Kopfbereich

Luke 17:20-37

Great Depression

In the 1930s there was a massive shortage of work. One in three people were unemployed. Many lacked what we take for granted. They went hungry, they wore hand me down clothes and considered themselves fortunate if they had a pair of shoes to wear on special occasions. What people wanted most was an opportunity to provide for themselves. They wanted work not charity.

The great depression affected not just those who lived through it. The next generation was brought up not to be wasteful, to value every scrap of food and to not throw anything away because it might prove useful someday. The fear of deprivation was passed on from parent to child and then again to the next generation.

Today, I want to encourage you to live not in the shadow of your own personal ‘great depression‘ but to lift your vision to the coming of Jesus Christ and his Kingdom. Christ would have you live not in the shadow of your fears but in the light of his return. There is much in my life that gets me down, or stresses me out and makes me feel overwhelmed. The frustration of raising kids, feeling overloaded with work, disappointing myself and other. But no matter how much I lack or fail Christ is coming. When he comes he will set my life right.

When I’m hard pressed I’m encouraged that Christ is coming back. I don’t know when but I’m more sure of Christ’s return than I am of the sun rising tomorrow. I’m reminded that my life is more about his kingdom than about my happiness, possessions and friends. Christ’s return enables me to live beyond my ‘great depression.‘ the Rev

Celebrate God's Love

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Luke 15

Outrageous love

Shakespeare, in the tragedy of Macbeth, captured the slippery slope of ambition. To gain the throne cost the death of one man. Macbeth murdered his King. Enter stage right a big serve of guilt, growing suspicion, deceptions developing into paranoia, tyranny and a growing list of further murders. Macbeth loses everything; his sanity, his wife, his kingdom and finally his head.

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15

I know guilt. I know what it is to be lost and dead. I know what it feels like to be found and to breathe life. It is completely outrageous because I also know that I am unworthy of God’s love. That is what makes his love so confronting. It explains why the Pharisees were so disturbed by Christ’s love for sinners and tax collectors. They assumed God was pleased with their religious observances, traditions and good works. They felt entitled to their position before God and in society. They looked down on anyone who was not like them, as though their misfortune was their own fault.

Christ reveals God’s love as being given freely and lavishly to anyone who confesses their unworthiness. Even a son who could not have harmed or shamed his father more than the prodigal son. Perhaps you fear disappointing God. You feel bound to obey for fear of his judgment. DON’T. There is nothing you can do that will turn God away from you, or make him love you less if you confess your unworthiness to him and accept his free and outrageous love, in and through, the Lord Jesus Christ. the Rev

Make Friends for Christ

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Luke 16

Money?

It is very easy for me to slip into thinking that money would be the greatest source of help to me. If I had more money then I would have a lot less stress. I would be able to afford a better car, to go on holidays, to pay my bills with enough left over to enjoy my hobbies. Before I was called into the ministry I had options to earn more, it was called over time or a second job. Work more and earn more.

But placing my hope in the security or the pleasure that money can buy is very illusive. I’ve found from experience that more money doesn’t mean less stress or more happiness. Money can buy things but life is not about things. Life is about God and people. Many Husbands and Fathers sacrifice time with their wife and kids in the pursuit of what money can provide and buy while missing out on what it cannot replace.

Christ warns me in Luke 16 not to follow the crowd, not to buy into the idea that money is the ultimate goal. Christ isn’t interested in how much or how little you possess but rather your attitude towards your possessions. Do you think of them as yours? Like a young child who doesn’t want to share his toy yelling out “No, it’s mine.”

The first step is to accept that all I have is entrusted to me by God. It is not mine. Not just my bank balance, not just what I possess but also my relationships; with Michele, my kids, church family and community. Secondly, Christ wants me to think in terms of using what he has entrusted me with for the benefit of others rather than myself. He wants me to be generous with all I have so that I can win friends for Christ. Only then will money lose it’s hold over me so that I will enjoy what money can’t buy. the Rev

Depend on Christ

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Luke 14

Mission Impossible

I think that the Mission Impossible movies have been misnamed. They should be called ‘Mission Improbable’ or ‘Mission very unlikely.’ The audience knows that no matter how impossible the mission is supposed to be success is guaranteed because Tom Cruise never loses.

