It’s been quite the week hasn’t it? I’ve added a section about Ukraine, a country I’ve visited several times and have friends deeply invested in that nation.

Ukraine

1. History will judge Vladimir Putin harshly for his war. I hope so.
2. The Ukrainian refugee crisis has already begun. Poland has risen to the challenge, the UK not so much
3. I think the approach of these churches is magnificent and I want to remember their example. To Stay and Serve: Why We Didn’t Flee Ukraine and As Russia Invades Ukraine, Pastors Stay to Serve, Pray … and Resist
4. Also pray for the Christians in the Donbas region of Ukraine
5. It’s not a position I fully agree with but I think it is one worth considering from Rod Dreher: Clarity About Russian Brutality
6. It is worth remembering that Ukraine is a poor country and has just got an awful lot poorer no matter what happens.
7. I’ve made a few threads on Twitter either trying to explain or predict what is happening. You can read them here, here, here and here.
8. Lastly I was asked to put together some points for prayer in some of our churches tomorrow. I hope it helps.

You should read these

OK, some no-war related reading.

1. ‘The most important doctor in the world’. May the church keep producing people like Paul Farmer (and the NYT)
2. Please make the effort to say my name. This is an important piece of advice from Chine McDonald to anyone in a multi-cultural church.
3. 5 Ways to Commune with Christ on a Busy Day
4. What Does a Committed Church Member Look Like? The tone of this article is a lot more formal than I’m used to but it makes some excellent points
5. I may have posted this before but it’s worth a re-up: Why climate change is inherently racist by my friend Jeremy Williams
6. This is not the path to creating a vibrant & robust culture: How sensitivity readers corrupt literature.
7. Well played, The British Library, well played.

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You should look at this

The Incredible Monasteries of Meteora, Greece. Incredible.

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You should listen to this

Hopefully a prophetic song.

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You should watch this

A little introduction to something quintessentially Swedish.

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This week’s posts

Thursday: Ukraine’s fate is in Putin’s hands

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Reading Colossians Remixed

I haven’t forgotten this series. New posts coming soon.

• Read with me: Colossians Re:mixed
• Colossians Remixed: Placing ourselves
• Colossians Remixed: Hearing with Old Testament ears
• Colossians Remixed: Do we live under an empire?
• Colossians Remixed: Growing in the Empire’s shadow
• Colossians Remixed: Dealing with postmodernism

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From the archives

War and peace: Unfortunately I was right about this one. “War, at least the sort of war that is declared between nations, that involves armies and mass mobilisation hasn’t happened for some time and in the absence of such threats it would be easy to think that somehow we have got past war. That would be a foolish thing to think.”

Have a prayerful and peace filled weekend.