Think Speak Run

Here are some of the articles that I wrote for a Children’s Column in a Christian newspaper.

• April 2020 GNP ArticleApril 1, 2020
  I want to write about Ruth. Her name means “Mercy”, and the book of Ruth is all about mercy. Ruth is a foreigner, whose husband is dead. She comes from her home country of Moab with her mother-in-law Naomi, to Bethlehem, which is where Naomi is from. Ruth has very few rights as a foreign […]
• March 2020 GNP ArticleMarch 2, 2020
  Have you ever wondered why the Bible is full of names? Names of places, names of people, long lists of family names? It’s because God knows each one of us by name, and our names matter. I’ve been reading a story in Judges chapter 4, that is full of names and their meanings. It’s the […]
• February 2020 GNP ArticleFebruary 2, 2020
  What does it mean to have a different spirit? This is what God says of Caleb in Numbers 14:24 (NIV). Caleb and Joshua are the only two out of twelve spies who believe the Israelites can possess the promised land. Numbers 13:30 (KJV) tells us: ‘And Caleb… said, Let us go up at once, and […]
• January 2020 GNP Article – God’s LoudspeakerJanuary 2, 2020
  God’s Loudspeaker Have you ever carried your coat when it wasn’t raining, because you knew it would rain later? God did something like that with Joshua in the Old Testament. He knew Joshua was going to face fear and doubt, so He told him to be strong and courageous before the fears and doubts came. […]
• December 2019 GNP ArticleDecember 2, 2019
  “‘Out of Egypt have I called my son.’” Matthew 2:15 Jesus is God’s only begotten son (John 1:14). Israel is God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). As we have seen during the course of this year, the older must serve the younger. The firstborn son is scripturally superseded by the younger son. With Jesus’ birth it […]
• November 2019 GNP ArticleNovember 2, 2019
  Moses’ personal identity dilemma (Hebrew or Egyptian? Slave or Prince? Bondsman or Freeman?) reflects the bigger national identity crisis that is about to face Israel. After Moses kills an Egyptian for mistreating one of his Hebrew brethren, Pharaoh wants him dead. Clearly there is conflict within Moses’ adoptive family about his true identity – as […]
• October 2019 GNP ArticleOctober 2, 2019
  Joseph is dead, his fame and legacy not known by the new Pharaoh. Israel is living within Egypt’s borders and Egypt doesn’t like it. Into this nation in conflict a baby is born: Moses. Moses’ story is as complex as Joseph’s, but for different reasons. Born, rather than sold, into slavery in Egypt, Moses reaches […]
• September 2019 GNP articleSeptember 2, 2019
  Joseph has had a tumultuous journey from favoured son in the home, to an empty pit, slavery, Potiphar’s house, and now prison. Despite his adverse circumstances, he has walked in favour at every stage so far, and the blessing is about to snowball. Even when he is held in prison unjustly, Joseph has favour. Genesis […]
• August 2019 GNP articleAugust 2, 2019
  Joseph is the favoured son of Jacob, the firstborn of his favoured wife, Rachel. As such, we might assume that Joseph’s life story will be one long catalogue of success and favour. But this is not how it appears.  Joseph is not like his father.  As we have seen, Jacob is a deceiver. He obtains […]
• July 2019 GNP ArticleJuly 2, 2019
  When it comes to receiving the blessing of Abraham, spoken through Isaac into his firstborn son, Jacob is helped to deceive his father to ensure he receives the blessing.  The Bible tells us that “Isaac loved Esau… but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Genesis 25:28). Due to this favouritism, Rebekah conspires with Jacob to ensure he will […]
• June GNP article final 2019June 2, 2019
  By virtue of being Isaac’s firstborn, Esau has both the birthright and the blessing that come from that position. But the Bible tells us he ‘despised his birthright’. As a result, his brother Jacob receives Esau’s birthright, and later the blessing from his father Isaac. We know from God’s words to Rebekah during pregnancy that […]
• May GNP ArticleMay 2, 2019
  Isaac grows up, marries Rebekah, and is blessed by God after his father’s death. But his wife is barren. How can the covenant promise be fulfilled if there is no seed to be blessed? When Isaac is forty years old he marries Rebekah. They are married for twenty years before she gets pregnant. The Bible […]
• April GNP articleApril 2, 2019
  God promised to bless all the nations of the earth in Abraham. Why, then, did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, through whom the blessing would come? Isaac was the son of the promise God had given to Abraham; God’s Word was fulfilled and Sarah gave birth. But while he is still a […]
• March GNP ArticleMarch 2, 2019
  God made a covenant – a binding promise – with Noah. Next, He makes a covenant with Abram. What is so important about these promises between God and men? The rainbow that God showed Noah after the flood was the sign of His covenant promise with him. Every rainbow since then is a reminder of […]
• February 2019 GNP Creation StoryFebruary 2, 2019
  Wrath and response. God has sent Jesus to redeem us from our sin nature and to bring us back into relationship with Himself, but how does this fit into the narrative of the old testament? After Abel’s murder, more children are born to Adam and Eve, starting with a son named Seth. There are ten […]
• January 2019 GNP Creation StoryJanuary 2, 2019
  Adam and Eve have been banished from Eden. What is next for them?  Adam and Eve may have been kicked out of the garden, but they are still made in God’s image. They still have the ability to reproduce after their own kind, because Adam’s seed is in him. So they have two children; sons […]