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photo credit: SuperFantastic
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Category Archives: Thoughts
It is by grace you have been saved.
photo credit: Alex E. Proimos
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5
Sometimes it seems like I can’t do anything right. I can’t find the words to write an assignment, my room looks like a bomb exploded in it and I turn up to class only to discover that I should be at a group meeting in the library.
On days like this I need more than a bag of minties to encourage me to keep going - I need parts of the Bible like this one.
As I read through Ephesians 2 I find that I’m dead in transgression, that I’m separated from God because of my sinful nature (Great, yet another thing to add to the list!). But then I come to the verses above and everything begins to look up.
For it’s in these verses that we see that, although we were dead in transgressions, God still loved us. It is because of this great love for us that God sent Jesus to the cross to die and take the punishment for sin. Then, as Christ was raised again, we were also able to be raised with him and made alive again.
So when everything seems to be turning out for the worst I can always find comfort knowing that I’m not saved by my own ability to do anything right but rather it is by this amazing act of grace that I have been saved.
What is more satisfying: only doing the few things that you can do perfectly all of the time? Or living with the knowledge that while failure is imminent, God’s grace has been displayed on the cross for your salvation?
Hooray!
Gee O-week was awesome. Getting out every morning with the Red Army to pray, leaflet and meet people was wicked! I reckon I met around 150+ people during last week.
It was a little scary on Thursday arvo when we turned up at Maths Bus Stop to transport people to the LHW and only 15 or so were there wanting lifts… But around 170 people ended up coming and I didn’t recognise around half of them. So that was a relief and a big success!
I was so excited to see God working; answering our prayers, helping us find heaps of Christians and have in depth discussions about life with stacks of people. (Stu Southwell and I finished the week with one such conversations. It was a mammoth chat with four new students that went for over an hour and touched on most of the big questions that people ask about Jesus/Christianity. Please pray for them.)
All in all a great week! I wonder what God is going to do in the next couple?
I’d love to show some visuals from the week, if you’ve got some photos of Oweek shoot me an email at email.stevewatt {at} gmail(.)com
Dear God, we pray for…?
In the last TNT for the year we’re thinking about what we should pray for. Is it wrong to pray for parking spaces, your sick rabbit, or your exam marks? Or is it wrong to neglect praying for these things? Come along and find out! 5:306:30pm this Wednesday (after NCS).
Next week we’re going to Jeso Park for a picnic after NCS!
photo credit: Carly & Art
The Heart of The Gospel
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Recently there’s the two words that have been floating around. You may have come across them, or you may not have. In discussions on the cross and what occured there, they both come up fairly often – Propitiation and Expiation. They usually come up together because they’re pretty similar, but they are different. Let me explain. Expiation is the covering, putting away, washing off or rubbing out of sin so that it no longer creates a barrier to Relationships between People and God. |
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But if Sin is rubbed out, then there’s nothing left to seperate us from the Love of God. Expiation is a pretty good description of what happened at the cross.
But Propitiation is even better! |
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Beware the Thorns of Exam Times!
“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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