The hardest people to minister to are those who think they are ‘ok.’ The sick, the poor, the powerless, the confused, the disenfranchised all know their weakness and need. The religious leaders however think they are fine, they are right and Jesus must be wrong. They have worked hard to establish themselves religiously and socially amongst their own click. In Luke 14 we will see a growing resentment that will begin to boil over towards Jesus.

Christ’s Mission was to minister to those who didn’t believe they needed any help, to teach the wise, to give sight to those with twenty twenty vision, to heal the healthy and to grant forgiveness to those who were good according to their own standards. Though Christ spoke to the religious they weren’t listening.

I admire Christ for trying until they killed him. We find Jesus accepting an invitation to dinner only to be watched closely. One move, one word out of line and they were ready to pounce. But Jesus accepts this and runs straight through their trap, counter to their agenda and makes a concerted effort to engage them. They used his ministry to them against him when they put him on trial.

Luke 14 is both encouraging and confronting. First, Christ pursues those who are hard hearted. Second it makes me consider my own heart. I don’t want to be Christ’s mission impossible. the Rev

Look

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Luke 13:18-35

Make sense of what you see

When I’m talking to an atheist it amuses me to think that we both totally agree about what we can see. We both see that we live on a planet called Earth, there are trees around us and we live in community with other people. Where we disagree is how we understand what we see. How I look at the world is very different to an atheist’s interpretation. I see a world created by Jesus Christ, they see a world brought about by chance. I see Christ at work in our history with a plan of redemption but they see the world governed by ‘survival of the fittest.’ Eye

I’m grateful that Jesus Christ came into human history to help me ‘look’ so that I can see him working in my life, in my family, in my church and my community. The culture that I live in teaches me to see and understand my life from the perspective that God doesn’t exist or that God is irrelevant. Christ came to teach us to look for him in such a way that we will begin to see him more quickly and more easily.

The Bible is God’s prescription glasses that enables us to see and understand the world we live in clearly and truthfully. But the Bible is not always easy to understand so Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to counsel us when we read his Bible. The Holy Spirit has also given teaching gifts to people in our church to help you and I understand the Bible and how you and I can live it in our everyday life.

Today I hope to share with you what Jesus teaches about his Kingdom so that you can see it and enter it yourself. I’ll also be encouraging you to get to know Christ in such a way that you will love him more deeply and want to share his love with others. Christ is the only one who can enable you to make sense of what you see. the Rev

Come to Christ

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Luke 13:10-17

Overcome Guilt and Shame

Guilt is a feeling that comes from inside of me. It happens when I do something I know is wrong. Shame is a feeling that comes from outside of me. It happens when I think that I have done something wrong by someone else. Shame is my response to what people think of me and how they treat me. For example if I forget my wife’s birthday I’ll feel guilt and shame at the same time. Guilt because I want to remember her birthday and shame because I know that she would like me to remember. Ashamed

If I forget Michele’s birthday I’m going to feel awkward towards her until I can feel like I’ve made it up to her in some way. Perhaps I might walk around all day looking very sombre and sorry. Or I might try and make her laugh to break the tension I’m feeling between us or I might try bribery with an extra special present.

If I actually really did forget Michele’s birthday I don’t think it would make the slightest difference between us. No need to mope around at all. We are committed to each other even when either one of us fails. I know that Michele would forgive me when I asked. It is the same with Jesus. I cannot exhaust Christ’s love for me. Godly guilt and shame will turn me to Christ, will chase me into his forgiving arms. Worldly guilt and shame will turn me away from Christ, it will turn me inward and away from other people. It makes me feel dirty, like I’m a vile creature who if people knew what I’m really like they would despise me.

Christ sees me in all my guilt and shame but the difference with Jesus is that he calls out to me to come to him so that he can heal me, forgive me and set me free from your guilt and shame. the Rev

Turn to Christ

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Luke 13:1-9

Focus

There are times when I’ve blamed Michele for talking to me when I’m not listening. I’m so glad Michele has never used this to her advantage. It would be easy to claim that not only had I been told but that I’d agreed as well. Sometimes Michele knows that I’m distracted and she will ask me to focus. Focus

I can remember being in the city and realising that I hadn’t been listening so I didn’t know where or when I was meant to meet up with Michele. This wasn’t a big deal because I realised my mistake and was able to ring her using my mobile. But I could have just as easily got on the bus thinking she meant to meet me at home or worse wandered around the shops (Myer) aimlessly looking for her.

