The following blogs have been contributed by members of the United Church of God - Australia, and aim to invoke further inspiration and thought on the Word of God.
NOTE: This Blog is temporarily on hold, in lieu of the regular Bible Insight Weekly articles available here.
Have you ever wondered how incredible and enjoyable your life would be if you won the lottery? ‘You’ve got to be in to win it!’ – as they say. Is wealth, though the true source of a happy, satisfying and Godly life? Can we learn some extremely valuable lessons from a man who dedicated his entire life to this very question?
Have you ever wondered where was God during the many years the Children of Israel were in captivity and under the cruelty of Egyptian taskmasters? Have you ever wondered from time to time where is God when you, your family or friends are having difficulties in life? We can learn how God delivers from the story of the exodus.
Is there an event or celebration in your life which you particularly remember fondly? The night after the Passover is of special significance and observance to many Christians. What is this night to be much observed?
Why should I? Why should I help out my neighbour when he never helps me? What if Jesus had thought that way? Jesus Christ didn't just die for our sins, He lived in a world full of sinners, loving and serving them every minute that He had.
Do you identify yourself as a Christian? Are you a follower of Jesus Christ - the Passover for all humanity? How will you commemorate His death till He comes?
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions so far this year? Are you up for a New Year’s challenge which will set you on a life changing experience and a journey of discovery?
Read on!!
This time of the year is a festive season, with Christmas just passed and preparations for New Years’ eve celebrations next on the minds of many.
1st January 2018 starts a brand new year. The calendar is the time keeper for what we do in life. The calendar determines for us – those who use the Gregorian calendar - when we see the old year out, and the new year in.
But do we ever stop to give consideration as to how time began? For the Christian, whose foundation of belief is the Bible, we believe God created time.
Have you been looking forward to the Christmas Season with all the Christmas cheer this time of the year brings – Christmas light displays, Christmas songs in all the stores and shops or maybe the carols by candlelight? Would you be interested to learn more about the true meaning of Christmas? My wife and I some fifty years ago made the decision not to observe Christmas. Does this surprise you? We were raised in Christian families and Christmas had been a part of our religious celebration but we had taken for granted that Jesus Christ – our Lord and Saviour – was actually in Christmas.
The world is in the “bondage of corruption” and this is the environment in which we live.
However God promises salvation. He saves us through a process that takes time – a lifetime. As Christians, genuinely seeking to follow Christ, do we know fully what is this process and how we can participate in and embrace it?
Many self-help advisors claim that ‘Everything you need is already within you’. But is this really true? What does the Word of God - the Bible - have to say?
Australians are indeed embracing Halloween in greater numbers and spending more money on this festival. Halloween decorations are more readily available in the shops and online and people are embracing this festivity with greater enthusiasm.
It all looks like so much fun and seems so harmless.
But is Halloween really harmless?
Even those who are not Christians know of the many wonderful miracles performed by Jesus Christ throughout His human ministry which are recorded in the Bible. However, how many understand that these remarkable good deeds – which were too numerous for all to be recorded – demonstrate the kind of world He will lead as King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the coming Kingdom of God?
What if I'm not good enough? Many of us find ourselves asking that question often in some form – maybe even daily – perhaps even moment by moment. We can discover from the Bible that God's measure of success is very different from what we naturally expect of ourselves.
What events are we witnessing now? Are things getting better, or rapidly getting worse? Are we heading for the time of the end and beyond?
The Smyrna church had something of which Jesus took particular notice. It was not their standing in this world with respect to this world’s wealth or position. They were rich in something else that was so much more esteemed by Jesus Christ. How did He regard them as rich?
Professed belief in the name of Jesus is what most Christians do, but repentance and turning to God through Jesus Christ results in a complete change.
Does the bible have anything to say about tattoos and is it relevant for us today?
The children of Israel were unaware of the greater meaning of these feasts of the Lord. To them the meaning was the representation of the harvests, and it would remind them of the blessings God would bestow on them in the harvest. Are you aware of the First Harvest in God’s plan of salvation for all humanity?
What does the word joy bring to your mind? Happiness? Smiling a lot? Fun? Can we completely understand what joy really is? Can we have truly lasting joy?
Last year, I came across a headline on Facebook: "Trump Collapses and Dies of Heart Attack!”. In disbelief, I immediately did a search and came up with nothing. Something so shocking and world-shaking would obviously have been all over the internet! It was fake!!
So how can we know what is truth?
The Apostle Paul writes: "Therefore let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Because of, the sacrifice that Jesus made we should go on and keep the feast “with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” What feast is this?
