Guest (Page 16)
Jesus Comforts Us Even in the Dumb Stuff
“God doesn’t split our suffering as if there is a kind which is caused by us that we have to solve on our own and then a type of suffering which we are victims of and God is readily available to help with. The point Paul is making in 2 Corinthians is that there is such a unity in Christ that every bit of our suffering (even the stuff that comes from our idiocy) is all part of the sufferings…
How Reading the Bible Changed My Life
“I know that sounds a bit dramatic. But it’s true: reading the Bible did change my life. I was a fourteen-year-old girl at the time, and in my opinion, everything in my life was going just fine. I wasn’t looking for an opportunity for my life to change because I didn’t think anything needed to change.” Read more…
How Evangelism is Kind of Like Fishing
Simon, his brother, and their business partners were fisherman whom Jesus called to a very different kind of fishing. “Follow me,” he told them. “From now on you will be catching men.” They were caught by Jesus so they could catch others. And in much the same way, we have been caught by Jesus so we can catch others for Jesus. We ought to see this as a tremendous privilege. Not just that we have been caught—we know that’s a…
Think of Not Having Christ!
“The relation between Christ and his friends is closer than any human relation. No one can say to any friend, “Without me you can do nothing.” The mother cannot say it to her child. It is a sore loss when the mother of a baby is taken away—but how sore a loss no words can explain. Even God cannot twice give a mother. No other one, however loving and tender in spirit, however gentle in care, however wise in guiding…
Christians and the Art of Tidying Up
“A New Year heralds the start of new things: new health, new diaries, new resolutions. Regardless of the year we have just finished, we look at our blank calendars and our heart waits expectantly, longing for a year ahead that is even better than the one we have just had. On January 1st—into our human longing for improved selves and improved lives—waltzed Marie Kondo, with a fresh promise of peace and joy through tidying-up. In an art of marketing genius,…
Make “Resurrection Resolutions” (because New Year’s resolutions are futile)
“New Year’s Resolutions are silly really. We all know that. There’s nothing about a new year that promises personal renewal. It doesn’t offer a new strength of will that we didn’t have before. Ultimately the new year is not a symbol of possibility but of futility. Life is frustrating. Progress is hard. Our aspirations far outstrip our ability to achieve them. And, not to be too blunt about it, but we all die in the end anyway. Why bother? Christians…
Salvation in the Car Seat (and Other Mundane Miracles)
“And that’s when it happened. In the ordinary miracle of a mundane Monday, my son’s eternal destination was cemented. Sitting in the same car seat in the same car where we’d shared family road trips, sang songs, talked about the Lord, His creation, His care, His Son Jesus – that’s where my son decided to follow the Master.” Read more…
10 Things You Should Know about Christian Hospitality
“Jesus identifies with the stranger, the outsider, the needy. Daily hospitality hones a distinctive Christian culture from within as it embraces evangelistic optimism, knowing that if God wills, strangers will become neighbours and neighbours will become part of the family of God. Who knows? This may happen at your kitchen table tonight.” Read more…
The Day Jesus Said “I’ve Got This”
“… let me assure you that there’s truly something amazing about God’s grace in Jesus. Something amazing about God in Christ stooping down to us. Amazing enough to melt your heart. And in my mum’s costly forgiveness and years of prayer for my dad, I’ve been able to see that grace. And perhaps it’s pulled me away from being as graceless as I could have been. It’s certainly made me see things more sharply.” Read more…
The New Aussie Idol: Home Renovation
“As I started adding up the money we have spent over the past 18 months on our renovation projects however, I started to question this whole pursuit. Why are we doing this? What is this fever that keeps us watching renovation shows and sends us scrolling through websites by the hour? Is home renovation a sin?” Read more…