It’s Saturday which means by amazing logic tomorrow is Sunday! Sunday is when most ‘church’ happens in Australia and here are some facts about it all. • Tens of thousands of Christians will be happily filing into their church buildings for ‘worship’ although Amos 5:21-24 might sometimes cast just a little doubt on the unreflected … Continue reading Holy Discontent In the Strangeness of It
Overwhelmed
Overwhelmed. A time when exhaustion is our companion; when strength has deserted; when failure escorts us; hope flees; abandonment is our lot; betrayal our jailer- Is a time to hear the voice that speaks into our depths, the One who Gives power to the faint, to him who has no might increases strength Overwhelmed. A time when … Continue reading Overwhelmed
God Places
It’s dusk, dimming light, calm, no breezing of the trees, oak and ash, an un-rippled surface of the Mayfly skimmed pool. The pool, so many hours spent there, pre and post faith- yes a God place, a place to which I return every few years; a place where I know God that will ‘connect’. There … Continue reading God Places
When God Breaks In
Now and again there are those ‘God moments’, the times when the majesty, power might and glory of God breaks into the often so mundane flatness of our daily routines and consciousness. Such a ‘breaking in of God’ moment occurred as I was travelling in the Canadian Rocky Mountains recently. The utter majesty of the … Continue reading When God Breaks In
He Is Risen!!
Went to church this day, day of all days. Moved again by the enormity of what Christ has done for us! Put against that reminded of the tawdriness, shallowness, triviality of our celebrity culture of small things. Driven to thanksgiving for the priceless gift from the God who flung the stars into space, the gift … Continue reading He Is Risen!!
A Dangerous Delusion
I have written previously of the fact that I believe in the church we have a Crisis. I use this word in the sense that we are at a point in the life of the church in Australia when we will go one of two ways, continued decline or revival, in the same way as … Continue reading A Dangerous Delusion
What’s Not in the Bible
Now and again one hears people quoting things that are allegedly in the Bible but are actually not and which they allow to shape their attitude to life. Perhaps the most notorious ‘not in the Bible’ alleged quote is “God helps those who help themselves”. In actual fact what the Bible teaches is the very … Continue reading What’s Not in the Bible
The Freezing of Newness – A Musing
God is a God of new things. A kaleidoscope of scripture tells us so-for “behold . . . new things I now declare”, “behold I am doing a new thing”, “the new heavens and the new earth which I will make”, “I will make a new covenant”, “ a new heart I will give you”, … Continue reading The Freezing of Newness – A Musing
Trees
Among the many pieces of sheet music in the collection handed down for generations in my family is a song called “Trees”. It is a song I’ve rarely heard anyone play or sing, nor do I know if it has ever been recorded but I do know it contains some beautiful lines— “I think that … Continue reading Trees
Back to the Celts for Our Future
In 563 AD an Irish prince set out with a bunch of friends in small coracles to cross the Irish Sea to the wild west coast and islands of what now is Scotland. The purpose of the dangerous journey was mission, to take the gospel to the fierce pagan tribes of Scotland. He and his companions set up a … Continue reading Back to the Celts for Our Future
