The gospel in one word
The Christian gospel is a message from God about Jesus. It offers the forgiveness of one’s sin and eternal life in heaven through trusting in the substitutionary death and the resurrection of Jesus. This benefit is available to anyone who believes it. (more…)
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The ultimate Glow Up
Do you long to improve your physical appearance? Weight loss, muscle gain, glowing skin, whiter teeth, thicker hair, fuller lips, less wrinkles. A national survey by The Butterfly Foundation found 1 in 3 Australians are unhappy with the way they look. Cue the “glowup” phenomenon and the 19 to 25 billion dollars spent every year by Australians on their physical appearance. (more…)
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The great commission: Coping with pluralism
Diversity and tolerance are often promoted today. Pluralism is when multiple groups coexist within society. We can have multi-culturalism, multi-political groups, and multi-religious groups. How can a Christian cope with pluralism? (more…)
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Living forever requires sacrifice
Living forever – is that something that appeals to you? (more…)
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World Cup victory
Even if you’re not a football fan, the FIFA World Cup probably captures your attention in one way or another. Held every four years, it is the most watched sporting event in the world, attracting an even larger audience than the Summer Olympics. Out of more than 200 national teams, only 48 qualify for the final tournament, and after 104 matches, one team is crowned champion. (more…)
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Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are the warmakers”
“Blessed are the warmakers” – this may ring true as we look at our world today. War-makers make money. War-makers gain land. War-makers dispense fear and accumulate power. Blessed are the war-makers as they shall be called the winners, the victors, our leaders. (more…)
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Core scriptural beliefs and practices
Everyone has a worldview. Our worldview is the way we look at the present world. Our belief systems shape the way that we live our lives.
Christianity is a theistic worldview – We believe God exists and is the source of all reality. The big bang can’t explain how something came from nothing. God tells us what we need to know in the Bible. It sees history as a linear story (with a beginning and end)—under God’s control—rather than a random sequence of events.
The Christian worldview is God-based. (more…)
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Upgrade to heaven
Getting an upgrade, whether it is with a phone, a flight, a hotel room, or something else, can be a moment of great joy. (more…)
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Leaders murdering truth for their own agenda
History is peppered with both political and religious leaders knowingly and willingly lying to the public for their own gain, glory and purposes. Julius Caesar reportedly lied about the Gauls and started a war with them to redirect attention from his own debt and corruption. Hitler famously used his “big lie” technique to gain the popular support and persecute the Jewish people. Much evidence has come to light that when George Bush cited Hussein’s “massive stockpile” of weapons as the reason they were invading Iraq he knew they did not exist. Then we have the even more tragic ever-growing list of Christian leaders who have been exposed as deceitful – embezzling cash, sexual misconduct, extramarital affairs. (more…)
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Only light can repel darkness
For most Australians today literal darkness isn’t much of a problem. We have artificial light at our finger tips and as such can do almost any activity we wish day or night. But the metaphorical darkness of evil still plagues us. We witness political leaders using their power for their own gain at the expense of others, civilians being killed for disagreeing with authorities, money being siphoned into leaders pockets while populations are hungry and homeless. The rich protect the rich without reference to truth or justice. Self service, corruption, greed, deception, violence, this is the kind of moral darkness we can feel powerless to repel. (more…)
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Imagine everlasting happiness
Has there been a moment in your life when you felt truly and deeply happy? What was it that brought you happiness in that moment? How did it end and why? Can you imagine it never ending? (more…)
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Witnesses of the resurrection
Each cricket series against England in Australia Glenn McGrath predicts Australia to win 5-0. And he is usually right! So, if you told me that in the Boxing Day test England has had its first win since 2011, I wouldn’t believe you. That’s 14 years (or 5,468 days) without a win! If you showed me a report, I would think it was fake news. And if you showed me a photo or video, I would think it was generated by AI. How can I check if the report and photo or video was true or not? I could ask someone who was an eyewitness yesterday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. That’s the kind of evidence I need. (more…)
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The gift of peace with God
I remember Christmas eve as the peak of childhood excitement. I could say it was about family or feasts or celebrating Jesus’ birth, but the truth is it was all about the anticipation of presents. It was a magical feeling falling asleep on Christmas eve… the scent of Christmas pine, the glow of twinkling lights, the promise of presents. (more…)
