Category: Relationships

Religious and a relationship

April 1, 2025

When I first became a Christian there was a saying, “I am not religious, I have a relationship with Jesus”. It was meant to show that I do not just perform religious duties, but actually walk with Jesus like in the image above.

I have said this many times to people over the years. My heart was to show people there was more to my faith than just fulfilling “religious” duties, it was about being in relationship with Jesus.

The further I go on this journey of life I realise that being religious and being in relationship are both as important as each other. While we can do one without the other, it is best when we do both.

If we look up the definition of being religious in the dictionary it describes it as three things…

  1. relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity
  2. of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances
  3. scrupulously and conscientiously faithful

When I think of the three things above, I want to be all three of them. I want to be faithfully devoted to my God, faithfully devoted to my beliefs, and conscientiously faithful.

The same goes for being in relationship with Jesus. Let us see the definition of the word relationship…

  1. the state of being related or interrelated
  2. a romantic or passionate attachment
  3. the relation connecting or binding participants in a relationship: such as kinship

It is the same again. I want to be in a passionate relationship with Jesus, I want to be interrelated with God as His child, and I want to be bound to Him.

I want to be religious in my devotion to God. I want to do the things that make my connection strong, things like praying, reading the Bible, serving others, and spending time with people who share my faith.

These “religious” things also help me to walk closely with Jesus. It makes and keeps my relationship strong and growing. It keeps my roots firmly planted in Him.

Reflection verses

Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
[6] And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. [7] Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

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!

My passions?

June 12, 2024

What are you passionate about?

This is an easy one to answer. The things I am passionate about are always not far from the surface and easy to see. I have many passions, but one stands above it all.

My faith in Jesus is my number one passion. Since I came to Jesus in July of 1989, my life has never been the same. He changed everything for the better. My heart is to walk with Him all the days of my life.

Walking closely with the Lord drives everything else I do in my life. He is the reason I get up early to pray and read my Bible. He is why I want to be the best husband and father I can be. He is why I am a Chaplain. He is why I have my PASSION websites to reach out with His love.

If it was not for Jesus I do not know where I would be. Jesus has given my life meaning, purpose, strength, hope and a future. He loved me and died on the cross for me. My response is to give my life back to Him each day and to take up my cross as it says in Matthew 16:24.

What am I passionate about? Jesus!

The oldest thing

May 16, 2024

What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today?

The oldest thing I am wearing today is my wedding ring. 28 years old and counting 😀

My wife and I met 29 years ago and we knew within two weeks we would marry. People told us that is too soon to know.

Twenty eight years later I think we were right!

Inviting Jesus in

February 27, 2024

As I was doing my morning devotions today I was thinking about the phrase “Inviting Jesus in”. As I dwelt on this I realised how important it is to invite Jesus in to the various areas of our lives.

1. Our life – this is the first and most important area. We need to invite Jesus in to our lives. He needs to be let in as our Lord and Saviour. This is when true life happens and He lives with us.

2. Our relationships – relationships can be hard at times with all the stresses of life. We need to invite Jesus in to them all. Our marriage, with our children, our friends, our workmates – He needs to be in them all.

3. Our work – inviting Jesus into our workplace to help us do well and serve Him. Whatever job role we have we ultimately do it for the Lord. Colossians 3:23 tells us who we really serve as we work. We are all gifted by God and we need His help to serve.

4. Our finances – many of us struggle with our finances. Inviting Jesus in to this area helps us to understand that He loves and cares for us and He is our provider. One of the names God is known by is Jehovah-Jireh which means “The Lord will provide”.

5. Our health – a lot of people I talk to have health issues that they battle with, myself included. Our battles can be very debilitating. Inviting Jesus into our health issues allows Him to provide comfort, strength and healing. Another name God is known as is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals.

6. Our future – there are times in our lives where we can really worry about the future and what will happen to our families or ourselves. One thing God has been reminding me of lately is He holds our future. We may not know the future, but we can be confident God holds our future. Each of us are in the palm of His mighty hands.

Today I would encourage you to invite Jesus in to the different areas of your life. If you have never done this before, you can prayer this prayer below.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you to come into my life. I want You to be my Lord and Saviour. Please come in and cleanse me from my sin. Help me to follow You with all of my heart. Lord, I also invite you into all of my relationships, my work, my finances and my health. Come in and help me in all these areas. Bring healing, provision and peace to them all. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen