Posts from November 2022

Satan sells you evil with the charm of a crooked used car salesman. You are all smiles until his deal leaves you broken-down and fearing for your safety. And like that salesman, he makes you believe that it’s the fault of everyone but himself. Only the love of the Lord can put us in a place where we need not fear the consequences of our deals with the devil. The only way that you can possibly “fear no evil” is…

If you have been extorted by a business with no option but to pay the outrageous bill, you are not alone. I once witnessed first hand a brother being ripped off by two panel beaters and a tow truck company. Despite his vast reservoir of knowledge and experience in dealing with such matters, he had to pay every last cent or forfeit his car. Though he feared none of them, he paid! It’s a wise Christian who understands that being…

There are Radio Stations and Online Sites that are exclusively dedicated to conspiracy theories about government involvement in alien activity on earth. Now, while you and I are busy recoiling at the first mention of this nonsense, there are talkback radio hosts literally leaning into their microphones imploring their callers to tell their story. Obviously, these people do not get out much! Believers and unbelievers have this in common: They both accuse each other of listening to no one but…

A young lady went to a Tattoo Studio and asked for the image of a loved one to be tattooed on her leg. The finished product was terrible. Instead of being the beautiful face of her child, it resembled a character from a Mr Magoo cartoon. The owner of the studio was as shocked as everyone else. He had known the tattoo artist for years and showed photographs of his otherwise good work. He had since severed ties with him…

I’ve hardly met a person yet who doesn’t consider themselves to be as shrewd as Lieutenant Columbo when it comes to sussing people out. Admittedly, some are better than others, but we all suffer from blind spots when trying to see past the veneer that obscures the inner heart. Jesus assures us that the heart of a man is seen for what it is if you just listen to what he says. When considering the seemingly endless amounts of nonsense…

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Matthew 7:6). The thought of Jesus asking Christians to make character judgements when preaching the Gospel does not sit well with many. Even Christians find it hard to believe that there are those who should be walked away from when they profane the truth. However, though no one wants…

The beauty of heaven makes no sense as long as we see it through the lens of the physical world. Obviously, adjusting our focus is easier said than done. For much of what we hope for is centred around the security and comfort of our physical body. We spend much time planning for the day that we will have enough money to be free from the restraints of hard work. Also, we would like to think that our home, transport,…

After Jesus’ crucifixion, how many of Israel’s leaders went home to their wives and said of Jesus, “He just wouldn’t be told!”? Correction is a tricky business at the best of times. Given the chance, we attempt to modify the behaviour of those around us according to our habits and convictions. If those habits and convictions include a desire to seek out new ideas and include new people, then our attempts at betterment will probably be well received. But if…

In New Zealand we have an army of young men walking around with ankle monitors on their legs. Some hide them in shame, but others seem impervious to the stares of concerned citizens. Many among those in charge of such things dismiss concerns that the ever-increasing number of those monitored indicates a massive deficit of wisdom among our young people. Unless the foolishness that drives these young people to believe that crime pays is replaced with Biblical Wisdom, things can…

If you were to be given a total of one million dollars at the rate of one dollar per second, how many days would it take for you to collect all of it? Of course, the mathematicians amongst us would have correctly calculated—Eleven and a half days. Naturally, we are all likely to think that that is a lot of money, but we are less likely to think of eleven and a half days as being a lot of time.…