Thoughts

All Things New is a series of meditations on the 'new' things God does in those who return to him.

Jesus said 'You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free' (John 8:32). He also said: 'I am ... the truth' (John 14:6).

Paul wrote: 'The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth ...' (2Timothy 4:3, 4). Sadly, this is very obviously true in Christianity today.

This Back to Basics series of meditations will look at some foundational truths of the Christian faith that are taught in the Bible. These meditations seek to challenge you to hold fast to those basic truths, and to have the courage to stand against all the deceptive add-ons that threaten to drown, over-ride, dilute or otherwise distort the truth.

You might say, 'But Rosemary, we are not supposed to judge.'

To that, I would respond: every New Testament book, except for Philemon, contains some warning about or reference to incorrect teaching. Jesus and everyone of the New Testament writers strongly command us to be very careful and very discerning about what is taught and what we believe. It is critical that we judge what we hear and read - what is being taught from the pulpit, in books, on the television, and on the internet and in social media. Just because something is said does not mean it is right. We have to assess it as biblical or unbiblical, as true or false. The same chapter in which Jesus said 'Do not judge, or you too will be judged' (Matthew 7:1), he also commanded us to make extremely acute judgements in relation to people and what people say and do (Matthew 7:6, 13 - 14, 15 - 23, 24 - 27).

For further on warnings about false teaching see these studies.

For expanded teaching on Matthew 7 see this study.

A collection of Christmas meditations.

This collection looks briefly at forty-one encounters between Jesus and various people from Luke's Gospel. Here you will catch a glimpse of both the sheer authority and the intimate compassion of Jesus Christ. Here you will be encouraged to both trust and love him as you put yourself in these encounters. These meditations are available as a paperback here.

This series of thoughts is currently progressing step by step through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, looking at key concepts and their implications for Christians today.

This series of meditations focuses on Christian discipleship - what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Freedom is a precious and costly outcome of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet so often it is overlooked, so often it is misunderstood, and so often it is abused. This series of meditations looks at the various aspects of Gospel freedom, including what we are saved from and what we are saved for. It also looks at misconceptions about Gospel freedom and the abuse of Gospel freedom.

Thoughts in this section address selected current issues.

This collection of previous Thought for the Week segments brings out key concepts from thirteen of Christ's parables.

There are many of the choices that Christians have to make moment by moment, and day by day, in which God has already told us which choice to make. He has told us, for example, not to kill, not to tell lies, not to steal, not to commit adultery. The right choice is clear, regardless of whether or not we make the right choice.

But there are other choices that are not so clearly defined by God - where there is no specific 'do this' or 'don't do this'. When confronted by such situations, where there is no specific command relating to the choice confronting us, there are a number of biblical principles and priorities that point us to the line of action appropriate for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This series looks at number of these prinicples and priorities.

These collected thoughts look at twenty of the promises given by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John. These promises give amazing assurance to all who believe in Christ. 

This collection of previous Thought for the Week segments gives brief comments on sixteen significant salvation concepts from Paul's letter to the Colossian Christians.

This series of thoughts looks at Paul's teaching on salvation in his letter to the Ephesians.

The person and work of the Holy Spirit is a topic that has generated significant confusion and division. Much of this confusion and division is generated by a focus on 'the baptism' of the Holy Spirit. However, the Bible gives us a much, much broader understanding of who the Spirit is and what he does. This series of meditations on the Holy Spirit looks at this bigger picture, seeking to give a more complete appreciation of the person and work the Holy Spirit. In doing so it seeks to undo some of the confusion. Whether or not the divisions can also be undone is debatable.

A developing collection of thoughts about the significance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Based on Paul's letter to the Romans this collection of twenty-four thoughts looks at the gift of imputed righteousness, God's declaration of legal acquittal, which is granted equally to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.

This series of meditations looks at the name by which God identified himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14, tracking its significance in the Old Testament, and highlighting Jesus Christ's use of this name in reference to himself.

This brief collection of thoughts contains the Thought for the Week items posted during the cinema screening of the movie The Passion of the Christ. 

A developing series of meditations on Isaiah.

The apostle John was utterly overwhelmed by Jesus Christ. Even near the end of his life, when he wrote his gospel and his letters, he had not ceased to be amazed by the truth that Jesus Christ was the eternal, almighty God in human flesh.

In this developing series of meditations on John's letters we will see not only John's love for Jesus, and his amazement at the truth about Jesus, but also his conviction that once a person has really understood who Jesus is, and what he has done, that person will never, and can never, be the same again. The implications and impact of knowing Jesus Christ and of knowing his love are radical. They are radical in the confidence they generate in those who do indeed believe in Christ. They are radical also for those who claim to believe in Christ, but continue to live as if they do not know him. As John understands it, so great is Jesus and so great is what Jesus has done for us, that to really know Jesus, and at the same time remain unchanged, is simply not possible.

Thoughts from Peter is a developing series of meditations on the two letters of Peter.

A developing series of meditations on Revelation.

Thoughts from Romans is a developing series of thoughts from Paul's letter to the Romans. For more extensive studies on Romans go here.

This series of thoughts presents selected devotional concepts from the Psalms.

Thoughts on Creation investigates the biblical teaching on creation and its implications for Christian faith and life.

These short meditations on prayer are mostly sourced and adapted from longer studies on prayer on this website.

Thoughts on the Church is a series of weekly meditations on the nature of the church based on the teaching of the New Testament.

This brief collection of thoughts focuses on biblical concepts that encourage believers to live with faith in God and faithfulness to God in the midst of the sin and suffering of this present age.

Understanding Grace is a series of meditations on God's amazing grace lavished upon us in Christ Jesus.

This collection of thoughts is an updated and expanded version of the thoughts archived in the 'Images of God' file. It contains short meditations on various images used by the Bible to communicate truth about the nature and character of God.

This developing series of meditations looks at some of the Bible's answer to the question 'What is human?'

In Romans 12:2 Paul wrote: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...’

In Ephesians 4:17-18 he wrote: ‘So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.’

As Christians we must reclaim the fact that our minds and our thinking are important. It could well be that the abdication of the Christian mind in favour of emotion and experience is the reason that it has been so easily seduced by the many isms currently impacting the church.

This series of articles cannot tell you everything about the beliefs presented; nor can it address every ideology that affects us. What it aims to do is to alert you to some of the powerful ideas that are sometimes subtly and sometimes blatantly attacking the foundations of Christian faith, undermining Christian confidence, changing the focus of Christian thought, and setting the Christian adrift on seas of uncertainty. It aims to challenge the reader to throw off these seductive thought patterns and return to a Bible based, Christ centred mindset, in which there is also a return to the joy, peace and assurance which has always gone hand in hand with the true knowledge of Jesus Christ.