Posts from May 2009
James (2) – Stepping Stones to Glory (James 1:2-4)
As a boy my brothers and I often played in the bush that bordered on the housing estate where we lived at Frankston. It was not uncommon that to get somewhere we had to cross a creek. We would look for tufts of grass, outcrops of stone or earth or some other dry and solid-looking area and, stepping…
Elijah (3) – By the Brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-6)
Elijah’s means “the Lord is God.” Elijah’s ministry corresponded exactly to his name, for he was sent by God to confront the worship of Baal by God’s people, and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other.
The first act of the battle scene, as it were, was Elijah the…
Surprise!
Isn’t it true that the unexpected gives life a certain freshness.
It can be little things or big things. Maybe it’s a bunch of flowers when it’s not your birthday or Valentine’s Day. Maybe it’s a surprise birthday party, or a visit from someone you haven’t seen for ages. Maybe it’s the boss calling you into his office and giving you a bonus – now, you’re thinking,…
James (1) The Key to Christian Living (James 1:1)
‘Give me a relevant message!’ This is the cry every generation of Christians utter if they are in even the smallest way engaging with non-Christians, whether in overt evangelism or in some ministry of compassion. But it is also a cry they are sensitive to personally as they seek to come to grips…
Committed to My Family (Exodus 20:12)
Mother’s Day is a great day for many yet a difficult one for many others, as a result I don’t really want to talk about Motherhood or extol its virtues.
Instead I take this opportunity to speak about commitment – the commitment we should have to our family.
When was the first Mother’s Day? When did it begin?
The modern Mother’s Day holiday was created as a day for each family to honour its mother by Anna Jarvis who in 1912 trademarked the phrases “second Sunday in May” and “Mother’s Day”. She also lost a lawsuit aimed to stop its over-commercialisation. Anna had hoped for a day of reflection and quiet…
Cross Sayings (7) – The Last Word (Luke 23:46)
To stand at a grave side after a funeral, to walk around a cemetery reading the tombstones is one of the most sobering events of life. It is a very confronting scene. In many ways it is a lonely scene.
In this saying we come to the climatic moment of the crucifixion, for it is with this word…
Elijah (2) Post Tenebras Lux’! (1 Kings 17:1)
The times of Elijah were not just times of spiritual decline bordering on indifference; they were times of open, defiant and aggressive apostasy. We noted last time from the concluding verses of chapter 16 that this was a period where there was open contempt for the Word of God, corruption of the…
If Only I was …
“If only I was a bit more like brother `X’ then I could do great things like he does. But I am just me” – ie, so don’t expect great things from me. This is not only using comparison to camouflage a sinful heart full of fear, or indolence, etc. It is also illogical nonsense. I say illogical for it assumes firstly that they are different to you, and…
The Times of Elijah (1 Kings 16:31-34)
Who was Elijah? How was it that he was so honoured with Moses by God in bringing him to talk with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt 17:3)? That fact alone should be enough to say we ought to get to know this man and understand his ministry. But a further encouragement to us is a consideration of the times in which he lived. It is rightly said you cannot…