False gospels
Recently I attended the funeral of a neighbour. The priest assured us that we will see him in heaven because he had been baptised as a child and he had confessed his mortal sins to the priest at the last rites. Holy water was sprinkled on the coffin as a reminder of his being cleansed of original sin and made a Christian through baptism. This is a different gospel (Gal. 1:6-9) because it contradicts John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. The true gospel is to trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin – no one comes to God except through Jesus. Baptism is not a part of salvation – it’s a consequence, not a cause (Acts 10:47-48; 16:14-15; 31-33; 18:8). (more…)
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Jesus can help you find the best version of yourself
If you were to imagine the best version of yourself, what, or who, would you imagine? (more…)
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The original Christmas gift
Can you remember what you got for Christmas last year? How about 5 years ago? How about 2000 years ago?
The magic and excitement of receiving gifts at Christmas has somewhat diminished for me as I’ve gotten older. Like most Australians I am blessed with having everything I need and a lot of what I want. Throughout the year I am my own expert self-gifter. I can search and click, and have exactly what I want delivered to my front door within days. It kind of takes the shine off receiving a gift from someone else who may not really know what I like. (more…)
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The cure for death
What would you be willing to do or sacrifice if it meant having the cure for death? The shadow of death looms over all our lives – rich or poor, young or old. It is the great inescapable equaliser that cuts across nationality, social status, physical ability, gender, sexuality, and belief. (more…)
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When Jesus returns
The sound of a father’s footsteps approaching the front door – the same thing can mean different things to different people. For the two year old that sound may be the most exciting noise she’s heard all day. For the teenager who has just crashed the car it may elicit dread. For a child feeling scared and alone it may be the sound of comfort and relief. How we feel and respond to someone’s return depends on our relationship with them. (more…)
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Jesus is the rock you can stand on
I’m in deep, deep trouble again. I’ve cried my eyes out; I feel hollow inside. My life leaks away, groan by groan; my years fade out in sighs. My troubles have worn me out, turned my bones to powder. To my enemies I’m a monster; I’m ridiculed by the neighbors. My friends are horrified; they cross the street to avoid me. (more…)
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Train for eternity
Exercise and sport provide a myriad of benefits to our wellbeing. There are physical health advantages such as better heart and lung health, higher bone density, lower blood pressure, better balance, flexibility and function. There’s also the psychological gains of physical activity changing brain chemistry to improve mood, reduce stress, promote sleep and boost memory function. Not to mention the social positives that come with many sports – being part of a team or group joined together with a common goal. Although exercise and sport often involve a level of discomfort and hard work it’s easy to understand why, with such an impressive list of benefits, we see crowded sports fields every weekend and can find a gym or two in almost every suburb. (more…)
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Eternal glory awaits those who …
Have you ever dreamed of excelling at something? Being the world’s best? Having crowds cheer for you? To have people say your name with awe and speak well of you. Respect. Kudos. Glory. Fame. (more…)
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God left no stone unturned for you
What would you do to get back someone precious that you’d lost? What lengths would you go to to find your missing child, friend, spouse or parent? How far would you travel? How long would you look? What price would you pay? (more…)
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Don’t be afraid
Australians spend $1.6 billion a year on hair care. We want to remove hair from some places and grow it in others, color and repair our hair, straighten and curl our hair, feed, wax, laser, nourish, and cut our hair. (more…)
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God knows everything about you, and still loves you
How much of yourself do you feel you must filter when you’re with others? Of course, “others” isn’t a single category; there are many types of others in our lives, from our social media contacts to our closest friends or family members. Is there someone whom you feel you can truly be yourself with? Someone with whom you can express your vulnerable feelings, talk about your deepest struggles, and share your worst moments? We humans learn from a very early age that sharing our deepest parts, especially those we may not like, can be uncomfortable. That’s what happens when we see a toddler hide or cover their face when they know they’ve done the wrong thing. Experiencing rejection, condemnation, or exploitation after revealing our vulnerable parts is incredibly emotionally painful. (more…)
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Heaven is better than a Taylor Swift concert
If you are a swifty then being in the audience of a Taylor Swift concert is pretty much your definition of heaven.
