sin

CAN SATAN READ OUR MINDS?

(October 26, 2024) Dr Richard Winter very clearly shares a great truth…

Well… can he? Can the devil read your mind?

We all know that Satan is our adversary who seeks those whom he may devour. And I must confess that in our spiritual battles sometimes we give the devil too much credit! We so often blame him or ascribe to him power and authority that he simply does not have.

One of those areas deals with when we ask ourselves, ‘Can Satan read our minds?’ and fear creeps in. You will be happy to know the answer to this question is no, he can’t!

But… just saying ‘No, he can’t’ is not enough. We need to consider scripture to understand this topic better and be aware of the following three ploys of the devil.

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THE CROSS: CENTREPIECE OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

(April 03, 2023) Richard Winter highlights the deeper meaning of Calvary’s cross…

Anyone who has ever attended a wedding should be familiar with centrepieces. They tend to be the focus or centre of attention… it is the central or most important feature. The centrepiece of the wedding is the bride; the centrepiece of the reception is the couple.

In other arenas of life we can see that the centrepiece of –

  • Philosophy is the love of wisdom.
  • Science is knowledge
  • History is facts.
  • Most religions is works.

God’s centrepiece
The most important centrepiece of all time is the centrepiece between the Old and New Testaments – the cross of Calvary where our Saviour Jesus hung between two thieves.

That cross is the centrepiece of the gospel. And why? It focuses our attention, especially on Good Friday, on Jesus who alone is our salvation!

In Jesus’ day crosses were seen as death and defeat. But Jesus wasn’t defeated! The blood that spilled from His wounded side –

  • Drowned death,
  • Extinguished the flames of hell, and
  • Completely covered the accusations of our enemy the devil!
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FIVE BURDENS YOU DON’T NEED TO CARRY

(May 15, 2022) Richard Winter reminds us that…

It’s often been said that it’s been a hard life and there have been many tough times. Well, l guess most of us can resonate with that… after all, who hasn’t lost a little sleep through worrying?

We’ve all carried burdens real and unreal… and, if we are honest, we have worried most about some things that never materialised. So here is the word of God that applies to our worries –

Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11:28–30).

A yoke is something Jesus would have made in a carpenter’s shop. It’s a wooden frame joining two animals (usually oxen) at the neck, enabling them to pull a plough or wagon together. The function of the yoke is to make the burden easier to carry.

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DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER!

(November 10, 2018) Tomorrow, Sunday, is Remembrance Day and Dr Jim McClure, straight shooting theologian, reminds us to remember some important matters we should never forget…

100 years ago, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War 1 came to an end following a signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany. After four and a half years of bitter fighting, which directly involved 32 countries and in which around 100 more participated in that bloody conflict with countless tragedies, peace was finally agreed.

Horrendous destructive trail
The war had lasted for 6 years and was now over. But what a horrendous trail it left in its wake. There was destruction everywhere. The human toll was truly overwhelming. It has been estimated that the total number of military and civilian casualties was around 40 million. Life would never be the same again for countless people whose families were torn apart, whose homes were reduced to ruins and whose countries were almost wiped off the face of the map. Wars had always played a gruesome role in human history but no war had ever before been more devastating than World War 1. It was truly the first global war.

Woodrow Wilson, the United States President at that time described it as ‘The war to end all wars.’ But it wasn’t! Twenty one years later and World War 2 began with even more sophisticated weaponry and once again Germany engaged the Allies and again another horrendous cacophony of hatred, lies, violence, inhumanity and destruction was visited upon the earth. Before it ended, around 80,000,000 people were dead. (more…)

GREAT SINNERS – BUT A GREATER SAVIOUR!

Dr Robert & Maureen (2)
Robert and Maureen McQuillan share gospel good news…

Recently we watched that classic Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian, at personal cost dedicating himself for 18 tough years lobbying the British parliament for the abolition of the slave trade.

In 1807 the slave trade was finally abolished. But the fight went on to free those who were already slaves and it wasn’t until 1833 that an act was passed giving freedom to all slaves in the British Empire.

One scene from this great movie filled with Christian principles sticks in our mind as we approach Easter this month. It is when Wilberforce (actor Ioan Gruffudd) calls on his old mentor old preacher, John Newton (played by the inimitable Albert Finney). (more…)