As a kid I used to listen to that song on my old valve radio (which I still have, and which still works!) as I tuned in to the nightly 3KZ John Bright request show. I heard that song again just the other day and it struck me that the way we are communicating as a society today is rapidly changing … and breaking down.…READ MORE

It took me a few weeks but I found it after a lot of work searching for it. It was annoying and irritating in the extreme, at times. I had endured its racket for weeks. I tried everything I could think of to find it…READ MORE

Most Christians I know are certain of their forgiveness because of the cross, but many still have some struggle with shame or guilt from time to time…READ MORE

The Haas team car split in half and erupted in a fireball fueled by full tanks. Grosjean was momentarily out of it, but came back to reality and realised his left foot was stuck. He was trapped in the cockpit for what seemed an eternity.…READ MORE

There are some unpleasant life experiences that are unavoidable, yes, some of which we have to have. We cannot avoid them. We must experience them and move through. From boyhood I remember dreading…READ MORE

As I reflected on this conversation later, I began to recall the many conversations and emails I have received in recent years from people who have developed their biblical, doctrinal and theological understanding from “Pastor YouTube” – who can never really be held to account. And when you ask questions…READ MORE

There are unprecedented events and disturbances around the world on a scale never before seen in human history. There is no doubt about that. The issue for me is the global scale of it all – these things are affecting the entire world…READ MORE

Each of us is one Tweet or Facebook post away from being cancelled. It’s a thing these days. We have the power now to “cancel” someone – and not just in the online world…

When things like these appear to converge, often Christians long for Jesus to return and fix everything. I get that. I do. I often find myself wanting the same.

But in the midst of these end-times focus cycles all manner of new end time theories emerge and are promoted. It’s almost an industry at the moment…

…and so, they wandered about for another forty years, eating manna and quail, not milk and honey. That generation never inherited the richer things of God – they stayed on basics for the rest of their lives. This is a graphic portrayal of where a lot of the church is today. Many believers…

I remember a few years ago when we were out four wheel driving in the mountains and in some pretty rough terrain. The GPS system had all the latest map upgrades and were showing several tracks that were not on any printed maps we had. We saw one bush track on the GPS leading to the right of where we were and decided to explore it. But as we approached where the intersection was supposed to be, we couldn’t see any entry point…

I arrived home late tonight, had a late dinner with Anne, and then headed out the veggie gardens to inspect the tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, snow peas, herbs and, of course, my beehives. I didn’t really want to go outside, preferring to get back to my desk and finish the things I couldn’t get to today. Anne encouraged me. I got the garden hose fired up and…

My eyes were suddenly glued to that one line … I clearly remember an urgent quickening in my spirit … and I remember asking the Lord about it. As I prayed I receive the most wonderful insight. In that moment God showed me (just a kid), in that verse, how everything Jesus ever did was repeatable – excepting the work of the cross and resurrection – everything else was repeatable.

What a week it has been! There have been many opportunities – that is, many challenges! It all depends on your focus, doesn’t it? When we view life and earthly realities from God’s perspective and decide to accept and go with God’s agenda, or God’s leading, that’s living by faith, and challenges become opportunities. For the believer, that is the proper, preferred and exciting way to live. What have been your “challenge opportunities” this week?

God is doing a new thing. Many of you have heard that Isaiah 43 scripture before, perhaps many times, and have even used it as a promise of God to look forward to a new season. And, in a sense, it is kind of like that – but it’s not a promise of God as such. It was a prophetic encouragement to Israel to look to the new future God was preparing for them.

The rising crescendo of voices has become a screaming match and all sorts of accusations and claims are being made by both sides of politics in the USA. Cries, of “without evidence” for some statements, and other cries of “censorship” at the hands of Facebook and Twitter by the other side are rife, too. Before that there was “fake news” and so on.

Who is telling the whole truth? I suspect no one is …

But, as I have kept saying these last few months, the church has a great responsibility in modelling to the rest of the community the kind of dignified poise and calm that would cause others to enquire as to the faith we have in an all-powerful God. We have an obligation, as citizens, to respect the laws of the day, and a crucial responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom of God to do so in a way that honours the Lord, a doesn’t bring the gospel or the church into disrepute.

In the middle of all this is the Christian music industry around the world. Christian worship music is proliferating with many artists and churches emerging at the moment. This proliferation has been astonishing – more than tripling in the last 12 years. And, of course, churches have accessed a lot of new music and songs for use in worship services, as has any Christian with a mobile phone, tablet or laptop computer. Our churches have done the same, too.

As I sat thinking about this incremental improvement on Sunday afternoon before writing this, I felt Holy Spirit alert me to the importance of the incremental improvement in our new lives as believers – as ones born again. The incremental renewal and transformation that takes place in the believer as we walk with God allowing Holy Spirit to sanctify us, is a really important thing.

Jacob’s wrestle with God, to which I referred in Sunday’s message, lends itself to various insights about prayer and how desperate we need to become in prayer – especially with regard to the “self-life.” To refresh your memory, here is the scene again…