Being wise – as opposed to being foolish. Being prepared – as opposed to trusting our luck.
Macro view is having everything in order and just waiting for the time of the return of Christ;
Micro view is being prepared for the daily coming of the Spirit into our lives, drawing closer to God;
and those around us, focusing on the here and now to prepare for the future.
Journeying in our world today requires humility.
The falseness of those who do not ‘practice what they preach’ is not tolerated.
Jesus requires us to love mercy and to walk humbly with God as His followers.
The ‘Upside Down Kingdom of God’ tells us something about ourselves and that our day to day way of operating, is not the same as the way God operates.
Greatness in his followers is about serving. Leaders are the servants of all and God’s Grace is there for everyone.
The power of God’s extravagant forgiveness is so great, so
beautiful, so mystifying, that it surely cannot help but change us.
We cannot experience it and then go on being closed to others.
Restorative justice calls out oppression and violence for the evil they are and judges them: forgiven.
What is our purpose in life? Someone answered this way, “Its
love, isn’t it. The reason we exist is to love and be loved”
Jesus was very practical in the way he demonstrated love for the world, through all the good and bad times of his life.
Practical love, like all love is found in the big and small things in life, the good times and the bad. Seek it out.
Jesus wasn’t into an easy and attractive message. Not something
an advertising agency would want to address.
He calls us to take up the cross, to share the burden of the world.
Carrying the cross is a way of life. It is about putting God first.
NAIDOC Week was recently celebrated. The Uniting Church has
a long history of working with the First Peoples.
We are called to take the yoke upon ourselves as a nation, to ensure First peoples will have a Voice.
Through the Spirit we are called to live in new ways with justice and truth.
Discipleship beckons us to go to an uncertain future, question, consider
and change our minds.
We’re called to live out our beliefs and put our ideals into practice and travel a ‘Jesus way’ every day.
Life is about getting out of the harbour and going to ‘the other side’.
We need to not be afraid of what we encounter, prepare to have failures and step out with faith and trust.
The miracle is taking the first step, keeping our eyes on the goal and not being fearful of what may happen.
Have courage, Jesus is there with you.
“The Miracle of Multiplication” – whatever we offer and it is used well, is multiplied to become all that is needed and more.
The crowd learnt they could do more ‘together’ than
‘apart’! The promise is, not to just survive but to thrive!
