Christmas Bush

No snow here. It is summer. But we have beautiful Christmas Bush. The Lord who made the universe, the sun, the earth, the seasons in their time, made Christmas Bush. I wish you all the very best for the Christmas season and New Year.

May you know and love the Lord more each day as we look forward to His coming. Maranatha!

The Dear Unknown Brother

The day before Christmas I happened to be in Parramatta (the city before you get to the city...) and amidst the hurried crowds, tired business people and jolly sprukers, a lone voice spoke out in the middle of the square, telling people how to be saved. Every shop had its bargains displayed along the pavement for those last minute buys, and here was a man offering people the secret of eternal life, something no money could buy. And it was free. People, do you have any idea of the priceless treasure you have just passed by? Do you not know that this man is holding out the answer to your eternal destiny, and you have failed to even take the remotest interest? This man, if you had listened, was telling you that our Creator sent His own Son to die on the Cross, in your place, so that you may have your sin forgiven and not have to face an eternity in hell. This man was telling you about the wonderful, saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. This man, like his Master, and brothers before him, was not ashamed to be ignored, refused and even ridiculed for the sake of the Gospel. Thank you brother.

On Prayer

Today our dear pastor preached on a simple, but vital truth. The mark of an effective and Spirit filled believer is a life soaked in constant prayer. I am blessed to attend a church where the pastor lives what he preaches and is a man of prayer, who makes prayer a part of the church's life. I was pricked to the core that my prayer life has been less than what it should be, because not only do I become focused more on myself that my Saviour, but I also let down my Brethren.

“The superficial results of many a ministry, and the deadness of others are to be found in the lack of praying. No ministry can succeed without much praying, and this praying must be fundamental, ever-abiding, ever-increasing. The text–the sermon–should be the result of prayer. The study should be bathed in prayer, all its duties impregnated with prayer, its whole spirit the spirit of prayer.

“I am sorry that I have prayed so little” was the deathbed regret of one of God’s chosen ones. That is a sad and remorseful regret for a preacher. “I want a life of greater, deeper, and truer prayer,” said the late Archbishop Tait. So may we all say, and this may we all secure.

God’s true preachers can be distinguished by one great feature: they are men of prayer. Often differing in many things, they have always had a common center. They may have started at different points, and traveled by different roads, but they converge to one point: they are one in prayer. To them, God is the center of attraction, and prayer is the path which led to God. These men do not pray occasionally–not a little or at odd times. But they so pray that their prayers enter into and shape their very characters. They pray so as to affect their own lives, the lives of others, and to make the history of the Church influence the current of the times. They spend much time in prayer, not because they watch the shadow on the dial, or the hands on the clock, but because it is to them so momentous and engaging a business that they can scarcely quit.”

–E.M. Bounds, (1835-1913), Power Through Prayer

Lord, forgive my lack of prayer these past days.

The Truth About the Cross

SImple Thoughts on the Cross

I used to teach my children that the Cross is the centre of the entire universe. In fact, I likened it to the mathematical number plane, where the x and y axis - both of which travel to eternity in every direction, intersect at zero, the very centre of the number plane, forming a cross (for those of you who can remember high school maths). I also used to explain the wonders of the Cross and its mathematical proportions, known as the Golden Mean, found time and time again in nature and music....the very signature of God surrounds those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. But for those who are not mathematically or scientifically minded, we discovered the Cross in our neighbour's backyard as well!


For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20

God bless you, dear friends.

Absolute Captivity

"Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." 2 Cor. 2:14

"The viewpoint to maintain is that we are here for one purpose only, viz., to be captives in the train of Christ’s triumphs. We are not in God’s showroom, we are here to exhibit one thing—the absolute captivity of our lives to Jesus Christ. How small the other points of view are—‘I am standing alone battling for Jesus’; ‘I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold this fort for Him.’ Paul says—‘I am in the train of a conqueror, and it does not matter what the difficulties are, I am always led in triumph.’ ...

"Paul’s secret joy was that God took him, a red-handed rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive, and now that is all he is here for."

