The Pastor’s Pen

Easter is an extraordinary celebration of Jesus’ empty tomb. While the world scoffs at the idea of believing in a Jesus that died and rose from the dead; for those who do believe, the blessings are innumerable. Seven hundred years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied; “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him…

Often relationships with fellow believers lack evidence of being empowered by God’s Spirit. This is a strange phenomenon because every regenerated child of God has been equally “called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). We should be in awe of what the Lord achieves in each other through…

Fellowship is a treasure which often gets taken for granted in the Christian life. It’s spoken of in the New Testament as the quality of spiritual partnership which participates with the other members. Benevolence is at its core; that is, intentional actions expressing kindness and good will to each other. The Greek language of the…

Humans are remarkably creative at self-reliance and often in the name of religion. We have this uncanny ability to place ourselves at the centre of everything. This is certainly true regarding our relationship with God, because something inside strives to make self the centre of God’s attention. In so doing we become idolaters, justifying why…

The common misunderstanding that only belief in Jesus demands loyalty is wrong! The reality is, disbelief also demands absolute loyalty, and at any cost. Sin energizes non-belief with crafty persuasion; saying you can believe whatever you want, just as long as it’s not Jesus as Lord. Sin seeks to imprison your thinking through deception by…

Both belief and unbelief bring the greatest challenges in life as they dispute with each other. Both require you to reason through personal preference, emotions, and the call of God on your life.  This is precisely what Thomas faced when confronted with the resurrected Lord Jesus. Jesus challenged both his belief and disbelief by saying;…

When growing genuine belief, it’s easy to ignore the overall changes needed in your life to make belief effective. Why? Because; “if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lords” (Romans 14:8). Jesus is…

All of us experience anxiety and worry at some point. They can sweep over us in a moment with no warning, leaving us feeling powerless. Isn’t it true; “anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down” (Proverbs 12:25); neither the mind nor body cope well with it. Jesus, being the realist that He was, said…

Belief that grows is not accidental; it’s deliberate and blessed by God. It’s far too easy to briefly burn brightly for Jesus then fade away due to performance anxiety. In other words, Jesus didn’t perform how you expected so you tell yourself; ‘this is a waste of time and effort.’ The truth is however, Jesus…

Action is the spiritual game changer; it grows small belief into strong visible faith. It takes no effort at all to snuff out both small and great belief, simply do nothing. Spiritual apathy ensures nothing changes, nothing grows, and nobody experiences the blessing that could have been. I recall Dr Steve Lawson saying; “It’s better…