Encouragement

GOD’S BIG CLOCK

(October 20, 2018) Dr Robert and Maureen McQuillan encourage making the best of our ‘time’…

The 1948 film noir movie, The Big Clock, is about a tyrannical magazine tycoon (Charles Laughton) who, having just committed murder, is trying to frame an unknown, innocent man for his dastardly deed. Innocent Ray Milland tries to solve the murder himself.

But time is against our hero and every now and then viewers are drawn to the ominous tick tock and vision of ‘the big clock’ – the largest and most sophisticated clock ever built, dominating the lobby of Laughton’s New York media industry building – reminding us that time is fast running out for the innocent Milland.

And there’s a quote in itself about time… ‘The clock is ticking and time is running out.’ One can think of several other well-known quotations about time… Google indicates that it can give us at least 8544!

Scripture has several too… for example Ecclesiastes 3:1GNB, ‘Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.’ (more…)

EVERYONE LOVES – NEEDS – A KIND WORD

(September 7, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan encourage  blessing others…

Proverbs 16:24NLT makes a great statement: ‘Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.’ ‘Kind words’ – noam emer in the Hebrew speak of suitable, delightful speech. A reality of life is that everyone needs to hear a suitable delight-bringing kind word at some point! Such contacts are blessings, precious connections.

Connecting
In respect to making contacts, in our May and June articles (The Inverted T Principle and Waiting at the Railway Station Called the Church) we emphasised the need to reach out – to connect – with people both inside and outside the church, that…

  • All Christians can do something to assist their pastor build their church!
  • The baptism of the Spirit is just not to enable us freely worship God in an unknown language, but supernatural enablement for kingdom service!
  • The principle of what Jesus said about his followers would be able to do if we ever came up against magistrates because of our faith can be applied to sharing the gospel: ‘Don’t worry about what you’ll say. When the time comes, say what’s on your heart – the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you’ (Mark13:11Mge).

(more…)

CHOICES

(August 7, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan ask a question that leads to a serious challenge…

It’s a simple question really: What does the word ‘choice’ mean, either in a dictionary or in the Bible? Well, it’s an act of choosing between two or more possibilities.

The reality of life is that every day we make choices. We have to! Begins each new morning… arising from slumber, deciding what to wear, what to have for brekkie. And that’s before we hit the street!

One thing is for certain… every day decisions have to be made in respect of our job, marriage, family, holidays, movie to see, TV program to watch, the home, purchases, clothing, meals… then along comes new car or home. The list goes on!

In reality very day we’ll all be making choices, hopefully good ones!

Let’s share a choice that I (Robert) made recently that proved a bad one… although there was a funny side to it! (more…)

57TH ANNY… GOING FOR 67 AND BEYOND!

(July 7, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share  some personal matters…

Noticed that our granddaughter, Bonnie-Jane Phillips, whom we married to Matthew Hoseini, a great young man three weeks ago, had happily Facebooked the following: ‘21 days ago I married my best friend! Cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by already.’

We’d Facebooked back: ‘Cute, cute. Only 21 days? Just wait until it’s 20805 days plus a few extra leap years’ days – that’s about 21000 days – as it’ll be for us come July 7! Then you can really rave!’

 

Blissfulness: A happy Matthew and Bonnie-Jane, only 21 days married

That, and some other happenings, led to sharing the following…

Asked last Monday what we were doing this weekend, we quietly said that on Saturday (today) we’d be happily celebrating our 57th wedding anniversary, some 21000 days if we count from the moment we first met (engaged within two weeks of blissfully falling in love!) but couldn’t get married being underage and unable to immediately win parental permission. Our friend’s eyes popped open wide and she remarked she couldn’t believe it! (more…)

WAITING AT THE RAILWAY STATION CALLED THE CHURCH?

(June 18, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share a reflection…

Recently I (Robert) was waiting in the church prayer room for someone I’m counselling to arrive.

As usual midweek I was casually attired, wearing my leather jacket, chinos and, not my Fedora, but my Greek fisherman’s cap. As time was going on I decided to stand  relaxedly looking through the room’s large down-to-the-ground windows onto the pleasant garden outside.

A young pastor happened by: Stopping, he commented, ‘For some strange reason, Robert, I had the impression you were casually waiting for a train!’

No, I wasn’t: I was just waiting for someone who wasn’t showing up… and waiting, expecting…

Christians waiting around for that good old gospel train?
Suddenly I had reminiscences of old glory ‘gospel train to heaven’ songs – and lines such as those from David Meece’s Gospel Train that declare ‘All aboard for the gospel train, my seat’s reserved, and my ticket’s paid.’

Then a picture came to me – one of many Christians from different churches waiting at that station called The Church, all confident that they were all right and would definitely be on board when the ‘gospel train to heaven’ eventually came along.

(more…)

‘GRANDMA, GOD MUST BE POOPED!’

(June 13, 2018) Maureen McQuillan brings an encouraging word…

What a wonderful day last Saturday was!

