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Easter devotions to prepare our hearts, our families, and our Church
Easter devotions to prepare our hearts, our families, and our Church What does your preparation for Easter usually look like? Perhaps it’s making sure you’ve purchased your favourite easter eggs, organising family catch ups, or making lists of jobs to do over the long weekend.... What about preparing your heart for Easter, what does that look like for you? While our culture often misses the point of Easter, I think it’s wonderful that it’s still celebrated. Rows and rows of Easter eggs line supermarket stores. Hot Cross buns have been on sale since Boxing Day! Let us not get lost in sultana-filled rolls and foil-covered chocolate eggs. Let’s be intentional in preparing our hearts to celebrate the true meaning of Easter this coming week. A few years ago, we
Are You Listening?
I don’t know about you but I’ve never heard God speak in an audible voice. I have however on a number of occasions known that He had something to say to me. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. The scripture passage that you read in your morning devotion is shared later that day on the radio. A ‘random’ podcast you choose to listen to on your drive to work touches on a theological topic you were just discussing recently with a friend. The ‘non-sermon-based’ Bible study group you are part of works through the same book of the Bible as the current church sermon series. You’d be surprised how many times this has happened over the years in our KYB (Know Your Bible) studies. For me, the teaching that
What is Happening in Heaven Right Now?
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven.” (Revelation 4:1) What is happening in heaven right now? It might seem like an odd question, maybe even an irrelevant question. Heaven seems so far away, so disconnected from our on-the-ground, flesh-and-blood lives in the real world. It’s almost like asking: What is happening on the moon right now? Does it really matter? Interestingly, when we turn to the book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible, after hearing the seven letters to the churches (chs. 2–3), and before being shown what will soon take place in the future, John is given a glimpse into what is happening in heaven right now (Rev. 4:1-11). Why? Because this heavenly vision will ground John and
How to Stick Close to Jesus in the Daily Grind
Years ago, a friend and I were sharing our frustrations with each other about losing our sense of God’s presence… losing contact with God throughout the busyness of the day. We wondered whether we just sucked at staying close to God… or whether this was just normal? We talked about what we could do to fix this… perhaps we just needed to focus on Jesus more? But how? It’s hard to focus on Jesus when you’re taking a phone call and writing an email and engaging in a meeting. Maybe you’ve had similar thoughts? Maybe you long to be close to Jesus throughout the day but you’re not really sure how, or what that looks like when you’re in the grind? I’d like to offer you a tool to
Support a Chappie
Within Bray Park and the surrounding suburbs, there are at least two state high schools and six state primary schools, including Pine Rivers Special School. All up, that’s over 5,000 students and approximately 2,500 families, plus hundreds of staff and their families. Perhaps you might even know families or individuals in those school communities. Can you imagine the spiritual and emotional needs within these communities? Scripture Union Australia (SUA) trains and sends out chaplains to be able to help provide the support that students, teachers, and families need. However, most schools only have one chaplain who is often not even there full-time. Bray Park State High School, one of the largest state schools in the area, has over 1,500 students and over 200 staff, and yet the sole chaplain
Finding a Good God in Hard Times
I received my cancer diagnosis on a Monday. My unfinished theology essay on the topic of God’s sovereignty was due on the Friday. In that moment, everything I had been reading and writing about became very personal. It’s one thing to believe in the sovereignty of God when life is easy. It’s another thing entirely to believe it when life is not. The fact that I had spent the two months prior to my diagnosis reading and reflecting on the absolute control of God over all things was itself the perfect demonstration of God’s sovereignty and His goodness. My heavenly Father had gone ahead and prepared me. And while the news was still very difficult to hear and comprehend, God repeatedly brought to mind the many Scriptures I had
We Lack No Good Thing
God spoke to me very clearly recently. It was a Fatherly word, a necessary rebuke, a loving reminder. I was day two into my annual summer holiday and I was feeling sorry for myself. I was unhappy because a foot injury was keeping me from doing of my favourite pastimes: running. I wouldn’t be able to run the usual tracks I do when I’m away. I wouldn’t be able to run with my sisters each morning. I wouldn’t be able to “blah, blah, blah”, the thoughts continued. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to be on holidays with my family and spend time away from the business of normal life. But in my heart of hearts, I was down in the dumps. The second morning of the holiday
Jesse’s Reflections on His Year at Oasis
It’s been a great joy and privilege to serve as Ministry Apprentice at Oasis Church for the last 12 months. I’ve been shaped in many profound ways and I have learned many valuable lessons. As I draw closer to the end of my time at Oasis, I wanted to share some of those lessons with you. Before I do, let me tell you how I ended up here at Oasis. Through my involvement in our denomination over the last few years, I got to know both Ben and Adam. Each time I engaged with them I was impressed with their love for the Lord, and their preparedness for ministry. I was also blown away by the spiritual growth that had been occuring in the life of a good friend
