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The subject of today’s episode is one we usually avoid in polite conversation, and honestly, I have never heard it addressed from the pulpit. We’re talking about the decision to take one's own life, suicide.

I know that just saying the word can cause a tightening in the chest. But we have to talk about it, because 1 Samuel 31 very clearly ends with King Saul taking his own life.

If you, or if you know someone is struggling, I want you to hear me clearly: There is hope.

Before you go any further, I want you to write a number down. Put it in your phone.

In the US, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is 988.

In the UK, it’s an organization called The Samaritans, and you can call them free on 116 123

They're free, it’s confidential, and it’s available 24/7. Please, don't try to walk through that "narrow" place alone.

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One of the most infamous characters in all of literature is, without a doubt, Ebenezer Scrooge. From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In it he paints a picture of a man who is the very definition of mean-spirited.

But the beauty of that story is the ending. It concludes with a radical transformation. The skinflint becomes a gentle, kind soul.

But here is the question that prompts us in the real world: Is that actually possible? Can a greedy, stingy person really be transformed into a generous one? Or is that just a nice Christmas story, almost a fairy tale we tell ourselves at Christmas?

Today, I want to take you to a desperate moment in the Old Testament—tucked away in 1 Samuel Chapter 30—that answers that question. It shows us not just what generosity looks like, but the intense pressure cooker required to produce it….

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Scripture repeatedly assures us that God protects those who trust Him. That truth is woven all through the Bible. But here’s a question that may surprise you. Does God ever protect people when they are not really trusting in Him very?

The answer, remarkably, is yes.

There is an episode in the life of David where God protects him in precisely that way—quietly, unexpectedly, and without David asking for it. And that episode is found in 1 Samuel chapter 29.

What makes this passage so striking is not just that God protects David, but how He does it, and why He does it.

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This episode was originally released as a Patreon-only special episode on the 10th May 2025.

Mindfulness The 1970’s Buddhist appropriation of Prayer and Reflection.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, peace activist, and prolific author, stands as one of the most influential contemporary figures in introducing Buddhist thought, particularly mindfulness meditation, to Western audiences. His 1975 work, "The Miracle of Mindfulness," offered an introduction to mindfulness, not merely as a spiritual technique but as an encompassing way of life. Hạnh’s message, deeply rooted in Mahayana Buddhism and Vietnamese Zen traditions, is characterized by gentleness and commitment to nonviolence.

While these teachings on presence and compassion have resonated with individuals across various religious and secular paths, their underlying metaphysical assumptions present significant divergences when viewed from a Christian worldview.

Themes:

1. The Nature of the Self: Created Dignity vs. Illusory Ego

2. The Problem of Suffering: Moral Transgression vs. Karmic Ignorance

3. The Path to Liberation: Divine Redemption vs. Self-Realization

4. Temporal Presence and Eternal Hope: The Trajectory of Time

5. The Nature of the Divine: Personal God vs. Non-Theistic Interbeing

Conclusion: Christians must be anchored in a Different Narrative

Thích Nhất Hạnh’s "The Miracle of Mindfulness" offers some insights into the idea of living in the moment, but in my opinion, not adding anything to what the Stoics taught 2000+ years ago. However, from a Christian theological perspective, its foundational assumptions about the self, suffering, salvation, time, and the nature of ultimate reality diverge significantly from the Christian worldview.

Christianity anchors its understanding of life and its spiritual practices in a revealed narrative: the story of creation by a personal God, the tragic fall of humanity into sin, the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and the promised hope of future restoration and eternal communion with God. This narrative provides a framework where the self is not an illusion to be overcome but a creation to be redeemed, where suffering finds its ultimate answer not in mindful detachment alone but in the sacrificial love of God, and where the present moment, while sacred, points towards an eternal future in relationship with a personal, loving Creator.

A full essay presenting my views to an entirely secular readership/audience can be found on my Substack. Sign up and follow me there for access to future posts in blog and essay format.

https://open.substack.com/pub/jeremymccandless/p/a-christian-reflection-on-thich-nhat?r=2r7o2c&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Let me ask you an honest question.

Have you ever been in one of those moments—a crisis, a loss, a crossroads—and you prayed for wisdom…and it felt like nothing came?

You sought the Lord.

You waited.

You listened.

And heaven was silent.

What do we do with that? Why would God ever refuse to answer a child who sincerely seeks His direction? Scripture gives several explanations, but one of the clearest, and frankly one of the most sobering, appears in today’s chapter of1 Samuel 28.

But today’s episode isn’t only about Saul’s story—it’s also about prayer.

About spiritual responsiveness.

About the conditions of the heart that either opens the ear of God… or close it….

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There’s an assumption many Christians carry quietly in their hearts—an assumption we rarely say out loud, but one that governs how we judge ourselves spiritually. It goes something like this:

If I truly have faith, then I shouldn’t feel afraid. And if I’m afraid, then perhaps my faith has failed.

Faith and fear, we think, cannot occupy the same heart at the same time.

But Scripture, in its relentless honesty, tells a different story. How fear and faith can coexist, and what happens when fear begins to overshadow faith….

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Enemies come in all shapes and sizes. Some aren’t violent—just loud. They curse, they criticise, they mutter from the sidelines, but that’s as far as it goes. Others keep their distance but carry a quiet resentment that occasionally surfaces. Some want to just use you or manipulate you. And of course, there are those rare but dangerous enemies who genuinely seek to harm you.

If you live long enough in this fallen world, you’ll encounter all of them. But that raises a very practical question for the Christian believer: How do you deal with an enemy? How do you respond when someone has set themselves against you?

One of Scripture’s clearest case studies is David, when he found himself persecuted and under great pressure. The way David responds provides us with a deeply challenging, yet deeply instructive picture of how God’s people are to face opposition.

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Some women carry the hidden burden of being married to men who are, spiritually speaking, breathtakingly foolish. I don’t mean foolish in the modern sense of low intelligence or lack of education. A man can have degrees up the wall, a sharp mind, a successful career… and yet be spiritually blind.

Scripture calls that man a fool—not because he isn’t intelligent, but because he refuses to think in the ways of God. But to be fair, that condition isn’t confined to men; plenty of women fit the same description.

But in 1 Samuel 25, we meet a particular couple who embody this contrast so vividly that the Holy Spirit preserved their story, I believe, for our instruction.

Yet this story is not preserved simply as an ancient marital case study. You do not need to approach it from a position of gender to learn from it.

So, let's reflect and allow God to use this narrative to cultivate wisdom in us. Because if you don’t pursue wisdom… You will drift into folly. But if you would like to be wise? Then listen to the Spirit’s voice in this chapter….

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