Riverside Church Wellington in Wellington, New South Wales | Christian church

Riverside Church Wellington

Locality: Wellington, New South Wales

Phone: +61 414 323 518

Address: 170 Thornton Street 2820 Wellington, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.inc.org.au

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25.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 181 Saturday 19/9/2020 Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters I will be with you.... When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. And why is that? Because Jesus is with you, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. He gave Jesus as a ransom for you. He gave you your freedom. You are honoured and Jesus loves you. You are precious to God. A pearl of great price! You and all of your family too! (Isaiah 43:1-7. You had better read that for yourself. Don’t take my word for it. Read the Word.) Jesus is the only Saviour we have. The fact that you have given yourself to God makes you a witness to that. We live with others who do not know Jesus. They have eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but they cannot hear. That makes our prayers doubly important. If we do not pray for the people of Wellington here, who will? Yes indeed, he is our Saviour and there is no other. From eternity to eternity he is God. It is important then that we get our thoughts right with God. He is the only one who will help us. He is the only one has helped us. He sent Jesus to be our Saviour. He has done it! So, now we can look at our problems and say with absolute confidence that Jesus paid the price, he wiped away all the problems of life and all we need to do is to remember that it is done for us! Jesus has done something else for us already. He made a highway, the way of Holiness, and we can walk it with confidence. It is the way through all the trials, tests and temptations that life can throw at us. You are worth the price he paid for you. He will never stop reminding you that he loves you. God bless you. Max.

25.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 242 Saturday 28/11/2020 Daniel 2:29 He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.... Our job as God’s bond slaves is to care for the flock that God has entrusted to us. To watch over the flock willingly, not grudgingly. Not for what we will get out of it, but because we are eager to serve God. We love Jesus. Therefore we seek to do what he wants us to do. To please him. Do you think you please Jesus? I think you would probably answer that like me and say I certainly hope so. We want to please him, not only by caring for others, but by helping them to grow in love for Jesus too. Growing is natural. We do it without thinking. And we help others to grow too, naturally without really thinking about it much. We should do it a little more consciously though. It is very important to grow. Life becomes an adventure and when that happens anything can happen and usually does too. One of the best ways to help others to grow is by example. By passing on our knowledge. By the wisdom that God has given us. If you have a garden and we have extra hot days around us like those we are in at the moment, we have to water the garden. If we don’t the plants die. If we do the plants thrive. In his kindness God called us to share his eternal glory with him by Christ Jesus. So the suffering that causes the problems we all face we give to him and then he will restore us and support us and strengthen us and also place our feet on the sure foundation of knowing that God’s secrets are there for us to know and be a part of in the future. I know what is going to happen. We are going to live with him in eternity forever! And there’s lots to say about that! God bless you. Max

24.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 227 Saturday 14/11/2020 Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for;... John Paton was a missionary to the islanders who were cannibals. His life was in constant danger. He wanted to translate the bible into their language, so he started with John’s gospel. He discovered there was no word in their language for ‘trust’, or ‘faith’. He had to find the right word to use. One day his servant came in and Paton, who was sitting in his chair, raised both feet off the ground, sat back in the chair, and asked what am I doing now? in reply the servant used a word that meant, to lean your whole weight upon. Paton had the word for faith or trust: leaning your whole weight upon Jesus. Faith means that Jesus will not leave you defenceless. Faith is the choice you make when you trust Jesus and have the courage to act on that trust. Faith is persevering. Moses came out of Egypt twice. The first time he was fleeing for his life. The second time he was leading about a million people away from slavery. Moses learned how to persevere in faith. He learned to lean on God. Why does God use us? Because we expect him to use us! Am I right? I know I expect him to use me, and I want you to have that same expectancy too. We want to see our town being used by God to save people. This is the confidence that God will use us to do his mighty work of building his church. We can see this happening because we live in the age of the Holy Spirit. We have the revelation of the Holy Spirit! Throw your whole weight onto Jesus then! So, look forward to all God has for us, in faith. God bless you. Max

