Matthew 11:28

FREEDOM TO BEAR FRUIT! 

(August 15, 2025) Angeline Selvakumari shares the second part about bearing much fruit for Christ…

Warm greetings to everyone on the occasion of India’s Independence Day here today. We gratefully remember and honour the countless martyrs who selflessly laid down their lives so that we might enjoy the blessings of freedom.

As I reflected on this theme, I was reminded of a far greater freedom— one that Jesus Christ fought to secure for us! Scripture teaches that we were once slaves to sin (Romans 6:20). The apostle Paul poignantly expresses this in Romans 7:24: ‘What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of  death?’

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BEARING EACH OTHER’S BURDEN!

(November 17, 2024) Angeline Selvakumari encourages us to think of others…

Scripture tells us that God has called us to be His children. What a privilege! But,Paul urges, ‘… live a life worthy of the calling you have received’ (Ephesians 4:1).

  • What exactly are we called to do?
  • What does it truly mean to live such a life?
  • While there are many aspects, let’s focus on the following—

Characteristic: No Troublemaking!
Matthew 5:9 promises, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.’ Dear brothers and sisters, if we wish to live lives worthy of our calling, this is a key characteristic… He has called us to be peacemakers, not troublemakers.

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THE FOCUSED CHRIST

(August 17, 2024) Wayne Swift again calls it as it is…

Focus—

Now that’s a word meaning ‘the main or central point of something, especially of interest or attention.’

Did you ever realise that your salvation depended on Jesus’ focused resolution to suffer the cross and all that that entailed? That before Christ even went to the cross He had to focus on His commitment to the task ahead.

Jesus’ Origins
It’s amazing really that Almighty God had made the incredible decision to come to this world in human form as Jesus Christ for our sakes!

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GIFT OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE!

(December 08, 2023) Angeline Selvakumari shares good points…

Ever since I was a child, Christmas has always held a special place in my heart. It brings indescribable joy. When I was young, we didn’t have enough money to buy new clothes or gifts, or to decorate the house with fancy colored paper or lights. We lived in a small one-bedroom house with limited food, but… my parents always found ways to make our childhood beautiful and meaningful.

My brother and I are forever grateful for their efforts. It was an amazing time! Visiting grandparents, meeting cousins, going to church early in the morning with sleepy eyes, eagerly waiting to eat a delicious lunch with the whole family gathered around, playing games, and even the occasional sibling squabble – all these things made those days truly beautiful.

Even now, every year, the scent of candles, aroma of cookies, twinkling decorative lights, and the chilly wind, along with heartwarming carols, bring back great memories.

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ANAPAUŌ – CHILL OUT!

(July 31, 2023) Robert McQuillan encourages…

Odd name for the title of an article, isn’t it? Let me explain…

An old friend called recently and happened to ask how I wrote articles, how I got my inspiration and so on. My answer was twofold… like sermon preparations where I’d have an idea of what I wanted to preach/teach, it would come together as I typed.

The second way is similar… and I say this humbly, not spookily – I’d start to type and find that I’m immediately being led by the Spirit and ‘words just come about through my fingers.’ It’s called ‘Being Spirit led.’ And that’s what’s happening here, even as I type this!

Now I’d already researched so many scriptures in respect of something I thought I’d be writing about… but now I find the blessed Holy Spirit taking me in a different direction – even an embarrassing one!

And that okay… I’m His to be directed and used as He wishes… as we all should be! And that’s a threefold principle all Christians should remember every day…

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WHEN YOU NEED REST, SEEK JESUS

(July 23, 2023) Carol Round shares great advice.

Badly needing rest
Although fireworks ended around July 6 where I live, thunderstorms have intensified in our area, leaving me tired because they’ve been striking at night while I’m trying to sleep.

My eight-year-old Chiweenie, Harley, has suffered, too. His restless nights, due to the loud cacophony of both noisemakers, have interrupted my sleep as well. Swaddling him in a vet-recommended anxiety jacket and dosing him with prescription medication hasn’t helped. After research, I recently began playing classical music, hoping it would help. It hasn’t.

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WORRYING? HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD!

(December 13, 2022) Robert and Maureen McQuillan share…

Unfortunately, some Christians worry instead of trusting Almighty God!

Yes, we should certainly be concerned about troubling matters that arise from time to time… but there is a huge difference between being concerned (taking responsibility to correct matters) and worrying!

Paul gave good advice in Philippians 4:6 – ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’

Seven don’ts…

1. Don’t worry –
Message Bible is very direct: ‘Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.’ Complete Jewish Bible charges: ‘Don’t worry about anything.’

It’s almost Christmas when we celebrate the amazing coming to planet Earth of Jesus in physical form – the incarnational birth of the one who would become our Saviour.

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PUT JESUS ON SPEED DIAL

(February 02, 2022) Carol Round encourages us to rest in Jesus…

Rest!

For some, it seems impossible. With too many commitments and responsibilities, rest seems like an unachievable goal.

Craving rest in a noisy world, some seek to escape. Seeking rest for their weary soul, some look for it in prestigious titles, extreme wealth, and expensive purchases to impress others.

But striving to gain these things never satisfies. Instead, in an effort to satisfy these cravings, disappointment, monotony, and fatigue overwhelms the soul. The load becomes oppressive.

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GOD’S ‘REPAIR’ SHOP

(October 10, 2020) Brian Bell shares…

Recently I’ve been in hospital undergoing surgical procedure. In these days of Covid-19 when we’ve been thankful for nursing/medical staff it gave me a ‘ringside’ seat as I received such excellent care. I believe the skill and knowledge these folk display is a gift from God.

Reflections
My need for a surgical ‘repair’ caused me to reflect on a local BBC television programme titled The Repair Shop. People bring what very often are precious yet old, broken, well-worn deteriorated items for repair – the most recent catching my attention was a RAF chaplain’s WW2 travelling communion set.

A team of master craftsmen and women lovingly, carefully, and painstakingly use their skills to repair and restore these items. In some cases, the repair work is of such high-quality that the owners are brought to tears at the results.

My own recent days of ‘restoration’ had me reflecting on Ezekiel 34: 16, ‘I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick.’

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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…)