Windows On The Soul

In 2 Corinthians , Paul explains that “ In Christ, old things are passed away and all things are made new” ( 5:17 ). On becoming a Christian, we must understand that our commitment to the gospel affects every aspect of our lives. Becoming a Christian means that things change. In Christian terms, renewal is never a ‘state’ at which we have arrived. In New Testament times, ‘Christians’ were known as ‘ Followers of The Way ’. The use of ‘Christian’ and ‘non-Christian’ labels are too often used to feed our natural desire for status. The number one thing in our lives that must change, are the values that drive us and that we use to judge, assess and measure our own and others success or failure. We are called to live by different standards: " Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. " ( Col.3:2 ), to put to death all those natural desires, to be the servant of all. Every day we must refocus our eyes on ‘things above’, and at the end of every day, if review...

“ What the Church needs are more ‘deep’ Christians ” (Richard Foster, “Celebration of Discipline”).  The Apostle Paul wrote, “ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!!” ( Rom.11:33 ) How does one become a ‘deeper’ Christian? It takes ‘Time’ and ‘Experience’. To know the depth of something, one must have ‘plumbed’ the depth, that is attempted some sort of measure. To have some knowledge of the depth of God, one must explore the consequences and implications of Christian faith on one’s life and society, and thus to start to see the vast possibilities. Such exploration, takes time in God’s word, time with Him in prayer, and time in constructive, exploratory fellowship together. But most of all, depth of understanding and knowledge of the wisdom, grace and ways of God, come from experience. We learn only a small amount from what we hear, a larger amount from what we read and s...

One of the more common deep spiritual questions I hear, is “ How do I know God’s will for my life? ”. Whilst meditation and study of His Word will reveal general guide-lines, the application to any person’s specific situation is in the realm of the dynamic of Holy Spirit. We are not given a map showing every bend and hill on the road of life ahead, but rather the bends are revealed only as and when we need to know about them as we walk by faith. Its' no use whingeing about not achieving some high personal aspirations, when Jesus’ general command is to “ start washing feet (dishes, floors, tables, bed-pans, etc.) ”. Then as we show our faithfulness in the small things, God can start putting situations across our path, or using our words, or people start to seek us out - then we start to see God ‘nudging’ us around a bend, or challenging us to climb a hill. It can be quite surprising, humbling, even scary, when someone says to me, “ How did you know I needed to read/hear th...

One of the greatest inhibitors to personal and church growth is the FUD factor (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). After the horror of Christ’s crucifixion, the incredulity then ecstasy of His resurrection and His times of sharing with His disciples, Jesus ascended to heaven. What did the disciples feel then? I’m sure they must have felt very “flat” after their mountain-top experiences, and probably uncertainty and doubts crept in - “ What do we do now?” , “ Why has He left us like this?” . In many ways, these phases in the birth of The Church mirror the phases in the birth and growth of our children. The teenage years are times of much questioning, of moving out from under the sheltering presence of parents, to discover one’s directions and goals in the ‘real’ world - these are the “Why?” years. Then the young adult blossoms, the world is at their feet and they are prepared to take on anything, with courage and determination. Just as parents must hold back in order to release thei...

What a sad pair of words they are - “If only...”. Often expressed as a matter of ‘fact’, they really express an attitude . It can be an attitude about the past , expressing regret about some-thing that did or did not happen. It can also express an attitude about the future - an attitude of not being able to progress in the here-and-now until some perceived future “need” has been met. Both attitudes run counter to the Bible’s teaching. Our failings and omissions of the past are covered, dead, buried and forgiven through Christ. In the present we are called to live by faith, not worrying about tomorrow ( Mt.6:25-34 ) . We are called to be good stewards of what we do have , even though we are all given different talents, opportunities and challenges (obstacles?). When we are good stewards in the use of the talents we do have (instead of whingeing about what we don’t have), then we will be blessed with further talents, opportunities and challenges ( Mt.25:15-29 ). If ...

The saddest forms of violence in the community would have to be ‘domestic violence’ and the extreme of the ‘murder suicide’. Sad, because they are a reflection of the complete breakdown of the love relationship, when physical force becomes the ‘normal’ method of achieving one’s will. And yet, as long as ‘love relationships’ are based on ‘ attraction, enjoyment, I want...’ , then breakdown of one form or another is inevitable because the foundations are wrong. As our Pastor reminded us last week, blind Bartimaeus ( Mk.10:46 ) was not immediately healed by Jesus until Jesus had asked him what he wanted - (even) God’s love is not imposed. Love is not primarily about attraction or compatibility, but about wills. The will to love the other, come-what-may and the will to allow the other to exercise their own free will. Two such loving wills, together become ‘ our will ’ or ‘ one flesh ’ ( Mk.10:8 ). Without free will, there cannot be love. God’s love for us allows us our ‘free...

