| The plan that made us shiver ... |
| At a time when the climate change debate is dominating our media and the minds of our leaders, someone needs to ask if our priorities are a little off the mark as a nation. This is my lighthearted attempt to push the pause button and ask some more questions ... more |
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| Obama killed Osama, did you hear? ... |
| While most of the world were still basking in the glow of a royal wedding, the news came into our lounge rooms: Osama Bin Laden was dead. Almost ten years after the horror of 9/11 in the USA, the mastermind of that and other terrorist attacks was finally 'brought to justice'. Whilst relief was felt by the vast majority of people across the world, the circumstances surrounding his death raised more questions... more |
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| In the glory of His grace ... |
| Grace is not just a doctrine or part of the good news of Jesus Christ. Grace IS the gospel. The grace of God as expressed ultimately in the giving of His son, our saviour, Jesus Christ, is what permeates and underwrites all the teaching of the Christian faith. Sadly, legalism and law have taken hold once again in the Church and many, many Christians find themselve trapped once more on the 'do more try harder' treadmill - trying to please God with their performance! Jesus did it all for us, once and for all time - all we need to do now in be empowered by the grace of God to live the life we are called to live ... more |
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| A New Day Dawns ... |
| I was on holidays at the peaceful Kiah Ridge Baptist campsite south of Sydney where my family had many quiet retreats. It was very early in the morning and I had the curtains open as I looked at the sun rise over the tree tops. I was reminded that God's mercies are new every morning and that regardless of what happened the day before, with every new day there is hope ... more |
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| Come to me ... |
| At a time when I felt everything was just a little to much to bear, I felt the warm, comforting words of the Father saying, "Come and let Me love you back to life." As I let Him heal and restore me, more words of comfort, assurance and restoration flowed ... more |
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| Two Shall be as One ... |
| A celebration of Christian marriage! My eldest daughter was married on the 24th April 2001 and I had the double pleasure of giving her away and leading the service as her Pastor. A few days beforehand, I wrote this prayer as a song which was sung in the service so beautifully by Adam and Kylie Bennett. One of those moments you never forget.... more |
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| The Jewel of Suffering ... |
| At one point in my ministry years ago, I was reading a lot of Henri Nouwen's writings on solitude, suffering and what it truly means to live a Christlike life. So much of our energy is expended trying to protect ourselves from suffering or claw our way out of the valley of despair. God had to teach me a hard lesson: that some of the most beautiful and precious flowers only grow in the darkest part of the valley. The more we despise suffering, the less able we are to meet Jesus in the midst of our pain ... more |
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| Once and for all - Jesus has done it! ... |
| It was September 1996. I sat at the back of my Church hall listening to a visiting speaker lead our Girls Brigade in devotions one night. My heart broke as I heard this well meaning brother read from Psalm 66 and then lift it totally out of context and tell all these young girls that if there is sin in their life God will never hear their prayers. I was so angry that night I couldn't sleep, so I sat at my piano with pen in hand and procaimed the REAL gospel of God's amazing grace in Christ. The final verse was written just for those young girls that night ... more |
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| Emmanuel ... |
| Christmas is such a wonderful time! Sadly, however, in our consumer-driven, materialistic world, the essence of Christmas and the amazing story at its centre, has been lost to so many. It truly is the greatest story ever told. It is a story that begins in a manger and ends on a cross ... and it is the story of the day that God came near to us ... more |
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| Coming Home... |
| The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most famous of all the stories Jesus told. It encapsulates the love, grace and forgiveness of our Father better than any other part of the Bible in a way we can all relate to easily. We have all been that prodigal returning home - some of us have left the Father more than once and have felt the embrace of grace every time we turn back towards him. These words came at one of those times for me ... more |
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| Father, Take this Cup ... |
| I remember driving two hours one day to sit with a fellow Pastor in my brokenness and despair as I tried to find a reason to continue in ministry. I had been badly beaten up by some of those I loved and served and it was really hard to find my way through the pain. This lovely, Godly man looked at me and said, "Robert, God has a glorious resurrection planned for you ... but you need to die first." He shared how God will often lead us into our own Gethsemane gardens and how important it was for us to understand their purpose. It was a very painful, but important time for me ... and I found my way through it, by God's grace ... more |
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| Let the Children Come ... |
| I wrote these words for a song which was sung at the 2001 Annual Conference of Christian Parent Controlled Schools Ltd. I was serving on the National Board at the time, overseeing the ministry of over 85 schools across the nation. The message here is certainly not just for educators, it is for parents, mentors and all of us who impact children in some way ... more |
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| Your kindness led me to repentance ... |
| I was in the middle of preaching the series 'Setting the Captives Free' when the charges started coming that I was soft on sin and I was making God's grace 'too free' and this would lead to irresponsible and undisciplined young people etc. I remember praying for hours one night seeking the Lord to make sure I was being true to His word. There was so much preaching about sin and God's standards and expectations of us, and here I was bringing a message of radical freedom and grace. It was then that Romans 2:4 impacted me in a powerful way when the Holy Spirit reminded me that: "God's kindness leads you toward repentance."
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