Isaiah 53:5

BLACK FRIDAY! BRIGHT NEW TOMORROW!

(April 5, 2023) Robert McQuillan recalls last Easter… 

Why last Easter? you ask. It’s almost this Easter, Good Friday is only a couple of days away!

That’s the very reason I’m recalling last Easter, especially Good Friday. Oh I know we’ll be rejoicing come Resurrection Sunday when we’ll all joyfully praise God for the fact that Jesus overcame death, defeating what’s called the last enemy (Acts 2:24)! Hallelujah!

But… think about Friday, Good Friday, the most solemn day of what we call Holy Week. This is the day when Christians bemoan the fact that Jesus went through so much agony and pain even before He was treated as a criminal and nailed to an ugly cross on Calvary’s hill!

So what was good about that? Who came up with the ridiculous title of Good Friday? So strange, so weird! I would have called it Black Friday! 

Actually it appears no one knows who first called it Good Friday. Some think that maybe somebody first termed it God’s Friday, anticipating all that God was achieving through His Son’s sacrifice on Calvary –

  • All our sins forgiven.
  • A clean slate for us on genuine repentance and accepting Jesus as Saviour.
  • An incredible relationship with God (first one having been broken back in Eden).
  • A guarantee of heaven and home for eternity!
  • God’s public announcement of His love for humankind. (As Dr Richard Winter writes in The Cross-Centrepiece of the Gospel of Christ).
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WHEN THE CROSS BECOMES AN IDOL…

(April 03, 2023) Geri B challenges…

We have all heard the saying, ‘The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history!’   And unfortunately, this can oft be said that as Christians we ignore the lessons of the Old Testament, the warnings of the New Testament, and repeat the sins of Israel in our day and age.

Let me hone in on one example: that of the elevation of the symbol of the cross not only in traditional denominations, but also increasingly throughout independent and pentecostal churches; which at times overshadows the work of redemption done by Christ through the shedding of His blood  that washed away our sins forever.

I would even go so far as to say that the cross has become a focus for worship, rather than the Lord Jesus Christ! Not deliberately I suspect; but most certainly in a way that detracts from the focus on Christ that God the Father requires.

We are lifting up a cross, and an empty one at that; rather than exalting the one who was crucified on it, and who has the power to grant us life, eternal life!

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IN THE GARDEN

(April 02, 2023) Richard Winter reflects…

It’s often said that in the olden days things were different. Some will remember in those olden days that we had a garden at the back of our home… we grew most of our vegetables, some flowers and some fruit trees.

Everybody loves a garden. Whether you like to work in a garden, whether you plant it, or just like walking through one that somebody else has done all the work in, there is beauty in a garden.

The Holy Bible has a lot to say about either gardening or planting, or sowing and harvesting. Gardens feature in scripture from the beginning of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. All of them are important to God’s plan… three on this earth, one not.

The three earthly ones were places of sadness, although the third became a place to rejoice over! And the fourth? Well let’s look at these four pivotal biblical places that have changed the way God’s people live… and can live.

The first garden was creation…

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THE WALL IN FRONT OF ME

(March 07, 2022) Mama Lava shares a precious meditation…                           

‘If these walls could talk, I wonder what secrets they’d tell’ – Gayle Forman.

Do you ever find yourself starring at the wall? I’ve been staring at the one in front of me for several minutes. I’m sure it could say many things if it could speak, but right now, I’m relying on its quiet strength.

My wall (right) – the wall in front of me – has witnessed many conversations marked by an array of emotions. The myriad of words do not echo in the wall like they do in my head. The sound has been absorbed and silenced.

The wall in front of me stands straight and tall, unaffected by the frenetic energy on either side. It divides the chaos and is still. It steadies me.

This wall in front of me is pierced. I’ve removed the art that has adorned it for the last few years and all that remains are a few protruding screws and some nail holes. Somehow, it is still stately.

As constructs of the mind, walls get a bad rap. They are said to represent confinement and stand in the way of progress. Yet, I find solace in mine.

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DIVINE, NOT FAITH, HEALING!

(February 14, 2022) Robert McQuillan shares…

Personally, I strongly believe in God’s power to heal whoever calls on Him when sickness strikes.

It used to be common that Christians testified on Sundays about having asked God for healing and how He had answered them! They wanted to share how trusting God and His word had resulted. But for many years trendy music, overdone announcements and tithing mini-sermons have been more important!

Today, in many churches it’s a rarity to invite slickly people to respond to an altar call for prayer in respect of needed miracles.

Don’t church leaders believe in the power of God’s word regarding healing? Have they forgotten how to pray with confidence? Has the great truth of divine, not faith, healing by God’s power been forgotten, no longer understood?

Positive power words
Maureen and I delight to pray positively for sickly folk, having experienced several divine healings – and miracles – ourselves over a lifetime.

Example: Years ago we were asked to teach a church camp about healing and praying for the sick. But… Friday I suddenly developed a severely sore throat, and couldn’t talk.

Now I could have phoned and hoarsely whispered a negative ‘I can’t come Saturday.’ But I didn’t. Instead we stayed overnight enroute with good friends who made me a cosy bed on a comfortable couch before a roaring log fire. Feeling so ill, I enjoyed a hot drink, sucked honey and relaxed.

Appreciating the comforts, I prayed positively to God, asking in Jesus’ name that He graciously heal me, confirming that I trusted Him to restore me. Even claimed a healing scripture that means so much to me… 1 Peter 2:24b: ‘By His wounds (stripes) you have been healed,’ and endeavoured to fall asleep.

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