A photo I took on my way to work as a school Chaplain.
Are you more of a night or morning person?
This one is a very easy one for me to answer. But first I will give you a hint. Every morning my alarm goes off at 500am and an alarm goes off at 800pm at night.
Yes I am a morning person. I love to get up with the sun and exercise. In winter it is an hour or two before the sun. I have done this for as along as I can remember…at least 35 years.
I like the morning as it means I can get up before everyone else in my house and start my day in the gym or on the bike. I love this time alone to get fit and also to order my thoughts before my day starts.
Getting up early was especially good when my kids were small. It meant I could get my exercise done, go to work, come home and just be with my family. I did not have to leave them to exercise. I could be fully present.
The only time it is hard for me being a morning person is if we go out at night. People are used to me running out of energy when 800pm comes around. I got home at 900pm recently and I was asleep by 912pm lol.
So yes I am a morning person. I love seeing the sun rise and getting my exercise endorphins first thing before my day really starts.
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
This is a really good question. There are lots of people I would like to meet. As I love my sports it would be retired AFL footballers and cricketers, old time Olympic athletes, and some bodybuilders from the era before steroids were introduced to name a few.
But far and away the most important historical figure I would like to meet is Jesus. I would love to spend a week or so with Him on the road with his disciples.
I would love to just to watch and listen…and maybe ask the occasional question. It would so good to hear His words and His prayers and see His miracles first hand in the historical context.
To see His parables actually spoken. To see the peoples faces when they were healed or raised to life. To see people set free from demonic oppression and return to their normal selves. I can only imagine what that would be like.
So for me, my historical figure would be Jesus. I know Him in my heart and from the pages of the Bible, but to actually walk with Him on the road would be priceless.
Repentance is a word that has been forgotten by many. It is a word has lost its true meaning for others. As I talk with people in my work and my life I find that repentance is a word many have never heard, let alone understood.
In a world that says that is okay for you, but my truth is my truth. I am not perfect but I am okay as I am. I do not need to change or apologise to anyone for who I am. I am okay and God loves and accepts me as I am.
While God loves us and accepts how we are, He does not want to leave us this way. God wants us to grow and change and be the people He created us to be. He wants the very best for us. This is where repentance comes in.
The word repentance in the Bible literally means “the act of changing one’s mind.” True biblical repentance goes beyond remorse, regret, or feeling bad about one’s sin. It involves more than merely turning away from sin.
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary includes this definition of repentance: “In its fullest sense it is a term for a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection for the future.”
The classic biblical example is the Apostle Paul. He started out as Saul, a high ranking Pharisee who was zealous in persecuting the early Christians to the point of arresting and having them killed. He wanted to wipe Christianity out at all costs.
This changed when he had a vision on the road to Damascus. In Acts 9 we see Saul had a radical transformation after hearing from Jesus. Over the coming months he went from a killer of Christians to someone who brought people to Christ and helped them grow in their faith.
In Philippians 3:4-9 NLT we read…
[4] Though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! [5] I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin-a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. [6] I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. [7] I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. [8] 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 [9] and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
Paul, as Saul, was a zealous, murderous man who wanted to wipe out Christianity, but after his conversion he counted those things as garbage. He was solely focussed on knowing Christ and making Him known to others.
Paul was not just sorry for his previous life, but in his repentance he chose another path. The path to follow Christ wholeheartedly. His old life was gone and his new life had come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
So what does this mean for us today? It means repentance is a key part of finding faith in Jesus. We ask God for forgiveness of our sin, trust Jesus for our salvation and we repent by heading in a new direction. Like Paul, we chose a new path. The path that God chose for us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 2:10).
But what happens if we stumble along the way? None of us are perfect and we all fall short (Romans 3:23). The key is to confess to God and receive His forgiveness afresh (1 John 1:9). Then we can get up and continue on the path knowing that God will continue a good work on us until the day of completion when Christ comes again (Philippians 1:6).
For us today as Christians, repentance cannot be a forgotten word. It is a word and action we need to be keenly aware of. It is a word that calls us to a new life, a new path and a new way – the way of Christ and His Kingdom.
While I like being at both the beach and the mountains, I would have to say the mountains win out slightly.
For me there is something about walking up a hill to be alone with God in prayer. I can focus on Him on the journey to the top and when I arrive I can see from a higher perspective.
But in saying this, sometimes I like to sit at the ocean and just watch the waves go in and out. I find myself being in awe of the God who made the oceans and how vast it is when you look out to sea.
The deciding factor for me is that fact that we live nearly 300 kilometres from the ocean. It is easier for me to go and walk up our rock. I can walk up the pathway above and be alone with Him.
So beach or mountains. It is the mountains for me, but only just.
Billy Graham Crusades have been held in 85 countries on six continents. Mr. Graham’s largest Crusade in the world was in Seoul, South Korea, with an estimated 1.1 million people in attendance on June 3, 1973. (From BillyGraham.org)
What brings a tear of joy to your eye?
What brings a tear of joy to my eyes? Seeing people accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
I have watched countless crusade events online where people have come forward to accept Jesus. I have also been to a few. Every time I end up crying my eyes out with joy. It is the evangelist in me.
Knowing people have changed their eternal destination from hell to heaven impacts me greatly. It is a large part of why you and I are here on earth – to bring people to Jesus.
As I type I am reminded of Luke 15:10, “In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
This verse reminds me that I am not the only one crying tears of joy. All of heaven celebrates with joy when people come to Jesus too!
PASSIONAustralia.blog 