24.01.2022 The Bible blog: you may see that I have popped in an older one (that I have never used before) because not being 100% has made me very lazy with my time today. Enjoy it now. Day75 14/6/21 Psalm The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, And those who dwell in it. With a God like ours, who needs a devil? He (Satan) only spoils it for us! So concentrate on Jesus and you will be so full of him that there will be no time for Satan. When we can so concentrate on Jesus, He ...becomes the be all and end all of everything that we seek to do. But we fight a very cunning adversary in Satan. He is like a roaring lion. That means we never seem to be able to get rid of him altogether. He is lurking, lurking. So, because he is, we have to be always ready to fight him. That is when we know we need to put our armour on and keep it in tip top order. That includes the sword of the Spirit. Keep it sharp and ready for action. There is nothing like the Word of God to put him to flight with his tail between his legs. Both my wife and I are getting rather tired of listening to the news which is all covid. Our government has become very authoritarian and our freedoms are becoming less each day. It is almost like Isaiah 3 where beautiful Zion is all over herself and be blowed to everyone else. The Lord will judge the situation and he will say (v14) you have ruined my people and my country. And lined your own pockets. It’s time to look to Jesus again and let Him lead you. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Use your God given talents to proclaim Jesus and His love with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. What happens in our daily lives comes from looking to Him and listening for His guidance. Isaiah 30:21. This is the way, walk in it. He never leads you astray. Fix your gaze on Jesus. God bless you Max See more

24.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 171 Wednesday 9/9/2020 Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord said, ‘I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.’... ‘With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.’ The effect of that love extends out to the blind and the lame and the pregnant women too. He does not fail to love you too. It doesn’t matter if you turn away from him either as long as (Verse 19) you are repentant. Kick yourself for your stupidity! If we can ask God to forgive us our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us. Our sleep will be sweet, very sweet. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 we find that God has made a new covenant with his people. This covenant he has written on our hearts and embedded it deep within us, you are his! He has done this because he loves you and me. From everlasting! He loved us as soon as he decided to create us in his own image. He looked at himself and said ‘I love you Max. You had better put your name there, because he loves you too. That is from everlasting! He has always loved you. Don’t put a time on it. Always. From everlasting. Never stopped loving you! He is as unlikely to stop loving you as he is to abolish the laws of nature! He will not throw you away. He is in love with you! And he wants you to love him that way too. Unfailing love. Let nothing come between you and your Saviour Jesus. Let the Lord be your shepherd today, and tomorrow until everlasting arrives! God bless you. Max.

23.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 180 Friday 18/9/2020 2 Chronicles 7:13. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls,...... When God shuts up the heavens and no rain falls there has to be a reason. The first thing we seem to do is to say Help Lord! But what we should do is to go to God and repent. We make sure our heart is right with God. In Numbers 20 we are told the story of the people running out of water in the wilderness. They go to Moses and complain. Moses and Aaron go to God. God has compassion on his people, as wayward as they are. Speak to the rock... says God. Moses is so angry with the people who complain at the drop of the hat that he strikes the rock twice. That place became known as Meribah. ‘Arguing. There is a time when you can’t argue with God and get away with the consequences. The thing is; to see the holiness of God in your life we need to be obedient to all God says to do. Jesus is the rock and he was smitten only once. It is appointed unto men once to die. So it is of vital importance to obey God. Speak when told to. Sometimes we want to do the physical thing, instead of the obedient thing. When things get tough, and they sometimes will, going to God and speaking with him is the best thing to do. He knows the end from the beginning. And right now at this time in our history it is the best thing to do. He knows the answer we need. Take your problem to him. Whether it is a physical, or a health problem or a spiritual problem, or just a question you are seeking an answer to, Jesus does have the answer. He will love to share it with you. God bless you. Max.

23.01.2022 The Bible blog: Day 93 2/7/2021 Matthew 11:11 ...there has not risen a greater one than John the Baptist. But the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. It takes a lot to stop a preacher once they have started. Members of their congregation dying and rising to life again only causes a coffee break! (Nicky Gumbel). That story is found in Acts 20:2-12. It may be amusing but let me say, it ought to be true. We should be just as Paul was, so full of the Holy Spi...rit power that we can raise the dead. Both Elijah and Elisha did it! Paul did it. And there are thousands of stories all over world where people are raised from death. Their spirits are given back to their bodies. In 1995 we, my wife and I, went to Kenya on a mission trip. While there I met a man we were talking to over lunch who had been raised from the dead. His body had been placed in the grave and was just about to be covered over when his spirit of life returned to him. His family and pastors had been praying constantly for him and God graciously handed him back to them! Looking into his eyes, which glowed with life, and his face, which shone absolute health, I had to believe him! If we are to be greater than John the Baptist, then we ought to believe Jesus, and put His Spirit, who lives in us, to action. Take up the mantel that Jesus has given you and be prepared to say where is the God of Elijah. He is with you! God is wanting His children to be prepared to walk in the gifts He has given us and use them to proclaim life, vitality, strength and courage to a world that has lost or is in the process of losing, all hope. If Jesus said we could do all this, then shouldn’t we? Come on, let’s believe with our whole heart, just like David did. See Acts 13:22 be a man after My own heart. Then we will fulfil all of God’s will! God bless you Max See more

