1. Faith – faith is about trust. We follow Jesus because we believe and trust what He says is true.

2. Prayer – prayer is that two way connection and conversation between the disciple and the Master.

3. Belonging – the journey of a disciple is not a solo one, but one taken with others. We are part of His church.

4. Service – those who call Jesus their Lord serve Him and serve others. There are no spectators when it comes to service.

As Christ’s disciples we need to remember that the Christians journey is not meant to be an aimless stroll, but a pilgrimage with a God given purpose.

God Bless,

Dave

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”

The story continues with the master being happy with the first two servants who used their talents wisely. He says, “Well done good and faithful servant”. To the one who buried his talents in the ground he scolded him and called him a lazy servant.

The part that really jumped out at me this time around was the phrase tucked away in verse 15. It says, “…each according to his ability…”

Often a disciples of Christ we miss this part. We often compare ourselves to others and their talents, or we feel guilty that we should be doing more things like those around us. We miss the according to our own ability message.

My ability is to share God’s Word with others. This is done mainly via the internet, and to a lesser degree in person. This is someone I am passionate about and I am drawn to do. I have an ability in this area and it brings fruit.

This doesn’t mean everyone should have a website or a blog to share God’s Word with others. But we should try to find and develop our own abilities and use our God given talents that way.

I think the key for us to use our gifts for the good of others (1 Peter 4:10). We need to use our gifts with passion, use our gifts with love and most importantly use our gifts to bring glory to God.

When we do this according to our own ability, we will bring joy to the heart of God. In the future we will also hear those wonderful words, “Well done good and faithful servant” when the Master returns for us too.

God Bless,

Dave

As I have been reading and praying these prayers I feel myself being revived and inspired. It has been a great way to centre my thoughts and my day on the Lord.

With permission I have copied and pasted them below. I would encourage you to print them out and focus on one of them each day for the next few weeks…

Lord, I thank You for sending me Your Spirit to intercede with me as I pray. I yield myself to Him, allowing Him to pray through me, especially when I don’t know how to pray. Thank You for this great “prayer helper.”

Lord, even when You do not answer right away, I know You hear me when I pray. Teach me patience as I wait on You. Amen.

Heavenly Father, thank You for all the gifts You continually give me on a daily basis. Thank You for being a loving Father who longs to meet all of my needs. You are worthy of my praise. Amen.

Heavenly Father, I know that of all the changes that prayer can bring, the greatest change takes place within my heart. Help me to be receptive to Your leading as I pray. Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You would show me the things that keep me from enjoying my life in You. Please help me build confession into my prayer life, and may my prayers foster in me a rich, joyful dependence on You. Amen.

Today, Father, I invite You to search my heart and know my anxious thoughts. Lord, if there is anything in me that displeases You, I pray that You would show me—and give me the courage to allow You to remove it. Amen.

Lord, I know that relationships are so important to You. God, please lead me close to You and teach me to love, so that I can show Your love to those around me. Amen.

Father, thank You for Your love for me and the world. Holy Spirit, please guide my prayers and lead my thoughts to those who need Your love. Amen.

Father, as I journey through this day may You guide my steps, keep my heart pure and still my tongue. Let me see, hear and know Your Presence with me all day.

Lord, I want my prayers to be mighty and effective. Teach me how to make my prayers a mighty weapon for Your Kingdom. Amen.

Heavenly Father, I give my life, in its entirety, over to Your loving care. I want to do Your will in every area of my life. Amen.

Heavenly Father, praying can be difficult at times, but I long for fellowship with You. Help me to persevere in my prayer life, so that I may grow closer to You. Amen

Abba Father, I am Your child. I bring to You all of my needs and place them before You, knowing that You care for me.

Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Your Word, especially the Psalms, as a pattern for my prayers. As I learn to pray Your words, they bring life to my spirit. Amen.

Lord, my very life is in You. As I follow You each day, I pray continually, seeking to be in Your presence, moment by moment. Amen.

One of the things I really noticed this week in my Bible reading is the contrast of Jesus’ humanity and His deity in some of the gospel stories. Here are a few examples…

1. During the storm on the lake (Mark 4:35-41)

After spending the day preaching to the multitudes we read that Jesus was tired and fatigued. He fell asleep on the boat. Then the storm blew up and the disciples cried out for help. He stood and calmed the storm. In His humanity he slept, but in His divinity He controlled the forces of nature.

2. At the death of Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died and he had been placed in a tomb for four days. Jesus arrived, spoke to the sisters and wept at his friends death (v35). He then prayed, called Lazarus to come out and he was raised to life. We see Jesus’ humanity in His pain, but His divinity in raising Lazarus to life.