I’m the same with Jesus. Even though Jesus says very clearly do not worry about what you will eat and drink I find myself worrying. He tells me life is more than possessions and yet I catch myself being caught up in a very hectic lifestyle that is distracted by the here and now. There is a very startling implication to my busyness. It is not that I’m doing too much but rather that I’m doing stuff which Christ doesn’t want me to do. This in turn affects what I am meant to be doing because I either do it too quickly, am too tired or am too distracted to focus properly on what is really important.

Jesus has been trying to help me focus on seeking the Kingdom rather than what I normally worry about. This week I’ve been learning to turn to Christ for my safety rather than protecting myself and fulfilling my real purpose rather running to my own agendas. May Christ enable us to focus on him as we apply his word to our lives. the Rev

Christ is returning

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Luke 12:35-59

Overcome Worry

For several weeks I’ve been doing a sermon series on worry. What I’ve discovered is that I worry a lot. To my distress and amusement I found it is possible to worry while preparing a sermon on worry. It is so common, so ingrained, so normal to everyday life that we can’t imagine what life would be like without worry. We worry about people; what they think of us and what they might do to us. We worry about money; whether we have enough to get by or we worry about losing what we have, if we have a lot of money. Lastly, we worry about our lives; paying the bills, providing food and drink on a daily basis. In Luke 12:22-34 Jesus tells us not to worry and puts a lot of effort into convincing us that we can actually live a life without it.

Worry is a peculiar type of thinking that involves the use of my imagination projected into the future. I’ve observed that what I’m trying to do is manage, with my thoughts, what ‘might’ happen. I’m trying to be prepared for different scenarios. Worry is me trying to control what I’m afraid of by using my thoughts. Jesus teaches me that worry is a form of unbelief in Luke 12:28. When I worry, God disappears from my thinking so that I am alone and have to rely on my own abilities. Worry is unbelief in God and a belief in myself. Jesus asks “if I can’t add an hour to my whole life by worrying, why worry at all?” Luke 12:26. Jesus is right. I’ve never been able to change anything in my circumstances or relationships by just ‘thinking’ about it. Worry sacks God and puts me in charge, but the problem is it does not give me God’s wisdom or power. Worry is futile.

Worry is a spiritual poison that encourages me to think thoughts that have lost sight of God. This explains why worry tends to be negative; like the glass is half empty, a crisis is just around the corner or I can’t cope with this situation any longer. The antidote I’ve found requires as much effort as worry does but the difference is that I’ve found a greater sense of closeness with God and a surer sense of calmness that isn’t as easily rattled by circumstances or relationships. the Rev

Fear Not:- Life part 4

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Kingdom Citizens

I had the pleasure of attending an Australian Citizenship Ceremony this week. It was great to see Jason and Joan become Aussies. I love being an Australian not just because of the privileges that gives me but also for the opportunity I have of contributing to our great nation. Here is the pledge:

From this time forward, under God,

I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,

whose democratic beliefs I share,

whose rights and liberties I respect, and

whose laws I will uphold and obey.

Christ came to make me a citizen of God’s Kingdom by giving me the faith that qualified me to enter his realm. It is by his grace that I’m saved not anything I’ve done myself. Christ is now working in my life to move me from living in an earthly to a heavenly kingdom. It is a bit like Jason and Joan trying out Aussie food and learning to live in a more Aussie way. Not all things they try and do will be enjoyable or come naturally and that doesn’t matter because Australia prides itself on being multi-cultural.

I love the freedom I have in Christ to be ‘me’ while still being loyal to God. One of the most important Kingdom qualities is humility. In every interaction, exercise of faith and obedience, humility needs to be present. This is counter-intuitive in a culture that promotes self sufficiency and self focus (High Self Esteem). This also explains why so many of us struggle with worry. We really feel the pressure that it is up to us to achieve our goals and we really do learn to depend on ourselves. Christ came to teach me to learn to humbly depend on God’s goodness to me. This frees me up to enjoy living as a Kingdom Citizen. the Rev

Fear Not:- Life part 3

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Fear Not:- Life part 3

Would you agree with me that it would be a waste of talent for a Master Chief to work at Dominos? Jesus has been teaching me that surviving the day is too narrow a focus... “life is more than food and clothes.” The primary purpose of an animal is it’s survival. It spends most of its life searching for food so that it can stay alive. I find it easy to fall into the trap of living like an animal. Gold Fish Bowl

Jesus has come to teach me to live as a human being. My primary purpose in life is glorify God and enjoy him forever. That involves far more than worrying about what Michele is cooking for dinner or whether I have an ironed shirt to wear in the morning. When I worry my life shrinks so that I’m like a gold fish in a small bowl. Christ has come to expand my life so that God can fit back into it again.

