approach Him in freedom and confidence, without fear of judgement or punishment (1 John 4:7–19).
This shalom isn’t just something we enjoy ourselves. The work of restoration, reconciliation and renewal that Christ is bringing about in us, He is also bringing about in the whole of creation.
World peace won’t ultimately be achieved by the Fifa-Peace-Prize-winning politicians of this world. It is the work of Christ, who ‘made peace with everything in heaven and on earth’ (Colossians 1:20) and will one day return to make all things new—ushering in a new creation free from war, strife, violence and death (see Revelation 21).
Until then, we are called to be people of peace—to show others the same forgiveness that has been shown us, to bring reconciliation where there is division, and to build communities of shalom in a world full of division.
Now we have peace with God, we are called to invite others to enjoy that same peace for themselves by putting their trust in Jesus: “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
If, today, you feel anxious, unsettled and fearful about the state of the world, look to Jesus. The shalom you’re looking for can only be found in Him—and He delights to give it to His beloved people: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).
May you know the depths of His shalom during this Advent season!
With love,
Mike
The narrow way of obedience
“If you love me, obey my commandments.” — John 14:15
‘The highest freedom is found in obedience to God.’ — Thomas Merton
It’s safe to say that ‘obedience’ isn’t trending right now.
In fact, in our hyper-individualistic culture, it’s widely viewed with suspicion. Many would go as far as viewing obedience as oppressive, a removal of our rights as autonomous beings.
In this context, Jesus’ call to obey him is radical.
Many people might see this call to obedience as domineering—that Jesus wants nothing more than to dominate us and punish us when we step out of line.
But that’s not what the Bible tells us.
When we let God teach us through His Word, we discover that disobedience to Jesus only ever leads to death, and that obedience to Him only ever leads to the full, lasting life that we were made for and long to live.
Here’s how:
Obedience is love
“If you love me, obey my commandments.” — John 14:15
Notice the words that Jesus uses here: He doesn’t say, “If you trust me” or “If you honour me”, or even “If you believe in me”, although all those would still be applicable and true.
He says, “If you love me”.
Obeying Jesus is something that flows from our hearts. As His disciples, we should want and eagerly desire to obey Him, because we love Him.
Love is crucial to obedience, because to love someone means to trust them. So, when we obey Jesus, it means that we trust Him. We have confidence that He is who He says He is, that He loves us, and that He only ever wants to lead us into a life of flourishing in His Kingdom.
We obey Jesus, because we love Him—we trust Him and we want to glorify Him with our whole lives.
Obedience is dependence
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” — John 14:16
Obey Jesus.
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? In the words of Nike’s slogan, we need to “just do it”.
But we all know that the reality of “just doing it” is actually really hard. It’s not about simply trying harder or mustering up more willpower, because that will always fail. We are still sinful, and we need help to obey Jesus.
That’s why He promises His disciples that the Father will send the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit leads us along the way of Jesus, grounds us in the truth of Jesus, and fills us with the life of Jesus.
Paul describes our reliance on the Spirit as ‘walking in step with the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:25). That gives us a beautiful image of what being Jesus’ disciple is like: as we follow after Him, we are accompanied, directed, strengthened and comforted by the Spirit walking alongside us.
Obedience is freedom
‘And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.’ — 1 John 5:3–4
Jesus’ commands are not burdensome. They are not meant to crush us into submission, but to free us into life. Jesus says that “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10)
So often, people think it’s the opposite—that Jesus has come to steal our fun, kill our joy and even destroy our lives. But that’s a lie from the enemy, straight out of Genesis 3 when he first tempted Eve to distrust God’s goodness.
Jesus only ever wants to lead us into the fullest life in His Kingdom, where, as Paul describes in Romans 14:27, we experience ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.’
Obeying God is so freeing. It frees us from sin, and it frees us to live a life full of eternal purpose, hope and joy! It frees us from constantly worrying about ourselves and our lives, and it frees us to have complete confidence in who we are in Jesus.
It’s a narrow path, but it’s the only one that leads to life.
I’m committed to walking with you along it.
Love,
Theo
Analogue wisdom in a digital age
‘How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!’ — Proverbs 16:16
'Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.' –— C.H. Spurgeon
Where do you look for answers?
The internet, social media and AI have put a world of knowledge at our fingertips. In an instant we can find answers to any and every kind of question:
What’s the weather today?
