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 26, 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 26, 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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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
The next plague in Exodus 9 is a severe electrical thunderstorm with hail. I remember as a kid looking out over the field near our house and seeing a brown cloud of what looked like dust billowing it’s way towards me. The sky took on a brown tinge that seemed to paint the whole atmosphere and
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
Years ago I remember the Kings Commandoes going camping and coming back with insect bites all over their skin. They had been attacked through the night by blood sucking insects which deposit their eggs on living things so the larvae can feast upon it. So under their skin were deposits of larvae
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
My mother has a fairly rare heart condition known as Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy. It is a disease of the muscle of the heart in which a portion of the muscle of the heart is thickened without any obvious cause. It’s a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in any age group and causes disabling
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009
I was walking along the street with a friend of mine many years ago when we came across a young man being tormented by a group of teenage boys. He was being pushed around and urged on to fight. My immediate inclination was to avoid any conflict and get out of there because the situation looked
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 23, 2009
I have tried fasting a few times in my life and always found it helpful. Once, after a fast for a week or so, I was so hungry for food that I went out and bought a pizza. I was sick that night. Not a good idea to introduce pizza to a starving stomach too quickly. Are you hungry enough?
I was
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 22, 2009
The only thing about Christmas that bothers me is that people see Jesus as a baby, meek and mild but they don’t see Him for all that He really is.
It always used to bother me that I was called a gentle man. I longed to be seen as strong and courageous and visionary, but people mainly see me as
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 21, 2009
MOURN FOR THE INNOCENT
This Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Perhaps we should also mourn for the innocent lives that Herod sacrificed in order to avoid a threat to his throne. And we haven’t changed. Perhaps we should also mourn the millions of babies who are aborted each year. We
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 21, 2009
I have a friend who had an accident and now lives in constant pain. I ring him up occasionally and seek to encourage him. He loves God but is totally incapacitated. What do you say? How can you provide them with a window of hope?
Job expresses his frustration to his friend for his insensitivity to
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 21, 2009
When Julie gave birth to our son Ben, and then to Rachel two years later, I was overjoyed. I held them up to God soon after birth and praised God for the privilege of raising them. I realized even then that they belonged to Him, and I needed His help to be a parent. I drove home in the car honking
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Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 21, 2009
A few months ago I went into hospital for an operation. I had my wisdom tooth removed as well as a chipped tooth fragment removed, which had found it’s way into my sinus cavity. I was under anaesthetic so I didn’t feel a thing and woke up on the operating table after the procedure was finished. I
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