Blog

"They will be called oaks of righteousness..." (Isaiah 61:3) “In this verse, God calls us oaks of righteousness. When an oak tree first pushes through the ground as a seedling, it is 100 percent an oak tree already. For the remainder of its life, it will simply grow more and more into the oak tree it already is. In the same way,...

"and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair..." (Isaiah 61:3) Clothing is more than a practical tool to protect us from the elements, it is also deeply informative. It can be an indication of someone’s emotional state, a social marker for wealth and class. It can inform us of which cultures people belong to, what religions they follow, what work...

"The oil of joy instead of mourning..." (Isaiah 61:3) There has been much to mourn since the start of 2020. We have said goodbye to people very close to us, we have had dreams dismantled and livelihoods lost, we have had hopes for a specific future evaporate. Our mourning has been real and necessary and for many that mourning will continue. What this...

Avengers assemble! Unite the Justice League! Get the band back together! These are phrases we are almost certainly familiar with, and they are exciting to hear. There is something about bringing a group of people together that makes us feel like something is about to change or like something BIG is about to happen. And it is so true. Maybe it...

“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes...” (Isaiah 61:3) It is recorded multiple times in the old testament that when people went through a loss, submission, or even repentance it was a common act to clothe themselves in sackcloth and lay in ashes. It was a symbol of deep emotional turmoil that was so intense a composed exterior...

"and provide for those who grieve in Zion..." (Isaiah 61:3) I checked my phone after leaving the Fusion Conference in 2019. I’d been added to a group chat with 8 other friends from church and read the first message. For this group of friends, 2019 had been a year of grief, challenge, and isolation, but as I read the text, I realised...

'To comfort all who mourn...' (Isaiah 61:2) To mourn is to 'feel regret or show sadness about the loss or disappearance of someone/something.' I think it’s fair to say that a lot of things we dreamed of and hoped for, ‘disappeared’ from our grasp over the last 12 months. We are still mourning the loss of so much and it can be...