How do I cook a Christmas roast?
What should I watch on Netflix tonight?
What's happening in America right now?
And… What on earth does 6-7 mean?
These tools can be invaluable for acquiring information and expanding our understanding. They can and should be received as gifts from God.
The problem is when we search for wisdom in places that can only ever provide us with knowledge.
While digital technologies like the internet, social media and AI can give us quick answers and instant access to a sea of information, they can’t help us navigate life’s biggest questions, decisions and dilemmas.
For that, we need to get offline.
We need godly wisdom.
We need to go analogue.
The habits of analogue wisdom
Proverbs 9:10 says: ‘Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.’
Christian wisdom begins with reverence and awe of God. It is the application of knowledge to lead a godly and righteous life. It’s the slow, reflective, lifelong process of getting to know God and learning to live rightly in His world.
Another way to put it is that Christian wisdom is about living a life that corresponds to reality. Wisdom comes ultimately from looking to and abiding in Christ, the eternal Logos who is Wisdom itself.
I also believe that Christian wisdom is deeply analogue, because the spiritual disciplines that correspond to wisdom are offline, embodied, and communal.
If you’re thinking about your next steps in life, ChatGPT might be able to suggest some helpful career ideas—but it can’t replicate the slow, prayerful process of discerning God’s call on your life alongside others.
If you’re thinking about who you should marry, a Christian influencer on Instagram might give you some useful dating advice—but they can’t replace the counsel of wise mentors and friends who know you deeply and are committed to what's best for you.
If you’re wrestling with sin and temptation, the internet might point you to some helpful teaching and resources—but it can’t replace coming before Jesus in surrender, falling on His grace, filling your mind with the truth of His Word, and seeking accountability with your church community.
Christian wisdom isn’t a matter of instant answers and quick solutions. Wisdom flourishes in the quiet place of prayer and meditation. It comes from wrestling with God’s Word over months and years as you learn to live in light of His reality.
Christian wisdom dwells in your church family, in the lives of wise friends and mentors and leaders who can speak into your life with Biblical truth, love and real-life experience.
If you want knowledge, by all means use the digital tools at your disposal.
But if you want wisdom?
First, ‘ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.’ (James 1:5). Pray that God's Spirit would renew your mind. And then get offline and engage in the analogue disciplines of prayer, worship, the Word and community.
May we be a community of people who love God's truth, who seek to live in light of His reality, and who root ourselves in Christ who is Wisdom itself.
With love,
Mike
Why you can be confident in Jesus
‘But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.’ — Hebrews 10:12
‘Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world.’ — Clement of Rome
Recently, I had the joy of preaching at my church as part of our current series, where we’re looking at the different ways Jesus fulfils the Old Testament.
My theme was ‘sacrifice’ and ‘communion’. I know, pretty simple themes to explain in a 20-minute sermon, right?
But as I was preparing and even as I was speaking, I was so struck again by the sheer magnitude of who Jesus is and what He has done for us as our perfect High Priest and our perfect sacrifice.
The writer of Hebrews looks back to the Old Testament in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and here are five things they want us to understand:
1. Jesus’ priesthood lasts forever
‘There were many priests under the old system, but death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.’ — Hebrews 7:23–25
In the old system, there was a constant turnover of high priests who came and passed away.
But Jesus is eternal, and so His role as the perfect High Priest is also eternal – meaning that He can save forever those who trust Him.
2. Jesus enters the true Most Holy Place: the throne room of Heaven
‘With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.’ — Hebrews 9:12
Jesus perfectly performed all the roles of Israel’s sacrificial system Himself—as the perfect High Priest, He brought His own blood into the Father’s holy presence in Heaven as the perfect sacrifice.
3. His sacrifice is once for all
‘Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.’ — Hebrews 10:11–12
Unlike the Levitical priests, Jesus’ work is finished and sufficient. There is nothing more to be done. Our sin is atoned for, forever.
Jesus giving up His life on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice for all people, for all time.
4. His blood truly cleanses our hearts
‘Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.’ — Hebrews 9:13–14
Whereas the animal sacrifices under the Law could only ever cleanse people ceremonially, Jesus’ sacrifice actually reaches the inner person, fully cleansing our hearts from sin and making us right with God forever.
