Weekly Bible Reflection
Easter Reflections (2) – The Cross
May 1, 2019 The Cross…! Easter Day is truly a gala day as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. His resurrection underscores the validity of the Christian faith. Without it, we are lost. That said, our Easter celebration raises interesting questions: ‘Why...
Easter Reflections (1) He is Risen…!
It is sometimes said that the most difficult challenge for the Christian church today is to get people to believe. I think the opposite is true. Most people will believe almost anything, providing that what is said is communicated with authority.
A Spiritual Re-Awakening…? Day 25 Lenten Readings & Reflections through John’s Gospel
Living out the principle of service marks out a true follower of Jesus Christ. We see it in the way God’s people treat the person at the checkout and the handyman in their home or building, members of their household and one another at church, the socially unlovely and the less able, the corporate client and the sick and the lonely.
A Spiritual Re-Awakening…? Day 19 -Lenten Readings & Reflections through John’s Gospel
It is an often overlooked or simply unknown fact today, that many millions died in the 20th century under the brutal rule of these dictators who each claimed that their respective ideology would facilitate the materialist dream of prosperity and peace.
A Spiritual Re-Awakening? Day 13 Lenten Readings & Reflections through John’s Gospel
There’s an old proverb, ‘There’s none so blind as those who will not see.’ John tells us that there were many Jewish leaders who refused to think through the implications of Jesus’ works and words.
A Spiritual Re-Awakening? Day 7: Lenten Reflections through John’s Gospel
Jesus was not only claiming to be the Messiah, but also claimed identity with God. So the eternal life he was talking about, the thirst-quenching water he promised that day, would not just satisfy her felt needs, but would also make her a true friend of God.
Postmodernism & Truth…
Twelve months ago I drew attention to Robert Letham’s observations in his book, The Holy Trinity (P&R Publishing: 2004), concerning the impact of postmodernism on society. He comments that since the 1970s the western world has developed ‘a generally pessimistic...
Gratitude & Truth…
Fifteen months ago I drew attention to an article, ‘Faith’s Implacable Enemies’ in The Weekend Australian (November 4-5, 2017). Dyson Heydon, a former justice of the High Court of Australia, wrote of the significant shift by society’s elites today away from...
Leaders…
There are so many things in life we either tend to ignore or simply take for granted – leaders, for example. We may not always respect leaders at a personal level, but Paul in his First Letter to Timothy writes: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers,...
Never Give Up…
Because cities are sometimes synonymous with evil and corruption, poverty and injustice, we tend to overlook the significance of the City of Zion or the heavenly Jerusalem of which the Bible speaks. In Isaiah 60 we read: Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the...
Meaning…?
Ernest Becker in his 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning, The Denial of Death, a book that continues to command respect, focuses on a human paradox: death is a reality, but we deny it. In our attempt to achieve immortality, he says, we all adopt what he calls...
God’s Wisdom…
There are many things in life that baffle and trouble us. If God is almighty and all loving, why does he allow pain and suffering, evil and injustice to run riot through the world? Why does God allow us as individuals to go through so many of the things we do? If we...
Surprise…!
An op-ed in The Australian on Christmas Eve (12/24/18) referenced a recent lecture by the American scholar George Weigel who ‘argues that Christianity, including the values highlighted at Christmas, has an important role to play in revitalizing democratic,...
Generosity…
People love the decorations and lights of Christmas – especially in cities like New York. They might even enjoy Handel’s Messiah or a Service of Lessons and Carols. But how often do we hear: ‘We know it isn’t true.’ Why then, if it is not true, do we continue to give...
Eternity…
Eternity. Some years ago I made reference to the Sydney-born Arthur Stace. Born in poverty to alcoholic parents, he had little education and became a petty criminal, an alcoholic and homeless. In the aftermath of World War II, he joined the lines outside a church that...
Hallelujah
With concerns abounding over governments in the western world – concerns that spring from divisions in the wider community and divisions and disloyalty in the body politic – we might wonder what the future might hold. Psalm 146:3 says: Put not your trust in princes,...
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow Americans everywhere celebrate Thanksgiving. The first official Thanksgiving, held in December 1777, followed a Congressional Proclamation that in part reads: “That with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their...
Certainty
It is often said that there are two certainties in life – death and taxes. Psalm 90 speaks of a far greater certainty that Western society is rapidly overlooking – the everlasting God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains...