THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING IN EARNEST

(May 11, 2020) Brian Bell shares some personal thoughts and challenges from the book of Haggai…

Let me reassure you, the title of this meditation is not drawn from the writing of a work of a similar title by the author Oscar Wilde. I don’t intend sharing about ‘being Earnest’ but about ‘being in earnest.’

Firstly, the adjective ‘earnest’ indicates ‘showing sincere and intense conviction.’ With this definition in mind, I share a few thoughts – an inspiration arising from reading the book of Haggai, NLT (1996 version).

Here, through the prophet God speaks to his people – people who thought they were living in luxury – and Haggai seeks to open their eyes to the Lord’s perspective about their situation when he challenges ‘consider how things are going for you’ (Haggai 1:5).

God’s perspective – the ‘not enough of’ list
Through Haggai the Lord highlights in verse six some ‘not enough of’ items as he sees the situation:

  • Hunger – ‘Food to eat but not enough to fill you up.’
  • Thirst – ‘Wine to drink but not enough to satisfy.’
  • Insufficiency – ‘Clothing to wear but not enough to keep you warm.’

He also adds two other shortages – (more…)

LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

(May 11, 2020) Dr George Forbes, missionary statesman, shares Pentecostal insights…

May 31 is Pentecostal Sunday, a perfect time to remember that Jesus promised his disciples just before he ascended to heaven that he would not leave them as orphans: He assured them that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and in them (John 14:14,18).

The power and reality of this truth is life changing for all who experience it. Jesus said that we must be born again. This is when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us.  We are born into a new life that makes us a child of God.

The Spirit desires to lead
Because he is in us, the Holy Spirit can lead us. That is a dimension of life only possible for born again believers. His leading is dependent on factors that quite often affect our lives. I think of some of the factors, such as…

  • Busyness
  • Hurrying/rushing around
  • Worldliness
  • Sin
  • Missing devotional time
  • Lack of prayer.

The Holy Spirit is sensitive to our behaviour, our ability to hear his voice, as well as our choices in life. He is ready to guide us in the path of God’s favour and blessing; however, he will not push or compel. (more…)

CORONAVIRUS AND FALSE TEACHERS

(April 26, 2020) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, shares a warning…

I have been reflecting in recent days on the worldwide distress being caused by the Coronavirus (Covid-19), I’ve read so many articles and watched so many YouTube videos in which some preachers have strongly stated that God has clearly promised protection for his people in the midst of plagues and diseases.

Dissonance…
Christians should not be concerned or stressed by current events because we live in the assurances  of God’s promises found in various verses in the Bible – particularly Psalm 91 which is frequently mishandled – but it is crucially important to understand what those verses are actually promising!  (See my March article Link: Is Divine Protection Guaranteed?)

I have watched well-known preachers on video as, with great passion and animation, they loudly remind the virus that it has no claim over Christians. And yet a large number of Christians worldwide have been victims of the pandemic and many have died – including many who had boldly declared that such a thing could not happen to God’s people!

There is a dissonance between the declaration that God will save his people from plaques and illnesses and the reality of what is actually happening in the world.

This links with two important questions – Can we trust the Bible?  Can we truly believe the promises God makes in his word?

So what are we to believe?
My answer is that… (more…)

RELAX IN TROUBLING TIMES!

(April 07, 2020) Maureen McQuillan encourages …

It seems that many times in life we go through a spiritually dry period where we’re fighting difficult circumstances, sicknesses, doubts, fears, other personal troubles – and perhaps our great enemy, Satan.

The reality is that often the real problem is that we’re fighting in our own strength!

Trusting God in storms
And so we become weary spiritually, physcially,emotionally and even mentally. Much energy is expended with few satisfying results. This is when we need to recall some of the many scriptures which assure us that the Lord will fight for us – if only we will let him!  Eg –

  • Exodus14:14 – ‘The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’
  • Deuteronomy 1:30 – ‘The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you.’
  • 2 Corinthians 10:4 – ‘The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.’

Admittedly Paul talks of fighting… but this is in respect of the ‘good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12) – not one of a personal, draining struggle, but of really relaxing by trusting God in the midst of whatever storm that we’re facing. That is to say, trusting God to bring us through whatever the storm may be, even this current covid-19 pandemic.