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A great victory
The first cricket test against England finished recently after just two days of play! England batted first and scored 172 runs, which seemed too low. But then Australia only scored 132 runs, giving England a lead of 40 runs on the first innings. In the second innings, England was 1 for 65 (105 runs ahead, with 9 wickets in hand). They would have been feeling confident of winning the game. But then the Australian bowlers took 5 wickets for 23 runs and England scored only 164 in the second innings. This meant that Australia needed to score 205 runs to win, which was higher than all the previous innings. So the English would have still been confident of winning, especially after their fast bowlers had terrorised the Australian batters in the first innings and Khawaja (the Australian opening batter) was injured. So the barmy army of English supporters was in full swing while things were going England’s way. What happened next? Australia was rescued by Travis Head who hit 123 runs off 83 balls! It was an amazing effort. He was a hero and won the game for Australia. And the barmy army were silent. (more…)
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Imagine everlasting peace
Do you know that throughout recorded history there has never been a period of complete global peace? Though some consider we have been in a state of “long peace” since the end of WW2 that isn’t the reality for the millions who have lived in Myanmar, Rwanda, Nigeria, Congo, Somalia, Libya, Vietnam, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Palestine and so many more countries. (more…)
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When you can’t take it any more
Have you ever felt you can’t take anymore? Difficulty after difficulty, hurdle after hurdle, loss after loss seems to have overcome your ability to cope. Overwhelmed you simply want to collapse in a heap and give up. It’s a hopeless feeling. And sadly a common one in this world of corruption, deception, disappointment and danger. (more…)
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Be ready for whatever the world throws at you
When do you feel at your weakest and most vulnerable? Perhaps it’s when you’re experiencing financial insecurity or if a relationship isn’t going the way you hoped. Perhaps you feel weakest when you’re faced with uncertainty whether it’s uncertainty about your children, about your health, or about your future. Perhaps the everyday demands of life simply leave you exhausted and unsure how you will muster the energy to face another day. (more…)
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When you’ve got nowhere to run
Australia is a very safe country to live in. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace 2024 report Australia ranks as the 19th safest country in the world. In such an economically, politically and environmentally stable country it’s normal to feel safe. (more…)
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Because you’re worth it
The L’Oreal slogan “Because you’re worth it” spearheaded a revolution in beauty product marketing. The original line “Because I’m worth it,” spoken by a woman directly to camera in the 1971 L’Oreal tv commercial, broke the mold of women’s beauty products being about women being attractive to men. Rather, the groundbreaking commercial celebrated the woman’s perspective and experience of her hair care and self-worth without mention of a man. (more…)
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Terms and conditions
The terms and conditions (T&Cs) of the multinational tech company, Apple, have been the subject of controversy. The T&Cs length, complexity, and potential to be used to entrench Apple’s market power have led to serious criticism. Can we compare Apple’s T&Cs to the T&Cs God put in around the “apple” of the Garden of Eden? (more…)
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Easter didn’t end at Easter
What do you like to do on the Easter long weekend? Most of us get two extra days off giving us the opportunity to go away, spend time with friends or family, relax at home or do something a little different to our normal weekends. Our family tradition is to spend the weekend in the beautiful autumnal Blue Mountains of New South Wales, staying with friends, eating, drinking and playing together. (more…)
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The paradox of the cross
What does the death penalty have to do with love? The crucifix was a brutal means of capital punishment in the ancient Roman empire. Death by crucifixion could take between 6 hours and 4 days resulting from excessive bleeding, dehydration or progressive suffocation. It was an extremely painful and shameful way to die, inflicted upon those considered repugnant. And yet today we hang pretty crosses from our ears and necks, tattoo them into our skin, hang them on our walls – bejeweled, ornamental, celebrated. (more…)
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God knows each star by name
Have you seen those images comparing the size of the earth to the sun and then comparing the sun to other supergiant stars? The size of our galaxy, the size of the universe is beyond human comprehension. In comparison, we, our lives, our whole world, are minuscule… tiny, microscopic specks floating in infinity. It’s the kind of stuff that may bring on an existential crisis. But the Bible makes a different point. (more…)
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Clean forever
Sometimes getting dirty can be fun. Painting, cooking, gardening, sport, can all be activities we do for fun that may get us a little messy. Sometimes getting clean can be fun. Having a shower and putting on fresh clean clothes after a sweaty, muddy, football [soccer] game feels great. (more…)
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