Jesus chose to “taste death for every person.” He experienced suffering of unimaginable magnitude, and He died – not because He sinned, but because we sinned. In this there is no greater love. In this God’s great love for you and for me is manifest.
Can we entertain sin in our lives? Surely, just a little can't be that bad! Should we really be concerned about sin? Does any good come from it? Or is sin our enemy which must be defeated?
Do you love being a human? I do! We can experience love, peace and purpose. We can conceive of a future life in a future time and a future world. We can make choices and learn from those choices. We can believe and have hope in someone beyond our human capacity.
Not only do I love being human, I love being alive.
by Roy Holladay
I learned about the Sabbath and Holy Days when my mother, twin sister and I observed them for a year at home before I attended College. The Sabbath – the seventh day of the week - was the highlight of my week.
God created the Sabbath to be a blessing for us. One of the blessings of the Sabbath is the opportunity to assemble together on that day. Fellowshipping with the people of God is truly a great blessing from God that the Sabbath day affords. 1 John 1:3 reveals that we also have fellowship with the Father and with Jesus Christ. The Sabbath is also a special time of fellowshipping with God. In God's word He describes of a time in the future when all humankind will worship God on the Sabbath. What a wonderful day that will be!!
by Ken Murray
Is Polygamy sin? Does God command one thing but allow sin through polygamy?
While polygamy was practised by some of the Patriarchs and was permitted by the oriental culture and civil laws of their times, it clearly was not the ideal marital relationship blessed and approved by God. It is not even an acceptable practice in many modern cultures that permit casual living together and easy-to-obtain divorce.
God speaks and commands clearly against polygamy.
by Kim Mihalec
Who among the most important people of this world - past or present - would you like your children to meet and have a relationship with? Lady Di? Mother Teresa? Mahatma Gandhi? How about God Himself?
If you teach your children to pray, you are giving them one of the most precious gifts of all. You are setting their feet on a path towards the right and regular communication with their heavenly Father. Through which they have the special opportunity to develop a relationship with Him.
So how can I teach my children to pray?
For years a man sat in the way where people passed to the Temple. He was born crippled, and relied on the pity of those going to the temple to worship to offer him some token of kindness. It never occurred to him that he would receive a miracle of kindness. The Apostle Peter gave him all that he had.
Why did Peter choose to heal the man on that particular day? We all need not only physical healing but also spiritual.
by Roger Waite
Have you ever wanted to be a part of a great cause? Do you want to make a difference and be a part of the greatest cause ever?
You can if you understand God's plan for humanity and where He is currently with the work He is performing.
by Matt Sieff
Last Wednesday night was an evening of great relief and excitement for New South Welshmen.
The NSW State of Origin team had a breakthrough which some have attributed to their unified defence. Sport experts tell us games are won by how well a team stands together against the opposition's attack.
When we rightly respond to God's power - His Holy Spirit – we "play" on the same spiritual team.
But what does that unified response look like?
Jesus remarked, " .... when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).
Can we honestly say that we live by faith? Or have we come to believe in the answers and solutions the world is offering us?
by Roger Waite
The most recent federal budget has been one of the most controversial budgets ever handed down by an Australian government. The financial reality, on either a personal or government level, is that debt-free or low debts are the best scenarios.
In the Bible we read: "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender". We know all too well the pain and problems of debt.
What do you think about the recent federal budget? What would God think about it? What does God think about debt?
"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...a time to keep silence" says the Ecclesiastes.
How can silence improve your relationship with God?
by Roger Waite
If you believe you have an immortal soul, could you prove it from the Bible?i
Do we have an immortal soul that separates from the body at death? Is there a spirit part of us that continues to have a conscious existence as soon as we die?
What does the Bible really say about this important subject?
God called us to be in His Church, which is His Body. What a wonderful and safe place to reside! The Church's environment must be healthy also to allow Jesus Christ to nourish and cherish God's children within His Body. It is an interesting analogy, don't you think?
The failed Gallipoli campaign cost Australia 10,000 lives and left a legacy of Australian and New Zealand's sacrifice in war. In all, Australia lost 100,000 of it's finest in World War 1, only 13 years after it became a Federation. Who knows what might have been without this enormous loss?
ANZAC Day doesn't glorify war. It remembers those who have given so much, but it brings us back to a fact of life. WHAT IS THE REAL CAUSE OF WAR?
Memorial Day in the United States falls on May 27th, and here in Australia and New Zealand we remember the war dead on ANZAC Day – today - April 25th. ANZAC was the name given to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey on the morning of this day in 1915 during the First World War.
ANZAC Day calls to mind more than just that event in WW1. It was created to remember all who have sacrificed their lives in war. WHAT ARE THE LESSONS?
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