66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We’re so grateful for those who have gone before, blazed the trail, run the race and shown the way. The mistakes, triumphs and forgiveness that litter their stories. And the One who founded this life, and ran this race in our shoes – we look to him for strength, inspiration, courage and compassion. ’
Hebrews 12 vv 1-4
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It struck me that we have one mouth and two ears, so I urged them to listen more often than speaking. That way I figured there might be more understanding and less hostility. We might actually hear beyond what was being said aloud.’
James 1 v 19
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘In this world where things often bend and break and fall apart, we have something else, an enduring hope that will never crack or crumble. A free gift of a new life that begins here and continues into the next dimension. A never-ending road. A forever forgiveness. Life in Him.’
1 Peter 1 vv 3-4
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The very author of life walked in the shoes of death, so that he could wear the clothes of resurrection. And he did this to make a living way for all to walk. Our Creator’s longing, his unrestrained, passionate desire, is that this way will be crowded, jam-packed with those discovering Life.’
2 Peter 3 v 15, Acts 3 v 15
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘To be known and loved and understood is such a precious thing. But it’s easy to lose sight of that, and look to things to fill that void. But there is a good, good father, a kind father, a dedicated, loyal father… and little by little may we know Him more.’
1 John 3 v 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘They asked me to bring a message, so
week after week I stood up and said, “Love each other.” There didn’t seem much
point in giving them a different one until they’d processed that one. After all, I knew
what it was to be shown kindness and forgiveness by someone who had every right to give up on me.’
2 John v 5
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I didn’t want folks to simply be do-gooders for the sake of it, but to care about life and others because Jesus cares. Life is his purpose, his passion, and I wanted to pass that on, to encourage others to care and keep on caring.’
3 John v 11
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We all need help in our dark times. Encouragement when we are filled with doubts and questions. Courage when fears close in like a dark wall. My prayer for you is that you will know grace and peace in your difficult times. Know his presence with you. He has faced this darkness too, he understands and can help.’
Jude v 2, Hebrews 4 vv 15-16
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I knew we were a precious part of a bigger picture, but not how big. As I stood there watching the big screen story unfold I felt humbled, troubled and inspired. From the moment he told me not to be afraid, through the jaw-dropping reminder of his rescuing power, to the wondrous promise of a future without loss or sadness
or prejudice or pain.’
Revelation 1 v 17, chapters 12 and 21
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Ultimately there is more. More than we can see, more than we can touch, or smell, or sense. We live this life of flesh and bone, steel and concrete, food and drink, but in order to do so, we set our eyes on that other dimension. Taking regular, vital moments to remind ourselves who designed all this, who paid for it, who best understands it.’
Colossians 3 v 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We want to say thank you. Thank you for your work, your faith, your loyalty, kindness, your willingness to offer hope. Those extra miles you go when no one is watching. Those things you do day after day. Thank you. They matter. You matter.’
1 Thessalonians 1 vv 2-3
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘A simple but difficult request. Keep praying. It’s not easy but it makes such
a difference, like a worker mixing cement for a master builder.
Providing the means for the
builder to build the House. ’
2 Thessalonians 3 vv 1-5
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Myths, legends and superstitions often offer us fascinating bits of trivia, but ultimately it’s healthier to pursue the ways of love. Tales of conflict and controversy are not easy to resist, but the smallest seeds of faith, hope and kindness bear a lasting kind of fruit. ’
1 Timothy 1 vv 3-5
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The greatest, most wondrous mystery… the God beyond the size of our worlds, our minds, our imaginations, has come close in his vulnerable son. Welcoming the likes of you and me. ’
1 Timothy 1 vv 15-17
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I am so grateful for the encouragement of others. It kept me going when I was struggling. Keep encouraging any who need it. It’s gold dust to folks in the dark.’
2 Timothy 1 vv 16-18
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘When we needed it most He pulled back the curtain and a rescuer stepped through. And how we needed it, we might have thought we could rescue ourselves, but history shows us that’s a bit of a pipe dream. Instead, in His kindness He sent His son, with a fresh start in his hands. ’
Titus 3 vv 4-7
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The church that’s not tied to any building, but in the people who meet to honour and live for the one who authored good news with his living, loving, laughter and living again. In homes, tents, gutters, shacks, work places, shops, stadiums, prisons, cinemas… the list is endless. The church that can meet anywhere, anytime, anyplace. ’
Philemon vv 1-2
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It slowly hit me that Easter had only been the beginning. The story was continuing, in ragged, untidy, wonderful ways. Resurrection was dawning on all kinds of unexpected folks, in unexpected places. It was spreading like a sweet river in a long-dry desert.’
