Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 3, 2010
HELL, LITERALLY
Now the word for "hell" is interesting. According to William Barclay, it literally referred to the Valley of Hinnom, to the South West of Jerusalem. William Barclay says "It was notorious as the place where Ahaz had introduced into Israel the fire worship of the heathen god Molech,
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 2, 2010
Satan says in effect to Jesus in Matthew 4 "JUST COMPROMISE AND YOU’LL GET WHAT YOU WANT", But the AUTHORITY OF RULE doesn’t come with a CROWN OF POWER from the enemy. It comes with a CROSS OF SUFFERING and humility.
Satan says "I’ll give you POWER WITHOUT THE PAIN, A CROWN WITHOUT THE
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 31, 2009
I once went to court on behalf of young mother with an intellectual disability. She was a difficult person and the Department of Children’s Services had decided, in their wisdom, to apply the letter of the law and take away her child. It was my task to speak on her behalf and make a case for her,
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 30, 2009
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CHRISTIANS AND SALT
I use a saline solution for my contact lenses. It has the same salty consistency as my tears have. Without it I could not clean my lenses and putting them in would be difficult.
I’m told that too much salt is bad for you. The Bible says Christians are like salt. And we live in
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 29, 2009
One of my jobs some years ago was working with disabled people. I remember working with a young Christian woman and my job was teaching her how to read. She would readily share her faith to others and I enjoyed the opportunity to encourage her in her faith. I chose the 23rd Psalm in our lessons and
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009
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"BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS - for they shall be called sons of God."
You may say "Well that’s nonsense. All you have to do is see all the so-called Christians who have been involved in bloody conflict in history, all done in the Name of God". In fact even Al-Qaeda operates in the Name of a god
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009
When I first came into ministry many years ago now, Julie and I realized that the only way we could train in the Bible College was to sell everything we owned except our car and our children (actually our children already belonged to God, so they didn’t come into the equation). There was no
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009
My Mum suffered from corns on her foot. She was totally frustrated with this callused patch of hard, thickened skin and could not get relief. One day I invited her to Church and a woman spoke on healing. Invitations were given to come forward but my Mum, although interested in everything the woman
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009
I remember stealing a bag of lollies from a shopping centre as a kid. I would have done it again and again, except the guilt of that act stayed with me for years. I regretted being so dishonest. All of us have broken the 10 commandments in our lives. In fact the NT
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 28, 2009
I can’t say I have ever felt afraid of God, but I have felt the awe of His presence, and I have been overcome by a sense of His majesty. I remember standing out on a mound of earth out on a property and looking up at the stars. Away from the city, the stars seem so much brighter, and I cried out to
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009
Recently Julie expressed her desire to go on our Church missions trip to Cambodia. She was excited because we expected that the Government’s stimulus package of $900.00 for each person would cover the cost. All we had to do was put in our tax returns. My $900.00 came as expected, so we had more
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009
"It interests me that God tests me by allowing me to go through difficult situations in order to prove the quality of my character, the genuineness of my worship and the motivations of my service. What is your Marah?
I can sing praises easily when things are working out well for me. Throughout my
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009
I love Baptisms. I always love it when people respond to Jesus in this way.
I remember as a TEENAGER
seeing people from our YOUTH GROUP
being BAPTISED in a BAPTISMAL POOL
at the FRONT of our Church.
It was so STRANGE to me.
I watched as people WALKED DOWN THE STEPS
of a SMALL POOL at
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009
The REAL CHRISTMAS ICON
in some ways should have been JOHN THE BAPTIST
Instead of a RED SUIT
we would have people in CAMEL’S HAIR and LEATHER BELTS
walking around the shopping centres
shouting “PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD”,
and giving out SAMPLES OF WILD LOCUSTS AND HONEY
for people to try.
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
Sometimes some of the guys try to push me around a little, all in good fun. It is a way of showing affection in Australia. In the friendly banter, I may say "Hey, I belong to God! I am annointed! Don’t touch the Lord’s annointed! Back off!" Although I am only joking I am also serious about
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my son. When he and his wife were living in New Zealand, we went to visit them. On my return I dreamed that he had died and woke up in tears. I quickly rang him to say how much I loved him. He must have thought I was losing it, but my grief was real and
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
Years ago I was invited out to a farm in West Wyalong, in NSW. It was night when we arrived and after eating, the farmer invited us out to the barn. He had a large torch and shone it around the floor. At first I didn’t realize what I was looking at. The floor seemed to be moving in waves. The waves
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
Each night when I turn off the study light and stumble blindly towards the bedroom, trying not to wake Julie, who often goes to bed before me, I realize how helpless I am in the darkness. My night vision is hopeless. Kitchen benches, edge of the Pantry and doors seem to deliberately thwart my
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
It wasn’t long ago in Australia we saw race horses being put down because of a disease that spread through the racing industry, threatening the lives of people also. Whatever the plague was in Egypt, it was severe, contagious and fatal. The only animals under the Lord’s quarantine were those in the
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