 In other words, when faced with difficulties, seemingly insurmountable problems or whatever, we do as scripture urges – we hand the battle over to the Lord who is stronger and wiser than us. Then, and only then we can trust him for the victory… in his timing. (more…)

LOCKDOWN!

(April 6, 2020) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, reminds us of Jesus’ victory over his ‘lockdown’…

In recent weeks nation after nation have been imposing lockdown measures on their citizens to help prevent the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.

Some of those measures have frustrated and, in some cases, angered a lot of people worldwide.  Yet most have responded stoically and have accepted that while, frustrating and depressing, lockdown is necessary for the life and health of millions of people worldwide.

‘Lockdown’ isn’t some new method!
‘Lockdown’ is also a method of control that throughout history national regimes and political ideologies (for example, communism and extreme racist or authoritarian systems such as Nazism) have imposed as a technique of political control.

What a relief and what joy when the lockdown is over! This is what the world is hoping for: Christians are praying for!

This week I have been reflecting on another ‘lockdown’ that happened 2000 years ago and how great has been the joy ever since when it was over.

When Jesus died on the cross on the first ‘Good Friday’ and was placed in the tomb, his followers were greatly distressed and grief stricken and some were even bitterly disillusioned as they were convinced that he was the promised Messiah – but his death appeared to put an end to that hope. (more…)

THE EIGHTH QUESTION

(April 05, 2020) Robert McQuillan shares a fond memory – and brings an Easter missions-centred challenge…

Missionary statesman Dr George Forbes’ Easter article (link below) boldly declares that the heart of every missionary’s message is – Jesus! And goes on to share aspects about that powerful name.

His title reminded me of when we travelled to South Korea back in 1994 to join some two thousand AoG delegates from around the world to celebrate the historic First World AOG Congress in Seoul, hosted by Dr Yonggi Cho, then AoG World Fellowship Chairperson. I also had the privilege of sharing Sheraton Hotel rooms with Dr Andrew Evans, then AoG Australian President.

Each day of the congress, held mainly at Yoido Full Gospel Church, saw outstanding speakers glorifying God, his Son Jesus and the all-powerful Holy Spirit. Later I’d be reporting several superlative quotes by AoG leaders, such as –

  • Andrew Evans: ‘Jesus is the king of glory – everything and everyone is under his throne.’
  • Thomas Trask (USA): ‘When we move under the dynamics of his Spirit and power, it is in order that Jesus is glorified.’
  • Colton Wickramaratne (Sri Lanka): ‘Jesus – we need to be beautified from everything that contaminates.’
  • Peter Kuzmic (Croatia): ‘The greatest power in the world – the God who can change history.’
  • Errol Bhola (Guyana): ‘A big God can do things in a big way.’
  • Prince Guneratnam (Malaysia): ‘We need to believe that there is the possibility of our nation – indeed the whole world – coming to know Jesus.’
  • Loren Triplett (USA): ‘Jesus said we ought to pray “Your kingdom come”.’
  • David Yonggi Cho: ‘The sin of greatest concern to me today is disbelief in Jesus.’

World’s largest prayer meeting!
Inspiring yes, but what happened on the Monday after Sunday’s several Holy Spirit anointed services was mind-blowing, so incredible that one would later resort to clichés like: ‘You would have had to been there to experience it for yourself!’ So many Christians from all over had gathered to pray!

Can you image over one million people gathering on the huge, runway-long Yoido Plaza to pray for the world? (more…)

FILL-UP ON GOD’S WORD!

(April 04, 2020) Carol Round suggests a Christian angle on ‘stocking-up’ in these times of panic-buying…

Depending on what time of day you go to the grocery or big box store, you’ll find many shelves are empty or almost empty. Some individual’s carts are overflowing.

Discussing this panic-buying trend, a friend and I agreed people were stuffing their pantries and shelves in fear of not having enough.

Shouldn’t we Christians be filling-up on the word of God instead, allowing scriptures to soothe our fears?

After Jesus fasts in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, he’s hungry (Read Matthew 4). Satan challenges him to turn the stones into bread if he is the Son of God. Jesus replies, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’

Every Word From the Mouth of God
If you’re like me, this new ‘normal’ in our daily lives has us asking questions. We’re desperate for answers. Daily updates we read or hear about concerning this pandemic can lead to two reactions: panic – or peace.

We must make a choice.

