To Daniel and his 3 friends, it would seem that they were born at the wrong time in history. The mistakes made by their predecessors were now reaping its rewards on Daniel’s generation. King Jehoiakim had been forewarned and his choice to ignore those warnings led to Daniel and his friends being forcibly removed from home, family and land.
It’s 2:38 am and I’m wide awake.
We arrived in Kauai, Hawaii 36 hours ago after a 15-hr journey (with a long layover in Honolulu) during which I slept 2.5 hours, so the first night I slept nearly 12 hours! But tonight is a different story.
The Mission Collective (https://themissioncollective.org) recently happened from 27-29 September, 2019 at the Royal Children’s Hospital. A couple of months prior, I was kindly invited by an Uncle I highly respected and he made sure I was informed as soon as registration opened. Long weekends are usually perfect to recover from full weeks of busy work but the chance to catch up with other young people who are “seeking to realise the potential of a generation committed to innovative evangelism” sounded great.
I have recently engaged in a professional learning series that focussed on teaching literacy. During these workshops I was introduced to the ‘Matthew Effect’. I had not heard of this ‘effect’ before but realised I was familiar with its premise – ‘The rich get richer and the poor get poorer’. I had always thought this aphorism was used in the context of capitalism and the inevitable inequality of the free market. I was therefore surprised when the presenters referenced Matthew 25:29 as the source for this quote! Having an interest in the Gospels I looked up the reference when I arrived home.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:17:
… where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Paul did not follow Jesus during His earthly ministry. Instead, he spent his days persecuting people who followed Jesus. It wasn’t until years after Jesus’ death and resurrection that Paul was on the road to Damascus and had a supernatural encounter with Jesus that changed his life forever.
It’s springtime in Melbourne. My weather app forecasts scattered showers for the next 6 days. I stare dismally at the boys’ shoes which are torn up with holes – they go through shoes faster than clothes or haircuts. I’ll have to pack extra socks for when their feet get wet.
Rain brings mixed emotions.
For some, rain means cold, dreary commutes with dripping umbrellas. For some, it means slippery sports conditions. For others, it means an invitation for hibernation.
But for farmers? Rain is an answer to prayer. It’s desperately needed for crops, livestocks, and livelihoods. Aussie farmers are anxiously watching the skies waiting for rain to come now.
What does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be a disciple? How can we have a genuine and growing relationship with God?
There are two general categories of emotions: positive emotions, which are enjoyable – contentment, surprise, and happiness; then there are negative emotions – sadness, anxiety, fear, anger, shame, and guilt. We have been socially trained to largely avoid negative emotions. Join us as we navigate negative emotions from a biblical perspective.
I only recently became aware that there were large fires in different regions across the world including the Amazon, Siberia, Greenland, and some parts of southern Europe.
I read a few news sources and they say the Amazon is known as the Earth’s lungs and produces up to 20% of the world’s oxygen. It’s a terrible thought to lose the ability to breathe properly. The biodiversity in the Amazon forest is also lost due to these fires. The Earth isn’t looking too good going forward. There is also much heat in the political arena between powerful countries (e.g. the US vs Iran) and political ideologies (e.g. far left vs far right).
Jesus predicted that humanity’s selfish choices would destroy the Earth and create mounting conflict between the nations in Matthew 24.
In the midst of all these happenings we can be consumed by fear and uncertainty of the future.
“Blue and green should often be seen,” I quoted as I opened the hotel room balcony to the stunning view of the sun-splashed Coral Sea in tropical Queensland. I had learned that little mantra from the book Live More Happy by Dr. Darren Morton that outlined 5 principles of happiness. It basically means, go out in nature – because uplifting physical environments are clinically proven to make us feel better.
Although it was only for 3 days, we were able to immerse ourselves in blues and greens – the lagoon, Green Island, the beach, the stunning waterfall at Barron Gorge… and we were happy.
