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Archive for the ‘Grace’ Category

“When I was a stranger…”

Posted in Christian faith, Christian Living, Church, Grace, Influence, Presence, Spirituality, Transformation, tagged , , , , on May 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

This morning’s news reports Bernie Fraser, former Governor of Australia’s Reserve Bank, as saying, ‘For a long time I’ve thought Australia could become something of a special country, a demonstration of a country that was competitive, fair and compassionate and I’m afraid those hopes have been dashed…’ [ABC News] One area where compassion and consideration [...]

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Rethinking Refugees

Posted in Christian faith, Christian Living, Grace, Incarnation, Presence, Refuge, Transformation, tagged , , on March 3, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I have just had a vivid dream. And not being one who dreams a lot, I thought it was worth sharing. I was at an outdoor venue listening to my daughter (@melodyjoyg) speak about Australia’s current treatment of refugees. Melody always speaks with passion and warmth, and this time was no exception. Except that I [...]

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Following and Sacrifice

Posted in Christian faith, Christian Living, Comfort, Devotional Readings, Discipleship, Grace, Incarnation, Jesus, Mission, Presence, Reformed Theology, Relationship, Spirituality, Struggle, Transformation, Trials, Worldview, worship on January 11, 2012 | 3 Comments »

At first thought, following Jesus seems easy. It seems a matter of changing your mind about who Jesus is, recognising and accepting him as Saviour, and acknowledging him as King and Ruler. I suppose it is easy, relatively speaking, to see ‘following Jesus’ as a ‘decision’. Western Christianity often focuses on people making ‘decisions’ to [...]

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God wants you to flourish

Posted in Christian faith, Comfort, Devotional Readings, Grace, Mission, Presence, Reformed Theology, Spirituality, Transformation, Worldview on August 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

It is no secret that from within the general camp of what might be called Reformed Evangelicalism there are a number of people who view God as a stern master whose primary interest is to impose rules, expose sin, and generally fume about how bad the world is. Make no mistake: humanity is deeply and [...]

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Test yourselves… what?

Posted in Christian faith, Devotional Readings, Family, Grace, Great reading, Preaching, Presence, Reformed Theology, Relationship, Spirituality, worship, tagged , , on July 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Read: 2 Corinthians 13:5-10 I have often wondered about this verse: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” I mean, wouldn’t I know whether I am in the faith? Don’t I know my own motives, whether I really do entrust myself to Jesus? There will always be some who will say that [...]

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Why you (still) need the church…

Posted in Christian faith, Church, Church systems, Comfort, Devotional Readings, Family, Grace, Healthy Churches, Opposition, Popularity, Preaching, Reformed Theology, Spirituality, Struggle, Teachers, Trials, worship, tagged , , , on June 24, 2011 | 2 Comments »

(Apologies that my posts have been a little irregular these last weeks. Leonie and I have visited a few churches, as well as ReCharge – The CRCA pastor’s conference, we have considered a few calls from churches, we’ve decided to accept a call to Gateway CRC, and this last week we’ve out our house on [...]

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The God Who Implores: Can we contemplate worshipping a God who would beg for anything?

Posted in Christian faith, Devotional Readings, Grace, Healthy Churches, Incarnation, Mission, Pastors, Preaching, Presence, Reformed Theology, Spirituality, worship, tagged , , , on June 16, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Read 2 Cor 5:11-21 Try and remember the last time you begged for anything. I mean, seriously pleaded and entreated anyone for something. After we get past the trivialities of begging as a child for a puppy, or pleading with an adolescent son to get out of bed and go to school, we start to [...]

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A Straight Line with a Crooked Stick: How God works in broken people like us

Posted in Christian faith, Comfort, Devotional Readings, Election, Grace, Presence, Reformed Theology, Spirituality, Struggle, Trials, tagged , , on May 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Read Isaiah 45:1-11 The Old Testament tells us that certain special leaders were anointed with oil: prophets, priests, and kings. In addition to that sort of ‘anointing’ we read passages that refer to a coming ‘anointed one’, God’s promised Messiah (see Ps 72:8, Ps 18:44-48). This promised Messiah is the one whom the New Testament [...]

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Grace is free, but it’s not cheap

Posted in Christian faith, Devotional Readings, Grace, Presence, Relationship, Spirituality, tagged , , , on May 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Read: Deuteronomy 7:6-16 Have you ever noticed that we love hearing about God’s grace, but we are not so keen to hear his call to obedience? Do you ever wonder how God feels about that? Maybe he feels like a lover who showers their mate with affection, gifts, and security only to find that their [...]

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The Interference of Self

Posted in Christian faith, Devotional Readings, Grace, Opposition, Popularity, Presence, Relationship, Spirituality, Struggle, Trials, tagged , , , , on May 26, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Read: Heb 13:1-6 Sometimes when I am met by a need or a context where I know I should move forward and respond, I push back and either procrastinate or simply turn away. Why do I do that? Is it fear that my incompetence might be exposed Is it a sense that I might not [...]

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