As Easter approaches, believers worldwide turn their eyes to the cross, remembering the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Yet, before the cross, there was the garden – Gethsemane – a place of sorrow, struggle, and surrender. It was here, under the cover of night, that the weight of redemption bore down on the Son of God. A dark night in a garden marks the pivotal moment of Christ’s suffering, where He wrestled with the impending cup of God’s wrath yet fully submitted to the Father’s will.

Jesus, fully divine yet fully human, bore the impending weight of sin’s penalty, knowing He was about to drink from the cup of God’s wrath (Rev 14:19-20). Yet, He did not shrink back, nor did He pray for His own will to be done. Instead, He fully surrendered: “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). This was a crucial moment in our redemption – Jesus, the spotless Lamb, surrendered His will to the Father so that we, through His blood, might also be redeemed to do God’s will…

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George Orwell poignantly captured the essence of profound loneliness – not as the absence of people, but the absence of understanding: “The most terrible loneliness is not the kind that comes from being alone, but the kind that comes from being misunderstood. It is the loneliness of standing in a crowded room, surrounded by people who do not see you, who do not hear you, who do not know the true essence of who you are. And in that loneliness, you feel as though you are fading, disappearing into the background, until you are nothing more than a ghost, a shadow of your former self.”

When the world fails to understand us, it’s easy to feel isolated and consider changing ourselves to   fit in. However, this often leads to a greater sense of alienation as we lose touch with our true selves. In these moments, it’s vital to remember that there is someone who knows and loves us completely – Jesus Christ…

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Ephesians 1:3-14 is remarkable. In the original Greek, it is one continuous sentence over 200 words long. If you’re sitting here thinking, “What does, ‘to the praise of His glory’ mean?” then you’re not alone. Theologians have referred to this passage as the pinnacle of Christian theology.

It is a passage where the richness, depth and layers of God’s plan – from before time to the end of time – are put together in a passionate, beautiful monologue. Theologically, you can’t get any richer than this. At the same time, in terms of passion and emotion, it doesn’t get better than this. And that is completely fitting, because theology and worship ought to go together…

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The word science literally means “knowledge.” Science is man’s way of processing the natural world: observing and interpreting those experiences according to reason. This last part – human reason and sense – is where science can either be carried on the wings of faith or fall into a chasm of its own conceit.

Science itself is not contrary to Scripture. In its purest form, it is simply the study of creation in all its facets. It confirms what God has made and what Scripture reveals. God is not opposed to mankind learning about the body to treat ailments or observing the wondrous flora and fauna of a forest to understand plants and animals better. However, these things point back to the awesome Creator who designed the vast cosmos as well as the intricacies of our DNA, who holds power over the hurricane yet feeds the most delicate butterfly. Simply knowing more about God’s creation doesn’t justify dismissing His role in nature…

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