In April 1999, fifteen students were tragically shot in a high school near Denver, Colorado by two crazy gunmen who then killed themselves. One of the students was Rachel Scott, a young girl who was a Christian. She was apparently asked by one of the gunmen if she believed in God, to which she replied, “Yes”. She was then shot dead. Was she courageous or was she deluded? Many people would say she was courageous, joining thousands of others who through the centuries have been willing to even give their lives for their faith in God. Other people would say... Read more →

We were created for friendship. However, good friendships don’t just ‘happen’. They have to be cultivated and nurtured intentionally. Each of us has various circles or levels of friendship. Acquaintances – these are the dozens and maybe even 100s of people you know, but on a surface level. Casual friendships – these are the many people with whom you have common interests and activities. There is a basic level of openness. Close friendships – these are the people who are close to you and with whom you have common goals. Intimate Friendships – these are the few people you have... Read more →

Have you ever been depressed? Maybe you have, but you didn’t recognise it as depression. Depression simply refers to ‘low mood’. We’ve all experienced times of at least mild depression at some time in our life – your football team loses, you fail a test, a friend moves way, or you have a difficult day. However, this type of mild depression usually passes within a few days or even hours. However, some depression can settle in for weeks, months and even years in some situations. Unlike a physical injury or illness, depression is hard to ‘see’, but it is no... Read more →

One thing that we need to constantly guard against in our lives is complacency. Complacency is becoming tolerant or overly-comfortable with the way things are. It’s about being too much at ease and in a state of stagnation, refusing to advance or move on. It is about mediocrity, which is the tendency to settle for ‘average’. If we are not careful, an inappropriate casualness can settle into our spirit and passion for life disappears. We drift into complacency, indifference, apathy, and eventually hopelessness. Complacency sometimes occurs because we have no purpose beyond ourselves. The resulting selfishness can lead to a... Read more →

Have you ever felt like you were addicted to something? Addiction is an abnormally strong craving for some thing or activity. It refers especially to things that control us that are not constructive or helpful. Some well-known addictions include illicit drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and gambling. Other more ‘respectable’ addictions include: food addictions, television, computers (especially internet use), work, and even spending. We live in a society where there is an epidemic of addictions taking place. Our world is filled with all sorts of cravings, appetites for mood changers, and a quick fix mentality that only feeds the likelihood of addictions.... Read more →

We live in a world increasingly characterised by individualism, loneliness, isolation, and consumerism. Many people in society today lack true relational connection. In the midst of busy lives, overcommitted schedules, and congested cities, many people still feel alone. We are often surrounded by people but often we don’t really know them and they don’t know us. We are a culture craving relationship. We can easily live life around many people, but possibly not experience life deeply with anyone. No wonder so many people feel alone and isolated, experiencing a kind of ‘crowded loneliness’. Our sense of community is under siege.... Read more →

Have you thought about your strengths lately? Your strengths are the things that you are good at … and the things that make you feel strong. It’s easy to get caught up in our weaknesses – the things that we don’t do well, the things that weaken or drain us. We often think that strengthen our weaknesses should be the focus of our time and energy. However, strengths consultant Marcus Buckingham says that “our greatest potential for growth and positive impact is in the area of your strengths.” Take time to reflect on your own strengths … and weaknesses. As... Read more →

Easter is here again and with it comes the hot-cross buns, the Easter bunny, the delicious chocolate eggs in all shapes and sizes, the mega sales to tempt any credit-card carrying buyer and the coveted long week-end holiday. But in the midst of the rush, what does it all really mean? For the Christian church, Easter is a time to reflect upon the events of that Passover week when Jesus Christ suffered a cruel death for our sins but rose triumphant from the grave three days later. Easter is about Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring us good news. There... Read more →

Over this weekend, Christians all around the world will celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today is called ‘Good Friday’, a time to remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. What’s so good about Friday? Firstly, Good Friday reminds us that God is a loving God. He loved us so much that he sent his Son into the world for our benefit. He loves and cares for each one of us just the way we are, whoever we are, and whatever we’ve done. Good Friday also reminds us that we don’t have to earn God’s forgiveness... Read more →

Activity is not necessarily accomplishment! It’s easy to be very busy, especially in church life, yet not be moving forward to great fruitfulness and kingdom productivity. Therefore, it is essential that we stop regularly for periods of review and evaluation. How are things going? Really? What’s going well? What’s not going well? One common tool for evaluation is the SWOT analysis. Get your key team of leaders together and draw a quadrant on a white board with the words “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats” written on it. Then brain storm together and create a long list under each category. At... Read more →

