Category: Faith & life

I changed my mind about Jesus

October 4, 2024
The tract and prayer I prayed to receive Jesus

What’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

As a teenager and in to my early twenties I did not believe in Jesus or the salvation He offers. I believed He was a historical person that some people believed in.

I can look back at times when people would talk to me about Jesus and I would reject them and their message. Some I even ridiculed and told them they were crazy.

At the age of 22 I came to believe in Jesus as more than a historical person. A friend gave me tract explaining that Jesus loved me and He died on the cross for my sin. This got my attention.

The more I read, the more I realised this was true. I realised I was a sinner, Jesus died on the cross for me, and I needed to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I realised what people told previously me was true.

Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Saviour was the best thing I have ever done. It truly turned my life around. Without Jesus I had no hope, no purpose or no meaning. With Jesus that all changed.

In the image above is a copy of the tract my friend gave me back in 1989. It contains the prayer I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

Life without a computer

October 2, 2024

Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

Life without a computer. I could not imagine that now. I have been using a home computer since the early 1990s.

Initially it was for email, my studies and looking up a few websites, but over time it became more about ministry. I set up PASSIONAustralia.org in 1998 and it has been going ever since.

Since setting up PASSION a couple of things stand out to me…

1. Our website PASSIONAustralia.org has had tens of millions of visitors with many of them going to our salvation pages.

2. Our free discipleship booklet has been downloaded over 100,000 times and translated in to different languages.

When I was working as a Pastor I would come home after church and put my sermon text and audio online for people to read and listen to again or if they missed church that week.

Most of this has been done on my home computers I have had. More recently it has been on my iPads or my iPhone, but still I could not imagine doing ministry without a home computer.

So life without a computer, it would look very very different.

What skill?

October 1, 2024

What skill would you like to learn?

I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. I have tried a few times, but I have never really committed any time to the practice.

I have always thought it would be handy for small group worship if I could play the acoustic guitar. Many years ago I learned to play the drums, but that would not really work for small group worship!

Maybe when I retire I can have that as a goal? That sounds like a good goal.

Reminders from Philippians

September 29, 2024

Today for my devotions I looked back over the things I had been reminded about from Philippians. There was a few things that were quickened to me again.

Paul wanted the Philippians to grow in Christ – In verse 1:9 Paul says, “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding”.

Paul’s life was all about Christ – In 1:21 explains Paul’s heart. “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better”.

We need to live as citizens of heaven – 1:27 says, “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.

We need to have the humble attitude of Christ – 2:7 says, “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being”.

Knowing Christ is everything – 3:8 says “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”.

We need to press on in Christ and His will – In verses 3:12 Paul says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

We need to focus on what is good – In 4:8 it says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”

These are seven reminders I got from this reading and reflection of Philippians. There is a lot more than this in the Book, but these are the ones that spoke to me this time around.