Story Behind the Song – Jesus Paid it All  I have several books that unpack the stories behind well-known hymns. I love reading and sharing them with you! Some of the stories are extraordinary accounts of faith in the midst of tragedy (It Is Well with My Soul), while others are a little more ordinary.  The story behind the song Jesus Paid It All began in circumstances I probably wouldn't recommend… The story goes that a young woman named Elvina Hall was sitting in church during a sermon when she became distracted and began writing a poem. Rather than taking sermon notes, she found herself putting words to paper that would eventually become one of the most loved hymns we sing today. We can argue that it was a

Fasting and Feasting: Finding Our Satisfaction in God Recently, I, along with some of the Oasis women spent a weekend at Mount Tambourine for our Women’s Retreat. Getting away takes planning, preparation and effort, with family, work and other responsibilities to organise before we can step away from the busyness of everyday life. When I was invited to share a devotional before one of our meals, God put a topic on my heart: fasting and feasting. So, yes, I spoke about fasting while everyone could smell breakfast being prepared! Jesus speaks about fasting in Matthew 6:16–18, saying, “when you fast”. Yet fasting is perhaps one of the least practised spiritual disciplines among Christians today. Why does it matter, and what does it teach us about our relationship with God?

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk

I sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in towards the sand, a never-ending mass of water rising and falling, over and over. As I watch, the waves build, climbing higher and higher before breaking in white foam as they charge in towards the beach. The sea water is turquoise green, and the whiteness accentuates the movement of the waves. They reach towards the golden sand, making it solid and flat, perfect for a long walk on bare feet.  Psalm 93 (NIV)  1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;     the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;     indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. 2 Your throne was established long ago;     you are from all eternity.  As I walk along the beach the sun

Doing Good  Have you ever been called a “do-gooder”? I have. It doesn’t feel very nice. Although, when you think about it, it should. It should be a compliment. Doing ‘good’ is actually a positive thing. How can it not be? And as Christians we are called by God to do ‘good’ in this world.  Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Hebrews 13:16 says “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”  The question is, what sort of ‘good’ should we be doing? Or more specifically, to whom should we be doing ‘good’? The answer of the Bible to this question

Justice Sunday: Living for Others  This Sunday is Justice Sunday at Oasis. Each year, we set aside a Sunday to stop and think about God’s heart for justice and mercy and what it means for us, as people who belong to Jesus, to reflect that heart in the world around us.  The words of Micah 6:8 are familiar to many of us:  “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  What does that actually look like in everyday life?  When we look around the world, the needs can feel enormous. We see war, poverty, persecution, trafficking and children growing up without safe homes. We see people

We don’t talk about oppression much in our society, or even in our churches, but some form of the word ‘oppress’ appears 125 times in the Bible. The Israelites were oppressed in Egypt (Exodus 1), by the king of Canaan (Judges 4:2-3), by other nations (Judges 6:2, 10:11-13), through the fall of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 39, 52 and Lamentations), and the exile (Daniel). Joseph suffered through different types of oppression from his brothers, Potiphar’s wife and in prison (Genesis 37, 39–40).  Hannah was oppressed by her husband’s second wife who provoked and taunted her (1 Samuel 1:1-20). Where should we turn in the midst of oppression? When mistreatment or cruelty comes our way? Psalm 94 is a prayer we can pray to bring our hearts before God through oppression.  Psalm 94 (NIV)  1 The Lord is a God who avenges.     O God who avenges,