I thank my parents that as a child I was taught to write an "I want" list. This helped me identify those things I "really" wanted well after the initial plea had faded. Then came the hard part of giving up some things to save up the money to buy my heart's desire. The same principles apply to our Christian walk. We want to serve, but are we prepared to pay the price? We want to be humble, but are we prepared to be humiliated? We want to be a true disciple, but are we prepared to truly discipline our body, mind and soul? We want to be loving, but that includes the "unlovely", and carries the cost of sacrifice, non-reciprocation, even outright hostility. We ask in pray, but are we willing to accept and obey the answers given? ----xxxXxxx---- Lk.18:18-23 "'What must I do to have eternal life?'...you lack one thing, sell all you have and distribute to the poor...he was very sorrowful for he was very rich" Mt.16:24 "If anyo...

The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action. A life of total dedication to the truth also means a life of willingness to be personally challenged. The tendency to avoid challenge is so omni-present in human beings that it can properly be considered a characteristic of human nature. Another characteristic of human nature - perhaps the one that makes us most human - is our capacity to do the unnatural, to transcend and hence transform our own nature. We cannot be a source of strength unless we nurture our own strength. (Selections from - "The Road Less Travelled" by M.Scott Peck) Lk.2:52 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man" 2 Ptr.1:5-7 "Make every effort to build on your faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love" 1 Cor.14:20 "Do not be immature in your thinking; continue to be babes in evil, but in your minds be mature...

Father? Kingdom? Adopted into a royal family? It all seems too much to comprehend! Yet I seem to so easily take our relationship for granted. "Your Kingdom", "Your will". Yes, you are my King as well as my heavenly Father. Forgive me when I pray "My will be done", instead of "Your will". Dare I presume to try and change Your mind? "Will be done!" My faith rises like the soaring eagle at the very words. Your certainty, my uncertainty. Oh that my will might be at one with yours. ---===X===--- Lk.22:42 "Not my will however, but your will be done" Mt.7:21 "He that does the will of my father...shall enter His Kingdom" Jn.5:30 "...do nothing on my own...only what He who sent me wants." Rm.12:2 "...be transformed...know the good, acceptable and perfect will of God" Eph.5:17 "...understanding what the will of the Lord is." 1 Jn.5:14 "He hears us if we ask f...

Ian Fleming’s ‘007’ said, “ Twice is coincidence, but three times means enemy action ”. Have you ever had, seen or heard of those series of incidences that when least expected, quietly whisper, “ God’s incidences! ”? It’s a truth that the most beautiful, desirable things in the world can never be grasped. It’s as if in the very reaching for the desirable object, relationship or emotion, it is immediately polluted by the selfishness of the grasp, and immediately slips further away. How many times have we pleaded with God to act in a certain way, or desperately looked for signs of some answer to “prayer”. But in the silence of His reply, He is saying, “ Don’t you worry about what I should do; I will do what I need to in my time. You just get on with what YOU should be doing ”. It's in these times when we are faithfully, obediently and lovingly saying and doing what God invisibly leads us to do, and boldly stepping forward to tackle the needs of the world that He puts across our ...

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool; To weep is to risk appearing sentimental; To reach-out to another is to risk involvement; To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self; To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their wrath; To love is to risk not being loved in return; To live is to risk dying; To hope is to risk despair; To try is to risk failure. BUT....Risks must be taken Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, has nothing, does nothing, and is nothing. He simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live. Chained by his certitudes he is a slave; He has forfeited freedom because only a person who risks is free.

Researcher Merton Strommen recently surveyed several thousand Protestant youths. More than 60% agreed that " The way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life ". 70% agreed with the statement " God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can ". And more than half agreed that " The main emphasis of the gospel is on God's rules for right living ". One would think the apostle Paul or Martin Luther had never opened their mouths, or that Jesus had never come to die.... Shouldn't we devote equal times to explaining that rules are merely 'joints' and 'bones' to make the Body effective, NOT a ladder to God. From Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by P.Yancey & Dr.P.Brand ----xxxXxxx---- Mk.2:27 "Don't you know that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" Ac.15:9,11 "He forgave their sins because they believed ...we believe and are saved by the gracious (gift) of th...

"Scripture Union is sad to announce the death of a staff worker in Rwanda.  Simon-Pierre Mugabo was a 34 year old schools evangelist who joined the staff in 1990. SU (Victoria) do not have the details of the circumstances of his death, or of the situation of his wife Marie and their one year old son." "SU has also been informed of the death of Israel Havugimana with his aged father and two children. Israel is a former SU staff worker, but was working with Africa Evangelistic Enterprise at the time of his death." "Please pray for the tragic political situation in Rwanda, and for other Christian workers in the area" Scripture Union "Outreach", Winter 1994 ---===X===--- Mt.16:24 "If any man wants to follow me, he must deny himself..." Ps.143:10 "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God..." Lk.14:26 "...does not love me more than family, he cannot be my disciple" Mt.26:42 "...if this cup ...