The Worlds Passion for Digging up the Dirt

So another TV star falls again from good old ‘Coro’ Street’. Shock horror! Who’s next? A famous old Australian TV star we all grew up respecting is exposed for some past sin. Do we really want to know?

The Mystery of Predestination

Romans 8:29: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren”

 We are presented with a problem here: Do we have choice or freewill or is everything cut and dried?

The Feast of Tabernacles – Trumpets

The 3 specific Events of the Feast of Tabernacles took place in the 7^th month and was the most glorious of all the feasts of Israel. It was a consummation (satisfying conclusion to) all of the feasts. There are more scripture references to this feast than all of the others.

Something Supernatural

Refreshing rain is beginning to fall and green grass like new hope is emerging. Personally though, many of us have been suffering from a spiritual drought as we contend with a rising cost of living and prices along with talk of economic gloom and layoffs. We need some spiritual rain; something supernatural to revive our

The Feasts of Israel fulfilled in us

Deuteronomy 16:16: “Three times a year all men from your community must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of

Have Your Own Revelation

1 Corinthians 2:7-10: “But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; ⁹ but just as it is written,

There is Nothing Boring in Doctrine

The teaching about God found in the Word of God: Doctrine=didache in Greek, it means 'to instruct'. Theology derives from Theos=God and logos=Word.

Luke 1:1-4  “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,² just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³ With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been instructed in.”

A WORLD IN MORAL COLLAPSE

The moral decline of our Nation is now accelerated by insecure politicians seeking to appease what they imagine are the majority of voters. In reality it is always an influential minority pushing their agenda for so-called social reform. We had better say what we think now because It will soon be illegal to comment on the decline of morality in any social issues without at least being labelled a bigot or risking imprisonment. We need to understand the age in which we live.

The rise of a new Conservative Party in NZ may be too little too late to stop the avalanche of unrighteousness we are now subjected to. For too long now we have enjoyed a selfish pleasure-seeking lifestyle that has become permissive and has passively enabled the opinionated to impose their extreme views without fear of contradiction.

The proposed re-definition of Marriage is but one step toward state-sponsored anarchy and this is a global trend. There is a satanic plot of world domination at the heart of things but there is little use in pointing things out to the blind. The whole issue is based in human selfishness that demands a lifestyle with all the material privileges depicted by advertising and film media that never reveal the true costs. For example the many goods we take for granted that are produced in conditions of human slavery.

The only real solution we have is for righteous people to call upon the Lord to intervene; for fresh moves of the Holy Spirit to sweep through our nation; for souls to be saved and for believers to stand together in holy unity. 

Compassion for the Prodigals

We all have some areas of mistrust we need to repent of. Pain springs from the events of our childhood and manifests throughout our life. For some it is defining and is more obvious to others. We don’t put a label on it but many exhibit the spirit and attitude of an orphan.

Early manifestations are evident when someone is caught taking something from others that gives them some sense of identity. They build an alter-ego (a second self). All kids do this from time to time but some covertly make this their chief passion.

These children carry a sense of being deprived or rejected. They consistently self-blame and become competitive about everything. They want it ALL! Because they feel they are missing out if they don’t get it. They can develop into raging control freaks or emotional manipulators.

Some simply never grow up. They lock onto this new projection of themselves that they find gets them what they want and live a self-centred life never able to give (or trust) themselves fully to any cause or even a marriage. They feel unloved and a deep need to prove their worth. Often rebelling and living a wasteful life, they can come to their senses and make a dramatic change sometimes years later. They are the ‘prodigals.’ But why do they become this way especially if they have grown up with contented siblings and/or excellent parents? 

Some moment of perceived abandonment or betrayal of trust is taken into their spirit and they become an Orphan. This happens to many children in circumstances of poverty and it becomes their identity, but it can happen in good homes also. The ‘evil-one’ magnifies the effect in a plan to discredit the Lord. He invented the term ‘identity theft’ and is the master of it.

The Bibles answer is 'Sonship.' It is this privilege that the enemy is trying to plunder from us. Jesus faced this test the moment the enemy could get him at a vulnerable point:  Matt 4:3-9 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God…” But go back a few verses.. Matt 3:17 “A voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."  Jesus was already affirmed as a son, but the Devil tested him on this point immediately. We too are affirmed as ‘sons’ Romans 8:14-17 “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”  Embrace it and live it.

Coping with the Bad News

Deleting items from my inbox is becoming a ritual. How did all these fear driven, conspiracy motivated, condemning religious people get my email anyway? I am tired of hearing about ghastly Muslim extremists, gays, bad government decisions, bad priests and bad doctrine or just bad news in general. Stop!

Your Personal Story Matters

As believers we all have a story to tell of the amazing circumstances, God-incidences and even miracles of how we got to where we are.

Mixture, Tares and Goats

The ‘Mixed Multitude’ who travelled with Israel mentioned in Exodus 12:38 and Numbers 11:4 are not well defined in scripture but if Christian experience is considered we do understand the impact of this company of people. They have never left us.

Living the Dream or Dreaming to Live

When my wife and I were on a trip to Wellington in our old camper bus we stopped for a break in a small mid-north Island town. A man about 40ish’ remarked in passing “living the dream eh?” as he saw us leaving the camper. We all laughed but for different reasons.

Will the True Rebel Please Stand?

Often we are aware of a large number of motorcyclists rumbling through our town.  They seem to largely prefer Harley Davidson’s and black leathers with Nazi-style black helmets. If you see them up close they are really into brands beyond their motorcycles: They have Harley jackets, T-shirts’, gloves, dark glasses, boots and saddlebags. Lacking the money to buy such paraphernalia they will at the very least have some kind of ‘patch’ or whatever to denote their affiliation.

If you talk to them, you will find that they live in the fantasy that they are the true ‘rebels’, or independent thinkers who live ‘outside the box’. They become very animated about their ‘freedom’ while sitting astride their overpowered noise-makers. Their worship music sounds like “potato, potato” and they are worshipping at the altar of Harley Davidson or some such brand. They are conformed to the idol of an illusion of power. They may be compensating for a sense of lack of personal power in the circumstances of their lives.

All humans seek identity and definition. Sadly many believe that they can achieve this by conforming to the models and brands offered by this world. When we buy into a ‘look’ we simply transfer our membership from one herd or flock to another.

Alice Cooper the Heavy Metal Rocker who sometimes draped himself with snakes said: “Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy; but being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's rebellion!”

Everything Jesus did and said reversed the stereotypes of human fashion. “Love your enemies”, “turn the other cheek”, “don’t worry about your clothes”. (Matthew 5&6.)