Short essays on reading Scripture slowly, honest questions about the Christian life, and devotional reflections. Newest first.

  1. 4 min read

    Reading Romans 8 slowly

    Romans 8 is famous for its last two verses, but read whole it is a single argument that builds from no condemnation to no separation. A short guide to reading it slowly enough to be carried by it.

  2. 5 min read

    Gratitude as a way of seeing

    Gratitude is usually treated as a reaction to good fortune. Scripture treats it as something closer to eyesight — a trained way of perceiving grace that reorients the whole heart toward the Giver.

  3. 4 min read

    How to memorize Scripture

    Memorising Scripture sounds like a feat for unusually disciplined people. It is really a simple, ordinary habit — and a way of carrying the words of God with you when you most need them.

  4. 4 min read

    The kingdom of God, plainly

    Many readers hear 'the kingdom of God' and picture either heaven after death or a political programme. Jesus meant something nearer and stranger: God beginning to reign, in person, right now.

  5. 4 min read

    Reading Ruth slowly

    Ruth looks like a small domestic story tucked between the wars. Read slowly, it turns out to be about loyal love, a redeemer, and the family line that leads to Jesus.

  6. 4 min read

    Joy as a practice

    Joy is not the same as a sunny temperament or a good week. Scripture treats it as something both commanded and given — rooted in Christ rather than in how things happen to be going.

  7. 4 min read

    Praying the Psalms

    Most of us assume prayer has to be made up fresh each time, in our own words. The Psalms are God-given words for the days when you have none of your own.

  8. 4 min read

    What 'faith' actually means

    Faith is not a leap in the dark or wishful thinking. What the Bible means by faith — trust placed in someone proven trustworthy — and why its object matters more than its strength.

  9. 4 min read

    Reading Exodus slowly

    Exodus is not a law book with a dramatic opening. It is a rescue story that the rest of the Bible keeps retelling. A short guide to reading it as the night God brought his people out — and the rescue Jesus leads.

  10. 5 min read

    Reading John 1 slowly

    Eighteen verses at the start of John's Gospel that contain the clearest single statement in scripture about who Jesus is. A slow read of the prologue.