Author: Philip

Difficult times? Time to learn lessons and trust in God again.

Philip

Well, 2020 has arrived…with more of a ‘blaze’ than a ‘bang’. There’s no question that these last few days have been more than difficult for many people in too many parts of Victoria and NSW.

If it is true as C.S. Lewis once wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world”, then the events of these last few days must surely tell us something.

The following article found on the ‘Australian Presbyterian’ website, written by our Moderator General, Rev Dr Peter Barnes, is well worth a look, even if it is a ‘little’ (just 6 weeks) out of date.

May it lead you to the only One in whom we can put our hope…

Droughts, Fires and Other Disasters

‘Sent out to serve the King (part 2)’ (Matthew 10:16-23)

Philip

When Jesus sent out the twelve on mission in Matthew 10:16-23, it was like he was sending them out to war – not that they were going out to kill, maim or fight – but that he sent them into enemy territory and needed to prepars them for what they would face. Rejection. Persecution. Death. The text is a wake up call to God’s people today… reminding us that the world’s hatred of the gospel and the Saviour will be passed down to us.

‘The best of times…. the worst of times’ (Isaiah 9:1-7)

Philip

There’s so much in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, and the prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-7 is a great place to look. The text not only tells us about Jesus’ first coming as a baby, but also points toward His eternal rule as King, ultimately found in His second coming as Lord. Best of all the text relates so well to this crazy, best of times/worst of times world…!

Making Christmas make sense

Philip

It might surprise you to read that Christmas is not about the nonsensical items of snowmen, reindeer or the North Pole. Have you noticed that it’s summer here? Besides, Christmas isn’t about the weather, either – cold or hot. It’s about Jesus, sent by God to be the Saviour of His people.

The Bible says in Hebrews 1:1-2 that, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son”. When God spoke through the prophets, he often gave them a glimpse of something that would happen in the future. So, the prophet Isaiah foretold that ‘the virgin shall conceive and bear a son”. Seeing that God knew exactly what he was doing, Matthew 1:21 tells how this was fulfilled in the birth of the One they would call Jesus. Of Him it was said ‘for He will save His people from their sins’.

If the Old Testament prophets looked forward toward the day of His birth and if the New Testament writers recorded the fact of His birth, then it must be that Jesus is the centre of everything that God has said and done – and that must mean that Christmas is all about what God sent us in His Son, Jesus.

No wonder the angels sang at His birth. No wonder they spoke of ‘good tidings of great joy’ for ‘all people’. It’s little wonder then too that Jesus is still the reason for the Christmas season. And why is that? Because He is still doing what God sent him to do – saving God’s people.

Do you know the One who makes Christmas make sense? He saves. Seek Him now.

‘Joy to the world (and to you)’ (Psalm 98:1-9)

Philip

The Christmas hymn ‘Joy to the world’ is well known and loved. But did you know that it comes from Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 98? Maybe you wouldn’t think that a Psalm like Psalm 98 has much to do with Christmas? Watts certainly thought so. In fact he saw in it much more than Jesus’ first coming (as a baby), but also his second coming (as King).

‘Sent out to serve the King’ (part 1) (Matthew 10:1-15)

Philip

Chapters 8 and 9 of Matthew’s Gospel records so many  of Jesus’ miracles that gave proof to who He is and was – the Messiah, the Son of God. But added to this, chapter 10 also tells us that He was the ‘Lord of the harvest’ who had come to find the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So, in Matthew 10:1-15, we find Jesus doing that by preparing his disciples to be sent out in His service. They would find it hard, as the rest of the chapter outlines, but in these verses, their task is fairly and squarely laid before them – and those who follow Him as disciples today!

‘The King’s power to save’ (Matthew 9:18-38)

Philip

In the next of the series of miracles performed by Jesus as recorded in Matthew 9:18-38, Jesus goes ‘one better’ than before…not only healing a blind man, delivering a demon possessed man, healing a woman suffering from a long term illness and raising a dead girl.  However, the point of all these events is not for the sake of information but that we too might believe in Him. These verses also remind us why we should put faith in Him. It is because of the depth of His compassion for people – something that led Him all the way to the cross.

‘The King’s power to call and convert’ (Matthew 9:9-17)

Philip

The text of Matthew 9:9-17 related a number of important events, beginning with the call that came from Jesus to Matthew (the writer of the gospel) to follow Him. This tax collector had no hesitation in leaving his old life behind to follow Jesus, and one of the immediate consequences of his decision to do that was seen in the meal hosted in his home at which many other ‘tax collectors and sinners’ were present. This prompted questions from the Pharisees and even from John’s disciples which Jesus was able to answer and put his grace and his coming into perspective.