Acts 2 vv 42-47
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I took time to lay down the good news and what it means for us. That this was good news not just for a few, but for the world over. The long-predicted news that God would touch the earth, walk in its dust, eat its food, feel its pain and burrow right through death and out the other side. The good news of the offer of help, life, hope and peace amidst our daily struggles.’
Romans 1 vv 1-7
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It upended everything. It was beyond understanding, both bigger and smaller than we could grasp. On the one hand foolish, on the other the wisest thing this world has ever known. Totally available to poor and rich, weak and strong alike. Simple and profound. An ugly, troublesome solution in the eyes
of some, yet the most beautiful.’
1 Corinthians 1 vv 18-25
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘When we hit trouble, when the light at the end of the tunnel appeared to fade, we found it threw us back on God. We came to the end of ourselves and discovered his help. And we share it now with you, because his strength and comfort we want to pass on to you.’
2 Corinthians 1 vv 3-10
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We’re not doing this to be popular, to win fifteen minutes of fame and fortune. Who would? This life brings struggle and challenges, makes us less popular at times. Makes life at times harder not easier. But it’s worth it. Worth every mountain. This is the real thing. Genuine, solid, trustworthy. Nothing fake about this good news.’
Galatians 1 vv 10-12
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The thing is – the extraordinary thing – is that we once thought God lived in a building, and yet now he has made his home in people, in us. Not because we deserve it, but because of the fresh start and forgiveness gifted to us in Jesus. So that his presence nourishes and sustains us, offering the whole world a fresh start and forgiveness too.’
Ephesians 2 vv 8-10 & 17-22
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Not easy for us to live in harmony, it’s costly, humility does not come cheap. But I wanted to encourage them to live a little differently, to let peace and forgiveness flow between them. Hostility can be like a spreading virus, but so can kindness and love.’
Philippians 4 v 2
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Such a surprising plan, I hardly dared believe it. Yet the dream in the thick of night was as plain as clear day. God coming as a tiny child, vulnerable, tiny, and reliant on us! God with us. Not some distant deity, but in our arms, sleeping, eating, growing, wide-eyed.’
Matthew 1 vv 18-25
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Once I started writing it down it tumbled out of me at breakneck
speed. So many wonderful things had happened. I couldn’t get it down fast enough. It revitalised me to see again what Jesus had done for so many people.’
Mark 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I wanted to get all the info, so I didn’t rush the research. I went around
chasing up all the stories, verifying them, making sure I didn’t miss anything. This was all too good.
I needed to get it right.’
Luke 1 vv 1-4
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘For so long we had feared God, heard all those stories of old, of folks fearing the presence of God, as if he were seeking to punish and judge them. It was so important to tell our story, how God had come close and brought hope, purpose and peace, we felt better, not worse.’
John 1 vv 1-14
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66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘In a time of loss and pain, confusion and worry I looked up and cried out for comfort and help. Only the living God could help me, so I called to him, poured out my questions, troubles, needs and hurt in those difficult days.’
Habakkuk 3 v 2; and vv 17-19
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I gave them the bad news first, to shake them, get them to lift their heads and turn away from their disastrous distractions. Then the good news, to come to their Creator would cause such celebration, would warm his heart. And one day he would be right there among them, beside them, in their streets and homes, in all the normal, ordinary places. Part of their lives.’
Zephaniah 3 vv 9-20
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘People began the building work but then stalled, hadn’t budgeted energy for it or thought it through. They needed to keep going, to persevere, so that’s what I was trying to tell them to do, that it would be worth it in the end.’
Haggai 1 vv 3-8, Psalm 127 v 1, Matthew 7 vv 24-25
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I was taken aback, to put it mildly, this was no meek and mild message. This was passionate, exuberant, this made me take a step back, several steps. Nothing mealy-mouthed here. God pouring out his love for his people. It was lively. Noisy.’
Zechariah 1 v 14
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Calves leaping like stallions, dancing like street performers. Exuberant, captivating, dynamic. Yet not calves really – but people! So free, so released they cared nothing for peer pressure or looking appropriate, lives so changed they couldn’t stop it spilling out. A cascade of colour and life.’
Malachi 4 v 2
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The sun of righteousness dawning on the world. A new day, as a man steps from the shadows, nothing of his like ever seen before. A hero will rise. Humble, kind, courageous and focussed on justice, hope and love. A man to change the world. For the better.’
Malachi 4 v 2
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘They stood back when they could have helped. That’s what was so troubling, so vexing. It was within their reach to do something, but they did nothing. So I confronted them. They would fall, with a resounding crunch,
and my people would rise again.’
Obadiah vv 12 & 17
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I took out my anger on the wrong thing, I wasn’t really livid about wilting greenery, but talking about the real cause… well it was too hard. Too raw. So I vented my spleen over vegetation. But God knew that, he understood. I see that now.’
