Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/authors/?id=119&index=10
Son of a South African pastor, Richard Johanson was born in South Africa. His mother's obstetrician was Paul Bremer, an old friend of CMF, so much prayer must have surrounded him from the start. We met in 1984 when Richard joined our hospital team as a junior doctor, by now...
Doctors are not alone in leading busy lives. Jesus was busy but still took time to draw close to the Father in prayer, responsive to his word.We must do the same. Prayer has been described as the breath of the soul .We breathe in (are inspired) by the Spirit, God’s pneuma...
'Words mean what I want them to mean,' says Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. He is not alone. Today's teenagers, for example, use 'cool, 'random' and 'wicked' in ways puzzling to their elders. Christians, too, can alter a good word's meaning. Our Lord Jesus came amongst us...
‘People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them’ (Mark 10:13). Most people know that tiny babies thrive better for personal contact. Ill and dying people are often comforted by a hug or handclasp. Intensive medical care is no longer like Thai...
A Christian psychiatrist and journalist here explore the nature of grief after death or divorce, offering telling personal histories to illustrate their points together with practical wisdom and spiritual consolation. The authors remind us how grief is the other side of love. Its duration matters less than its direction, which...
The arrival of overseas guests inspired a visit to our local pottery where we were given a running commentary as the potter demonstrated his skill. First, he took an unattractive lump of grey clay and threw it with some force onto his wheel. As the wheel span round, he kneaded...
Recently I undertook a round trip of several hundred miles to renew various neglected but inspiring friendships. I found a friend’s motto ‘relax in-to disaster’ an enormous source of illumination as I travelled and talked. My friend had had to give up nursing after an adverse reaction to a yellow fever...
There's no heavenly insurance policy exempting people from life's realities, writes Janet Goodall. But that's not the end of the story. In Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey reflects on those whose faith in God is seriously shaken by seemingly unanswered prayer.[1] Although earnestly asked to intervene, the Almighty still allows devastating...
Twenty years after a paediatrician broke the news that her disabled baby would not survive, a mother spoke about how she had been introduced to the hospital chaplain. 'We'd not been religious before but my husband and I both became Christians and so did thirteen members of our family. Now...
A short visit to Russia last autumn took me to join Moscow’s Christian Medical Mission (CMM) under the directorship of Dr Olga Polezhaeva. We visited two city orphanages and another in Tula district, near Tolstoy’s old home. Each held about 50 orphaned or abused children, aged 5-16 years. Throughout Russia...
