Daily Life (Page 5)
unity in diversity
Many years ago I worked in a Christian community where we all came from very different backgrounds…different churches…different types of worship…very different doctrines but this didn’t matter…wasn’t an issue. Why? Our leader was diligent in Bible Study; he focused on the Word of God and we all functioned as one. To me, this was unique and, as I moved on in my journey, I looked back on that time as a rare treasure. I guess it wasn’t a formalised thought…
I have no answer
I stood there listening as our CBBCers prayed. Their prayers were passionate & it was evident that these were Godly people praying Godly prayers. Without a doubt God is hearing and will honour these prayers. But my heart was heavy, my mind full of questions…what difference can we make? Can we do anything to rescue millions of people pouring from country to country looking for safety; desperate for refuge for themselves and their loved ones? Are we necessarily right in…
L Plate Christian…it’s a wonderful book
Everyday I read my bible, broken up into new and old testaments. This week, I started reading Ecclesiastes chapter 3. It occurred to me that these were lines from a favourite song of mine, “’tis the season, turn, turn turn” (Peter Seeger), sung by The Byrds..”a time to live, a time to die”. This made me think how many songs have used biblical verse or scripture, so I looked it up on my computer. There were pages and pages of…
praying the scriptures
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately…when it all began. It was a season of deep grief as it slowly dawned on me that our happy little “Christian” family wasn’t really as Christian or as happy as it looked. I came across Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1…I took hold of this prayer…it took hold of me. Oh Father God, that we would know you…live lives worthy of you…pleasing you…bearing fruit for you…knowing the redemption and forgiveness that is ours…
law keeper…or law breaker???
Before I say anything, let me begin by stating categorically that I am as much a failure in these things as anyone you care to name – or choose not to name for that matter. I need to be clear about that because I don’t want anyone reading this to think that I am setting myself up as any kind of example in how to do this right, I only write this because I think it is interesting and challenging…
L Plate Christian- what is the truth?
I had to face up to my first condemnation for being a born again Christian a few days ago. People who you think you are friendly with can change in an instant when you say you believe in God. They asked me why I believed that stuff, then they were gone. A few days later, a line in a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle struck me: “When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the…
Living as the body of Christ
Sometimes I get so caught up in the fears and anxieties of what may happen in the future that I miss what has slipped right past me. Take marriage for example. Could future events change what we understand today as a Christian marriage? I thought so… until today when a light suddenly switched on. There was a time when Australia as a nation quite openly recognised marriage as “the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to…
new to all this Jesus stuff…
I have been thinking about when I go to Church on Sunday’s. Do I hear what is being said? Do I think about its meanings? I have a new challenge: to take time to listen; take time to think. There is a message in it for me.
What is the truth?
Sometimes it’s hard to know what’s the truth…these words kept going through my head. She sat there staring out the window, her little girl playing on the floor beside her. I stood there watching this young mum who was so deep in thought. She’d been telling me of a conversation she’d had with another Christian…it had been a disturbing and confusing conversation. As she picked up her child and turned to leave she quietly said, ‘Sometimes it’s hard to know…
about being real
‘Be real,’ say Daniel and Julie. ‘Are we actually doing what we say we believe?’ they ask And so I ask myself the question, am I willing to be real? Sometimes it’s a bit like…will the real me please stand up because I don’t know if I know the real me yet!!! To be a real group of Jesus followers here at CBBC isn’t necessarily going to come in a neat package…it could be messy! In Aussie terms, I guess…
A Christians’ Response to Terrorism
I’ve been thinking. Recently I’ve heard that a Christian leader I highly respect was leading a forum on ‘The Christian response to Terrorism’. While I’d really like to hear that discussion, I began to think about my own attitude. Oh, I pray for our country that we will be protected from such attacks…for the wider Christian church and for those who are presently suffering because of terrorist attacks…but what are my true-deep-down-honest thoughts about these terrorists? Can I love these…
yes – no – or wait?
I’ve been thinking… As I grabbed my keys and picked up my handbag to race out the door, I flipped over my daily calendar and the comment for the day was, ‘God always answers our prayer with a yes, no or wait a while’. I thought, ‘Mmmm I don’t think I’ve heard those words when I’ve prayed!’ Although I know what they mean by that expression, throughout the day a question kept going through my mind… How do I know…