Jonah 4 vv 6-11
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It was easy to forget the priorities. To set other things as important when it was justice and kindness that really matter. These things change our worlds for the better. So I told the folks to keep this in mind, and to shape their lives around mercy. To learn to love it, to set it high on their agenda.’
Micah 6 v 8
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Jonah had grumpily brought good news and Nineveh had changed. But arrogance was back, malice and aggression had taken up residence again, so something had to be done. But for those with hungry hearts, a strong, kind messenger was making his way over the mountains, with hope and peace in his hands.’
Nahum 1 v 7-15
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It was this colossal, wide-screen, head-spinning thing… I did my best to describe what I saw, but there was so much. Fire and flying creatures and all manner of strangeness. And above it all, in human form, the Presence. God. And his invitation.’
Isaiah 6 vv 1-9
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I was torn in two. I heard these incredible words of assurance, that I was chosen, known, precious, and that these things made me perfect for the job. But I felt insecure, weak, so aware of my own inadequacies.’
Jeremiah 1 vv 4-8
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I walk the streets of this broken place and it looks for all the world like a woman in a shroud, a dark figure sobbing for all she has lost. A princess with her make-up smudged and smeared, staring at the marred reflection of her broken dreams in the dirty puddle at her feet.’
Lamentations 1 v 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘There are days when we feel ambushed by life. As if a bear tore from the shadows, upended us and pressed our faces in life’s gritty dust. There is so much struggle, so much we wish we could change. Yet the sun rises, and with it the warm reminder of One who knows life’s tricks and hardships. New strength for another day.’
Lamentations 3 vv 10-26
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘My jaw was on the floor! I never expected this. He was here, in the most unexpected of places! In the grime and the darkness of this awful place. I had confined him to the small, shiny, ‘holy’ places, and yet he was here, in the unholy, in this god-forsaken place. Right here with us.’
Ezekiel 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Fear and faith are a strange mixture. I found you can be filled with both. At the same time! Challenging the system about the food we ate prepared me for facing the vicious lions in that den. But on both occasions I wasn’t without fear, I just found God gave me the resources I needed, as I needed them.’
Daniel 1 vv 8-17, Daniel 6 vv 16-23
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It may seem extreme, what I did, as I look back myself I can hardly believe it sometimes. But I knew at the time it was the best way to make some folk listen. And not just listen, but open themselves to the heartfelt, sacrificial love of their Creator.’
Hosea chapters 1 and 3
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘A wake up call. That’s what it is. Rattling cages and rocking boats. About not merely appearing to change, but really starting again. About hearts and minds, rather than show and tell. We had a choice, and the good news is the Day of the Lord can bring hope.’
Joel 2 vv 12-13, Joel 2 vv 25-32
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I admit I span a tale, led the folks up a garden path. Bought into their bigotry and prejudice – but then turned the camera on them. When I criticised others they cheered and whooped, when I told them they were in trouble for doing all this criticising – well, you should have seen their faces.’
Amos 1 vv 3-15, Amos 2 vv 4-7
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
‘I discovered that God can be at work behind the scenes and you have no idea. Who knew that Queen Vashti’s actions would result in me being queen? Who knew that it was paving the way for a rescue operation?’
Esther 2 vv 1-17
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I don’t know why all these things are happening. I feel as if I’m in a fog, and the coldest of fogs at that, my bleak bones chilled to the core. Peace and happiness, what are they? It’s all I can do to get up each morning. And I pour out my troubles to God, nothing neat and tidy, just my honest, raw anguish.’
Job 1 vv 13-22
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It’s a song of basics, of the ground we stand on. We make our choices to plant our lives in shifting sand, going with the flow, hanging with the popular, or we start the graft of digging deeper, planting ourselves in the kind of ground that is precious, lasting, fruitful and nourishing.’
Psalm 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It’s a healthy kind of fear. Easy to see this as negative, but that’s my point. I want folks to realise this is a kind of respect, of awe, of wonder. That there is a God and we are not it. God is other. Above us, below us, beyond and within. The creator, who understands, the giant who becomes small, so he can take our hand.’
Proverbs 1 v 7
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘So much goes around and comes around. Rises and falls. Succeeds and fails. Life’s tide washes in and out. So why? What is beyond all this? If the footprints we make are soon washed away, what then? Who are we?
Why are we walking this way?
Who made the path?’
Ecclesiastes 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I tried everything the world could offer, pleasure, laughter, work wealth, possessions, entertainment, food, drink, distractions and escape… all these things had value, yet nothing was enough. Everything left me empty, and knowing I needed something more.’
