Post Category: Musings

I've been planning a two-week holiday for months. Anna and I were soon off to Japan to catch up with our son, Adam, eat wonderful food, and go places we had not been before. And then Coronavirus. Two weeks ago, I contacted the booking agency and was told that it would cost $1000 to cancel our flights. We really wanted to go, and we didn't want to lose $1000. So, we decid...

I spent a recent weekend at Boot Camp in Katoomba with the young men of our church. We had a great time. And it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained just as it did back here at Pennant Hills. Indeed, it rained so much I had trouble getting home. Three trees fell and brought down two power poles over the road that leads to our house. As a result, our little nook of ...

"God Wins!" God wins! It's simple really. We complicate things. We worry; we fear, we become anxious. Hey, we're only human after all! But when we invite God into our messy, complicated lives, He walks in, and He stays. He's not turned off by the mess. Anxieties come, but they don't stick. Fears surface and then depart. Struggles come, for sure. But so does God. Go...

Our son, Adam, has been living and working in Japan for the past few years. Recently he wrote down what he considered to be his core values. He shared these with Anna and I, and after checking, he's OK with me sharing some of his thoughts with you. Here is some of what he wrote on mission: Most people quote the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20 when thinking about ...

Have you ever considered that God is the initiator of all that we do? Theologian and author, Eugene H. Peterson perhaps said it best when he said that God has always been the initiator and man the responder. Recently I have learned that true prayer is initiated by God. If I am seeking God's purpose, then I will be open to responding to Him, when He prompts me to pray. T...

Expressions of Interest If you have prayed aboutbeing part of the new church at Eastwood and would like to express an interest in going to Eastwood or to find out more, please email or speak with Pastor John, Pastor Jonny, or Winnie. We would like to hear from you so that an Elder can formally sit down with you to go through the process and pray with you. ...

Right in the middle of Paul's oft quoted exhortation to 'Rejoice in the Lord always', and 'Be not anxious about anything' but rather pray with thanksgiving so that 'the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus', is a frequently overlooked phrase. Right in the middle of this wonderful passage Paul says, 'Let your gentleness be evident to all' (Phil 4:5...

I had an unexpected encouragement this week I'd like to share with you. I was searching for a Bible study on Jeremiah amongst the collection of notes amassed on top of my bookcase. I didn't find the book I wanted but bumped into another study from Jeremiah on the topic of endurance. Like many Bible studies, it starts with a general question to facilitate discussion: Comp...

On the 8th April 1802, Matthew Flinders sailed his ship, the Investigator, into a sheltered harbour near what is now Adelaide. He was on a voyage of exploration, mapping the 'Unknown' south Australian coastline. Much to his surprise he discovered a French vessel, the Geographe, captained by Nicolas Baudin, at anchor in the same harbour. France, ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte,...

I love this poem. Flying Crooked The butterfly, a cabbage white,(His honest idiocy of flight)Will never now, it is too late,Master the art of flying straight,Yet has who knows so well as I?-A just sense of how not to fly:He lurches here and here by guessAnd God and hope and hopelessness.Even the acrobatic swiftHas not his flying-crooked gift. Robert Graves ...

The word 'peculiar', in common usage, means, 'different to what is normal or expected; strange'. So, wearing a clown suit on a commuter train that's peculiar. Planning a romantic weekend getaway in Bankstown that's peculiar. Writing a novel with a crayon that's really peculiar. This year's church camp theme is 'Peculiar People' because Christians are supposed to be p...

The following devotion from Matthew Jacoby challenges my 'bouncing ball' personality. 'A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger' (Proverbs 15:1). Conflict is like one of those very bouncy bouncing balls. Every time it hits a hard surface it is propelled back up in the air. Likewise, conflict is perpetuated by hard hearts and anger bounces back ...

Listening to Jonny's teaching from the Book of Ruth, I couldn't help but be reminded of 'Wisdom's Call' in Proverbs 8:1-11 when I thought about Naomi's response to despair. "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? YES, they do on the heights along the way where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at entra...

Last week I accompanied Isaac's class as a parent volunteer on an excursion to Rouse Hill House. It was a lovely day and I benefitted from the experience probably just as much as the children did. The children were given the opportunity to explore how one family lived in this property for six generations and left behind fragments of their lives. The cumulative result is on...

Dear Lord, I went to Penshurst the other day. I'd never been to Penshurst before. It's just next to Hurstville and Oatley and Beverly Hills. How is it that I've managed to miss Penshurst all these years? I saw lots of people in Penshurst, which is, I suppose, to be expected. How is it, Lord, that although I know next to nothing about Penshurst, you have an intimate knowl...