Christ made me and gave me a soul which will last forever. When I worry I doubt God’s ability and love to care for me. I immediately take over caring for myself which means my life suddenly shrinks to what I can manage to provide and achieve. My identity goes from being a citizen of God’s Kingdom to being an animal trying to survive in a hostile environment.

Christ teaches me that if I make God’s Kingdom my priority then God will provide for my earthly needs. Unlike an animal that spends most of its life finding food I’m being freed to explore and establish God’s Kingdom in my life. My true calling is to live in relationship with God. We work together, he as my King and me as his Child. My life is so much more meaningful than that of an animal because when I bear the fruit of the Spirit, when I live for Christ then the results of my life will last forever. the Rev

Fear Not:- Life part 2

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Fear Not:- Life part 2

When Michele and I got married we and our families put a lot of effort into the ceremony and celebration. It was a lot of work and it wasn’t cheap either. Some might argue that we could have used the money spent on the wedding on giving ourselves a financial head start.

I think the way we do weddings is a reflection of the way God does creation. It is elaborate which is a nice way of saying wasteful. Jesus tells us to consider the lilies of the field. God makes everyone one of them more beautiful than King Solomon’s finest outfit. God puts as much effort into their function as he does their beauty. All of this despite the fact that lilies are short lived.

God elaborately clothes the fields with lilies which are here today and gone tomorrow. How much more is God both capable and willing to cloth you, to provide for you your basic daily necessities? The answer is God is very capable and very willing. None of us need the ward robe of a King. What we wear is plain compared to King Solomon and the fields dressed with lilies. Jesus is calling us to consider God’s generosity to the grass so that we can be captured by his generosity towards us.

When Michele and I got married we wanted our family and friends to celebrate our wedding with us. Our union meant a lot to us and we made our day as special as we could, for our family, friends, us and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Nearly twenty years later we can both say that Jesus has indeed been our provision. There have been many times when we worried but in every case we have repeatedly had our doubts proven wrong. In our relationship with Christ we can ‘fear not:-Life’ the Rev

Fear Not:- Life

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Fear Not:- Life

Being a husband and the father of four kids means I can readily relate to the gold fish in the picture. There are many expenses that come with a wife and kids but they are not all financial and they are not all bad. Gold Fish Bowl

Typically we are encouraged to measure everything according to a monetary value. When there is a flood it isn’t long before we are told how much the damage will cost. Jesus would say that life is more than money. Money cannot buy love or trust. Money cannot bring you back from the dead. Money can’t heal a broken heart or give hope to someone who is depressed.

Life as a husband and a father is difficult and expensive; financially, emotionally and faithfully. I can view my wife and kids as a drain on my life or I can see them as central to my life. As I give up my personal space, time and effort to provide for, love and disciple my family I begin to realise that life is more than surviving each day, or being able to put food on the table, or being able to watch a movie without being interrupted.

Life is about living ‘with’ and ‘in’ Jesus Christ. It is about learning to enjoy my wife and kids as Christ does. This involves me learning how to see my family as Christ does so that I can begin to love them in a Christlike way.

My relationship with Christ is the first thing to go from my mind when I worry. When I worry I’m alone and my circumstances look negative and overwhelming. Then the needs of my family feel like a drain on my life. What I need then is to be reminded that Christ indeed cares for me and is caring for me. Only when I turn to Christ will I fear not:-life. the Rev

Fear Not:- Money

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Luke 12:13-21

Fear Not:- Money

Money is very versatile. It can represent status, importance, power, accomplishment. It can provide security, pleasure, opportunities, freedom, medical care and almost anything we can imagine. It is little wonder that money becomes a worry magnet. Money Tree

It would be a very easy mistake to think that having more money would improve your life. The reason for this can be more subtle than you think. Being so versatile money can be used to access what our heart values, needs, wants and craves. For example if I crave acceptance and fear rejection then I might use money to buy the life style that my friends are living so that I can fit in with them. Alternately I might use money to impress people to win (buy) their respect. Or I might buy food that comforts me when I feel left out, rejected or hurt.

