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A Mother’s Love Letter
As our children grow, often the opportunity to share with them about some of the most important things in life slips by. This is one mother’s letter to her children – on love, marriage, parenthood and relationships. My dear Child There are only four questions of value in life… What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for? And what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same… Only love. Don Juan DeMarco (Johnny Depp) As you navigate through life you will experience love in its many forms. ...
read moreThe Perfect You: Wired for Health
The fact that you are wired for love is reflected in all the bodily systems. When you don’t think and choose well, when you step out of your ThePerfectYou, it affects the whole body. 75 to 98% of all mental and physical illness is a result of the thought life. If you are functioning according to ThePerfectYou, you remain in good health and your body heals a lot faster. You are wired for health. Nervous System- Healthy thoughts literally causes the brain to grow, making you more intelligent. Since the brain is connected via the rest of...
read morePiece of the Puzzle
Someone told me about a ‘God Shaped Hole’ That mysterious missing piece in a person’s life Only a god-shaped deity can fill A round peg for a round hole A square peg for a square hole A god shape for your heart Like a piece missing from a jigsaw puzzle Only complete When that last piece is in its place. Someone told me about a man who spent 7 years Carefully, painstakingly Building a huge jigsaw puzzle Thousands of days and thousands of pieces But at the end a space, an empty place One piece was lost Nothing else in the world would fit...
read moreThe Perfect You
Dr Caroline Leaf has discovered that “ThePerfectYou” is reflected in the unique structuring and functioning of our brains. In other words we are wired differently according to our unique way of thinking. “Does anyone out there understand me?” God says:”I do; do you?…..” God tells us we are made in His image[i] with a sound mind that operates in love and power[ii]. Science proves we are wired for love, for the positive. This is called the optimism bias. Therefore both science and scripture...
read moreGiving something away can help us find ourselves
By Wendy Rush Unlike generations that have gone before us, we live in an age of entitlement, within a society that is structured around “I” and “me” and the expectation of instant gratification as the reward for everything we do. While we scream loudly about our rights, how often do we hear about our responsibilities? And while we scramble over others to reach the dizzy heights of prosperity, how often do we overlook the miracle of one human being caring for another? As a result our society seems to be defined by those things that cripple...
read moreI was hungry and you fed me, a stranger and you invited me in
As Australians we are proud of our nation’s ideal of a ‘fair go’. What would this look like in practice if we lived accordingly to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, often referred to as ‘the Inasmuch Sermon’? Article by Rev Dr Lynn Arnold AO What if our national anthem and motto contained a powerful Gospel message? No country does that, does it? Not quite. Yet a dependency of Australia, Norfolk Island, has the solitary word ‘Inasmuch’ as its motto; while the Pacific Island territory of Pitcairn has these words as its Anthem: Then shall the King Say...
read moreBrenton Ragless: a time, a place and a purpose
Moving from weather presenter to the Channel Nine news desk earlier this year was yet another stage in a journey that Brenton Ragless sometimes likens to an episode of Mr Squiggle. Rise talks to him about his career, his life, his faith and what the future may hold. Article by Wendy Rush. Weather – or not? When Brenton Ragless finished year twelve at Blackwood High School he had no clear career path in mind and television was not ‘on his radar’. Twenty years later, while he loves what he does, he concedes that he has no idea where the next...
read moreFinding Jesus in the Christmas Frenzy
By Rev Dr John Beasy Each year I visit Melbourne in late November to chair the National meetings of the Australian Baptist movement. During this time, I take a walk down the Bourke Street Mall. On each occasion my attention is drawn to the huge crowd of people gathered around the Myer shop-front. People are lined up and the lines extend along multiple window displays. People of all ages stare in amazement and wonder at the creative scenes in the window. These scenes have varied over the years, with stories of Santa, Elves, toys, and...
read moreSuper Love Keeps Dami Grounded
Super Love Keeps Dami Grounded Article by Richard Miller, Compassion Australia Photograph by Paul Mergard Dami Im talks about the special relationship that has helped her to keep her X-Factor experience in perspective. You might recognise her from Channel Seven’s The X Factor: the statuesque young woman in impossible heels and glamorous costumes, her winning smile, her quiet grace and poise. Even if you’re not a television watcher, you’d recognise that incredible voice soaring on your radio waves, most recently in her new single...
read moreDo Science and God Mix?
Do Science and God Mix? Oxford University Professor of Mathematics John Lennox responds to some key questions about science and faith. These articles are transcribed from Professor Lennox’s online video resources. Does Nature Point to a Creator? Can one see evidence of a Creator in nature? I believe that one can. Nature is not neutral. It’s not as Stephen J Gould, the famous palaeontologist, put it, that whatever we think of God, there’s no evidence of Him in nature. I think there very much is. But I would start, actually, with the fact that...
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