Being completely immersed in the music you love, singing in unison with thousands upon thousands of others who share your passion, delighting in the choreography and visual display, standing in the presence of your hero — what more could one want? (more…)
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Good news in a world of bad news
They say that the “proportion of headlines denoting anger, fear, disgust, negativity and sadness” grew markedly in the US between 2000 and 2019. News reports always begin with bad news because humans have a “negativity bias”. We tend to pay more attention to negative experiences than positive ones.
I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is something about us and the good news is something about God. (more…)
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Not for washing brains, only hearts
Bible basher and brainwashed are two aspersions often cast upon Christians. This is understandable given the sudden change and single mindedness some new Christians display. (more…)
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Christmas is all about the presence
For my young children the excitement of Christmas really is about the presents. We can harp on about Jesus being the best gift but honestly it’s just background noise to the paper tearing, box opening frenzy. Presents can be held, presents can be seen, presents can make obnoxiously loud noises in your sister’s face until she screams. But what if my materialistic little darlings didn’t have us there on Christmas morning? What if they woke up to all the presents they’ve ever dreamed of but no parents to be found? No doubt they would have a fantastic few hours unwrapping to their hearts’ content. However, I believe eventually our absence would cause some concern. (more…)
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Finding the way to heaven
When we travel, maps and GPS apps guide us to our destination. But how do we find the way to heaven, and how many ways are there?
Understanding heaven
Heaven is where God lives and rules (Appendix A). Jesus taught His followers to pray to “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9NLT). Heaven is a spiritual place which we can’t see. It existed before the physical universe began. (more…)
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The way to heaven
Most people want to go to heaven. Do we all go there automatically? How can we know the way to heaven? A map or a GPS App can show us many ways to a destination. How many ways are there to heaven? (more…)
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Customer support open 24/7
What’s your most frustrating customer support story? I remember a time when I got into a menu loop on a call and couldn’t get to a person to talk to. There’s others times I’ve spent hours on hold hoping to get a real person to help me with my problem. With the increase in automation, off shore customer service centers and the use of scripts, it can often feel impossible to get the specific help needed. (more…)
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Love your neighbor as yourself
As a mental health counsellor I have the privilege of joining with people in their deepest struggles. I hear harrowing stories of neglect, abuse, self-loathing, loneliness. At the heart of these varying stories there is a common tragedy: the profoundly painful experience of not being loved. (more…)
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The best terms and conditions you have ever read
Terms and conditions (T&Cs) are inescapable these days. When you sign up for insurance, join a sports group, attend an event, make a purchase, visit a website….almost everything we do comes with a little asterisk indicating pages and pages of fine print.
There are so many T&Cs in our life it would take hours out of our week to read them all before ticking every little box of agreement (the average time it takes to read one T&C is half an hour). So we don’t. A Deloitte survey found that over 90% of consumers do not read the online legal terms they agree to. (more…)
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Give all your anxiety to God
Anxiety. Worry. Concern that something will go wrong. Heart palpitations. Feeling hot. A pit in the stomach. Restlessness. Racing thoughts. Sweaty palms. What does anxiety feel like for you? And what do you do with that experience?
All of us feel anxious at times. When we are not sure we’re safe. When something we want or care about may be in jeopardy. It can help us protect what’s important to us. But there are ways we can respond to anxiety that make it feel worse. We can sometimes get anxious about feeling anxious. We can interpret our worry as something being wrong with us. We may have even heard a “christian” message that anxiety means a lack of faith. (more…)
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Create in me a clean heart
What would you think of a man who used his power to forcibly have sex with a woman? But he didn’t stop there. This woman was married and after finding out she’d become pregnant through his sexual assault he tried to make it look like the baby belonged to her husband. When this failed he once again used his power to arrange the husband to be killed. It’s reprehensible behaviour. Unforgivable, many would say. This is the biblical story behind Psalm 51 – the story of king David. (more…)
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Long live the King!
On May 6th, 2023, an estimated audience of 400 million people witnessed the coronation of King Charles III. This event was significant in the eyes of so many because the ceremony confirmed Charles’ position on the throne and his role as monarch of the United Kingdom and all remaining Commonwealth countries. (more…)
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Where will you respawn?
Despite the way some people may react, death is not that big a problem in a video game. You may lose your loot, position or game but there’s always another life. On the contrary, the Bible says real human death is a once off occasion, life is not repeatable, it’s a one time only offer. And what comes next is crucial.
“People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement.” Hebrews 9:27 (more…)
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