Today we are going to engage in what I call ‘freedom prayers’. Our words are very powerful. God created the world with his words. Although we are not God, we are made in his image and our words have great power – to either cause death or life. I encourage you to say some ‘freedom prayers’ on each of these areas and I believe if you will say this from your heart and with conviction you can know a greater degree of spiritual freedom beginning today. It’s like we’re going to make a declaration and draw a line in the... Read more →

Let's look at a fourth possible access point to the enemy of our souls ... 4. Hurts. Hurts are unhealed wounds from the past that may come from things such as abuse, rejection, and unresolved conflicts. Our natural response to these sorts of things is anger, hatred, and bitterness. However, these things tie us up on the inside, sapping the life out of us, and giving potential access to the enemy. That’s why Jesus tells us very clearly to forgive those who have hurt us, or we open ourselves up to spiritual 'torment (see Matt.18:34-35. Eph.4:27). We’ve already read how... Read more →

Today we'll look briefly at a third possible access point for demonic involvement ... 3. Personal Sin ‘Sin’ simply means disobedience to God’s instructions as to how he wants us to live. When we sin we not only displease God we do damage to our own life as well as to those around about us. When we repeat sin it becomes a habit or a pattern in our life. These habits then become ingrained and become weaknesses or areas of vulnerability. Satan knows how to take advantage of these and he often uses them as access points. Sometimes this leads... Read more →

Let's look at the next possible access point to deomonic involvement ... 2. Negative Generational Influences As part of the giving of the 10 Commandments, Moses told Israel that sins and their affect could be passed on the succeeding generations (Exodus 20:4-5). This does not mean that we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors nor does it mean that we don’t have the power and responsibility to make right choices today. However, there is no doubt that behaviour ‘tendencies’ can be passed on from generation to generation, for good or bad, and the enemy likes to take... Read more →

Paul tells us not to give place (a foothold) to the devil, which means it’s obviously possible (see Eph.4:25-27). If we give place to the devil, we can give demons the right to 'occupy' parts of our lives (like illegal 'squatters'). That's why at times people have to be loosed or set free from demonic involvement. What are some possible access points for the enemy to work in our lives? I’m sure there are many and it’s worth giving this some serious consideration. Over the next few days we'll look briefly at four possible ‘access points’ from my observation, experience... Read more →

Over the last two days we have been speaking about spiritual freedom. Jesus' ministry included setting people free from demonic spirits. Satan and his kingdom of darkness are clearly still around today in the 21st century. But how do we respond to all of this? What's the right approach to take to this somewhat controversial area? When it comes to this subject, I believe that there are two extremes we need to avoid: 1. A preoccupation with Satan and the demonic world (‘Demonic Dave’). Some people know and talk more about the devil, demons and spiritual warfare than they do... Read more →

The Gospels contain many stories of Jesus setting people free from the power of demonic spirits. These stories raise a lot of questions, such as: What are demons, are they real, how does a person give access to a demon, are demons still around, how would you know if one was around, and what do you do if you became aware of one? Let’s just put those questions aside for a moment and do a quick overview of what we do know or assume about Satan and demons from the Bible ... LUCIFER - Many people believe that in addition... Read more →

As we read the Gospels, we discover that Jesus' ministry had three major components: (1) teaching, (2) healing, and (3) deliverance (see for example Luke 4:14-5:26). Jesus confronted demonic powers and delivered people from their influence (Luke 4:31-37, 41). The early church carried on the ministry of Jesus as the apostles focused on these same three areas of ministry (Acts 5:12-16). We should do the same – go about doing good, teaching, healing, and helping people find freedom from the work of the enemy (Mark 16:15-18). The result will be many people being set free and added to the kingdom... Read more →

TO JESUS, SON OF JOSEPH, FROM THE JORDAN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT FIRM By Dr. Fred Mueller Dear Sir, We would like to thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you picked for management positions in your new organisation. All of them have taken our battery of test and each of them has had a personal interview with our psychologist and our vocational aptitude consultants. And it is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have a team concept.... Read more →

James gives us some great advice to help improve the quality of all of our relationships. He highlights three essential keys to improving relationships: being a good listener, thinking before speaking and controlling your anger. James 1:19-20. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for human anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. After telling us to be “quick to listen” and “slow to speak”, James tells us to be ‘slow to become angry’. If we are not careful anger... Read more →