WHAT SOBERING WORDS – ‘TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS REQUIRED!’

(August 26, 2019) Dr George Forbes, missionary statesman, reflects and challenges…       

For many years now, as it has been my joy to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been guided and constrained by his words as found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 12 verse 48.  They ring in my mind and spirit every time I read them or think of them.  

Those challenging words from Luke’s gospel are – ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’

Sobering words!
These are sobering words indeed – challenging words, clear words – about our responsibilities as servants of God. 

And when we consider it we have indeed been given so much –

  • Forgiveness of all our sin
  • Born again by the Spirit of God
  • Washed by the atoning blood of the lamb of God
  • Peace with God
  • Adopted as children of God.

Every believer experiences the grace and mercy of God from the moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  Then we grow in his grace and every day we experience his mercies. We also grow in the knowledge of Christ, finding more of the power of his love and the fellowship of his sufferings. (more…)

JONAH – THE UNIVERSAL RECONCILING LOVE OF GOD

(August 26, 2019) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, shares on the most misunderstood book in the Bible…

The book of Jonah is probably the best known book in the Old Testament – but for all the wrong reasons! Most people think of it as a pleasant bedtime story for children about a man who fell off a boat and was swallowed by a whale. A few days later the whale spat him out and he walked off into the land of happy-ever-after.

But that is not what the book of Jonah is about. Its message is much more interesting, challenging and radical than that.  In fact it is one of the most revolutionary books in the Old Testament!

Background to the story
The story of Jonah is set around 2700 years ago and the people of Israel believed that they were in an exclusive relationship with God who loved only them. They had a kind of exclusive and territorial mentality about Yahweh.

God chose Jonah to ‘shake their world’!

Yet we do not actually know much about him. We know that his name means ‘Dove’ and that he came from a town near Nazareth.  He was given an unenviable task – to go to Nineveh, the oldest and most densely populated city of the ancient Assyrian Empire which was also considered to be one of the wickedest cities in the world and its people were known for their ruthlessness, cruelty, child sacrifice, sexual perversion and witchcraft.

1. The reluctance of Jonah
(i) Jonah’s call
God’s call to Jonah was personal and specific – ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me’ (1:2). (more…)

OTHERS AND YOU – THE CHALLENGING VESTIBULE

(August 25, 2019) Robert and Maureen McQuillan bring some challenging reflections…

Vestibule – now there’s a word that indicates a chamber or channel opening into another. Hmm.

As we follow Jesus many times doors open that lead into new discoveries and adventures in God as we hear and yield to the Holy Spirit’s soft whispers to our heart. In this connection we recall the following challenge that speaks of discovering an important vestibule leading to heaven’s riches…

Others May, You Cannot … over the years there have been a number of items, tracts or articles based on this challenging thought and its relating issues.

Some 40 years we were handed the following thought-provoking piece that we were told was written by Bill Britton – one that’s still fresh, challenging and meaningful, especially if you’re sold out to the ministry call of Christ on your life. 

‘If God has called you to be really like Jesus, he will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other Christians.

‘And, in many ways, he will seem to let other good people do things that he will not let you.

‘Other Christians (and ministers), who seem very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull strings and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot, and if you attempt you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

‘Others may boast of themselves, their work, success and writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. And if you begin to, he will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

‘Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or have a legacy left them, but it is likely that God will keep you poor because he wants you to have something far better than gold, namely a helpless dependence on him that he may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen treasury. (more…)

SPEAKING PERSONALLY

(August 23, 2019) Brian Bell shares a meaningful, encouraging meditation straight from his heart…

The inspiration for this short meditation is drawn from my recent readings in Joshua and Judges (NTL) –and in particular Joshua 24:3, ‘Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him – those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel.’

Also Judges 2:7, ‘…the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him – those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.’

Personal experience of faith
Perhaps you remember where you were when you came to faith in the Lord Jesus… for me it was a very simple ‘act’ of  prayer in my bedroom as a young teenager (which I recorded in the flyleaf of a Bible) – very much in contrast to the apostle Paul’s Damascus road encounter!

