Month: October 2024

What makes a good neighbour?

October 15, 2024

What makes a good neighbor?

What makes a good neighbour? It depends on your definition of neighbour. If you mean some who lives in your street, then some who is kind, considerate and quiet at night time.

But if you use the biblical definition, a neighbour is someone we share close proximity too. In my case it would be people in my small country town or people who pass through. If I am travelling it would be people on the road.

In Luke 10:30 NLT Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan…

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

Jesus goes on to say that a number of people walked by. Some even crossed the road to walk around the man in need. Then comes along a good Samaritan…

[34] Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. [35] The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

The context of this story is found in Luke 10:25-29. A religious scholar asked Jesus a question about eternal life and then asks Jesus who is his neighbour. Jesus responded with this story.

From this we can see our neighbours are both those near us and those we come in to contact with. The Bible has a broader definition of neighbour than general society has and even calls us to love our neighbour as ourself (Mark 12:30-31).

So what is a good neighbour? Someone who looks out for those around them!

Principles to live by

October 13, 2024

What principles define how you live?

I do my best to live by the Kingdom principles found in the Bible. Three key Bible passages come to mind that help me do this…

Love God and love your neighbour

Mark 12:30-31 NLT – And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ [31] The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Make disciples of Christ

Matthew 28:18-20 NLT – Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. [19] Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. [20] Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Show the fruit of the Spirit in how you live

Galatians 5:22-23 NLT – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

When did I feel like a grown up?

October 11, 2024

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

When did I feel like a grown up? A good question. On reflection I think it was a process. There were a number of milestones looking back.

  1. When I got my first full time job at 15. There was something about going to work and earning my own money that made me feel like a grown up.
  2. Getting married was the next one. Standing at the end of the isle watching my wife walk towards me was a big step in starting “real” adult life.
  3. Buying our first home. There is something about having your photo take with the for sale sign in front of your first home. You feel like a grown up.
  4. Ultimately having your first child was when I truly felt like a grown up. My wife and I were responsible for this new little life. I can remember feeling excited, overjoyed and very scared too!

For me it was a long process that took about 15 years from getting a job to having a child. Each step made me feel more grown up, but having a child really made it real. I was a grown up…I just had to be!

A million dollars to give away?

October 10, 2024

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to?

This is another good question. After some consideration I would donate it to my local church. This might seem strange to some people, but let me explain why.

Local churches in small country towns like mine do not have much income. They generally have enough to get by, but not much to do many of the things they want to do.

Most cannot afford to pay a Pastor, so the church members do their best to lead, preach and serve. It works well, but many are tired and need to be ministered to at church.

I would love to give a million dollars to my local church so they can employ a full time teaching Pastor, a pastoral care worker and someone to do community outreach. They could also do some much needed maintenance on the church.

Doing this would allow the members to receive ministry for a time and the church would be able to reach out to the community more and hopefully reach more people for Christ.

My heart in doing this would help the church members to be equipped to do the works of service like it says in Ephesians 4…

Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT
[11] Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. [12] Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

So who would I give a million dollars to? My local country church.

Hard personal goal I set

October 8, 2024

What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?

Bible college for me was a hard goal I set. I had wanted to go from right when I was a new Christian. When I went the first time I do not think I was ready. Years later I did it and found it a lot better, but still very hard.

Why was it so hard? Some people are natural students. They love to read and learn and they seem to ace all the assignments and quizzes. As someone who is not a big reader, I found Bible college really hard for that reason.

The other thing that made it hard was the spiritual change and growth you have. So many times you are challenged by what the Bible says and where you are at. You see that you fall short and you realise that you need to change. That can be hard, really hard.

I am not saying that I did not enjoy Bible college. It was very hard, but I did enjoy it overall. Especially once it was done. I set a goal and I achieved it. Plus I would not have been able to work as a Pastor and a Chaplain if I did not do it.

So what was a hard personal goal I have set? Bible college is one for me.