Money is the vehicle that delivers what your heart wants. Christ says “Beware greed.” He then gives a case study in which a man has lots of money but ‘gets dead.‘ All that money is useless to him. Money can’t solve or get you what you need most which is a generosity towards God. Contentment has nothing to do with the abundance of your possessions, nor your family nor your friends. Contentment comes from being in a close relationship with Jesus Christ.

The difficulty I have is that in practice I find this hard to believe and live out practically. My heart has been saturated with the pleasures and the comfort that money can afford. Giving up money would feel like giving up my life. Christ came to help me learn this one lesson, that I have everything in Christ and I really don’t need or want for anything. I don’t have to add to Christ. When I learn this lesson I will fear not:- Money. the Rev

Fear Not

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Luke 12:1-12

Fear Not

Christ says in Luke 12:22 “do not worry about your life…”. Do you think he was serious? I’m sure you would agree with me that we should not murder, lie, give into anger but worry doesn’t seem all that bad and it is so common. Who doesn’t worry? It is commonly thought that worry is something that makes us human. Fear

Worry is fear. Worry is being anxious. The disciples were worried when they were caught in a storm. They were afraid for their lives. They were anxious about drowning. Christ said to them “Fear not… for I am with you.” Christ’s opponents were trying to accuse him, trick him, expose him so that they could reject, humiliate and discredit Christ. They attacked his ministry by accusing him using casting out demons by Satan’s power. They sought to provoke him by their many traps.

At no point did Christ’s opponents cause Christ to doubt himself or his Heavenly Father’s relationship and care of him. We see much of Christ’s care, concern, compassion and even righteous anger but never do we find Christ worrying. In all of human history Christ is the most human person, who was without sin.

The implication is that worry is sin. Paul commands us to ‘be anxious for nothing...’ Philippians 4:6. This means we have hope because Christ came to set you and I free from our sin. Christ came to set us free from our ‘worrying.’ The first step to freedom is acknowledging that worrying is a sin and it is something that needs to be replaced by a new found faith and courage in Christ. My hope is to tackle some of our biggest fears, our fear of what people think (of us) and our fear of what people do (to us). the Rev

Celebrate Christmas

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Luke 1:26-38

Enjoy Christmas

What I find inspiring about the first Christmas is that Mary and Joseph had nothing but each other and their new born son Jesus. Here is what I think they enjoyed on their first Christmas. The relief of safely giving birth to their first son despite the crises on not finding suitable accommodation. Nursing baby Jesus knowing that God had so far kept his promises to them and that they now had the privilege of raising Jesus as their own son.

This Christmas I want to enjoy Jesus within my relationships with my wife, kids and church family. I’m determined to use the lead up, the celebration and the post Christmas recovery by giving thanks to Christ for his goodness in my wife, kids and church family. I’d like to see past the details of Christmas and find my Saviour Jesus Christ in all his greatness, reigning over me and establishing his kingdom in my life.

By details I mean all the Christmas trimmings, the tree, the presents, the food, the drink, the worship service, the fellowship. These are the context in which to enjoy Christ and enjoy my family. The giving of gifts is more important than the gifts themselves. The fellowship around the table is more important than the food consumed. The love, care and joy enjoyed is not dependant on the details of Christmas but rather on the Saviour that was born on that first Christmas morning. His family had nothing to enjoy but the love God had for them and the love they had for each other. Enjoy Christmas this year by being determined to find and give Christ in all your relationships this Christmas. the Rev

Celebrate Christmas

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Luke 1:26-38

Enjoy Christmas

Receive Christ's Light

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Luke 11:37-54

A ‘House’ of Cards

As a big brother I know what it is like to build a house of cards and have it knocked down. The slightest bump, or softest blow and the cards collapse. My life is just like a house of cards which I’ve painstakingly put together. A wife, a bunch of kids, a ministry, a home to live in, lots of good things to enjoy. So why does Jesus come along and ruin everything by giving my ‘house’ a bump which results in my life collapsing?

Have you been sometimes bewildered to find Jesus is the one who seems to be ruining your life. Why the inconsolable child? Why the bone tiredness that comes from having to jam in so much into everyday? Why the unforeseen bill that means there won’t be a family holiday this year? The answer is always because Jesus wants you (and me) to have much, much more.

I think in terms of tasks, jobs, to do list, achievements, goals, projections and planning. But Jesus wants to turn all this upside down. What better way to do this than with a wife and four kids. They are an opportunity for me to learn to look to Christ when there are ‘bumps’ that cause my ‘house’ to collapse. They are an opportunity for me to learn to love them in all their brokenness as Christ loves me with mine.

