Month: December 2020

At the beginning of this year, there was a general sense of excitement and anticipation in the church over the fact that we were entering a new decade. It was 2020 – the year of 20/20 vision! Our eyes would be opened to see things clearly, and God was going to do new and amazing things! What a time to live! Meanwhile, people in Australia were fighting terrifying bush fires, and rumours were coming out of China of a strange flu-like illness that seemed frightening and deadly for many. As January slid into February, we felt an increasing foreboding, and by March, Coronavirus was the trending word on the news and social media. No one could deny the fact that we were facing a global pandemic, and new words like “lockdown”, and “social distancing” were on everyone’s lips.
Continue reading “20/20 Vision”

In the first chapter of the gospel of Luke, 2 people have an encounter with the angel Gabriel. The first is an elderly priest called Zechariah, and the second is a young girl named Mary.
Continue reading “How Would You React To A Visit From Gabriel?”

I would like to thank my father-in-law for sharing this week’s thoughts.
For those of you who a married, can you remember back to the days of your engagement? You had met the love of your life. And even better, he or she had fallen in love with you too. Then after a while came that time when you set the date. After the down on the knee bit, you plucked up the courage to go and tell the parents and started making all the arrangements.
Continue reading “When God Changes Our Plans, By Rev. Ernie Banwell.”

Some years ago, Jonathan and I used to enjoy the teaching of Chuck Missler, a wonderful man of God who believed in teaching the Bible verse by verse. Like most teachers, Chuck had his own sayings. One of them was that the new testament is in the old testament concealed, and the old testament is in the new testament revealed. What he meant was that the old testament is full of prophecies looking ahead to the birth, life, and death of Jesus, while the new testament makes clear some of the things that weren’t understood during the days of the prophets. Isaiah, Micah, and others boldly shared the word of the Lord, but some of their messages weren’t fully comprehended until after Jesus died and rose from the dead.
Continue reading “Prophecies Fulfilled”

Some of my earliest childhood memories include attending Sunday School and singing these words: “If you want joy – real joy – wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart. Your sins he’ll take away. Your night he’ll turn today. Your heart he’ll make over anew, and then come in to stay. If you want joy – real joy – wonderful joy – let Jesus come into your heart.” Other songs we sang included: “Joy is the flag flying high on the castle of my heart.” And “Oh I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart, down in my heart to stay.” Perhaps you think these are cute songs for children, but you question their relevance for adults living in a world often influenced by suffering and struggle.
Continue reading “Abiding Joy”