thoughts out !oud

a Christian’s news, views, opinions and occasional poetry …

“Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man”

Jesus was very much a master provoker - the stories he often told were well engineered to whack you up-side the head. His parables not only carried with them profound truths, some of them would have made some great stand-up comedy (plank in your eye, anyone?) while others just sought to directly stir the religiosity and prejudices of men.

As a pioneer panning for gold would often find, the parables of Jesus sift through our lives to reveal the worthless stones that clutter, weigh down and mar our souls.

By way of example, the Gospel of Luke records Jesus’ story of a Pharisee and a Tax Collector who were at the Temple to pray (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisee rattled off a litany of reasons why he was better than a… Continue reading "Have mercy on me, for I am a sinful man"

Forgetting about the man in the mirror

Those of you with children or adolescent teenagers or those of you married to big kids (I pity my wife!) will no doubt know that it is frustrating when they don’t follow through on a commitment or a task that they promised. Look no further than me - guilty, your Honour. Well, there’s a great many more of us who do the same to God. Imagine what God feels like when we say yes to His face, but then go away and immediately fail to follow through or run in the opposite direction?

Take Jonah, for instance, whom God charged to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. And what did Jonah do? He ran away, defying God Himself. Futile, Jonah. Futile. When… Continue reading Forgetting about the man in the mirror

Repenting in the face of unforgiveness

How hard is it to forgive? Is there a point where you have hurt someone so much that, despite the deep sincerity of your apology, the humbling act of admitting you were wrong, and the heartfelt plea for another chance, that there is absolutely no room to be forgiven?

I know that God, in his perfect grace, offers his forgiveness - and I take that with gratitude and thankfulness and joy. I know also that, while we are made in the image of God, we’re not perfect - every human is flawed and sinful. We hurt each other - even those we love - sometimes often without realising. And in our sin, perhaps we come to a point where offering forgiveness to another becomes nigh impossible for… Continue reading Repenting in the face of unforgiveness

Poem: The wise man who taught carpentry

I wrote this about 10 years ago; I found it while clearing out junk from some old disks and re-living the ‘glory days’ of Uni life and study. This would have been written either when I was considering the merits of the Christian faith, or shortly after having accepted Jesus into my life. Thought I’d dust off the cobwebs and put it up here for you all.

THE WISE MAN WHO TAUGHT CARPENTRY

i sat with a wise man
at a feasting table,
and i knew that he was wise
because he turned to me and said,
life is like crunch-time before exams–
it pays to have begun early

so i questioned him,
i’ve received a’s for last minute study,
explain that,
and he said,
ah, you regretted you lack of study
and thought no more of what kept you… Continue reading Poem: The wise man who taught carpentry

To God the glory (even when difficult)

After my last post, When God says ‘No’, it seemed an obvious step to share some other learnings on 2 Samuel 12:13-23. To some, this passage can be difficult to accept; to the skeptic, it’s a verse they pull to label the God of the Bible as a cruel and unjust God. Why? Well, because God takes the life of David’s son - seemingly without just cause.

In all our Bible reading we must understand that the wages of sin is death and that this entails justice. We see this requirement met for us by the substitutional death of Jesus on our behalf - Jesus paid the full ransom for our sin by taking the punishment we ourselves deserve. In David’s case, is it that… Continue reading To God the glory (even when difficult)

Christians: not perfect, just forgiven!

For the skeptic, Christians are nothing but a hypocritical community group, bent with the same greed, self-promoting motives and double-standards as that of many individuals out in the secular world. And you know what, the skeptic is right.

There is a small church I drive past almost everyday on my way back from the office. It is situated on the corner of a reasonably busy intersection and is making good use… Continue reading Christians: not perfect, just forgiven!

Next stop: Karma Central

It’s a subtle reference, to be sure. Unless you’re in the clutches of the menace that is Melbourne’s public transport system, you are probably blissfully unaware. Fare evasion is nothing new to any transport system, but in Melbourne’s beloved train, tram and bus network, Metlink believe it’s a big deal. A big enough deal to presume guilt on its patrons before innocence. A big enough deal to launch a quasi-spiritual campaign against the ticket evaders and freeloaders that must ’surely be the reason’ for our failed and troubled transport system. A’la karmacentral.com.au.

Their whole campaign revolves around the simple notion that if you don’t buy a ticket or otherwise avoid paying your way on public transport, somewhere, somehow, something bad is going to happen to you… Continue reading Next stop: Karma Central