A dear brother in Christ and elder of mine passed away to be with our Lord last week. While he was of advanced age, his death came as a shock not only to me but to all who were close to him. As is always the case in such circumstances, I have spent a lot …
How do you prepare your house if you know that people are coming to visit you tomorrow? I suspect most of us would clean up a little bit. We would put the areas that visitors will see into some kind of order. Yet what about the bedrooms and areas that visitors wouldn’t usually go into? …
The great tragedy of the Old Testament is described for us in 2 Kings 17. God brought his judgement on the northern kingdom of Israel. Using the nation of Assyria, God defeated his own people, deporting them to other nations. This judgement was fair and a long time coming; anyone other than God would have …
There is an old disused power station just outside of the Perth CBD, the city I live in. It used to be the major electricity generator for the city for many decades. When it became obsolete, it was closed down in 1981. Successive governments have tried to rehabilitate the site. It is complicated; while it …
It is very common to describe the gospel as being a free gift. Salvation is something that is done for us rather than what we do. It is a component in my favourite gospel presentations because it resonates with me. The idea of getting a gift I don’t deserve makes sense and helps me understand …
All of us have someone we look up to. Celebrity culture means that a great many people obsess over rock stars, sportspeople and actors. They know everything they can about their favourite celebrity. They read blogs, watch movies, go to concerts, buy merchandise, whatever it takes to know more about their person or to understand …
If you had been freed from prison today after a long time inside, what do you think you would do with your freedom? I suspect all kinds of ordinary things would seem like luxuries. Eating when you want to, lying outside in the sun by yourself, and going where you want for as long as …
We’d all like to believe in a world where everything made easy, logical sense. In this ideal world, all the faithful people would be rewarded with a blessed and easy life. All those who reject God and hate Him would go through struggles and all kinds of problems. That’s why the idea of karma seems …
In 2 Kings 11, there was a leadership vacuum in Judah. King Ahaziah had been killed by Jehu when visiting the northern kingdom of Israel. The queen mother took her opportunity to take power for herself. Athaliah, a daughter of King Ahab, systematically killed all of her family members that she considered a threat. She …
We know that God continues to work in His world, but if we’re honest, we’d like to see Him do so more spectacularly. It would be great to see more of the miracles of Elijah’s time perhaps, or the signs and wonders of the apostles. We’d love to see whole cities change their economies because …