5. He mediates a new covenant
‘…he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.’ — Hebrews 9:15
As the perfect High Priest who carried out the perfect sacrifice, Jesus hasn’t just temporarily covered our sin—He has removed it completely and opened up direct access to God!
Under this new covenant, God has put His laws in our minds and written them on our hearts. He has become our God, and we have become His people. Everyone from every tribe, tongue and nation can know Him. He has forgiven our wickedness and will never again remember our sins (Jeremiah 31:31–34).
Because of what Jesus has done by willingly shedding his blood and dying on the cross, we can be fully forgiven, forever.
We can be completely cleansed from our sin, forever.
We can be part of God’s covenant family and enjoy being in relationship with him and with one another, forever.
And as Hebrews 13:15 says, we can offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name, forever.
All we need to do is to put our trust in Him. To believe in Him, and to receive all that He has done for us.
This is the gospel: Jesus is Lord, and He has done everything that was needed to save us.
Let’s believe it, and let’s go and tell everyone about it.
Love,
Theo
The end of the world as we know it
‘The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.’ — 1 Peter 4:7
‘It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)’ — R.E.M.
There are days when reading the news feels a bit like flicking the pages of a dystopian novel.
A few minutes of scrolling could lead you to the conclusion that…
Artificial intelligence is coming for your job.
World War Three is about to begin.
The government is watching you.
You’re going to be cancelled.
The economy is about to collapse.
And that’s not to mention the microplastics.
Of course, all these things are serious. Many of them are likely. Some of them are probably already happening.
And when we spend too much time dwelling on them—they can lead us to live our lives under a cloud of fear, anxiety and existential dread.
But here’s the thing—our media and politics thrives on fear.
Fear sells newspapers, drives clicks and grabs attention.
Fear is the cultural air we breathe—and it’s anti-gospel.
Combatting fear with the truth
Consider, for a moment, Peter’s words that opened this email:
‘The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.’ — 1 Peter 4:7
Peter isn’t scaremongering here. He isn’t trying to be an alarmist, a doomsayer, or a first-century conspiracy theorist.
On the contrary, these words assure us of three truths that combat our fears and comfort our hearts:
1. God is sovereign over the end of all things
To non-believers, Peter’s claim that the ‘the end of the world is coming soon’ is a source of dread and anxiety—confirming the verdict in wider culture that society is collapsing and the end of the world is on its way.
However, to believers, these words should cause our hearts to sing—reassuring us that God is sovereign over all things and has already written the end of the story—a story which culminates in a new heavens and a new earth, where His chosen people will dwell with Him in safety and enjoyment forever (Revelation 21).
So, when we read the news or scroll through our social media feeds—when we ‘hear of wars and threats of wars’ (Matthew 24:6)—we need not panic or fear. God is in all things, over all things, and is directing His creation to a glorious destiny.
2. We have confidence in the day of judgment
Secondly, Peter reminds us that, in Christ, God has already saved us from an even more terrifying day than the end of the created world—the day of judgment.
A few verses later, he encourages early Christians facing persecution:
‘For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?’ — 1 Peter 4:17
Peter is saying that our temporary suffering now is preparing us for the final day when all people stand before the throne in judgment.
On that day, God’s chosen people—those who have obeyed the Good News by putting their trust in Jesus Christ—will receive the promised prize of eternal life with Him, while all who oppose Him will enter His eternal judgment.
So, if you are in Him, you have no reason to fear the end of the world—because your eternal destiny is already secure. The judgment you deserve for your sin has been absorbed by Christ, and you will live with Him forevermore.
3. He will preserve His people now and forever:
Peter concludes the chapter with these words: ‘keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you’ (1 Peter 4:19).
As long as we live in this world—no matter how dark and desperate things seem to get—we can trust that the God who created us and saved us will also preserve us until the end.
Nothing can separate you from His love. Nothing will overcome His Church. He will never fail you.
So, today, when your mind is overwhelmed by everyday anxieties or overcome by fear of the world’s impending destruction—rest in these truths again.
Whatever you read, hear and think about—hold it up in the light of these glorious words from Jesus:
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” — John 14:27
With love,
Mike
The relentless fight for your heart
‘Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.’ — 1 John 5:21
‘An idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart of hearts: ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’’ — Timothy Keller
Ever since I was around five years old, I’ve rushed from one interest to the next.
Sports, music, fitness, technology—over the years, I’ve given a lot of my time and money to these things, and in general, they’ve all brought me a lot of happiness.
