determination

I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT MIRACLE!

(April 02, 2022) Mama Lava shares a challenging Easter meditation…    

The very first Easter morning was unique to all that have come since in that it dawned in apparent defeat. Have you ever thought about that?

Jesus’ resurrection had happened, but nobody knew it! His family and followers awoke in grief, unaware of the glorious victory and power that had changed everything. They might have missed the miracle… if not for the faithfulness of Mary, Mary and Salome.

These three women, who had followed and served Jesus daily, woke up in despair. He was gone. They had seen Him beaten, nailed to a cross, ridiculed and confirmed dead. Because of strict Sabbath rules, He’d been buried quickly. There hadn’t been time to properly embalm His body with the customary spices.

Dedicated
But the Sabbath was over, and they would be able to do this one last thing for the One to whom they’d been devoted. So, they got up and prepared to do what they’d done every day – serve Jesus.

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DAVID AND HIS GIANTS



(April 1, 2021) Brian Bell shares his latest meditation…

David’s encounter with the giant Goliath recorded in 1 Samuel 17 must surely be one of the most well-known scriptural records.

In the United Kingdom, we even had a series of television adverts promoting a particular product which used a caricature of the David and Goliath story while not referring specifically to it.

Many of us have profited from the life of David and his experience of the Lord and we are familiar with his many psalms. In this meditation I offer some thoughts which, while they may not be new, I found it beneficial to revisit.

A Defiant Giant
The scriptural record talks about Goliath’s defiance of the Lord and also of David who came to face him.

I see Goliath as a type of spiritual opposition, which is still prevalent today and may be manifested through actual people… just as Goliath was used.

The apostle Paul tells us we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 6:12). This tells me ‘flesh and blood’ people are used to be defiant against the Lord’s work, word, and people!

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2019 – ONE QUALITY MOST LIKELY TO HELP SUCCEEDING

(January 15, 2019) Ed Delph shares a helpful 2019 challenge…

As we embrace 2019 the following idea moves us forward, onward and upward!

Most everyone these days is looking for success in one way or another. Here’s a life-changer for you… a spiritual and natural principle applied in a practical way.

The marshmallow test
One of my one of favourite writers, James Clear, offers this idea in his latest book, Atomic Habits. Read on…

‘In the 1960s, a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel began conducting a series of important psychological studies. During his experiments, Mischel and his team tested hundreds of children, most of them around the ages of four and five years old. It revealed what is now believed to be one of the most important characteristics for success in health, work, and life.

‘The experiment began by bringing each child into a private room, sitting them down in a chair, and placing a marshmallow on the table in front of them. At this point, the researcher offered a deal to the child.

‘The researcher told the child he was going to leave the room and if the child did not eat the marshmallow while he was away, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if the child decided to eat the first one before the researcher came back, they would not get a second marshmallow. The choice was simple. One treat right now or two treats later. The researcher left the room for 15 minutes. (more…)

NOT HOME YET – WORK STILL TO BE DONE!

(August 8, 2017) Maureen McQuillan encourages all who feel unappreciated …

There’s a tale that’s been around since my Sunday school days – an unsourced homecoming story that’s been told and retold over the years in various ways. Basically it goes something like this…

A missionary couple, old and wearied, was returning home to the States to retire after toiling many years in what we were told back then to capture our imagination was ‘Darkest Africa.’ Not overly successful in their missionary service they were unknowns compared to such ‘greats’ as Dr David Livingstone.

But they’d been faithful to their calling and had shared God’s love and the gospel of Jesus in many caring ways. They had reached to neighbours – strangers – not only to preach but to help in practical ways. And they would pray for the sick and needy and witness miracles – and over many years had known the joy of seeing several indigenous people accept Christ as Saviour.

This couple had grown old together as they laboured on despite many difficulties, opposition from demonic forces, misunderstandings from locals including other ministries, and even lack of meaningful prayer and financial support from their church back home. (more…)

WHEN THE BULLETS STOPPED BOUNCING

Martin JohnsonMartin Johnson, Special to ASSIST News Service, writes:

Working in the police force was Australian Suzanne Spence’s dream job. At first it was everything she had hoped it would be, but when she came home every night in tears, her family and friends knew she wasn’t coping.

Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Suzanne reluctantly resigned after a 24-year career and, aged 46, thought her working life was over. (more…)

A Determined God of Love

Robert and Maureen McQuillan write:

Recently we attended the funeral of a friend who loved Jesus. Held in a local Uniting Church, we were impressed as the minister, Tony Johnson, shared from his heart.

Space doesn’t permit us to detail all that this soft-speaking Geelongite said but we’ll always recall the following– truths that are relevant to every Christian in their understanding of God, their following Jesus and living as he did. And in honouring God’s word and reaching out to everyone.

Tony’s welcome to the mixed gatherers – family, friends and those who were strangers to each other but had known the deceased through her lifetime daily exhibition of love, is a classic.

Quietly and simply but meaningfully, he said: ‘Welcome to all of you – to those who believe, those who do not believe, those who do not know what to believe and those who have been too hurt to believe anything.’ In his eulogy, Tony made it clear that God is the God of determination – that through Christ he showed that he is the God of reconciliation.

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