In April 1999, fifteen students were tragically shot in a high school near Denver, Colorado by two crazy gunmen who then killed themselves. One of the students was Rachel Scott, a young girl who was a Christian. She was apparently asked by one of the gunmen if she believed in God, to which she replied, … Continue reading Is God a Delusion? [Part 1]
Friendship
We were created for friendship. However, good friendships don’t just ‘happen’. They have to be cultivated and nurtured intentionally. Each of us has various circles or levels of friendship. Acquaintances – these are the dozens and maybe even 100s of people you know, but on a surface level. Casual friendships – these are the many … Continue reading Friendship
Depression
Have you ever been depressed? Maybe you have, but you didn’t recognise it as depression. Depression simply refers to ‘low mood’. We’ve all experienced times of at least mild depression at some time in our life – your football team loses, you fail a test, a friend moves way, or you have a difficult day. … Continue reading Depression
Complacency
One thing that we need to constantly guard against in our lives is complacency. Complacency is becoming tolerant or overly-comfortable with the way things are. It’s about being too much at ease and in a state of stagnation, refusing to advance or move on. It is about mediocrity, which is the tendency to settle for … Continue reading Complacency
Freedom from Addiction
Have you ever felt like you were addicted to something? Addiction is an abnormally strong craving for some thing or activity. It refers especially to things that control us that are not constructive or helpful. Some well-known addictions include illicit drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and gambling. Other more ‘respectable’ addictions include: food addictions, television, computers (especially … Continue reading Freedom from Addiction
Community
We live in a world increasingly characterised by individualism, loneliness, isolation, and consumerism. Many people in society today lack true relational connection. In the midst of busy lives, overcommitted schedules, and congested cities, many people still feel alone. We are often surrounded by people but often we don’t really know them and they don’t know us. … Continue reading Community
Go With Your Strengths
Have you thought about your strengths lately? Your strengths are the things that you are good at … and the things that make you feel strong. It’s easy to get caught up in our weaknesses – the things that we don’t do well, the things that weaken or drain us. We often think that strengthen … Continue reading Go With Your Strengths
Easter
Easter is here again and with it comes the hot-cross buns, the Easter bunny, the delicious chocolate eggs in all shapes and sizes, the mega sales to tempt any credit-card carrying buyer and the coveted long week-end holiday. But in the midst of the rush, what does it all really mean? For the Christian church, … Continue reading Easter
What’s So Good about Friday?
Over this weekend, Christians all around the world will celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today is called ‘Good Friday’, a time to remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. What’s so good about Friday? Firstly, Good Friday reminds us that God is a loving God. He loved us so much … Continue reading What’s So Good about Friday?
Evaluate Your Progress
Activity is not necessarily accomplishment! It’s easy to be very busy, especially in church life, yet not be moving forward to great fruitfulness and kingdom productivity. Therefore, it is essential that we stop regularly for periods of review and evaluation. How are things going? Really? What’s going well? What’s not going well? One common tool … Continue reading Evaluate Your Progress
Spiritual Freedom (Part 8)
Today we are going to engage in what I call ‘freedom prayers’. Our words are very powerful. God created the world with his words. Although we are not God, we are made in his image and our words have great power – to either cause death or life. I encourage you to say some ‘freedom … Continue reading Spiritual Freedom (Part 8)
Spiritual Freedom (Part 7)
Let's look at a fourth possible access point to the enemy of our souls ... 4. Hurts. Hurts are unhealed wounds from the past that may come from things such as abuse, rejection, and unresolved conflicts. Our natural response to these sorts of things is anger, hatred, and bitterness. However, these things tie us up … Continue reading Spiritual Freedom (Part 7)
Spiritual Freedom (Part 6)
Today we'll look briefly at a third possible access point for demonic involvement ... 3. Personal Sin ‘Sin’ simply means disobedience to God’s instructions as to how he wants us to live. When we sin we not only displease God we do damage to our own life as well as to those around about us. … Continue reading Spiritual Freedom (Part 6)
Spiritual Freedom (Part 5)
Let's look at the next possible access point to deomonic involvement ... 2. Negative Generational Influences As part of the giving of the 10 Commandments, Moses told Israel that sins and their affect could be passed on the succeeding generations (Exodus 20:4-5). This does not mean that we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of … Continue reading Spiritual Freedom (Part 5)
Spiritual Freedom (Part 4)
Paul tells us not to give place (a foothold) to the devil, which means it’s obviously possible (see Eph.4:25-27). If we give place to the devil, we can give demons the right to 'occupy' parts of our lives (like illegal 'squatters'). That's why at times people have to be loosed or set free from demonic … Continue reading Spiritual Freedom (Part 4)