Romans 12:1-2

SQUEEZED, PUSHED AND PULLED

(August 15, 2023) Richard Winter challenges…

This happened to me in college –

We all had to take two art classes, one painting and the other pottery. I thought I knew how to draw and paint – but not well, and pottery was something I knew nothing about, so I went for it.

We threw a lump of clay on a spinning wheel and squeezed, pushed and pulled that clay until it resembled a pot of some sort.

Jeremiah 18:4 says that God has an illustration of how a potter can make a pot of his choice and,  if he doesn’t like it, can squash it down again and make another pot.

This is a life message!
In this world we can be squeezed, pushed and pulled to conform to the image that it wants to make of us. But this is not what God wants for us so He makes a new life for us –  we are to be born again by the Spirit and not the flesh.

(more…)

REAL REVIVAL!

(April 22, 2023) S. Sam Selva Raj reflects...

Revival! Over several years we have heard this word widely used regarding refreshing outbreaks of Christianity as Christians find God anew, many new salvations, even healings and miracles.

Recently highlighted was the ‘revival outbreak’ of prayer and worship at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky… experiences of finding of God and His presence afresh – ‘a deeper sense of connection to God and to each other.’ Healings and miracles, thousands of interested visitors even from interstate lining up in the cold weather.

Unfortunately this meaningful ‘revival’ was short-lived… as were similar Holy Spirit outpourings over the years!

Scriptural?
I searched for the word ‘revival’ in scripture, but could not find it. The closest similarity was the ‘reformation’ brought about by young Josiah – 16th king of Judah. Crowned when only eight years-old, described as a righteous ruler, even as a young boy he ‘did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father’ (2 Chronicles 34:2).

Josiah means ‘God supports and heals’ and verses 3-5 tells that when he was but 16, ‘he began to seek the God of his father David.’ Only 20 years old ‘he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols… the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars…’ Josiah instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of any god other than Yahweh.

(more…)

OWING GOD?

(March 16, 2022) Maureen McQuillan responds to a someone who’s concerned about ‘owing God’…

Dear Pastor Maureen

I know I owe God so much for all He’s done for me… salvation through the gift of His Son Jesus and so much more. How can I pay Him what I owe? Yours, Jane.

Dear Jane

Owing God? Yes, we owe Him so much… but it’s impossible to pay God back for anything He’s done! At least not financially.

Look up the word ‘owe’ in the KJV and you’ll find that the only place this word is mentioned is Romans 13:8,  ‘Owe no man any thing, but to love one another…’

‘Owe’ here is opheilō… to be under an obligation and we could easily think in terms of money owed to someone or an organisation, especially when we recall that Jesus had something to say about owing people! (Matthew 18:28, Luke 16:5. And Leviticus 25:53 instructs business owners to pay workers what they owe them).

But nowhere does scripture require us to ‘owe God’ financially! What scripture does encourage us to do is support our local church. By extension this can also be some purposeful evangelist, missionary, or other genuine ministry God has directed us to support.

(more…)