The Afterword

Tag: faith

  • Joyful Surrender – Leviticus 1–3

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    Peter
    in

    This is the part of the Biblewhere people give up—and rightly so.Bulls and birds, blood and fire,a wilderness of rules and ritualfar from the songs we sing. But stop—breathe in the smoke.Smell the grain, the roasted meat.Feel the weight of handson a creature’s head,its life for yours. We surrender things all the time—degrees, careers, our…

  • Something to Do, Someone to Love, Something to Look Forward To

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    Peter
    in

    Purpose is the why behind what we do—our deeper motivation. Direction is the how—the path we take to express that purpose in action. Without purpose, our steps may be aimless. Without direction, even purposeful intent can wander. Together, they form a compass and a road. For me, direction in life flows from a conviction that…

  • And He Called – Leviticus 1:1-4

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    Peter
    in

    Leviticus—the book everyone skips,tripping over rules piled high like stones in a desert. But here—at the edge of Exodus’ long drama—the story is not abandoned,it is gathered,the voice calls,the promise still breathes. And He called. Not because we were ready,not because we were holy,but because He remembered. The Holy One—terrifying and tender—desired to live among…

  • What I Can’t Stop Writing About

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    Peter
    in

    So here we are: blogging about my blog. A reflection on the reflections. I know—it’s a bit meta. But I think there’s something fitting about pausing to ask, What am I really talking about, underneath all this talking? Because the truth is, I like to write. And in all these stories and afterthoughts, there are…

  • Not Too Late

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    Peter
    in

    Sometimes, people confuse caution with fear. They mistake deliberation for delay, and they brand those who think deeply as those who move too slowly. I’ve heard the criticisms before—some thrown at public figures, others thrown at me. But I have learned to wear patience not as a weakness, but as armour. For when the time…

  • Feels Like Belonging

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    Peter
    in ,

    The parking lot was packedand I don’t even know whybut I just pulled inon a Wednesday night in Lent.The room is quiet.A few candles,three readings from Isaiah,the faint scent of old wood and ash. A woman two rows ahead is crying—not loudly,just the kind of cryingthat keeps goingbecause no one stops it. The minister says,you…

  • Still, I Stay

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    Peter
    in

    —from the voice of a Syrian in exile I have never stopped dreaming of the olive trees.Even now,in this camp of sand and plastic walls,I see them when I close my eyes—the way their shadows fell across my grandfather’s fieldbefore everything cracked and scattered. Home is a scent that never fades.It lives in cardamom coffee,in…

  • This Book Reads Me

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    Peter
    in

    Well—not a book, exactly. A library. A sprawling, ancient, living library. The Bible. It’s the one I return to daily, not because I’ve mastered it, but because I haven’t. Not even close. You can’t really read it like other books. Not from start to finish, as though it were a novel or a textbook. Genesis…

  • When the Storm Came

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    Peter
    in

    When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Robert Menzies College (RMC) at Macquarie University, Sydney, found itself in a uniquely higher-risk setting. As a residential college, we faced a heightened potential for contagion. But rather than respond with fear or retreat, we chose to step forward—digging deep into our identity as a Caregiver institution. RMC has always…

  • Before & After – Mark 4:35-5:43

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    Peter
    in

    Desperation,raw and unfiltered,crashes like waves against the fragile ribs of a boat.Fishermen, seasoned by salt and storm,shake in terror.A storm that silences courage,a darkness that devours hope. And yet—He sleeps.Not indifferent,but unshaken. “Don’t you care if we drown?”They cry out,as I have cried out,when the winds rise and the waters rise and I riseonly to…

  • Bearing Fruit – Mark 4:1-34

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    Peter
    in

    Mark 4:1-20 Original message by Andrew West, The Bridge Church Macquarie Park NSW The farmer is not careful with his seed.He flings it wide, casting it over stone and soil,over path and thorn and quiet earth.He does not measure the worth of the ground—he only sows, and sows, and sows. Some seed never settles, never…

  • God’s Rescue – Mark 3:7-35

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    Peter
    in

    They did not look at the mountains,not at the impossible ridges,not at the distance that swallowed men whole.Just one step, then another— Nando and Roberto,walking for those who could not,for those left behind in the silence of snow.# Rescue is the only questionwhen survival is a choice between two unbearable things:The slow starvation of waitingor…

  • Poem for a Friend

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    Peter
    in

    You stand in a culture that sells mirrorsand handcuffs them to worth.Scales. Dress sizes.The photo where your arms looked better—these are its gods. But you are not here to worship.You are here to rearrange the furniture. You’ve always loved the misfits.Not just the ones who bloom late,but the ones who don’t knowthey were planted at…

  • Radiance of Presence – Exodus 33-34

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    Peter
    in

    There are wounds people leaveseams that split in ways we can’t stitch,hurt that hammers us hollow—a weight we shoulder alone,or so it seems, Until God whispers,“I will go with you,”and his voice presses in, soft like breath,but firm like the groundunder our feet.“If I’m not there,” we say, “we can’t move forward,can’t take another step.”…