The Holy Spirit

GREAT SUGGESTION? NO— GREAT COMMISSION!

(August 30, 2024) Robert McQuillan shares a memory… and encouragingly challenges.

Out-of-the-blue the Holy Spirit recently enabled me to lead a young person to Christ… in an office! He’d mentioned having back pain and, not mentioning that I was a minister, I simply said that I’d like to pray about the discomfort… and was asked to do so.

So I laid hands on that sore back and prayed in Jesus’ name. A short simple prayer resulting in a big smile and acknowledgement that the pain was going, then ‘It’s gone!’

No, I didn’t work a wonder, the Spirit did! I just stood on scriptures such as Psalm 30:2 and my personal favourite, 1Peter 2:24! Praise God that my follow-up challenge about acknowledging Jesus as Saviour was accepted and another soul is in the kingdom!

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PRECIOUS ARE THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

(September 28, 2024) Dr Robert McQuillan shares…

Dear Robert

So sorry to hear that you went  through such agonies with your toe (Trusting the Holy Spirit in Painful Times). What a lovely testimony to the gift of tongues. We’re sure that like ourselves you have encountered many people for whom a prayer in tongues was actually a known language. We rate that precious gift very highly! Thank you, Lord. Bless you for all your work and ministry. Norman and Margaret. 

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THE LORD’S PRAYER – Part 1: ‘GOD’S DOMINION’

(June 06, 2024) Dr Jim McClure teaches… and challenges –

How good is your prayer life?

I guess that for most of us prayer is lower on the ladder of importance in our lives than we would be prepared to admit.

We excuse ourselves by thinking that we are so busy that other urgent things make demands on us and, sadly, prayer is set to one side to be attended to later.

Many churches place an emphasis on the importance of their regular prayer meetings and sometimes Christian organisations plan citywide, and even nationwide, prayer meetings and Christians are encouraged to commit to them. However, valuable and important such gatherings may be, the number of participants is ultimately not the determining factor in the effectiveness of prayer.

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RECOILING DARK ‘ICEBERG’ EXPERIENCES

(April 08, 2024) Robert McQuillan shares…

Last month’s news about Australian billionaire Clive Palmer refloating his dream to build a replica of the Titanic caught my attention.

His company, the Blue Star Line, intends the replica – Titanic II – to set sail in June 2027, the billionaire claiming that this ship would be ‘far, far superior to the original.’ 

Although the replica will have four funnels as had the original, this 21st century ship will be powered by a diesel engine. Modernisations will include upgrades to navigation technology and modern safety procedures – including sufficient lifeboats!

Recalling
My mind immediately recalled a little romantic 19th century novella. It’s by Morgan Robertson and I found myself digging it out to reread. Originally called Futility, it was renamed The Wreck of the Titan.

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PROFIT FROM PHILEMON

March 09, 2024) Brian Bell shares…

It was while Paul was imprisoned in Rome that he wrote his short letter to Philemon, who it would seem was a wealthy man but also a well-respected believer among the Christians who made up the church in Colossae.

During his imprisonment, Paul had met a slave called Onesimus, a native of Colossae who had run away from Philemon. While in prison Onesimus came to faith in the Lord Jesus and the intention of Paul’s letter was asking Philemon to receive Onesimus back into his home.

From what is likely a very well-known story I share five encouraging thoughts…

1. Philemon’s Principle
While Paul writes specifically to Philemon he says he is ‘also writing to the church that meets in your house’ verse 2 (NLT). The church of course refers to the collective body of Christian believers.

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DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

(January 15, 2024) Wayne Swift calls it as it really is regarding disappointments…

Every one of us has to deal with disappointment of one sort or another throughout our life! 

Take a simple example… disappointment could be the result of a birthday party that –

  • Clashes with other important things.
  • Clashes with preferable things or
  • Clashes with some people simply because they don’t want to go to!

1. Disappointments vary
It can depend on our circumstances, our self-esteem, our supportive relationships and our level of stability.  What’s at stakes is also a very large contributing factor.

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‘SHOW ME THE WAY, GOD’

(December 20, 2023) Robert McQuillan shares a Christmas/2024-centred encouragement.

It seems no time at all when back in July people were half-jokingly saying, ‘Gosh, how time flies, it’ll soon be Christmas!’

Suddenly it was late October and some folk were exclaiming, ‘Golly gosh, soon be Christmas! Where has the year gone?’ Then it was November and, as Alan Higgins mentions in his article, extremely early Christmas sales adverts and a mad ‘charging-about-like-eejits’ time unknown to the real Christmas story of Joseph and Mary (Joseph the Dreamer).

Perspective
And right now Christmas is really just round the corner… merely a few days away! And some people are talking about 2024! In fact we’ve just received an Easter article… already!

Responding to some people who have asked me about 2024, I felt led to share the perspective that I sense – that it will be a ‘venturous year for those wanting to follow the Lord.’

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POP POP POWER MEMORIES

(October 03, 2023) Norman and Margaret Moss reflect…

As a schoolboy I (Norman) was accustomed to an hour’s walk to school each day. However in teenage years I began to cycle to school instead. Then as I entered my early twenties power entered my cycling career.

Someone invented a small kind of outboard engine which could be fitted to bicycles. It worked by connecting to the rubber tyre and so long as there was no rain it was a great success. In wet weather the drive wheel was changed to one made of carborundum, which rapidly tore tyres to pieces.

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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.

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THAT PENTECOSTAL WILDFIRE!

(May 24, 2023) Robert and Maureen McQuillan comment on some Pentecost realities…

It was an amazing day for the early church!

Scripture records the incredible breakthrough those frightened, uncertain 120 believers experienced on the Day of Pentecost – ‘Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force – no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them’ (Acts 2:2-4 Message).

In reality, they were changed, charged, challenged, committed, commissioned!

More than just worship
This was something more than just worshipping God in new languages, glossolalia! It mightily changed those first disciples – they became daring men and women of faith who immediately witnessed the gospel and saw many converts genuinely repent of sin and turn to Jesus for salvation!

May 28 is Pentecost Sunday and many churches (not just Pentecostal) will be celebrating it as the…

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