iChaplain

While watching the recent eclipse, I found myself thinking about how awesome God is. Well, "watching" might not be the right word. Everyone else seemed to have the proper eclipse glasses that they'd queued all day for.  Meanwhile, my plans were less sophisticated. My pinhole projector skills turned out to be completely non-existent, so I spent most of the eclipse running between the garden and the living room.  Obviously, I wasn't looking directly at the sun. I was trying to catch glimpses of what was happening outside and then dashing back inside to watch the coverage on TV. By this point, I felt less like an amateur astronomer and more like a contestant on some bizarre fitness challenge. My step count was excellent, even if my eclipse-viewing technique wasn't. This continued for a while until someone pointed out that I could simply stream it on my phone. That certainly made life easier. But even in the middle of all that running around, I was struck by what I wa...

Have you ever felt like you didn't have what it takes to do something God was calling you to do? Perhaps you've looked at your lack of experience, your past mistakes, or your own limitations and wondered whether God could really use someone like you. Maybe you've compared yourself to others and felt they seemed far more gifted, prepared, or capable. If so, you're not alone. Many faithful believers have wrestled with those same feelings. In fact, some of the people God used most powerfully in Scripture were people who, by human standards, seemed the least likely candidates. Alton Garrison, a Christian minister and Assemblies of God leader, once said, "If God qualifies you, no one can disqualify you." Those words capture a deeply encouraging biblical truth. Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly chooses ordinary people and uses them for extraordinary purposes. He does not call people because they possess all the right qualifications, skills, or experience. Rather,...

I've been thinking recently about the biblical image of Jesus as the Cornerstone. When we reflect on that image, we often think about direction and alignment. The cornerstone determined the shape of the building, and everything else was positioned in relation to it. That's certainly true. But I wonder if there is something more within that image. What if one of our greatest struggles is not rejecting Jesus, but trying to occupy a place that was never ours? Not deliberately. Not consciously. But in the way we live. Many of us carry a quiet assumption that everything depends on us. We need to make the right decisions, provide the right answers, hold our lives together, and somehow keep everything from falling apart. We carry responsibility for our families, our work, our finances, our future, and sometimes even our faith. The burden can become so familiar that we hardly notice we're carrying it. The result is often exhaustion. Perhaps that is because we are trying to carry a ...

There’s a moment early in John’s Gospel that has always stood out for me. Two curious men begin following Jesus at a distance, unsure what to say, unsure what they’re even looking for. Jesus turns, notices them, and asks the simplest question imaginable: “What do you want?” (John 1:38). They mumble something about where He’s staying. And Jesus replies with three words that have shaped Christian invitation ever since: “Come and see.” (John 1:39) No pressure. No performance. No sales pitch. Just presence, honesty, and an open door. In my previous reflection, Beyond Evangelism: Becoming the Kind of People Who Help Others Find Jesus , I explored how our calling isn’t to “sell” Jesus but to become the kind of people through whom others can encounter Him. If you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here: https://www.ichaplain.uk/2026/07/beyond-evangelism-becoming-kind-of.html That post laid the foundation for this one, because the heart of “come and see” is the heart of becoming those kin...

  A Familiar Landscape Even if you have never opened a Bible, there is a good chance you have heard Psalm 23. It appears at funerals, in films, and in quiet moments when people are searching for words that carry comfort. There is something about it that feels familiar, like a landscape you somehow recognise, even if you have never walked it before. Perhaps it endures not just because it is well known, but because it speaks to something deeply human: the desire to feel safe, guided, and not alone. Being Known and Cared For The psalm begins: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  For those who approach it from faith, this is a statement of trust in God’s care. For others, it can still be heard as a powerful image. A shepherd is not distant or abstract. A shepherd pays attention, stays close, and guides with care. And then there is that second phrase: “I shall not want.” Many of us spend much of life aware of what we lack, time, security, clarity and peace of mind. This li...

There are times in life when words like joy can feel slightly out of place. We hear them, we read them, and we know they matter. Yet there are moments when they do not quite match our experience. Not because we disagree with them, but because life, as we are living it, feels very different.  And it raises an honest question.  What does joy really mean, when it does not feel like joy at all? When Pain Takes Over Everything Recently, I had toothache.  Not just mild discomfort, but the kind that takes over completely, the sort that brings sleepless nights, constant throbbing, and deep, exhausting pain that is hard to ignore. It reminded me of something similar I experienced over twenty years ago. The intensity was the same. Once again, everything else seemed to fade into the background because this was all I could feel. And during that time, I can honestly say this. I was not thinking, “This is wonderful.” I was not thinking, “I am really enjoying this.” It was quite the opp...