Ecclesiastes 2, John 10 v 10
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘A love that burns like fire, blazes like the sun. Inexpressible, these words little more than a clutch of stumbling metaphors. The love of ultimate lovers. And tucked away in there, like a riddle within an enigma, the Love of the ultimate Lover. The Lover who made all lovers. Open us up please, to your great love that is strong as death.’
Song of Songs 1 vv 1-4 & 7 v 6
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I felt like a disappointed parent, a frustrated guardian. Someone who had invested so much in raising a kind, wise family, only to see them walk into lampposts and trip over their own laces.’
Isaiah 1 vv 2-3
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I was so broken, I couldn’t pray happy, jolly prayers. I couldn’t worry about saying the right things to God, I could only be honest, and cry and pour out my anger. And he heard me. He didn’t punish me, he helped me, and he sent someone to encourage me.’
1 Samuel 1 vv 3-18, Hosea 2 vv 14-15
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I had a whole heap of mixed emotions. After years of Saul trying to kill me he was dead. What a relief! But I couldn’t gloat or publicly shame him, that wouldn’t have been right. So I wrote a lament, a song for him.’
2 Samuel 1 vv 17-27, Matthew 5 v 44
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It was all a bit of a mess. My older brothers had bumped each other off. So I stepped up and figured it was my time. I might have been wrong but you don’t know if you don’t try.’
1 Kings, Hosea 2 vv 14-15
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It was a basic question and I had to ask it, because they were looking in all the wrong places for inspiration. Chasing shadows and rumours. So I voiced the divine hunch playing in my head. “Is there no God in Israel?” I hoped it would wake them up to reality, instead of their own ideas…’
2 Kings 1 vv 1-6
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We were three brave warriors, not afraid to put ourselves out there, breaking through enemy defenses for our King. Taking up the challenge, not cowed by the problems.’
1 Chronicles 10 vv 10-19
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘When you’re offered the world what do you ask for? I could have asked for fame or followers or power or wealth… then it struck me. The thing we all need whether rich or poor, weak or strong. Wisdom. The understanding and discernment to know what to do with what we have. How to live.’
2 Chronicles 1 vv 7-12
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I had a choice, the wise, older men told me to lighten the burden of taxes, to win the people’s loyalty. But my mates told me to add more troubles to folk’s lives, to make their burdens heavier than ever. To wield power and squander their loyalty.’
2 Chronicles 10
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘Who’d have thought it? That he would be the man to bring about change for good? It all looked wrong from the outside, and yet here he was, doing something to make things better. An unlikely hero.’
Ezra 1 vv 2-4
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I couldn’t help but break down. I felt so deeply about the needs of my people. And my tears turned to prayers, my heart burning as I poured out my anguish. And our
God heard my prayer.’
Nehemiah 1 vv 1-11
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘What I was intending to do was create a universe where life worked in harmony, and people cared about the place, each other, and the One who wired them up.’
Genesis 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We’d been ordered to kill them all, but we couldn’t do that. How could we? Our job is to give life, not take it. So we prayed, and we thought, and we told Pharaoh we kept arriving too late, we kept missing the births.’
Exodus 1 verses 15-19
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘It was time to make a way for people to sort out their problems, goodness knows we had plenty of those. People were dragging their feet, walking around under a burden of guilt. So God gave us a way to offload all that. To start again. To find forgiveness.’
Leviticus 1 verses 1-2, Isaiah 53
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘So we started keeping records, noting everyone’s names. Making endless lists. And it struck me that the angels most likely already knew everyone, and if not them then certainly God. How could he not be aware of everyone? I bet he knew every detail down to the last freckle.’
Numbers 1, Isaiah 43 v 1
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘We’d been through a lot together, and for me it wasn’t a question of faith, his presence was always a part of me and my life. And as it came to an end I felt this urge to pass on everything I’d learnt. I didn’t want people to forget about their God.’
Deuteronomy 1 vv 1-3, Jeremiah 29 vv 11
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I would never have said this out loud, but the thought of filling Moses’ sandals terrified me. I’m a different kind of guy, you see. My experience, my personality, my strengths. All different. But it was okay. Because that’s what he wanted. Me. Not a Moses impression.’
Joshua 1 vv 5-9, Jeremiah 29 vv 11
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘The problem was Joshua forgot to appoint a successor. So we drifted. Without a strong leader we chased after anything that was a quick fix. We forgot the ancient ways of wisdom, or we dismissed them because we wanted an easy life.’
Judges 2 vv 6-12, Hosea 2 vv 14-15
66 Extracts from Biblical Interviews
‘I had grown so bitter I couldn’t see straight. I remember telling everyone I met how terrible things were, that God had taken everything good from me. And yet that wasn’t true, he had given me a lifelong friend, Ruth, who promised to stick with me forever.’
Ruth 1 vv 16-22, Proverbs 18 v 24
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