Teaching

THE SAY IT AGAIN PSALM

(October 24, 2022) Brian Bell shares about repeating oneself…

Have you ever been told you talk too much?

Many years ago, I was told that I tended to repeat myself – no, not by my wife, Eveline, who says I am ‘the quiet man’!’

On the subject of repeating oneself, did you know that Psalm 107 is a chapter of repetition? As I share the following brief thoughts, I recall being taught that when scripture repeats a matter it is to emphasise a matter of real importance. So, I trust you sense that God is saying important to our hearts here.

Repetition of the Call for Praise (Psalm107: 8,15,21,31)
In Psalm 107 the psalmist’s desire is that we would ‘praise the Lord for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men.’

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FIVE ‘Ts’ OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

(October 18, 2022) Richard Winter shares comfort and a challenge…

Do you know who this is?

I’m sure you have seen him on an old TV show… it’s Mr T.

Mr T is known for his distinctive hairstyle inspired by Mandinka warriors in West Africa, his gold jewelry, and his tough-guy image. He is also known for his catchphrase, ‘I pity the fool!’

Today Mr T is a Christian who stopped wearing the gold jewelry and acting tough because it’s a contradiction to what he believes.

As we grow in Christ we begin to realise that our Christian maturity has many facets, just like  beautiful diamond and I want to make mention of five of them today that all start with T so that we can become a Mr T in Christ!

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WELL, WELL, WELL

(October 17, 2022)Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, challenges…

In 2008, Australian singing group, The Seekers, produced a gospel song called, Well, Well, Well, which was about God’s coming judgment.

Those three words are sometimes used when we unexpectedly meet someone – ‘Well, well, well. Look who it is!’ Or we might use the expression to express surprise when something unpredictable occurs – ‘Well, well, well. I can’t believe that happened!’

But that’s not how I am using the phrase. We are going to look at actual wells referred to in the Bible, some of which have great significance.

A well is normally considered to be a hole in the ground that has been dug to access a water source. We probably consider them quaint relics of a bygone age when people would go to them with a bucket to get some water to bring back to their house. Today all we have to do is go to the sink and turn on the tap to get all the water we need.

Wells really have little relevance today, but in biblical days they were of central importance.

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NO SLOPPY LIVING – PLEASE!

(September 11, 2022) Richard Winter charges us even as Paul did…

No doubt you are immediately thinking ‘Sloppy living? What do you mean?’ Well, one dictionary definition of sloppy is ‘not taking care or making an effort.’ Consider that definition in respect of your life…

Many people today ask themselves, ‘So, what am I living for?’ Some will say pleasure, money, family… but what if you are a Christian – what are you living for?

The apostle Paul’s answer would be this: The business of Christians in any age is to guard the truth which has been entrusted to them.

In fact he gave this answer as a charge to young Timothy – ‘Guard the truth which has been entrusted to you’ (2 Timothy 1:14).

The 1st century world in which Timothy lived was one of –

  • Distorted values.
  • Misleading commitments.
  • Confused thinking.
  • Dangerous misconceptions.

Today, we live in a similar kind of age, in a world deep in trouble. There are many manifestations of unrest and evil in our day too, such as…

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LEVELLING MOUNTAINS – NOT BY MIGHT, NOT BY POWER BUT BY MY SPIRIT! (Part 2)

(September 4, 2022) Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, concludes his timely challenge on overcoming ‘mountains’ of various kinds…

Last month I shared reflections on Zerubbabel, how God helped this faithful prophet fulfill the challenge He’d been given him. I had mentioned two aspects regarding our accepting of God’s challenges to us, in brief –

1. Inflexible commitment to God’s will… God requires followers like Zerubbabel who are truly committed to Him, Christians whose integrity and commitment will be unshakable, no matter what ‘mountains’ we might encounter!

2. Intimidating pressure of discouragement… God also requires such dedicatedfollowers to bravely face and overcome pressure that comes when we commit to accepting His assignments. Such as the mountains of discouragement that not only come from Satan and outside the church, but sadly from within!

I now reflect on two other aspects, highlighting thatour all-powerful God who has all things already planned goes before us (Isaiah 45:2)!

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BARNABAS – ‘SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT’

(September 4, 2022) Brian Bell reflects on Barnabas’example…

‘Son of encouragement’ is a tremendous accolade for anyone to receive from their contemporaries. Not that it means a person is without imperfections, but it says something special about how other people find them to be in the general demeanour of their character and daily living.

As with other biblical characters, the life and witness of Barnabas has profitable lessons for us all to consider, and I share with you those which have spoken to me.

