'test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.' [1 Thessalonians 5.21-22] this is one of my favourite verses in the Bible - to be faithful to it, the verse is speaking specifically of prophecies, but i have found that it is a generally great life principle to extend to all things - hold on to the good, let go of the evil/hurtful/untrue. so when it comes to giving a [...]
instead i got to hang out with my buddy Uel Maree for about an hour, catching him up on my story for the last two years and getting to hear some of his. Just over a year ago now, Uel Maree, helping out a girls group on an adventure camp, dived into a river in a spot he knew well as one where they launched canoes regularly, but this time something was different. He has [...]
Continuing through the book of Mark we now get to chapter four verse 21 to 25 where Jesus has some clear instruction for us on where we should be holding the light we possess and what a kingdom way of using measures is. Take a look with me at Mark 4.21-25 to continue to the next passage and read about the secret Kingdom growth, click here.
this psalm is like a shout out to the world - to those who are rich and those who are poor - with the major theme being the question of where you put your trust. the psalmist suggests that putting your truth in your wealth is not a sign of wisdom: 'Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me — those who trust in their wealth and boast of their [...]
i posted a Bonhoeffer quote the other day on the book of facings and the tier of twit that got an insanely hectic amount of likes on it, and despite it being a deliberately Christian statement, a fair amount of those likes were from people who would not label themselves as such: 'Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.' [Dietrich Bonhoeffer] clearly what Bonhoeffer says [...]
one of my favourite pics ever! some friends of mine ran a worship camp in the middle of a farm in Namibia and i was part of helping put the thing together - one of the best aspects was being out of cellphone contact and apart from some electricity for instruments it was amazing to be almost completely 'unplugged' for the four days of camping [knowing that hot water could be boiled on the fire [...]
Wow, this is a great little psalm - just a delightful praise-filled mantra, but there were one or two lines which really jumped out at me: verse 9 reads, 'Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.' if you read the second half of the Bible carefully, you quickly find out that God's temple is us - the Holy Spirit of Jesus resides in us, guiding and nudging and pointing us back towards God... [...]
In Mark 4 verse 1 to 20 Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed that confuses His disciples so much that He has to sit with them later and explain it a little more clearly to them - and even today it seems we have different ideas of what He was saying or what He could be meaning so i guess it makes sense to wrestle with it and see what makes [...]
this last weekend i got to go away with my three best men - Regan Didloff, Rob Lloyd and Duncan Houston - to this great secluded cottage in Betty's Bay and i picked up this book called 'The Gospel according to Peanuts' by Robert L Short [where old people may know that 'Peanuts' refers to the life and adventures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy and friends] in it, he quoted this verse from psalm 137 [...]
i really like this picture of me and the reason i chose it for this particular challenge is the idea of casting a wider shadow. the past 18 months i spent as part of a non-profit organisation called the Simple Way which in some cases meant a broadening of shadow as i was given the potential to influence [to some extent] an organisation that is world-known and has an extended sphere of influence and audience... [...]