3. In the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:29-51)

In the Garden Jesus was extremely distressed at the thought of going to the cross. We see His human emotion and stress at what He faced. Then as He is about to be arrested one of His followers cuts off the ear of  one of the guards. Jesus then stands and heals his ear (v51). His power and divinity again shine through.

In these three great stories from the gospels we see the contrast of Jesus’ humanity and His deity. He was truly man in that He experienced all the pain, fatigue and anguish we suffer, but He was truly divine in that He showed God’s power to control nature, raised people from the dead and heal those in need.

God Bless,

Dave

I found a free short course on ChristianCourses.com called “Ministering to people in pain“. Something in the course description grabbed hold of me so I am doing it.

One thing I am enjoying about the course is the level of study it is at. It is nice to listen to a lecture, answer some reflections questions on a group forum and do a short multiple choice quiz to see if you understood it all.

This is a lot different from formal Bible College with all the readings, assignments and exams, but I am still learning a lot. I have completed six of the ten lessons and it has been really good so far.

Once I have processed it all I might share some of the key things I have learned from it. If you are interested in doing it yourself you can find it here.

God Bless,

Dave

I can remember being all excited at the getting the vision for PASSION and designing logos and a pictorial vision statement with our vision, goals and supporting verses.

It is an exciting time when things are new. They are so full of potential and can become anything. The sky is the limit!

Looking back to November 1998 I have fond memories. Hours and hours spent in prayer. Hours spent day dreaming. Hours out in the streets spent talking with people in the hope they would come to Christ.

I think it is good to sit back and reflect on your beginnings. Things like logos, vision statements and the way you did things can be a bit dated, but it can also inspire you to press on in the future.

Looking backwards to when you first began can fuel your moving forward.

God Bless,

Dave

Ten Reasons to Believe in the Existence of God

Some have proposed that the belief in God was invented by people who needed a sense of protection and spiritual meaning. Yet despite these kinds of challenges, there are convincing evidences that support a belief in the God of the Bible. Students are guided into examination of the limits of science, the argument for intelligent design in nature, and the claims of Christ relative to deity.

Ten Reasons to Believe in the Bible

In a world full of religious books, all claiming authority over the lives of their followers, is there good reason to believe the Bible is any different? Any better? Any more reliable? The source of spiritual authority we choose to commit our lives to will impact how we live and who we become. Students learn why they can have confidence in the teachings and wisdom of the Bible.

Ten Reasons to Believe in a God Who Allows Suffering

Students are challenged to wrestle with difficult issues of faith. One of those is the reconciliation of the power and love of God with the suffering that occurs in our world. Students discover that difficult questions about unexplained suffering find satisfying and understandable answers in the pages of Scripture.

They are available for free or you can pay a small fee and they count towards a recognised Degree program. You can find more information here.

God Bless,

Dave

1. A steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. Theology: continuance in a state of grace to the end,leading to eternal salvation.

Both of these ideas are about moving forward regardless of what happens. It is about continuing onwards in life in general and also on our faith journey.

My Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary describes perseverance this way… ”The steadfast effort to follow God’s commands and do His work.” I like solidness of the word “steadfast”.

We see in the Bible that the New Testament alone makes it clear that faith alone can save (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, it makes it clear that perseverance in doing good works is an indication that our faith is genuine and vitally important to us (James 2:14-16).

For the Christian, perseverance grows from a trust that God has always been steadfast and faithful to His people. Through persevering and continuing in God’s work, we show our deep appreciation for God’s saving grace (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

As a result of perseverance as Christians, we find that we not only build up the church, but we build up and strengthen our own character (Romans 5:3-4). In short, we become closer to God as a result of persevering in our faith walk with Him.

I find the whole topic of perseverance and persevering in our faith very interesting. At the heart of it for me is that God loves me, Jesus died for me and He has blessed me so much. This is the reason why I want to continue to persevere in Him.

God Bless,

Dave

This discipleship process might be done as a part of formal group classes, one-on-one lessons, or by working your way through a book with someone to help if you have questions.

As I have been thinking about this I wondered how many people who were discipled in one of the above ways go on to become Ministers themselves?

I know in my case I had someone who talked to me and prayed for me before coming to Christ. When I did, they gave me a booklet to work through and continued to pray for me and answer questions I had.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of people who are discipled go on to be Ministers. I might see if any studies have been done on this I think.

God Bless,

Dave

• that has stable government with no violent uprisings
• that we have a medical system where most people can get the treatment they need
• that we have a welfare system that helps those who are unemployed or not able to work
• that we have the freedom to practice our faith in our own way
• that we have a strong economy due to the mining sector
• that has good education systems in place to allow people access to learn
• that has lots of wide open spaces to explore
• that we have access to clean drinking water and a wide variety of foods

I love living in Australia. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world. Happy Australia Day everyone.

God Bless,

Dave