The disciple
We are introduced to Barnabas by Luke the writer of Acts, who tells us that the early believers were of one heart and mind. They freely shared their material possessions not considering what they each owned to be their own! Some even sold land or houses and gave the proceeds to the apostles to give to others in need (Acts 2:44-45).

Among those who sold land was a disciple named Joseph nicknamed Barnabas which means the Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36-37). Luke also tells us Barnabas was a Jew from the tribe of Levi and came from Cyprus. Clearly the Holy Spirit had done a wonderful work in the life of Barnabas since he had come to faith whether it was before or even among one of those 3,000 who responded to Peter’s message (Acts 2:41).

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LEVELLING MOUNTAINS – NOT BY MIGHT, NOT BY POWER BUT BY MY SPIRIT! (Part 1)

(August 28, 2022) Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, shares encouragement…

Facing mountains in these dark times?

I’ve been reflecting on a character in the Bible who faced a big mountain and discovered God had gone before him in an amazing way. His name was Zerubbabel – not the easiest name to say, nor would it be likely that you would give your new born child that name.

Most Christians know little about this man, but I find him to be inspirational and also encouraging as we cope with the ‘highs and lows’ in living in these days.

Contemporary scene
We are living in disturbing times. In my lifetime I have never known such worldwide hostility, political instability, social confusion and moral corruption. And according to medical researchers the global rates of anxiety and depression are soaring. News articles and television reports can often be quite troubling as they confront us with a stream of disturbing incidents.

Of course ours is not the only generation that has been confronted by tragedy and emotional stress. Historical records reveal many periods when war, oppression and disease have had a crushing effect on people.

God does not provide a protective wall around His people to prevent their experiencing the pain and struggles of life, but His presence in our lives gives us hope.

In the Bible, living in hope doesn’t mean that we whistle in the dark to keep our spirits up. No, biblical hope means looking to the future with assurance because we know that, regardless of conditions and circumstances, when it seems that everything is spiralling out of control, God has never lost His control! Jeremiah succinctly declared, ‘Our hope is in you’(Jeremiah 14:22).

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SOME THINGS I ‘ADMIRE’ ABOUT THE DEVIL

(August 20, 2022) Richard Winter really grabs our attention with this title!

Well, with that title I better get straight to the point before some reader thinks I’ve lost the plot!

Firstly there are two things the devil and I have in common:

(i) He hates me!
(ii) I hate him!

That said, kindly bear with me and hear me out (noting that I’ve used quotes around that verb ‘admire’). There are some things that the devil consistently does that I can only wish God’s children would do in their testimony and service for the Lord.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to glorify the devil! But I’m going to use him as an example to challenge Christians.

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WHAT AN INCREDIBLE BETTER COVENANT!

(August 17, 2022) Neil Brightbard joyfully reminds us of a great scripture truth…

Whenever we think of ‘better’ we expect something superior to what we’re used to. And we usually want to know more.

‘Better’ compares to  good: a higher standard, or more suitable. Where Hebrews uses it to describe ‘covenant’ the Greek word is kreittōn… stronger, best! When Christians consider the phrase – a better covenant – let’s be aware this is speaking of something spiritual that is boldly ultra-superior.

I wish to share why the Hebrews 8:6 and 12:24 covenant is such a stronger, better covenant, one that we should boldly grasp.

The heart of Hebrews
We don’t know who wrote Hebrews. Possibly Paul, Apollos or Luke. The sophisticated teaching and excellent Greek grammar suggests a high intellect. Whoever wrote it revealed things that no other book does. Particularly the doctrine of the high priesthood of Jesus.

Hebrews isn’t just good theology! Written so well with spiritual authority primarily to discouraged Jewish Christians needing their faith strengthened, its chapters are clearly a –

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MY ‘HEART’ MAY FAIL… BUT GOD IS MY STRENGTH!

(August 6, 2022) Brian Bell reflects on the ‘heart’ …

My thoughts turned recently to Asaph’s Psalm 73:26 which says, ‘My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart…’ 

Just as we also may do today, the psalmist was struggling with what we might call apparent ‘injustices’ of life.

My flesh
‘Fail’ seems to be in the sense ‘to falter in weakness’ and this suggests to me not simply a failing as in a sudden moment of pressure, or by reason of sustained pressure – think of an elastic band – but a weakness which is a tendency, having always been there and always will be.

‘Flesh’ in its literal sense refers to our physical bodies. I’ve known many people familiar with weaknesses of their physical body to a greater or lesser degree; some who were born with or acquired a disability, and more recently those with cancers which have destroyed their formerly healthy bodies.

Even those of us who may not presently be affected by a specific disability or illness and are fortunate to enjoy general good health, realise the experience of others is a sufficient testimony to the fact that our physical bodies can falter in weakness!

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