The Narrow Path

  Tuesday, 23 December, 2025 Psalms 124; 125; 126 Isaiah 26:1-19 Revelation 22:6-13 Soon (Revelation 22:7) “ And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Well done all of us for getting to the end of Advent! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, a day which is, in my mind, almost a mirror of Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). We have almost reached the end of the penitential season, and I pray God has worked something in your soul – perhaps a new insight into his nature, or your own; or a new inner strength to overcome something you have been trying to put away. Today also is the last day in which a reading from Revelation is set for Morning Prayer. And what a final word we have! Jesus is speaking to St John through his angel, or messenger. We have this final scene where St John goes to worship the angelic messenger, but is quickly corrected. The main theme of the book so far has been to worship God al...

  Monday, 22 December, 2025 Psalm 118:1-18 Isaiah 24:21-25:9 Revelation 21:22-22:5 Observance: Thomas, apostle and martyr [ transferred from December 21 ] Plans Of Old (Isaiah 25:1) O Lord , you are my God;     I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things,     plans formed of old, faithful and sure. This idea of God having plans for us – plans he made long ago, at that – has been deeply comforting for Christians across the generations. The best sermon I ever heard about it was from the reference in Jeremiah (you probably know the bit), when the preacher got up to tell everyone that he was going to ruin the passage for everyone! But then, he said, he would make it even better than it was before. I think it is a helpful reminder, and encouragement, and source of wondering and reflection. Long ago, God made plans for every single human being, every spin of the planets, every dr...

  Saturday, 20 December, 2025 Psalms 114; 115 Isaiah 23:8-18 Revelation 20:11-21:8 All Things New (Revelation 21:5)   And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” We are now getting dangerously close to the end of Advent. I pray that God has been working mightily in you to make something new in your heart. Advent (as well as Lent) are, I find, seasons in which God can do some really amazing things in the human soul. (There is a reason the Church has been doing it for so long, after all.) And so, when you came into the beginning of Advent this time around, was there anything you wanted God to change about you? Maybe you didn’t have anything particular in mind, or maybe you had no intention of changing at all – nonetheless, did God have his own idea of what he wanted to do with you? This morning we hear the prophetic words of Chris...

  Friday, 19 December, 2025 Psalms 110; 111 Isaiah 22:15-23:7 Revelation 20:1-10 Fear Of The Lord (Psalm 111:10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;     all those who practice it have a good understanding.     His praise endures forever! I recently read a book called “Triumphing Over Sinful Fear” by the English divine John Flavel. What a wonderful title, or at least I think so. I mostly picked up a copy because I feel like (in the circles I move, at least) we have a stunted understanding of what it means to fear the Lord. It seems like we don’t like to talk about the fear of the Lord because we don’t really like to talk about the alternative: the fear of other humans, or of pain, or of anything else that is not God. But it is a shame, because if we did, we might all come to the sudden realisation that we actually don’t have anything to fear at all! If we fear pain, then read the history of the m...

  Thursday, 18 December, 2025 Psalm 107:1-22 Isaiah 22:1-14 Revelation 19:11-21 Shattered Doors (Psalm 107:16) For he shatters the doors of bronze     and cuts in two the bars of iron. Where were you, when God opened the eyes of your heart to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? Some wandered in desert wastes, when God gave them the living water of Jesus. Some were in the prison of the punishment of their sins, when the forgiveness of Christ’s blood was applied to their record. Some had fallen into the pit of self-autonomy, when the Lord rescued them and gave them the gentle yoke of his authority. The litany of human errors seems endless; yet Christ always has a way of answering them. No matter what door humanity slams in his face, he strides up and shatters them. When God decides to show someone the grace of his love, there is nothing they can do to refuse it. We still have the journey of this life to take. There is stil...

  Wednesday, 17 December, 2025 Psalm 106:1-24 Isaiah 21 Revelation 19:1-10 Fallen Is Babylon! (Isaiah 21:9) And behold, here come riders,     horsemen in pairs!” And he answered,     “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods     he has shattered to the ground.” This is the first time in a long time that I have enjoyed the lead-up to Christmas without social media in my life. I have to tell you, it’s pretty great. Not only have I re-learned that hardly anyone actually cares about the fact that the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, or, Christmas Day, is completely free of any alleged ancient pagan influences (why is this such a big deal on the internet?), but I also have very little to worry about, because when it comes to world events, I am living under a rock. My church and family takes up all my time. But back when social media was everywhere for me, I felt a ...