To panic? Clearing out grocery shelves and hoarding for ourselves, or to trust God – that he is our provider and we accept his word? (In Philippians 4:19, we’re reminded that ‘God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus’).

Which will you choose? To find peace, we must spend time filling-up on the word of God, instead of filling up our grocery carts to overflowing. This should also be a time for self-reflection. (more…)

WHAT MAKES THINGS BREAK UP LIKE THEY DO?

(April 04, 2020) Brian Bell asks the question above…

In my mid-teens I was studying for what was then an ‘O’ level in English Literature. In the process of that study I had to read William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies.

If you have read the novel or are familiar with it from some other source (such as the film version) then bear with me; however, for those who are not familiar let me give you a very brief summation…

The novel is set on an unknown, unnamed island on which a plane, carrying a group of choir boys, has crashed and none of the adults survive. It then describes how the boys form separate groups and their behaviour begins to disintegrate.

Two of the boys are Ralph and another referred to as ‘Piggy’ – as the process of disintegration takes place, Piggy asks Ralph the question, ‘What makes things break up like they do?’

It was this question of Piggy’s which at that time in my life led me to write an essay basically on the topic ‘God is Left Out.’ This was selected for publication in the school year book but its assertion that our brokenness resulted from leaving God out did not, so far as I recall, impress my English teacher, who was rather sceptical.

And so here I am, some 50 years later and ‘What makes things break up like they do’ is still a relevant question!

Why? The world is still disintegrating, presently in the grip of Covid–19. And so I share some brief thoughts on ‘break up’… (more…)

JESUS –THE MISSIONARIES’ MESSAGE

(April 2, 2020) Dr George Forbes, missionary statesman, brings an Easter reminder that God so loved the world…

Admittedly the world is going through trying times such as never encountered before! But we Christians know that our God is real, loving and caring for those who know and love him. And… that Jesus is still the final and absolute answer to the greatest need off all – the way back to God and full salvation!

As I reflected this year on Easter as a special time on the Christian calendar, I thought immediately that the message of all true missionaries is Jesus.  He is the reason that we celebrate Easter. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest evidence of the love of God for humanity that could ever be.

I first heard this message in a little Salvation Army meeting in July 1949. That was the day I knelt at the penitent form in that simple chapel and surrendered my life to God. That was the day I called on the name of Jesus and was saved.

That is now seventy years ago and the joy, the peace I found that day is richer and deeper than ever!

Powerful hope!

  • The celebration every Easter by followers of Jesus centres on him.
  • And why? God’s gift to the world was his only Son!
  • This is the good news that has been declared not only at Easter, but all year every year, for centuries.
  • This is the event that changed the world, bringing fallen, sinful humankind a hope that shines brighter every year!

(more…)

IS DIVINE PROTECTION GUARANTEED?

(March 25, 2020) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, challenges misquoting of scriptures in these troubling times…

Unquestionably these are exceptional times of national and international stress. Sadly the response of so many people to that stress has been significantly less than commendable!  Selfishness and hostility – especially on the ‘battlefield’ aisles of supermarkets – has been on shameful display.

Without doubt this has been a distressing and troubling time and Christians are inevitably asking such questions as:

  • Why has God permitted this epidemic?
  • Why doesn’t he stop it?
  • Is he using it to accomplish some greater purpose?
  • Is this evidence that we are living in the End Times? and then of course…
  • Can Christians avoid contracting the virus? (the BIG question so many Christians are asking).

Hyper-faith distortion
Let me first state that I firmly believe that God miraculously heals many people today. I have both personally experienced and witnessed it. It is appropriate to ask God for healing.

But I do not believe that it should be a Christian’s unalienable right to be protected from illness or tragedy as neither the biblical testimony nor that of Christian history substantiates that position.

In the last few weeks many Christians have been placing posts on social media asserting the ‘correct’ position a Christian should take regarding the Coronavirus (or any) worldwide viral infection.

From a hyper-faith position there are those who are telling us that the Bible affirms that God has given solid assurance that his children will be protected from such epidemics and that we need to embrace those promises, fully place our trust in God and the authority of his word and claim deliverance from those diseases that threaten us.  I have read such affirmations eg ‘I believe the Lord will protect you and that none of your family will die before their time and that you and your family will live to be a blessing to many, many people!’ (more…)