Grace taught my heart to fear

Why is it that in 23 years of being a Christian I have only heard one sermon on the theme of meekness? This personality characteristic and 'Fruit of the Spirit' is totally overlooked and is so central to what God is doing in the life of every Christian. Moses is described as meek above all other humans in Numbers 12, and Jesus Himself is described as meek in Matthew 11 and 2 Corinthians 10. Have we so bought into the world's view of meekness that we now believe meek people are spineless walkovers, acting that way because they have no other choice - that meekness is the last resort of weak people? Meekness is one of the fundamental ways that the Christian exercises spiritual power. Having a clear understanding of your spiritual bankruptcy before God, the depths of the consequences of your sin, and the poverty of your soul, you become keenly aware of the power of grace that is at work in your life, and the resources that are now at your disposal, the power of the God that

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jz2qp A new book and DVD suggests there is a deep logic behind the fabric of the Narnia Chronicles, that has until now been hidden from the reader. Michael Ward's thesis seems to suggest that CS Lewis' understanding of medieval cosmology contributed heavily to the way he wrote of the land of Narnia, constructing each o the Chronicles around the nature of a different planet. If The Silver Chair is Lunar, Lion/Witch/Wardrobe is Jovian(Jupiter), DawnTreader is Solar and Prince Caspian is Martian. Each planet contributes to the atmosphere and storyline of the book, with the planet's influence on the children/humans in the main view. For example, Jupiter is said to be a planet of kingliness, an is described in one of Lewis' poems as 'winter ended and forgiveness given'. So we see in the story how 4 children travel to Narnia to fulfil a prophecy of winter defeated and Edmund restored and forgiven, the four children taking their

(This was written shortly after the publication of book 7, which I pre-ordered at Waterstones and waited 90 mins in a queue for on a cold night in Wilmslow, when I could have driven to Tesco and got it a pound cheaper, and been at home and in bed reading it inside twenty minutes!  However I had some great conversations in the queue with some complete strangers, and that did actually make it all worthwhile.)  Film no.6 is due out this summer - 15th July 2009 in the UK. Like it, hate it, or not bothered by it - this summer marks one more step towards the end of an era. The last words in the school career of Harry Potter have been written, published and sold and the last two(actually, three) films will be made; and then that’s it. Harry will be no more. That’s not to say that he will necessarily be dead (there are no plot spoilers from the books in this piece) but to a generation of young people who have grown up with ’The Boy who lived’, he will be consigned to the past. There will be