My Utmost for His Highest : October 24

I was reminded of this again, when visiting Berit Kjos' 'Crossroad' site (see link above right). On more than one occasion when Paul writes, he begins "Paul, a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Ephesians 3:1-3, Philemon 1:1-3) He was not a prisoner of Rome, or the Jews, but of God. You are in your situation because the Lord Himself has placed you there. If He has not told you to leave, then stay and He will enable you to do so. He will no doubt use your 'prison' for your refining, until He has you in a place of complete surrender, and until there is the sweet, lovely fruit of His character emanating from your life. (Galations 5:22) It is easy to say, but not so easy to practise. As soon as I think I am doing better, the pruning scissors are put to me again. I am a wretched, slow learner and the flesh always wants to complain and have its way. Lord, I want sweet fruit which will bless others, not bitter fruit. But how often my prayer is that the Lord will not just help me to endure, but that He will even make me willing to endure in the first place. It is the surrender to His will which must come first. Suffering can be endured in anguish and bitterness of heart, and others may still admire our human grit...but if the heart is not surrendered, not completely relinquished, then it is worth nothing in the Lord's sight. Abide in Him, and let Him have His way.

John 15:5,8 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Letter to a Sister

Dear L____,

Beloved sister in the Lord, I am writing, because I am concerned for you and because I love you as a friend, and I thought it may be helpful if I share my own experience with you. I am not wishing to interfere in your life or your decisions, and we are free to choose, but I say this merely to urge you to think carefully about the course you are taking.

It is by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that we are redeemed; we are bought with a price. He has taken us out of the world, and given us Life. It doesn't matter what we have done in our past lives as sinners; He has made us clean and we are acceptable to Him. 'But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons and daughters of God, even to them that believe on His Name' (John 1:12). We are family with Him and with other true believers, and we are free from the power of sin which used to control us.

Dear sister, I am married to a man who is an atheist. He does not respect my faith, and is antagonistic towards all things sacred. It is a sad and lonely existence, because I cannot share that which is most precious to me, with the man I live with. I go to church alone, I cannot speak of the things of God in my own home, and often I must bear his direct anger and blasphemy. He likes things which are offensive to me, and does not care about that. This is the experience of being in a relationship with a non-believer.

We may think that we share many common interests with a person or partner. They may be kind, caring and courteous towards us. But those things do not necessarily last, and they are not enough to cement a lifelong relationship. Light and darkness do not have anything in common and we cannot pretend that they do (2Corinthians 6:14-18) . One day, my husband and I will go our separate ways - one to everlasting life, and one to eternal hell and torment and that is a terrible, sad pain which I must bear on a daily basis. I will not spend eternity with my husband in his present unsaved state.

When I married my husband, we both attended church, but in actual fact my husband was not truly born-again. He was a false convert who had never repented of his past sin, and sadly he fell away from any saving knowledge of Christ after we were married. I had ignored the Lord's warnings to me, and entered into the marriage, assuming that my husband was a believer. If we knowingly enter into a relationship with a professing non-believer, that is a different matter again. In fact, it is disobedience to God. We can tell ourselves that it is not important. Our partner may promise to respect our beliefs and even allow us to go to church at first......but that can easily, and usually does, change. We are torn between our relationship with a man and our relationship with the God we profess to love. We are also more likely to commit fornication, and the danger of going back into sin, is that it then has a hold over us, making it almost impossible - or at least very difficult - to end the relationship.

We can not make it right by praying for the person's salvation in the hope that they will convert, because we have no assurance that this will happen (1 Corinthians 7:16). It is more likely that we will compromise and that our own faith will be shipwrecked through sin, particularly since, as women we are more sensitive emotionally and more likely to be deceived (1 Timothy 2:14). Dear sister, I say this again from personal experience, because I care about you. I am so sad to see that you are beginning to miss church and fellowship with us, and my fear is that this is as a direct result of your friendship with a man who is not a believer.

Please consider carefully the path that you are on. You are in my prayers every day, and I beg with great sorrow in my heart, that you do not leave your First Love, this same Jesus Christ who gave His life for you. Let Him be your Husband, dear sister. Return to Him with all your heart, and know that He will help you and strengthen you. Let Him be everything to you, and know that I will continue praying for you, as will all your friends who love you.

Your sister in Christ,


Bonny