Posts by John Staiger (Page 68)

When I was single, I had no problems with weight. And that was despite the consumption of countless kilogrammes of junk food consumed on at least four continents. It is not the fault of my master-chef wife that I have since added all these extra pounds, that has been all my own work. In fact, I have enjoyed every bite on my road to excess. All seemed well while I was eating my chosen diet until my chosen diet began…

A preacher friend of mine once became involved in a very bitter church conflict. One of the individuals concerned was determined that it be not forgotten, so she published a book about it. The preacher was immortalized in print as the well-meaning bad guy of the story. The author insisted that he had prevented God’s will from being done and that ‘their side of the story needed to be told.’ Since it was published before the age of E-books, copies…

The dreams of youth are vast and intense. If all that imagination and energy could be harnessed, who knows what might be achieved in its wake? But for dreams to come to fruition other ingredients are necessary. Knowhow is borne out of instruction and experience. It takes years of trial and error to equip you to handle the storms of the unexpected. Moses was one third through his life when he decided to free Israel from Egypt. He was loaded…

I have seen once honest men renege on their debts. These are those whose lifestyles are the envy of workingmen. Lifestyles continued while the taxes of those workingmen are used to clear away those temporary fiscal glitches. Proof that poor men don’t write tax laws. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” (Phil.4:13). These are the words which should be programmed into the minds and engraved upon the hearts of our children and young people. The world…

Playing with sin and temptation is like maxing-out credit cards on shopping sprees; the cycle of pleasure and pain ratchets ever higher until something gives. Sin creates mess. Mess that takes ever increasing amounts of time, energy and emotions to keep the basics of life functioning. Relationships inevitably turn sour, and frustration sets in. It is then that God gets blamed for not caring. He is accused of putting a person into situations that they can’t handle; suffering temptations beyond…

As a child, I asked my father what it meant to ‘turn the other cheek.’ He said, “The Bible says that you have to turn the other cheek if someone hits you, but, after that, it doesn’t tell you that you are not allowed to hit him back.” It was bluster on his part, and not to be believed. He had seen first-hand what happens when men choose war over peace. “Fighting gets you nowhere,” was his true mantra. The…

I once heard of a couple who left a congregation stating: “We have outgrown this church!” To this day I pray that someone heard them incorrectly. The most tragic person is the soul who has convinced himself that he is actually good enough to be a Christian. You can’t miss him. He is the brother who is confident in his own standing before God, and always leaving you feeling as if you should doubt yours. Not content to think less…

If you want to make sure that you will see God, purify your mind in Christ (Mt.5:8). Therefore, you will not only be blessed on Judgement Day, but you will also be a blessing to everyone until then. It is to the pure, that all things are pure (Titus 1:15). It is in this state that you realise that you are no longer operating on a defiled conscience. God is transforming you into the image of Christ; making you holy…

There is an old preacher story about a lady who invested in a Ponzi scheme. Having lost all her money, she phoned the Better Business Bureau to ask for advice on how she could recover her money. The man sympathised with her but said that it was impossible to recover anything for her. Then he asked, “Why didn’t you call us before you invested the money?” She said sheepishly, “Oh, I thought about that, but I was afraid you would…

Being ignored and rejected is no fun. So, it takes a lot of courage to do ‘Street Evangelism.’ I have met those with that special personality that ‘enjoys’ it; one that I am yet to be endowed with. Imagine yourself, if you can, evangelising with your team on a busy street in a large city. To attract attention, you each have made signs asking different questions. Your sign says, in big bold painted letters: “DO YOU HAVE FAITH?” What kinds…