It was the wedding of our precious granddaughter Bonnie-Jane Phillips to Matthew Hoseini in The Farm Yarra Valley boutique venue in Victoria’s beautiful Warrandyte area and Robert had the privilege of marrying the couple.

Matthew is a handsome young man, very special indeed – and Bonnie looked the perfect happy, beautiful bride!

 

‘Romantic dinner with my husband!’ (Bonnie’s posting later on Facebook)


Happy memories
Some days before I was joyfully recalling many delightful happy memories we have of Bonnie – we’ve always had an incredibly close relationship with her; throughout her childhood she would often spend a lot of time with us and even this year – her 29th – she confessed that she still loves to come visiting us.

I reflected on how even when very young she would always be quietly observing things. Even while enjoying a Maccas she wouldn’t rush eating the food like so many other kids but would sit with us slowly and properly digesting her chosen burger and quietly observe people both adults and children around her. (more…)

ITP – RELATIONAL, NOT RELIGIOUS, CHRISTIANITY

(May 9, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan bring a reminder…

It’s May, our fifth month already!

Interestingly, before the Jewish Exile to Babylon in 586 BC, this time of the year roughly corresponded to the month the Israelites called Ziv – meaning ‘brightness’ or ‘radiance.’ Determined Christians could make this a great month to radiate the reality of our relationship with Jesus!

Of course we’re meant to splendidly radiate Jesus every month, not just May – in both our churches and our locales; exhibiting biblical truths and principles. After all, Jesus, who was light in a dark world (John 1:4-5), declared that his followers are meant to be the radiance of God’s glory – ‘You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept’ (Message 5:14Mge).

What we explain below about relational Christianity is really a very simple biblical truth and principle – and the joyful response by troubled Christians we shared it with recently was one of ‘Ah ha! That’s what it’s all about! We get it.’

ITP
We call real relational Christianity ITP – the Inverted T Principle – and it’s all about being relational not religious!

What’s the inverted ‘T’ principle? you ask. Well… image a large upper case letter T, then invert it – now image the upright as a centre piece that is connecting with two bottom bars that extend widely both right and left.

Now what you have is a big … (more…)

THE TITANIC TWELVE… 12 ‘IF ONLYS’ OF LIFE

(April 14, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share…

‘Titanic’ means of exceptional explosive strength, size or power. Such are the titanic ‘if onlys’ of life that can sink us! Today, April14, we recall another titanic… the RMS Titanic.

106 years ago – April 14 1912 – at approximately 11.39pm, on its maiden voyage the Titanic struck an iceberg. Three hours, one minute later, at 2.40am Monday morning the so-called unsinkable, luxury liner was gone in the calmest but coldest seas (28degrees under).

1523 souls perished, including John Harper, a brave young Baptist minister, who kept encouraging people to trust God and to accept the Lord Jesus… even as he too sank into the deep.

Only 750 were plucked from the frigid sea. It was a very sad time indeed, as the Walter Lord’s prolific 1955 book called it, A Night to Remember (Made a  movie in 1958).

 

 

 

 

 

 

(more…)

DRAGONS BEWARE!

(March 17, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan challenge fearful Christians…

Hic sunt dracones – Here be dragons!

Some people think that ancient globes depicted dragons as warnings of the unknown ahead in unexplored territories. Not so!  Well… one did – the tiny copper European 1510AD Hunt-Lenox globe.

Paper maps were different. It was the medieval practice to depict sea monsters, beasties and other fearsome mythological creatures beside uncharted areas: cartographers of ancient maps adapted this to indicate possible dangers ahead.

Hic sunt dracones – Here be dragons! was the warning to brave explorers, adventurers and land pioneers who, like our modern Star Trek heroes, dared ‘to boldly go where no one has gone before.’

Scripture’s ‘dragons’
Ancient dragons were mere mythical fantasy!

But as the church determinedly moves forward in 2018 – ‘boldly going where no one has gone before’ (or should have gone by now!) – Christians will do well to remember the general warning of dangers ahead in that ancient line, Here be dragons! (more…)

7 CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES

(February 28, 2018) Robert and Maureen McQuillan write…

Like this Gypsy Smith quote below? It’s from the cover of Stuart Reynold’s latest book, Getting Ready for Revival.

A challenge for every Christian, not to think ’Maybe I’ll do something later’ but to act on now!

Reawakening needed!
One of Oxford Dictionary meanings of ‘Revival’ is: ‘A reawakening of religious fervour, especially by means of evangelistic meetings.’

It’s been many years since the days of genuine ‘religious fervour’ in churches with regular testimonies of sinners saved, lives changed, growth in one’s faith, sick people healed at every meeting.

Something has been missing for some time; church life has definitely changed! We’ve become too sophisticated, too locked into restricting ‘in-house’ systems, and the absence of the unchurched.

That golden oldie, Give Me That Old Time Religion, declaring salvation being good enough for everybody; loving one another; taking us to heaven;  and ‘it’s good enough for me’ had something going for it!

In respect of something being missing in many churches (not all of course, praise God!); perhaps the following is on your mind too … (more…)