Beware the Thorns of Exam Times!

Spiny trunk of the young Ceiba tree“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.”

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Jesus’ words in the parable of the sower remind us of the many small things which can call on our attention, diverting our eyes from eternal glory. It’s interesting that the “good” things in life (riches and pleasures) can stop us from maturing, but around exam time I don’t think that riches and pleasures will be our main distraction! Most of us will be bunkering down for the next week or three, trying to cram in thirteen weeks worth of knowledge. Whilst it’s good to work hard, and we ought to be studying diligently in order to learn our various trades, we need to be careful that our study patterns don’t grow thorns. Don’t let them choke your life!

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Since lectures and tutes are over, you may have more time to decide upon your own routine. Why not use the next three weeks to develop a great quiet-time routine alongside your study patterns? Perhaps you could start each day by reading and reflecting on God’s Word, before opening up your textbook?

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On the other hand, if you’re one of those lucky student’s who has no exams, or you finish early, beware the pull and distraction of life’s pleasures. Enjoy your time off and use your holidays – make them a great time of refreshment, and a reminder of God’s great promises in Jesus.

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Tatters:)

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Who’s the King?

I have great privilege of teaching two scripture classed each Tuesday. I just got home from them now. I love scripture. If you’re a Uni Student and have time to take a class I commend it to you highly. (Especially if you’re a teaching student, good GREAT practice!) This week I taught them about the establishment of the Israelite Monarchy from 1 Samuel. As I was prepping for it I came across an oddity. Let me explain.

The Prophet Samuel who has led Israel as God’s spokesman all his life is old and the people are afraid of what will happen after he dies. So they ask for a king. More like demand. They reject God as their rightful king and demand a king like all the other nations have… (1 Sam 8:5)

Chess

Surprisingly God gives them one even though they’re rejecting & replacing him.
This struck me as really strange. Why does God do that? Why does God give in to their demands? He gives them all the reasons why they don’t actually want a king (they”ll have to pay taxes, their sons will  have to join the army & work in his fields, their daughters will become his cooks and servants & the whole nation will end up being his slaves). But Israel don’t want to listen and so God gives in. He gives them what they want. WHY?

Read more…

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The Jesus Alternative to Modern Democracy – GNW Talk

Image credit: Rachael Ainsworth

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Good News Week

Trump Goes Nuts on Martha!

As a child, I lol’ed, rofl’ed and rdrr’d at the ABC program “Good News Week”. The quick wits, sharp punchlines and thinly veiled obscenities were too much for such a tender funny-bone. However, since growing up, I have become disillusioned with the said telecast. The quick wits and sharp punchlines seem to not only orbit around, but all to regularly crash through the sphere of things which attract the response “Did he just say that?!?” It also turns out that the crassness isn’t as thinly veiled as I once thought either… But the biggest problem with “Good News Week” is that it doesn’t deliver on it’s promise: WHERE IS THE GOOD NEWS?

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Well, having read this far you’ll be glad to welcome a breath of fresh air, because the NCS GOOD NEWS WEEK delivers, and delivers BIG-TIME. We won’t be telling people about what’s going on in the celebrity world of relationships or problems with public transport. We will be holding out the WORD OF LIFE! We will be presenting people with the chance to know their Creator; to cross over from Death to Life, and experience the incomparable riches of God’s grace to them in Jesus Christ.

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Find out more, and how you can get involved at the Good News Week page.

Creative Commons License photo credit: jmillerdp

Things to Pray for over the Holidays

早餐正在對我微微笑~This morning I had the great privilege of getting along to NCS Prayer Breakfast.

This is exactly what it sounds like.

We ate breakfast and we prayed.

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I thought you might like to hear some of the things that we are praying for and that you might like to pray for them too.

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* The India Gospel League are running Children’s gospel clubs in May this year. They need to train 40,000 teachers in April. Please pray that God will have his hand on this and that many children will come to know Jesus.

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* Good News Week is coming up in week 7. Please pray that God will give us wisdom as we prepare to make lots of noise on campus about Jesus.

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* Thank God that so many came along to our Easter Event and heard about the evidence for the Resurrection (for the notes from the talk click here)

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* Praise God that so many small groups have started. Pray that these groups will be an encouragement to all those involved as the meet around God’s word.

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* Pray that all our members will have a good holiday and come back refreshed and ready for a new term of Uni!

Creative Commons License photo credit: sizumaru