Category Archives: Heart and soul

When Roman legions occupied Britain two thousand years ago, ‘focus’ was their Latin noun for fireplace that later simply meant ‘fire’. That later Latin meaning may have mutated into current English as ‘concentrating one’s attention’ through that trick of using … Continue reading →

‘Focus’ The English language has been a lifetime hobby of mine. I especially enjoy tracking down the source of many of our words. Of course, I was sure that I already knew the only possible meaning of the verb ‘focus’ … Continue reading →

‘Type A’ personalities Since the term was invented in the early 1960s by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, ‘Type A personality’ has been the label given to up-and-at-’em’ individuals who are ‘immensely competitive, over-achieving, time-pressured, impatient and hostile’, according … Continue reading →

Scripture attributes to the heart such activities as thoughts (Genesis 6:5) and intentions (Genesis 8:21), desires (Psalm 37:4) and purposes (1 Corinthians 4:5), hate (Leviticus 19:17) and love (Deuteronomy 10:12), and such emotions as anxiety (Proverbs 12:25) and joy (Proverbs … Continue reading →

When I was young, psychologists urged us to discover yourself. ‘Know thyself’ was the catchphrase of the day. But, who am I? Am I the class clown of the Sixth Form, the studious mouse locked up in my room with … Continue reading →

Has the word ‘meditation’ gone out of fashion in the vocabulary of New Age ‘spirituality’ in favour of ‘mindfulness’? Or would the term ‘mindedness’ better describe the discipline of focused, calm stillness that adherents attempt to achieve? I could ‘Google’ … Continue reading →

            [] It’s not a ‘Frequently Asked Question’ in Scripture Only a few saints in the Bible narrative ever asked, ‘Why, Lord?’ and most of them did so only on one recorded occasion. Here are the stats (if my maths … Continue reading →

A good way to look at the whole range of spiritual gifts is through the prism of speaking with other tongues. This is a much misunderstood and underused resource in church life today. Read about it in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; … Continue reading →

Sixty-six-year-old Professor James Fallon of the University of California had specialised in analysing the genetic structure and brain scans of psychopathic murderers for twenty years with some definite conclusions; he had established that there were certain consistent features in their … Continue reading →

The word conscience is Latin for co-knowledge, but the question is: knowledge along with whom? God? But God is consistent and consciences vary, So, is it simply a knowing alongside oneself? What does the Bible have to say about it? … Continue reading →

In May 2014 Neil Gillespie, a team leader with ‘The Street Population’ ministry in the London district of King’s Cross and Camden, was diagnosed with stage one testicular cancer. He reflects: ‘not many things seem as important in comparison,’ but … Continue reading →

Winning people over ‘Soul-winning’ was a popular term in my childhood and youth. It seems to have gone out of fashion of late – probably because we tended to limit its use to mean: ‘Put your hand up in response … Continue reading →

Jesus told twinned parables illustrating how to pray effectively (Luke 18:1-8 and 9-14). Vindicated through wise praying In the first parable, a widow pleaded for ‘justice against my adversary’ (Luke 18:3) in court before an ‘unrighteous judge’ (Luke 18:6) who … Continue reading →

            An intriguing testimony  The magazine article entitled ‘Beyond belief’ begins: ‘I suppose I first realised my orientation when I was about five years old. I didn’t fully understand it at that age, but I knew that something was different.’ … Continue reading →

Paul yearned to get back from Rome to his spiritual children in northern Greece. He wrote: ‘I hold you in my heart … with the affection of Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 1:7-8). But his thank you letter to them for their … Continue reading →

Nowadays many celebrities speak freely, even glowingly, about ‘my counsellor’ (or ‘analyst’). Arguments are batted back and forth among Christians as to whether counselling is a humanistic idea, and ‘only God should be my counsellor?’ After all, don’t we remind … Continue reading →

Our English word ‘worship’ came from the German wert, meaning worthy or valued. Originally the noun worship conveyed the sense of worthiness. Even today, in a court of law a judge is shown valued respect by being addressed as ‘your … Continue reading →

‘Gardeners’ Question Time’ is a long-running BBC radio programme. One of the panel that I listened to in my younger days for advice on a duty I hated was Ralph Whiteman, an old countryman from the south of England. His … Continue reading →