Monday Message

Healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching justice, peace, forgiveness, and the coming of God's kingdom? Do these sound like capital crimes to you?  They did to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders of Jesus time. And because of this, Jesus was beaten, disfigured, and hung on a cross to die. His body laid in a tomb and a huge stone, to stop the body being stolen, rolled across the entrance. But on that very first Easter morning, an angel rolled the stone away, and waited to tell Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jesus, what had happened. How awesomely terrifying and joyful that meeting must have been for the Marys. Not only had they been visited by and angel, but Jesus, whom they loved dearly had risen from the dead! As they left, Jesus appeared to them before they ran to tell the disciples. The disciples were afraid. They did not want to be associated with Jesus, because he had just been condemned and executed. They had experienced this personally, and were te...

This is a repeat of a poem I wrote for last Easter. It tries to capture the scene on the hill from the view of Jesus, and the crowd. Crucifixion: The echoes of the hammer have fallen away Now just heard are the moans of those hung from the trees Three have a view over the crowd And one, the innocent His view is of eternity seen through a veil Of blood and pain From a body battered and torn Thorn crown on his head mocks His station before the crowd And His gaze settles on each one Both then and now Not eyes that accuse, condemn or show vengeance Only love and forgiveness are shown thos...

This past week, I have had the immense honour of being a part of Easter Alive . Jesus on the cross as depicted for Easter Alive. (Credit: www.facebook.com/npeasteralive/) Throughout the week there were three things that struck me: the honour of participating, not getting lost in the part, and having to live forgiveness everyday. I am fortunate enough to live in a country where it's not illegal to be Christian. Nor is it illegal to gather believers, or to evangelise to the wider community. Easter Alive is a bi-yearly walk-through dramatisation of the story of Jesus death and resurrection, starting with his arrival in Jerusalem. And this year I had the part of Peter, the denier of Jesus. I view it as a true honour to be allowed to act the part of someone who was so important in the Bible, and was a true and close friend of Jesus, in the physical sense. I really tried to capture what I thought it would have been like for Peter in those times, as he watched his friend die. ...

Jeremiah 31:29-30 “The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,     but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’ All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker. Each person will be held to account for their actions and made to pay for their choices. Sounds pretty bleak to me. If I make a misstep, then I will die. God despises sin and tells us quite plainly in Romans that the wages of sin is death. Put simply, if we sin, someone has to die. And yet this isn't the end of the plan God laid out to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31:31-34  “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. “...

This Monday Message is definitely the one I've spent the most time over. Not because it was long, or hard, but because I feel it touches on areas that could make me seem a little judgemental. So let me first state that my aim with these messages is not to judge, but t process the thoughts I have while reading the Bible and, hopefully, distilling them into a format others enjoy and gain insight from. Today I continue the theme of the Ten Commandments in view of relationships. This commandment focuses on the marriage relationship. Exodus 20:14 You must not commit adultery. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines adultery  as " voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or  between a married woman and someone other than her husband ." The key part, in my opinion is the word voluntary. Adultery is not an accident. Adultery is a choice made by someone to seek physical pleasure from someone with whom they don't share a marria...

When we hear the words, “he gave up the ghost,” we often understand it to be a statement of defeat. I’ve used it when a car, computer or phone stops working. It’s usually a trigger to throw it out and move on. Should it be so defeatist? John 19: 28-30 Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill scripture He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it, He said, “It...