Many years ago I recall Reverend Sam Workman talking about those who were ‘walking on the clean side of the broad road (that would describe where I was) but whatever our background and where, when and how we came into salvation our personal experience will have been different.

It is very clear the leaders God raised up for his people were people of faith – just like us, they were not without their flaws, but they were those who had a personal experience of faith… as the writer to the Hebrews reminds us!

As I consider this aspect, it is clear that in relation to faith there are – (more…)

A HEART FOR THE HARVEST

(July 19, 2019) Dr George Forbes, missionary statesman, reflects …

The Lord gave me ‘a heart for the harvest’ early in my life journey of faith! Through prophecy and a vision, within a year of my conversion I was called to the nations!

But… I failed to understand the prophecy and direction that God set before me. For many years I did not understand it: In fact it wasn’t until almost ten years later when Charles Greenwood, my pastor at Richmond Temple, guided me toward the first steps that began to unfold this major step in my life.

There’s a world harvest, not just local!
After serving as a local pastor in five churches, over about 15 years, I was asked to visit Papua New Guinea for some weeks in 1968.

Until then, my focus was on local people who needed Christ.  I did not yet have a ‘heart for the harvest’ in the world. That came progressively over some years. My annual visits to Papua New Guinea were in reality my training for the harvest in the world. I owe much to the older missionaries who demonstrated a commitment and love for the indigenous people that I did not yet have.

A lesson I valued early in my many travels as I visited missionaries and negotiated with government authorities for permits, was the necessity of never giving up and not getting tired of doing what is good, because reaping time is ahead. I also learned well that it is God who supplies ‘the seed’ of the word of truth that can set the captives free and produce an ever-growing number of new local churches of new believers (2 Corinthians 9:10).

Keys of responsibility


Every local church where the believers honour the word of God has the biblical responsibility to consider and obey the words of the Lord Jesus to look with open eyes and observe the fields where there is a ripe harvest. This is a responsibility that must be honoured in faith. (more…)

‘EATING JESUS’ BODY AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD’

(July 19, 2019) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, explains on this powerful imagery challenge declared by Jesus…

We are living at a time when we are increasingly compelled by the dictates of those who have embraced the philosophy of ‘political correctness’ to avoid the use of language and actions that may ‘cause offence.’  People are being encouraged to rage against those things that they claim have offended them and increasingly that rage is funnelled into legal action!

Consequently a diverse range of people, including comedians, sports people – and preachers – are being silenced for fear of prosecution.

When Jesus caused offence!
Of course, such taking of ‘offence’ is often a manipulative tool to silence and control and as a tactic it has been used for thousands of years.

In fact, Jesus sometimes ‘offended’ those to whom he spoke. For example, one day when he was in Capernaum a crowd gathered to hear what he had to say and they were quick to take offence at his words.

We read in John 6:32 that he said, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.’

And in verse 41-42 we see the outraged response to this – ‘At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I came down from heaven?”  How dare he say that! What an arrogant upstart!’ How offensive are his words!

Despite this reaction, Jesus ploughed ahead – ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”’ (John 6:51-52). (more…)

CONNECTING – CARING CONTACT!

(July 17, 2019) Robert and Maureen McQuillan caringly – and concernedly – encourage connecting …

Wandering along a beach one time we unexpectedly met an old friend. In the ensuing chitchat she expressed how difficult it was to connect with people in her church. Yet she had done her best in reaching out to various folk but, despite promising, they hadn’t got back to her.

The result was that no meaningful contact has been established and this friendly, insightful lady was thinking about finding a more amicable church.

On another occasion, when we were in our local library a lady from yet another church recognised us and shared something similar: ‘There are so many lonely women in church that can’t seem to make a close relationship. It is so hard.’

Connecting widely
We’ve also come across men who haven’t been able to connect in church life and be able to share their feelings with other guys.

And then there are ministers of busy churches who do not have real friends to confide with. Some wrongly feel they can’t even share with their denominational leaders in case the ‘upper echelon’ thinks they aren’t spiritual enough or not capable of dealing with things. (Side comment here: We’re delighted to now know Kelvin, a great guy dedicated to reaching pastors, priests and ‘lay people’ who need the connection of ‘a friendly ear’).

