Windows On The Soul

" Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family " ( Pr.18:24 ) The experts tell us that in aiming for the goals we have in life, like love, friendship, success, etc. we all consciously and unconsciously have various conditions, measures or rules by which we decide whether we are moving toward or have achieved a goal. These conditions can be positive or negative, and mandatory or optional. Friendship is a goal relationship that will be very fragile when the conditions held differ widely and are poorly communicated. Some example conditions are:- frequent contact, never criticizes, shows genuine interest and concern, never breaks confidences, shares personal thoughts. A useful exercise is to divide a sheet of paper into four, and prayerfully list all the conditions you have about friendships: the ' musts ', the ' shoulds ', the ' should nots ', and the ' must nots' .  Try and be exhaustive; if you have many more positive...

" Combine dry ingredients with milk and eggs. Mix well; do not beat" . So goes the recipe book, but the same instructions should apply to Christians, who are called to be the " salt of the earth ". Why are new Christians the most effective in evangelism? Partly because they still have plenty of "non-Christian" friends. How easy it is as the years pass, to make our church the focus of our social and community activities as well as for worship and spiritual growth. As important as these latter are, our spiritual growth is not for personal gain, but as the means to God's end. Just as Israel was called to be " a blessing to the nations ", we are called to be " the salt of the earth " and " the light of the world ". ----xxxXxxx---- Gen.12:2-3 "...you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" 1 Cor.7:16 ...

Good evangelism is more than apologetics, which attempts to give a reasoned defense of the Christian faith.  Apologetics cuts down trees; evangelism builds houses. As John Stott puts is, " You have to win a person's confidence before you can win their soul ". But good evangelism is more than being friendly, its more than inviting your neighbour to a mission at the Church. Evangelism is relating to people as Jesus did - day by day, week by week, right at the point of their need. And the best evangelistic Churches are where people truly love one another, especially across racial, social, cultural and other barriers which previously divided them. In the end, an evangelistic life-style arises out of the reality of our own experiences of Christ. If He has really changed our lives, that's great news and we will want to share it. ---===X===--- Mt.9:31 "they (the blind healed) spread the news of Jesus..." Ps.66:16 "Come and hear...I will decla...

“ I ask... that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ” ( John 17:20,21 ). The squabbles in the church must sadden our Lord who prayed that his followers may be one. If the church worldwide were united (in spirit, not necessarily in one organisation), the world would take notice. As it is, critics of the church are constantly mocking us for our sectarian divisiveness. The church is both human and divine. It comprises fallible humans, and has yet to be perfectly redeemed. It is divine - the Body of Christ. So we need to be patient with an imperfect church. Henry Scott Holland put it this way in 1914 when the Bishop of Zanzibar wrote a pamphlet asking where the church stood. Scott Holland said that it did not stand at all, but 'moves and pushes and slides and staggers and falls and gets up again, and stumbles on and presses forward and falls into the right positi...

I was saddened during the week to receive the following prayer request through the International Christian Leadership electronic network. This Elder's Church has been involved for about 2 years in outreach to chronically mentally ill patients at a home, bringing residents to worship services. Some had become members. However, a fair number of the core Church members felt uncomfortable and threatened. Consequently, the Church "Session" voted to exclude these disabled members from worship. The carers have taken to conducting special mid-week services at the home. But how does one tell these people that they cannot go to "their" Church to worship any-more? This from the land of "free speech" and "freedom of religion". Please pray for this elder and his faithful band of carers. Also pray for the other members, that they might understand the " Acceptable year of the Lord". ----xxxXxxx---- Jn.8:7 " He that is without sin a...

Although this phrase borders on American jingoism, to me it simply encapsulates the important duality of the gospel. For Jesus came to make possible the restoration of right relationships between God and man, and that there might be peace among all men. In my years in youth outreach in coffee shops and beach missions, particularly in a cross-denominational environment, the perennial discussion is about "friendship" evangelism versus "conversion" evangelism. Building friendships is fine as a means of breaking down the barriers to serious communication. But unless the friendship comes from true acceptance and humility rooted in the fact that God accepted and loved me "while I was yet a sinner", then the friendship is false. Equally important is the desire to share the good news of what God has done in my life and is available for all. Our living is the picture for the world to see, our words are the captions and sub-titles. ----xxxXxxx---- Rom.15:19 ...

I've been reminded of that corny old song a few times recently. The year 7 science class is studying methods of classification. Now classification would have to be one of the most basic human traits. Our brains are highly specialised in pattern matching. Whilst useful in understanding the world around us and our place in it, it can also mislead to the point of finding patterns that are not there such as in deja vu . The Christian is not immune either. Recently, a well meaning person (not from this church) sent me some tracts espousing anti-catholic, pre-millenial, King James only dogma. Whilst I have various views on each subject, to categorise people as either a "a carnal Christian", non-Christian, anti-Christ or simply persona non-gratis based on their belief or other-wise of any of these dogma, is I believe against both the teaching and spirit of Christ. I would rather be known as a Christian that "receives sinners and eats with them". Trusting you are the sa...

I haven't seen the inside of many police stations, but here we were at XXXXX police station, helping Mary (not her real name) make a statement. She had been involved with a couple of guys who assaulted and robbed someone in the hotel carpark. We had convinced her that she needed to make a break from this crowd, and that confession was good for the soul, and the right thing to do. This was not your average Scripture Union children's mission - 3 weeks running a state housing commission estate youth centre holiday programme.  Mary 's family was not atypical - 4 brothers and sisters were state wards, a brother in a state youth detention center, an usually absent father, a mother more often in a drunken stupor than sober. On one visit to give the kids a wash and feed, the only food in the house was one can of spaghetti. Deceit and squalor were a way of life, self esteem non-existent, yet underneath the hard facade was a craving for love. What is "The Gospel" to familie...