Flashes of Thought.

In the poem 'Nakbat Dimashq' (The Tragedy of Damascus), poet Ahmed Shawqi presents a poignant line: " And the red freedom has a door, struck by every bloodied hand." This line was echoed by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in one of his last videos before his death. As I reflected on this line and contemplated the wars currently raging in Ukraine, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere, I realized that it is nearly impossible to separate freedom from struggle. There are three nuances to the concept of freedom: first, "freedom from," which denotes liberation from societal constraints; second, "freedom to," which signifies the ability to do what we wish; and third, "freedom to be," which extends beyond mere actions to encompass the freedom to become who we were meant to be. Yet, in all these nuances, it is evident that historically and conceptually, 'freedom' often involves overcoming obstacles, fighting against ...

In Christendom, a lot of emphasis is placed—rightly so—on knowing God. People are encouraged to go the extra mile in their pursuit of God and the knowledge of Him. One of the common themes used to motivate this pursuit is the idea that knowledge is power.  However, there’s an important caveat to this notion.  Not all knowledge is power, except for the knowledge that is retained within us. Think back to those days in the exam room when you faced your examination paper. During that test, it was only the knowledge you had retained that could help you. Any knowledge gathered but forgotten was like a lightbulb that wouldn't turn on in the darkness—useless.  So, what am I trying to convey?   I am conveying that it is not enough to simply gather knowledge about God; we must also ensure that we retain what we know and understand about Him. Only that retained knowledge can illuminate our paths. Often, we focus heavily on gathering knowledge without checking t...

Greetings dear reader,  As we progress with the year 2025, here are a few thoughts for our consideration.  One of the inescapable realities of Christian life is that of warfare. Having been born again, we enjoy peace with God but we automatically attract enmity from the devil. He is constantly stalking and plotting against us. Like a master predator, he is always studying and marking us his targets, looking for vulnerable points through which to launch his attacks. His mission? To steal, kill and destroy. Knowing that, we cannot afford to be casual in our approach to his attacks. Rather, we need to gird up our minds and our spirits, always ready to fight back, in what the bible calls the good fight of faith. We need to settle it in our minds that we will not take the fight sitting down in our comfort zones, but that we will fight tooth and nail until we have the victory. Our mission? To possess, defend and extend. Like Jephthah, let we seek to be intentional in ...

Apart from carrying the hopes of new beginnings and better days ahead, New Years also have embedded within their depths the subtle yet powerful message of our mortality. The constant ebbing and flowing of days bear the latin tidings "Memento Mori" which translates "remember you must die." Of course most of us approach the subject of our death with foreboding. We think that thoughts on the brevity of our lives and the inevitability of our death to be too dark and dull, and can only yield frustrations and attract 'negative energy' around us.  However, I'm coming to understand that thoughts on our mortality are like the proverbial "apple a day" that keeps the doctor away. A healthy consciousness of our mortality helps to keep us on the straight and narrow path of purpose. It equips us with the wisdom to chip away at the vain phantoms and excesses that plague our existence, until all is that is left is a purposeful, meaningful and etern...

Happy New Year dear F.O.T Readers!  I hope this new year finds you well and sufficiently recalibrated, ready to take on the journey ahead of us.  For this post, I want to write about something that has been brewing in my mind about "the New Year". During this season, one of the most common phrases used is 'starting over' and 'new beginnings'... From our New Year resolution lists to church sermons and commercial postings, the motifs of "starting over" and "new beginnings" are not to be missed. Not to mention the pressure that is usually placed upon the masses to "start something new". In this 'starting over' camp there's usually that group of people who are starting over on unfinished projects, goals, and tasks that were left along the way from the previous years. Then there are those that are beginning afresh that which they've never done before, and finally, there's that curious lot who ironically 'start ...