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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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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Giving thanks in everything
A prayer at the end of a thanksgiving service for an aged care provider
The Bible says that Christians are to, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Th. 5:18NIV). And those who are filled with God the Holy Spirit will be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20). We can give thanks in everything because God is in control and He is always with those who trust in Him. That’s why each November we publicly honor God and thank Him for the work done through our organization over the past year. (more…)
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I convinced Grok that God is real
A conversation with Grok about evolution and the origin of life, which comes from a video by Calvin Smith of Answers in Genesis.
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Genesis: the real history of the universe
Today we hear a very different history of the universe to what the Bible teaches. This is called cosmic evolution – everything made itself. There was nothing and it exploded and here we all are! But it had no cause – God didn’t do it. It just happened. They believe in magic rather than miracles. Christians believe in miracles, but I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist because they believe in magic, not miracles. Miracles require a miracle worker, and they have no miracle worker. So, they have nothing becoming everything with no cause whatsoever! Has anybody seen nothing do anything? Nothing does nothing! But this is what they have to believe if they don’t want to believe in God. Atheism is rife in Australia. And the basis of it is the idea of biological evolution. Richard Dawkins said that evolution enabled him to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist. So evolution is the creation myth of the atheist. (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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Another test series
The recent test cricket series between England and India finished in a 2—2 draw. And the next England versus Australia test series begins on 21 November 2025. A test cricket series involves up to five cricket matches, with each match lasting up to five days. Did you know that Israel went through many more tests on their exodus from Egypt in about 1450 BC? How would they respond to the challenges on their journey? Would they trust and obey God who was leading them? Or would they rebel against God and go their own way? (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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Four lessons from the life of Joseph
I spent last week at a holiday camp for children aged 8-12 years. During this time the children learnt about four lessons from the life of Joseph, who lived about 3,700 years ago (~1680 BC). They also learnt some verses from the Bible (see Appendix). (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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Comprehensive outline of the book of Exodus
The second book of the Old Testament, Exodus, was written by Moses. The information in chapter 1:1-2:10 may have come from his parents or his sister, or some other source.
I like having titles on the paragraphs or sections of my Bible. This helps to indicate the context of a particular passage of scripture. A comprehensive outline (section headings) of the book of Exodus is given below. (more…)
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A thanksgiving prayer
A prayer at the end of a thanksgiving service for an aged care provider.
As next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day in the USA, today has been day of thanksgiving for us. So let’s continue to honor God and thank Him for the work done through our organization over the past year. (more…)
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Our Christian ethos
I’m involved with an aged care provider whose vision is “Christ’s love compels us to care for and enrich our community”. Our mission is “To excel in the provision of loving Christian care for seniors”. And our values include a “Christian ethos”. Our Strategic plan says: “We are a Christian organisation. We believe that all people are created in the image of God and care for those entrusted to us to the best of our God-given ability. Our caring reflects the attitude of service shown by Jesus Christ. Our work is not ‘just a job’ but an opportunity to serve others.” Our Christian ethos can make a difference to the people around us. (more…)
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Don’t forget to remember
How you remember things? Some people use mnemonics like “ROY G. BIV” for the colors of the rainbow. Or in sheet music, “Every good boy deserves fruit” for the treble lines and “FACE” for the treble spaces. And “Good burritos don’t fall apart” for the bass lines and “All cows eat grass” for the bass spaces. Or “Eddy ate dynamite, good bye Eddy” for the strings of a guitar. Or “All stations to central” or “All students take care” or “Add sugar to coffee” for the signs of trigonometric functions. (more…)
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Why a good God commanded the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites
This blog comes from Jonathan Noyes and the appendix comes from Got Questions.
When I was an atheist, I loved causing Christians to doubt God. It was fun for me. One of my favorite tactics was to get them to question God’s goodness. I thought that if I could cause them to doubt God’s goodness, I could eventually get them to doubt God’s existence. (more…)
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Justice questions
Life is marked by events of suffering, both great and small. At present there is great suffering due to wars in Gaza, Sudan and the Ukraine. Some of these events are the products of a natural disaster impacting entire communities with grief and loss. Others are the fruit of human evil that has a profound effect on the world. Still others are private, affecting a person of a family. In all these cases people struggle to understand why it happens. And they question God’s goodness or His justice. (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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Evidence for the God of Christianity
According to a 2023 survey, about half of Americans believe in God, the lowest number in history. And globally (omitting China and Russia), an average of 40% say they believe in God “as described in holy scriptures”. (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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Has God finished with Israel?
Have you heard the media reports of genocide in Gaza? What are the facts? In the war between Israel and Hamas there have been about 32k people killed in Gaza. But these are not all civilians. About 13k were soldiers and 19k were civilians. This is a ratio of 1.5 civilians for each soldier, which for urban combat in the Middle East is a very normal ratio. The ratio of civilians to combatants is better than the American armies was when they got the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) out of Mosul. That was 10k civilians dead to kill 4k Isis (a ratio of 2.5). What’s unique about this war? Unlike every other war, the army of Hamas has perfected the art of embedding itself with civilians so that you cannot hit them without hitting the people around them. They locate their bases near mosques, schools, and hospitals in urban areas. (more…)
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The theological motivation of science
This post comes from Dr Jay Wilde.
The German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg (December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976), was a pioneer of quantum physics. He developed his own formulation of quantum mechanics, for which he won the 1932 Nobel Prize in physics. He later developed his famous Uncertainty Principle, which continues to guide physicists in their understanding of the behavior of atoms and subatomic particles. (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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Does God heal today?
This blogpost comes from David Robertson, who blogs at theweeflea.com”.
Acts 3:1-10 is the account of Peter healing a lame beggar. It says (NIV):
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. (more…)
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