But at times, they’ve become my idols. There have been points when these things have come to dominate my thoughts, desires and spending, so much so that my relationship with God has been compromised.
I’m sure you’ve experienced the same temptation.
Every day, so many things are fighting for our hearts. It’s a relentless struggle, because our hearts are the most important part of us. They define who we are and direct how we live. Proverbs 4:23 urges us: ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’
Whatever our hearts long for, we live for. Whatever they want, we worship.
Falling into idolatry
God made us out of His infinite love, and He made us to worship Him—to direct our desires towards Him and to spend our lives enjoying His presence and reigning over the world He gave us.
But when we gave in to the enemy’s tempting deception, our desires became misdirected. We became naturally inclined to worship the things God made instead of God Himself.
Our hearts became idolatrous.
Mercifully, despite all the destruction our idolatry had caused to our relationship with Him and His world, God didn’t give up on us. He promised to give us new hearts that would love Him and obey His Word (Ezekiel 36:26–27)—and He fulfilled this promise by sending His Son Jesus to free us from our sin and His Spirit to renew our hearts, so that we can truly worship Him.
The Spirit has begun a miraculous transformation in us. But His work is ongoing, and won’t be complete until Jesus returns. So, for now, we must fight against our old idolatrous nature and put it to death in the power of the Spirit (see Romans 8).
Fighting against idolatry
What makes idols so dangerous is how harmless they can seem. That’s because they are good things—gifts that God delights to give us—but they’re good things that we treat wrongly by looking to them as our ultimate sources of life instead of God.
Most of the time, they aren’t big or obvious. They can be as small as the six-inch screen in your hand, or as subtle as the hobby you spend all your free time pursuing, or as secretive as that thing you can’t stop thinking about buying, experiencing or achieving.
We can only recognise our idols by humbly asking the Holy Spirit to show them to us.
So, I’d encourage you to take some time and reflect on these three questions:
How much do I think about God compared with other things?
What am I spending most of my time and money on at the moment?
Am I prioritising my relationship with God above everything else in my life right now?
One of the best prayers to help us is David’s at the end of Psalm 139:
‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.’
Let’s commit to praying this daily, keeping in step with the Spirit, and staying away from anything that threatens to take God’s place in our hearts.
Love,
Theo
Reclaiming the joy of normality
‘So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’ — 1 Corinthians 10:31
‘…too often we look for the Spirit in the extraordinary when God has promised to be present in the ordinary.’ — James K.A. Smith
When we’re younger, we spend much of our time chasing novelty:
New experiences.
New relationships.
New ideas.
New things.
Novelty isn’t necessarily a bad thing—it can fuel our curiosity, expand our knowledge and deepen our appreciation of God’s good world.
But, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the much more ordinary and unremarkable rhythms of normality:
Sipping morning coffee in the quiet before work.
Enjoying a slow lunchtime walk.
Laughing with friends around the kitchen table.
You see, most of our lives aren’t lived on the extraordinary mountaintops of novelty, but along the slow, winding, ordinary path of normality.
I’ve come to learn that God dwells as much in these ordinary moments—the daily liturgies of waking, working, eating, exercising, playing and resting—as He does in the extraordinary ones.
We simply need eyes to see and ears to hear.
Reclaiming the joy of the ordinary
How can we learn to see and enjoy God in the everyday, seemingly mundane moments of our lives?
We must remember why God created us, and why God saved us.
Consider these words from Paul: “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever!” (Romans 11:36).
You were made by Him.
You are held by Him.
You are intended for His glory.
And, in His great mercy, He redeemed you for Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our lives—both now and for eternity—are a gift from Him, and they are all for His glory.
In view of this reality, our so-called ordinary lives take on an extraordinary meaning, purpose and value. It is for this reason that Paul says elsewhere: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
What would our lives look like if we slowed down and learnt to really see these everyday mercies as they really are: as gracious gifts from our good and loving Father, intended to bring glory to Him?
The meals we eat.
The wine we drink.
The ordinary rhythms of rising, our working, our resting, our playing.
Not only would we go through our days with a deeper awareness of God's presence, but we would see every moment as an opportunity to worship and glorify Him.
So, today, stop for a moment.
Receive 'normality' as a gift.
And, with Paul, give God the praise He deserves: “All glory to him forever!”
With love,
Mike