Author: Dave

PASSIONAustralia.blog is my personal ministry website. I am also web servant for several church websites.

Living for God’s eternal city

June 19, 2021

The Bible says in Revelation 3:12 NLT – All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God-the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

This passage is written to the church of Philadelphia who it says had little strength but continued to be obedient to God’s Word and did not deny Jesus (v8). In this short passage there is some encouragement that gives us a future hope.

1. Being obedient to God’s Word and not denying Jesus is the key to being victorious, if you do…

2. You will become pillars in the temple of God

3. You will have the name of God written on you

4. You will become citizens of God’s city, the new Jerusalem

5. God will write a new name on you

If we continue to follow Jesus and live by God’s Word in this life we will live in the New Jerusalem. This is God’s eternal city. That is great news!

Jesus is the way

June 13, 2021

This week I have been thinking about the plaque on the wall behind me and the verse on it. As we can see it comes from John 14:6. It says…

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”


As I have thought about this verse I reflected on how Jesus really is the Way. As I pondered four things came to mind.

1. Jesus is the way to pardon

1 John 1:9 – But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Because of Adam’s fall all mankind is affected by sin. It permeates our world and our lives. Each of us becomes accountable for our own sin.

The good news is that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for our sin. He alone is the way to pardon through repentance and faith in Him.

No one else is all the world can pardon us but Jesus. Jesus is the way to pardon.

2. Jesus is the way to purity

1 John 1:7 – But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Jesus Christ is the way to purity of heart. His shed blood on the cross was done so we could be reconciled to God.

Jesus left the glories of heaven knowing full well His mission. It was to come and seek and save the lost as Luke 19:10 tells us.

Jesus’ blood covers all of our sins. In fact, it washes them away. Not just some sins, but all sins.

3. Jesus is the way to peace

John 14:27 – I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

The world like never before is lacking peace. At every turn we hear of wars, terrorism, mass shootings, hatred, separation, drug abuse and more.

People seek for peace in many ways. Some through family, some through possessions, some through education, some through wrong relationships.

Jesus is the only way to true and lasting peace deep in our souls. When we turn our lives over to Him, He promises to give us a peace that is not of this world. It tells us in Philippians 4:7.

We need the peace of heaven in this life. The only place to get is from Jesus.

4. Jesus is the way to power

Philippians 4:13 – For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Many in this world seek power for their own good and own glory. They want to rule and lead others. They want to build their own kingdoms.

Christians however seek a power that comes from on high. They seek the power not for their own glory, but for God’s glory.

As Christians we want the power Jesus to live lives that overcome this world. We also seek power to help those around us and to share our faith with others. It is a selfless power we want.

Jesus is the way to power. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit who empowers us from on high. The first step is to trust Jesus.

Closing

So today as we take time to stop and remember Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Let us remember. Jesus is the way to pardon, the way to purity, the way to peace and the way to power.

Let us pray.

Honouring one another

June 5, 2021

The Bible says in Romans 12:10  to “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.”

I have been thinking about the second part of the verse today – the honouring.

The dictionary tells us to honour someone is to show great respect, regard, or esteem in an outward way towards them. It also talks about giving credit to them for something they have done.

Likewise, the Greek word used here in this verse is τιμή. It is pronounced tee-may’. This means to highly value or highly esteem something or someone. It is to put a great price on them.

This got me thinking about the people in my life. Do I highly value or esteem them? Do I go out of my way to honour or show great respect outwardly towards them?

I really hope I do. Just in case, in the next few days I am intentionally going to go out of my way to show the people in my life how much I do honour and respect them.

How about you? Is there anyone in your life you could “take delight in honouring” today?

Cycling with God on my mind

May 31, 2021

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One of my hobbies is cycling. I have done it for almost 30 years now. I originally started it because I had Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in my knees, feet and ankles. I saw it as a way to strengthen my legs and get fit at the same time. Prior to getting RA I was a runner.

When I was younger it was normal for me to ride 40-60 kilometres per day. I would aim to 200-300 kilometres a week from Monday to Saturday and have Sunday off for rest and church. My goal was to average 30 kph pace for my rides.

These days I usually ride for time. Mostly I ride for 20-40 minutes and it is at a much slower pace than in used to be. Now in my mid 50s I am happy to cruise along at 15-20 kph. Funny how we mellow as we age!

Now I have three bikes that I rotate depending on how I am going and what time of the year it is. I have a racing bike for times when I want to go faster, a mountain bike for when I want to ride the trails, and a single speed city bike that I use as transport.

Depending on what gym sessions I am doing at the time I ride from 2-3 times a week. If I am doing three gym sessions a week I alternate gym and cycling 3 days each. If I am doing a 4 day split, I only ride 2 times a week.

Cycling for me is much more than fitness these days. It gets me out in to God’s creation and I often find myself praying and reflecting as I ride. I get fit physically and spiritually as I ride. It is nothing for me to ride off on a trail in town and pause to look at God’s creation or just sit and pray for a while.

I am hoping cycling is something I can do in to my old age. I would be great to still be riding well in to my 80s or 90s.

Being spiritually and physically fit

May 30, 2021

One of the things I was just pondering is how most Christians would like to be more active physically and spiritually. They would like to be “fitter” in both areas.

Most people I talk to on my journey would like to get a bit fitter and lose a few kilograms. For some not exercising is a time issue, for others it is due to illness or others it is just about motivation.

In many ways this is like being spiritually fit. Most Christians would like to read their Bible or pray more because they know that it will help them to be spiritually fit too.

One thing I have been blessed with is discipline. I am very disciplined in both fitness areas. I regularly read my Bible and pray and I also have a regular fitness program.

I started my current exercise fitness program in 1985 and my spiritual fitness program in 1989. They are both things that are set patterns in my life.

So what is my advice for people who have not set up disciplined patterns? What would I suggest for people who are doing no exercise and no Bible reading?

My best advice would be to start at five minutes of each per day. Walk for five minutes at a comfortable pace five or six days per week. Then each week add an extra minute until you get to 30 minutes.

The same goes for Bible reading and prayer. Read your Bible for two and a half minutes and then pray for two and a half minutes and add a minute each week until you hit the 30 minute mark in total.

You might think that five minutes of each is not much, but at first it is about establishing a habit of doing it and of developing the discipline. Before long you will be doing ten minutes of each and so on.

Establishing a healthy fitness routine will make a big difference for you both physically and spiritually. It is just about getting started and establishing a routine.