For a while now I have had the picture in my head of the all the Christians in the Mackay region being a bit like a sleeping giant. If all the Christians from different church families (and those who aren't currently part of church families!), could bring all the gifts and skills and passions of their hearts together in unity for the sake of Jesus Christ - I reckon we'd have this place turned upside down overnight. Imagine the social problems that could be solved. Imagine the

God has more in store for us than we could ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Yet sometimes we get stuck in a bit of a rut where we're not moving forward and we find ourselves getting frustrated at people who challenge us out of our comfort zone. We might desperately want to move on, but we just can't seem to pull it off. There's things in the way that we can't fully perceive. Here's 3 mindset errors that we can slip into that will most certainly keep us from moving ahead.

It's State of Origin time again, and what a way to start the series - glory for Queensland! And glory is what we want in our heart of hearts isn't it? Whether the glory of a win for our sports team, the glory of a successful endeavour, the glory of being part of a team or family unit that is functioning well or the glory of enjoying a good meal. We desire glory, and there's nothing wrong with that. The experience of glory and joy are closely related. But the path to glory is

There are all sorts of things that can give us joy - our favourite food, seeing a friend, conquering a physical challenge, or even just a good Dad joke! But when it comes to a life filled with joy, there's a bit more to it, so here's a list of 5 things you need to know about experiencing the fullness of joy or 'inexpressible' joy as it's described in the Bible (1 Peter 1:8). 1. You Can't Have Everything That Will Give You Joy It seems kind of obvious to say, but it's an impor

I (Jai) remember being a young child of 5 or 6 years of age and being in a car crash in the family car. We were travelling in an old van on busy streets in the city. As a young child I understood something of the threat to my security (in the short term at least), that this situation posed. Mum and Dad were stressed and less able to look after us kids. Our car was now damaged pretty badly. It needed to be removed from the intersection. How would we get to where we needed to

Three or four years ago I was part of a bike-riding group. As we sat around a coffee table after the ride, one of the other riders made a comment about the benefits of running as opposed to riding, in that it is more beneficial regarding bone density over the long term. Something like that anyway. I thought that was interesting and so the next week I decided I'd give running a go for the first time in over 20 years. I made it a kilometre or two. But bit by bit, I added anothe

At MAKE we're so excited to be celebrating Mother's Day!! What a great chance to honour those who have born and reared us. Right from the beginning a mother sees the challenges for her child as he or she seeks to grow to their full potential. In a similar way, the scriptures tell us that we need to be born again, by the presence of the Holy Spirit invading our lives and granting us to believe Jesus and the words he speaks (John 3:3). The apostle Paul in his supporting role to

Status Quo is defined as 'the existing state of affairs'. The Status Quo doesn't work because as human beings we are designed to grow and develop, not to stay the same. Even the human body totally replaces itself with new cells every 7 to 10 years. If it stayed the same, it would be a dead body. And of course even then it wouldn't stay the same, it would start to degrade back to dust. In the business world, this piece of wisdom is captured with the understanding that the busi

As much as gender is a sensitive topic, most people can resonate with the sentiment picked up in the title of 1990's best-seller, Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus. In fact, at a time when the differences between men and women were being minimised, this very book was the highest selling non-fiction book of the decade. Sadly, the church has not fared well in this debate about gender equality. It can be seen as outdated and frankly, anti-women. But how does biblical wisdo

Life is about relationships and relationships are always two way. Each person can do things that either draws the other person towards them or sends them away. What would it look like to live in a way that turned the face of the Lord towards us with favour? On the other hand, are there things we could do that really frustrate God? Surely that'd be worth knowing, as we travel through the ups and downs of life. Favour Comes to the Impartial The book of Proverbs tells us that th

Work can sometimes be a drag. We can wonder how to motivate ourselves. And I'm not just talking about work in a workplace or jobs around the house. There's also the work of loving and relating well to friends and family members. There's the work of processing emotions and working through unhelpful thinking patterns we've got stuck in. There's spiritual work, like guarding our hearts, which the book of Proverbs urges us to do, above all else (Prov 4:23). Sometimes we can use o

There are some basic bits of wisdom to follow if you want to find yourself in an ok financial situation. Don't be lazy, you have to work. Don't be a drunk or a glutton. Don't commit adultery. (Pretty basic stuff really, but also stuff that can be a challenge to pull off in real life... but that's for another post) But once we've got the basics in place and maybe have a level of wealth behind us, there's still plenty of questions that remain. Will I be ok if there's a financia

We will always come across people who rather than acting in good and helpful ways, seem bent on pursuing evil. What are we meant to do with that? Should we be afraid of those who do evil? Would we be more successful if we joined them? What about if we have become trapped in an evil pattern of behaviour ourselves (eg. pornography)? Seek Good And Find Favour 'Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.' Proverbs 11:27 Certainly we must be clear th

The days are coming where the truth will be harder to discern. In fact, we're kind of already there. We are surrounded by opinions and 'facts' and stories and perspectives on an increasing array of platforms and mediums. And the issues we're having to grapple with just keep getting more complex. Added to this, as the world becomes more polarised, in some ways it gets harder to find truth without being drawn into one 'side' or another. How can we know the truth, without in som

Though 2022 has started without any cyclones hitting the coast in Queensland (praise God!), for many people the winds of life and circumstance have none-the-less been blowing hard against them. How do you not get pushed off track when life gets tough? How do you get your bearings? How do you figure out what's the priority when it feels like everything is falling apart? Know That The Lord's Purpose Will Prevail In the Storm 'Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is th

Sometimes it can be hard to get a lock onto the truth of a situation. There are competing voices and we can find it hard to figure out which one we're meant to listen to. It can be tempting just to block out everyone else and back ourselves. But it doesn't take too much humility to realise that we probably do need other's input eventually. Where do we find the truth? Where do we find wisdom? Where Do We Find Wisdom? The book of Proverbs in the Bible gives an interesting answ

When we feel our physical health is out of kilter, we go to a Doctor. When we feel our mental health is not great, we might engage a Psychologist. But what do you do when you feel that your spiritual health is not where it should be? There are great gains to be had in relationships, energy levels and your general experience of happiness, by having a clear answer to this question and keeping our spiritual life healthy and running well. What type of spirituality should I engage