Just when I thought I had my ‘house’ built the way I wanted Christ brings my sister into my life to give me an opportunity to have my life all messed up again. Christ wants me to rebuild my ‘house’ so that includes my sister and in doing so I’ll grow in compassion, kindness, mercy and love. Christ will never let your ‘house‘ be finished because he loves you too much. the Rev

Look into Christ Part 2

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Luke 11:29-36

‘Light’ Glasses

For the first time in my life I’ve bought transitional lenses. When I’m outside in the sunlight they get darker and when I come inside they get lighter. Sunlight as you know can be harmful to our skin and to our eyes. I love the way my glasses work this out for me automatically. I don’t even notice them changing anymore. It’s like wearing normal glasses and sunglasses as the same time. Sun Glasses

Australian culture has loved our sunshine and it has taken hard work and persistence to change our culture to one which is sun smart, to cover up and use sunscreen. We even encourage children to wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from long term damage from sunlight.

Jesus said “take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.” Luke 11:35. Unless someone told me that sunlight is harmful to my eyes and skin I wouldn’t take the necessary precautions. There are a lot of values, traditions, philosophies which I take for granted, like sunlight. Jesus came to warn me that some light is in reality darkness. This means I can be trusting and thinking that something is good or normal when in reality it is bad and harmful.

Christ came to expose the light by which I live as sometimes being darkness. He is the one who can screen my values, beliefs, traditions by which I live and take out what is harmful to me and to others around me. For example we are created to work. But if I work so that I can exchange God for a feeling of success then I need Christ to expose this darkness. I need Christ to help me understand the purpose of work as being an opportunity to glorify God, enjoy God and be a servant to others. I need Christ to be my ‘light’ glasses. the Rev

Look into Christ

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Luke 11:29-36

Divine proofing

Whenever I write an article for the newspaper I always get someone to proof read it for me. The reason for this is that I’m all too aware that I find it hard to identify spelling, grammatical mistakes and expressions that lack clarity. One of the reasons for this is that I know what I mean because what I’m writing is in my head. Even though I read over my article it makes sense to me and mistakes are overlooked. rubber on pencil

It is the same with my life. I’m living my life from the perspective of ‘me’ and it makes sense to me. It is easy for me to overlook flaws of character and behaviour because I’m used to being me. Christ has come to proof read my life and highlight parts of me that are sinful, harmful, unwise and unloving. Christ likes to put me in situations that expose my weaknesses to myself, my family and my Christian friends so that they can also help me identify where and how I need to grow.

Before I can be open to this painful process of having my flaws exposed and worked on I must first accept Christ’s greatness over me. If I think of myself as being great then I don’t really need Christ’s or your help. Complacency is another trap that I easily fall into. My familiarity with the stories in the Bible can tempt me to think I know enough about Christ. But the Bible is not written for me to know about God. It is written so that I know God not just as a subject in a text book but as someone I’m having a relationship with. Christ came to make it possible for me to live my life under His greatness. In this way I will undergo a process of Divine Proofing. the Rev

Fight Back

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Luke 11:14-28

Hang on

The end of the year for me proves often to be the most difficult. I guess with Christmas preparations and extra events to attend I get tired and sometimes feel like it is all getting too much. I have a tendency to get irritable, the fuse on my temper becomes very short. Hang on

One of the lessons I’ve been learning is that sometimes the best I can do is not make a situation or relationship worse than it already is. My aim then is to keep my emotional gun in its holster despite how much I’d like to fire a few shots at someone. This is particularly hard to do in the middle of an argument or when one of my kids is misbehaving.

Loving Christ and loving my neighbour can look like me NOT giving voice to my feelings of betrayal, anger, resentment and unforgiveness. Even better is not even telling them how upset they have made me feel. This has given me space to pray, calm down and then speak with the person or my misbehaving child. It may be the next day that I’m able to have a conversation which is moving towards reconciliation rather than revenge.

Christ comforts me by knowing how I feel. He has been hurt, betrayed, let down, falsely accused and discouraged. Christ helps me by giving me the ability to keep quiet when I feel like exploding. Christ protects me by filling my heart with himself and by teaching me to both hear and obey his word. As a church family I’m hoping that we will continue to turn to Christ for the comfort, help and protection we need to hang on. the Rev

Pray 2

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