The Bible Bloke

 It wasn’t unusual for a Saturday, having to drop children off at sundry social engagements. This particular morning it was a session of paintball for a mate’s birthday party.  There were rain clouds in the sky, sure, but no indication that trouble of another sort was brewing. The alternator in the car had been a bit cranky, but a few whacks with a hammer by the technician from the auto club and it had been humming along for the past week and a bit.  As a precaution I had put the battery on charge the night before, and all was well. The car started first up and was purring like a happy kitten. Number one son was behind the wheel clocking up some hours on his learners. We had just dropped off number two son, done a u-turn and from the driver’s seat I hear: “Dad, the car feels weird.”  And he pulled over to the side of the road, and I swapped with him, and he was right. Engine was going, but there was no power. I turned the engine off, and went to restart and CLICK. Oh...

I grew up on a diet of western’s and murder mysteries. My mother would let me sit up and watch shows such as Callan, and Z Cars. Later it was Kojak and Columbo. Any movie with John Wayne, or Alan Ladd was a winner. We thrilled many a time waiting in that moment when the villain would spring the trap and my mother would cry “dirty work at the crossroads.” It was lost on me that it was always Danny Williams who made the arrests in Hawaii Five O. The leg work couldn’t have been done without Danny doing what Danny did, and the show wouldn’t be the same without “Book him, Danno,” rounding off each episode. Later, when I discovered the Lord of the Rings, I realised that Frodo could not have achieved what he did without the rock solid support of Sam. Sam was very much about strength of character and faithfulness. If you think of any hero or heroine there is someone standing at their side who supports them in what they do, or in some way makes their victories possible. They d...

In Romans chapter 3 verse 23 we read:  “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  It pops up in a section about the law which takes a bit of wading through. Essentially Paul is saying that because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are no longer justified by the law, but rather we are brought into what F.B. Meyer calls the “condition” of Holiness, which is achieved, as we see in the next verse, through “His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”  In many a movie the intrepid hero and his companions fall into quick sand, and slowly sink up to their necks. After an ad break they somehow manage to extricate themselves, to move onto the next calamity, the next dark and sinister challenge.  But what if there was no way to get out? What if you were stuck there forever and ever? Slowly sinking. Sand trickling into your mouth despite all your efforts to prevent it from happening?  And the only way for rescue to happen is to make a faith call....

When I was a boy, a very long time ago, we had a little cottage at the beach. It wasn’t a mansion by any means, a couple of bedrooms, basic kitchen, lounge room, fibro and lino. A wonderful place. It was a very short walk out the back to the quiet waves that lapped up on the sand where I would engage upon massive engineering projects with my yellow Tonka dump truck: My favourite toy at the time. The front law was a different matter. The front lawn was a clover infested nightmare. But it was super sweet dreams for the local bee population, who found it without any hesitation. The problem with small boys is they don’t wear shoes. At least I never did. I can hear my mother’s voice: “Christopher, put some shoes on.” Nah. Out the door in flash and a rattle. Most of the time out the back onto the beach. That was my happy place. But sometimes, it was out the front, through the clover, through the bees. In bare feet. I think there is something in that saying that insanity is doing the same thi...

My devotional reading this morning was from the book of Exodus. Let me set the scene: Moses had gone up the mountain and while he was fully engaged with the Lord, the people were not. Where is this man Moses, who lead us out of Egypt? We do not know what has happened to him. And what of this God? Even in spite of the miracles and wonders they had witnessed they chose to make an idol and we know how that ended. In reading this section something occurred to me that perhaps I had been aware of before but never really clicked to. The wilderness they found themselves in was a wilderness that God had not just created but had also chosen. Generally, when I think of wilderness, I have an image of somewhere remote, somewhere isolated. Wilderness is not something conducive with comfort. It’s not glamping, there is a roughness around its edges. When I hear the term “wilderness experience” I am reminded of a bush walk I undertook, many years ago , in the South Island of New Zealand. I was much yo...

Just as the moon rose tonight The sun will rise tomorrow So many social media friends are sharing A moon that in many ways is behind the clouds of doubt, And the question in our hearts is… What can I be certain of? All those years ago Jesus knew the certainty of His death His sacrifice for many, On the Cross. Even as He was baptised, do this He said, To fulfill all Righteousness. It has to happen like this. A shared meal, the betrayal An anguish that leads to perfect peace. As I sat tonight, fire pit aflame, Moon rising I felt a sense of the real Peace of Jesus Chris This Season, His Season, His Triumph, His Victory So that we can be His. He Claims us. The tomb empty. I am won by Him, for Him. Tomorrow, Good Friday, I celebrate the Victory, Let it rise up And in the words of the hymn raise our voices: “Rise up, O men [and women] of God! Have done with lesser things; Give heart and soul and mind and strength To serve the Ki...