Grubbing Thistles
A colleague and friend of mine tells of funeral he conducted for a man on the north coast of Tasmania. The man was a loner, eccentric, and a human being of unbounded hope! He had the habit of roaming the district with a grubber, and, wherever he found a thistle, he dug it up. The […]
Fire
With the Australian community, we are overwhelmed at the moment with the devastation and trauma caused by wildfire in several states, particularly in NSW and Qld. Our hearts go out in compassion to those who have lost family members, homes and all normalcy in life. We pray for them, and help in any way that […]
A One Talent Person
Arthur Stace was a loser, a no-hoper, and an alcoholic. Shortly after becoming a Christian, he heard an evangelist – John G. Ridley, thunder out the words, “Eternity! Eternity! Oh, that this world could be emblazoned across the streets of Sydney!” And that is what Arthur Stace did. Even though he could not read or […]
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 […]