Seniors too can have their difficulties – but the biggest shock is when a precious child confides with you that he or she feels they cannot share their heart secrets with anyone, not even their dad or mum. Kids too need reaching and blessing, as our brother-in-law Ken Gardiner of Life4Kids, kendor.life4kids@gmail.com will tell you. (more…)

MEANT TO RUN YOUR OWN RACE

(July 17, 2019) Carol Round encourages us to keep running the Christian race…

In my early 40s, I began competing in 5K races. I never considered myself an athlete. But, I’ve always had a competitive edge, less so since I’ve grown spiritually. I’ve learned it’s not about who wins but doing my best with my God-given gifts.

During the four years I raced competitively, my time steadily improved. At first, it was about beating others in my age bracket to the finish line. I won some trophies and medals, which now mean very little to me. At the beginning of my racing years, I focused on my competition – those women in my age bracket. When I did, my time didn’t improve much.

Then, I learned a secret to persevering and not giving up. I began to focus on a goal ahead of me on the race course. I’d locate a tree, a utility pole or some other object in sight. As I passed each goal, I set another one, leading me to the finish line and improved race times.

Focus is the key! Focusing on my personal best instead of the competition was the answer to winning. (more…)

BAD NEWS OR GOOD NEWS!

(June 26, 2019) Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, reminds us of scriptural bad news – and scriptural good news…

Nobody likes bad news!

But sometimes we need to hear the bad news if it urges or provokes us to do something that may correct a tragedy or help us avoid disastrous consequences.

In Australia each year bush fires cause heartbreaking devastation to trees, animals, towns and, of course, people. How hard it is to watch the horrendous and frightening images of out-of-control fires raging through trees and homes, destroying livelihoods, creating havoc, causing death, pain, sorrow and financial devastation.

Fortunately many lives are saved each year when advance warning is given that enables people to vacate their properties, perhaps save their animals and leave with some treasured possessions. The tragedies would be significantly worse if warnings were withheld because they represented ‘bad news.’ Therefore, sometimes we do need to hear ‘bad news’ in order to avoid even worse consequences.

Angry response
However, the fact remains that no one likes to be on the receiving end of bad news. Some people deal with it by denying it. Others respond by anger at the person who delivers it.

There is an old saying that states, ‘If you don’t like the message, don’t kill the messenger.’  This advice has been around for a long time. For example, in the middle of the 5th century BC, Sophocles, a Greek poet and playwright, wrote, ‘No one loves the messenger who brings bad news.’

However, in recent days we have seen a ‘messenger’ being savaged by the media and social media. Israel Folau, who quoted from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, has not only lost his employment as a rugby player but has also been roundly condemned as bigoted, intolerant, homophobic and so on.

But the bottom line is that what he tweeted is wholly in line with scripture. He was sharing a message that was not his and if the warning it contained was not to the liking of those who read it, he cannot be blamed for its content! (more…)

CLEAN YOUR HOUSE AND RENEW YOUR SPIRIT

(June 7, 2019) Carol Round encourages us to ensure our ‘inner house’ is clean…

Psalm 51:10 TLB speaks of ‘being cleaning’ – being filled with clean thoughts and right desires.

I like a clean house. But, as I grow older, it seems to take me longer. But what used to take me three to four hours on a Saturday morning, now takes all day – and then some. I attribute it to my wandering mind, or should I say forgetfulness.

Here’s how it works
I start in one room, usually the master bath, with intentions of working my way from north to south.

However, while wiping the bathroom mirrors clean, I remember something I need to do in the kitchen, like thawing a frozen chicken for my supper. After taking care of that task, I see something else that needs doing while I’m there.

Then I notice the trash is overflowing, so I remove the bag and deliver it outside to the garbage can. (Some of you can probably relate).


By the time I return to the master bath, I’ve wasted time. It also requires me to refocus on my original task. Now where did I put that bottle of Windex?

Cleaning out the unnecessary
In the process of a recent house cleaning, I decided to go through cabinets, drawers and closets to rid myself of things taking up space. I’m blessed with an abundance of storage in my house. I’m also a coupon clipper and redeem them to stockpile items I need before the coupons expire. (more…)