Is God an Environmentalist?
We can be irked when people adopt a “greener-than-thou” attitude, and put guilt on us to demonstrate greater environmental responsibility. Our reaction is understandable; this is how we react to any form of self-righteousness. However, we have an obligation to care for the environment. In fact, the first “environmentalist” was God! He declared His creation […]
We Are Our Brother’s Keeper
Does this mean that we are ultimately responsible for other people, and that they are not responsible? No, ultimately every person stands before God, and before all people, and is responsible for their life. But what it does mean is that every one of us has a responsibility to love our neighbor as we would […]
Truth Is Public
Quite often people say something like, “What I believe is true for me;I don’t impose it on others.” Or, “What I believe is just between God and me; I don’t talk about it to other people.” Or, “What others in the church may believe or say doesn’t affect me; I believe what I believe.” Behind […]
Good, Good Father
Ever feel like you’ve been handed “the rough end of the stick” in life?… Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt that way at some point or another! And unless people are going to trivialise human experience, we have to admit that it’s quite understandable for us to feel that way at times, given the very […]
In The Doldrums
The origin of the form of the word doldrum is thought to lie in the Old English word dol, meaning ?dull?. As for the meaning, there are two schools of thought. Early in the 19th century, in the doldrums was used as a synonym for ?in the dumps, depressed?. Later sailors borrowed the phrase to […]
Climate + Change
Many are claiming that we are seeing significant and unique changes in the global climate. There seems to be quite a bit of evidence for this, with the number of extreme weather events on our news reports ? the terrible fires in Queensland at the moment are a case in point. Or maybe this is […]
What’s So Good About Heaven?
There are two things about our glorious future that the Gospel assures us is coming. First, we are going to enjoy God forever?. None of us, even the strongest Christians today, has ever experienced what that joy is ? perfect, cosmic, infinite, endlessly growing ? because all of us worship and adore other things. But […]
Ah… to breathe
Lk 13:10-17 tells of Jesus entering a church, and then how He heals a woman who has been crippled for 18 years. Then one of the leaders of the church tells Him off, saying, ?We don?t do that sort of thing in our church services?!? Jesus says, ?If church isn?t to bring God?s healing to […]
I’m Not Dead Yet
The famous chapter of Hebrews 11 tells us that ?faith is the assurance of things unseen?. Do you ever find it easy to believe in the things that you can?t see?? Most often it?s the stuff that we can see that has the biggest influence on our lives – the kids, school, the mortgage, illness, […]
Swept Away
PSALM 90: 5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death ? they are like the new grass of the morning: 6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. 7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. 8 You have set […]