Monthly Archives: November 2013

→ Just do what I told you

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Steve Leston has a great post in the GoThereFor.com Ideas section on what God has asked us to do:

When he asked me that question, I did not realize at the time how important that simple question is in all areas of life. It is amazing how often we as humans fail to do what people ask us to do. In school, marriage, work… we can often get side-tracked doing all the things we were not asked to do, while missing the very essence of what we aresupposed to do.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the ministry. Jesus is so clear with what he asks of ministers in his church, yet we can get so caught up in the things he said not to worry about. What did Jesus ask his disciples to do? Jesus made it pretty clear that they were sent out to do something very specific…

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A visit means more than a text

Everyday Ministry, Life, Sola Panel

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One of the things I admire about my mother is that she gets involved in other people’s lives.

Now that she doesn’t have children at home, and is working less, on her way to retirement, she could use her extra time for herself. Instead, she uses much of it for others.

She helps out at the local primary school. She looks after an elderly lady in a local nursing home. She cares for her brothers and sisters. She visits the sick.

She’s like those older women – the Bible calls them “widows” (which my mum is not, but I think it’s a similar stage of life) – who use their time and energy to serve (1 Tim 5:9-10; Acts 9:36-42). I hope to be like her one day.

Here’s a story that encouraged me to get involved too.

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A quick note on discussion

Editorial

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One of the things I really value about online publishing is the way that useful and edifying discussion can take place quickly, while the original thoughts are still fresh. Very often the comment threads at The Briefing are like this, and we don’t have any intention of shutting that down.
(Of course, online discussion can be toxic—see YouTube comments as a prime example—but discussion here has very rarely descended to that level, and those who have done so are the extreme minority.) (more…)

Crouching at the door

Editorial

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I sat down to write this editorial the week before the Australian federal election, and there was a controversy raging over the current Prime Minister’s comments about the New Testament, slavery, and same-sex marriage. (more…)