How are you so influenced by the gospel, that your ‘walk in the Spirit’ demonstrates your thankfulness?
Love that surpasses Knowledge!?
‘to know this love that surpasses knowledge’ – what a strange expression.
The Apostle Paul in closing his argument in Ephesian 3:19 makes this statement. I can understand how wonderful it is to ‘know love’, but how can you know something that ‘surpasses knowledge’?
Standing in the midst of Battle
Ephesians closes with the very colourful passage – a battle between the spiritual forces of evil and the Christian soldier who has put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6).
In Ephesians, Christians have been told to sit, walk and stand!
Salvation by God
This week I was reading Exodus 14 with one of my kids. It recounts the passage of the Israelites from Egypt through the crossing of the Red Sea.
The Lord, hearing the cries of the Israelites secured their release (by way of several plagues) from slavery. They flee into the desert guided by the Lord (a pillar of cloud in the day and fire in the night). Arriving at the shores of the Red Sea they turn to see the Egyptian army in pursuit. Despite all that God had done they are terrified and cry out again ‘It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’. The answer is glorious. Moses says to the people ‘Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today…the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still’ (Ex 14:12-14). As you probably know, God then parted the waters and they safely crossed the Rea Sea on dry land.
Historical Christian South Australian Trivia! Lay Preachers
South Australia seems to know how to run a festival – I understand now why it is called ‘The Festival State’! This month is History Festival.
Did you know that many of the directors of the South Australia Company were lay preachers? The South Australia Company was an organization formed in 1835 to develop a new settlement in SA (it only ended formal business in 1949). The founding shareholders were Robert Gouger, George Fife Angas, Thomas Smith and Henry Kingscote, who were soon accompanied by some 300 additional shareholders. Among these were John Rundle, Charles Hindley, Raikes Currie, John Hindmarsh, John Pirie , Charles Mann, George Gawler and Henry Waymouth, whose names now adorn Adelaide’s city streets or monuments.
Predestination
How awesome it is when you are given a gift!
What makes a gift so awesome is that it comes to you free and comes to you when someone has put thought into a gift that would best suit you.
Let’s think though the topic of ‘Predestination’.
Historical Christian South Australian Trivia! Colonel Robert Torrens
Colonel Robert Torrens (1780 – 1864)
An army officer, an economist, media owner (The Globe newspaper) and served politically in the House of Commons (in London) from 1826 to 1835. More importantly he was a Christian.
Historical Christian South Australian Trivia! Captain Charles Sturt
Captain Charles Sturt (1795-1869)
South Australia is unique in Australia’s history as the only state settled by a group of Christians not aligned to the Church of England! It was settled by a group of Christians often called the Dissenters who held the founding principle that there should be no state aid offered to any religious group (to avoid Christianity being controlled by the State).
Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness
Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness (Gal 5:22).
Have you considered that faith is the mark of being human! We all live by faith. What is important about faith is not that you have it, but that you place it!
Fruit of the Spirit – Goodness.
Fruit of the Spirit – Goodness!
What good things might fill your mind this week? While contemplating that question, I add another – Why?
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