Time for a chainge?

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. (Rom 1:1, NLT)
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God — (Rom 1:1, NIV)
I have put these two translations of the same text together for a reason. It is a reason which is very important, especially to the way we think today. It is all about just one word, the Greek word doulos. I don’t want to get into an argument about which is the best translation, but there is an important point to be made here.

Receiving loud and clear

Can anyone out there remember the days when there were less than three TV stations in the UK? Or only three radio stations (excluding Radio Luxembourg)? I can! Daytime viewing was a test card. Not only that, but TV programmes were black and white. In fact, I think most of my childhood memories are black and white, so perhaps the whole world was slightly lacking in hue!

If you’re happy and you know it

Are you happy? Do you know it? Do you show it?
It has always amazed me how much a smile can change a face and make it more attractive, better looking – male or female. Those smiles which are just on the cusp of bursting into laughter are by far the most attractive, and they are infectious. When a smile becomes laughter, things start to happen.

Steal yourself

You are in the supermarket, by the stationery counter, and someone walks up to the shelf, picks up a pen and puts it in his/her pocket, then just walks out of the store. Your natural reaction is to think, “He stole that.” You might even start to shout about it, or run to the security man and tell him. People shouldn’t be able to do that. They shouldn’t get away with it. It’s stealing. It’s wrong. It’s sin. “Thief! Stop thief!”