Tag: christianity
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Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21
Three times a yearthe scattered people gathered—Passover,Pentecost,Booths. They came by the old roads,by memory,by moonlight,by the calendar of God. Jerusalem filledwith accents,dust,old prayers,the smell of harvest,the ache of distance. Fifty days. Seven sevensand one more,as though time itselfhad been waitingfor something to overflow. The grain was gathered in.The nations were gathered in.And hidden in an…
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Vital Signs – James 2:14-26
Faith is not a wordkept safe in the mouth. It is not the old habitof belonging somewhere,the family name,the Sunday seat,the language we learnedbefore we knew what it meant. James asks the hard question:what does your faith look likewhen someone is cold,hungry,standing in front of youwith no coatand no bread? A blessing is not bread.A…
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The Mystery of Grace
What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved? My father is ninety-six and still does not know why his mother left. He was seven years old. There was an argument in the kitchen. Plates and condiments went flying. His mother stormed out the door and walked up the road to stay with…
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Where Our Wanting lives – James 1:12-18
James came lateto faith. Brother of Jesus,then servant of Jesus,steady in the early churchwhen the gospelopened its doorsto the nations. He knew this much:faith is not inheritedlike furniture. It is birth.Second birth.God giving lifeby the word of truth. So it is not enoughto say,my parents believed,my grandparents believed,I have known the songssince childhood. A chain…
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When a Bold Step Was Needed
I have made cautious decisions all my life, which is probably why this one still catches me by surprise. When I was minister on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, there was a persistent idea that surfaced every now and then. There had once been a drive-in theatre on the beaches and, after it closed, one entrepreneurial leader…
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What Now? – John 21
Two weeks after Easter,people were already backto ordinary things. Back to work,back to home,back to the placesthat felt familiar enoughto hold their confusion. Jesus was risen.That much was clear.Eternal life was theirs.But what did that meanon a Monday,or in grief,or when your body hurt,or when someone you loveddied too soon? The disciples went fishing.Of course…
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The King of Peace
He goes before usnot hurried,not turning aside,not shielding himselffrom what he knows is coming. We follow behind himinto the city of palms,into the trembling air,into the week that gatherslike stormlight at the edge of the sky. He is called king,but not the kindwho comes with horses,with iron,with banners snapping above the will of men. He…
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Building Your Life – Matthew 7:15-29
We have listenedto Jesuson the mountain. Words of blessing.Words of life.Words gentle enoughto lift the weary. And thenwords that search.Words that warn.Watch out, he says. It is a surprise.He has called us blessed.What danger remains?Not only the danger outside.The danger within. Voices among the people of God.Pretenders.False guides.Wolvesin sheep’s clothing.They promise lifeand lead toward ruin.…
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Before I Speak – Matthew 7:1-12
Do to otherswhat you would have them do to you. A beautiful sentence.Simple enough for a child to remember,deep enough to follow for a lifetime. It sounds gentle on the tongue,but it reaches everywhere—into thought,into tone,into the private verdicts we passbefore we know the facts. How quickly we judgeas though we see everything,as though motives…
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A Gift Finding Form
What was the best compliment you’ve received? The best compliment I received was not praise for something I had done, but recognition of something I was becoming. I went to theological college because I wanted to study the Bible. I was hungry to learn, but I never imagined candidating for ministry. I am a fairly…
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The Courage of Conviction
Who is the most confident person you know? For me, confidence is not bravado. It is not loudness, swagger, or an inflated sense of self. A confident person has the courage of their convictions. They listen carefully, think independently, and act on what they believe. Their confidence is clothed in humility. They are willing to…
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The Divine Store – Matthew 6:19-34
Jesus has been speakingabout the hidden life,the secret places of the heart. Now he turnsto the outward things—the stuff we store,the things we trust,the treasures we keepin the storeroom within. What do I cling to?What captures my attention,my hope,my ambition? Treasure is not onlyjewellery, clothing, food, money.It is anythingI believe will keep me safe:control,comfort,security,a future…
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Kingdom Life in a Broken World – Matthew 5:33-48
When Jesus spoke of oathsI think he was speakingto that part of usthat likes to stand near truthwithout stepping inside it,that part that saysby heaven,by earth,by anything bright enoughto make our words look holy,while the heartkeeps one handon the latch. He had already saidhe came not to abolishbut to fulfil,and the old worldwas still humming…
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The Word I’d Ban (For Now)
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage,which one would it be? Why? It’s just a word, right? A throwaway word.A quick word.A word people use all the time and think nothing of. So why get worked up about one word? Because words are not nothing. Because words shape what we see.Because words…
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Blessed in the Dust – Matthew 5:17-32
Jesus sits downand says to burdened people,Blessed. Blessed?Under Rome?Under law?Under shame?Under the endless need to prove ourselves? They know the weight of commandments,the crushing pressure of getting it right.And Jesus says:I have not come to abolish the Law,but to fulfil it.Not a dot will be lost. No wonder they slump in the dust. We know…
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#Blessed – Matthew 5:7-12
Do you want to live a blessed life—not the sunset-caption kind,not the #blessed kind,but the steady goodnessof God’s kindnessfinding you in the ordinary? I didn’t have language for it.I knew God—Scripture, church, study—but enjoying God felt like a foreign country.And then Jesus sits on a hillsideand says Blessed—not as a reward you earn,but as a…
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Petros
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc. The name Peter comes from the Greek Πέτρος (Petros), meaning “rock” or “stone.” It’s one of those names with an instant personality attached to it: steady, solid, dependable. It also how the ancient city of Petra got its name — same Greek word, different purpose.…
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The Shape of My Learning
What colleges have you attended? I am a perennial learner. Not because I am restless or obsessive, but because learning itself animates me. It is the process—attention, discovery, application—rather than the outcome, that draws me forward. I began with pure mathematics at University of Sydney. I was young, immature, and not ready for what I…
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A Light Has Dawned – Isaiah 9:2-7
Long before Google,before WhatsApp, Messenger,before the soft tyranny of notifications—no ping, no buzz, no banner across a screen—a message came,not broadcast, not algorithmic,but carried quietly,wrapped in a name. Not everyone received it.Some were in the dark. Isaiah stood eight hundred yearsbefore the first Christmasand dared to say it:A light has dawned. Who were these people?A…
The Afterword 