23.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 189 Sunday 27/9/2020 Isaiah 61:7b You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, ...... Growth comes in Spring! The Bible says there is a season for everything under heaven. Spring is a time to shake off being dormant and put on a new vibrancy of life, expectancy, colour and joy. It is a time to work together. When we work together we multiply our results! We see more of what is good and true and right. We don’t let what is untrue in. We sharpen each other with the truth. God’s word is true! The truth that passes all understanding and leaves us feeling the peace of God which fills and enriches our lives. The Bible tells us not to move the old boundary markers. The markers that give the boundaries which will supply all our needs for life and fulfilment, happiness and contentment. The boundaries which will challenge us to be more than what we are now. If we move the boundaries we lose all perspectives in life and end up not knowing who we really are! Keep to what is tried, true and tested. Isaiah 60:1 Arise Church! Let your light shine! don’t sit back on your laurels. The time and the season for new growth is here! Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work. Until the Church, his handiwork is ready. Ready to be pure, holy and loved as God wants to love us. He is love. He wants his Church to be loved with everlasting love! He wants us to be His Holy Church, his bride! God bless you. Max.

22.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 170 Tuesday 8/9/2020 Isaiah 60:5. Then you shall fear and become bright... the abundance of the sea shall turn to you...... Isaiah 60:1-5 (NKJV) Arise, shine for your light has come... We are at a time when things are starting to become so plain to us that we know that Jesus is coming back soon. Right now, make sure that you are asking God to come close, to fill you with his glory. Darkness can cover the earth but you and I shall shine for Jesus and be the light that others want in their lives too. When Moses was called by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, God had to fill him with His glory. The burning bush was the milestone of change for him. It is the same for you and I too. We want 'the fear of the Lord' to fill us full! He has a job for us to do. To be a light that shares light with everyone you meet. To speak Jesus! There is nothing more important for us to do than that, right now! The Holy Spirit is in you, he lives in you to fill you with his light. Philippians 3:13 says forget the past and look forward to what is ahead... His glory is ahead, and he wants to share it with you. Global revival, global glory is ahead. Will you say ‘yes’ to God to be in the front of revival here in Wellington? Will your life shine Jesus? Arise, shine for your light has come. Your authority is Jesus who is in you. Exercise your authority as Jesus wants you to do. Don’t cover your face up, let it shine for Jesus. God bless you. Max.

21.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 175 Sunday 13/9/2020 1 Samuel 1:15 ... But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD... To read the wonderful story of Samuel’s mother is a blessing. A lady who knew that God hears the prayers of the needy. Verse 19 says that the Lord remembered her plea. Several years passed. Hannah took young Samuel to Eli the Priest of God in Shiloh. So she kept her side of her prayer plea with God and gave him back to God. And the rest of the story you will have to read for yourself, for that is history. Have you ever made a promise to God? Have you kept that promise? The important part of this story is that we go to God not only with our prayers and requests, but we go to God to talk with him and walk with him all along life’s meandering highway. You don’t want to get off this highway because you are with God. Enjoy the journey of life with him. Samuel had to go through some hard times in life. Example: when King Saul went off the rails and thought he was better than God, God withdrew his Holy Spirit from him. Samuel never stopped praying for Saul. It was anguish to his soul. And God actually chided Samuel for praying for him. Never stop praying for your family, your friends and colleagues. ( I know my plea is that God will bring everyone in Wellington to himself.) We are living in a time of turmoil. Whether it is droughts or floods, bush fires or pandemics, this time is one of turmoil. Keep praying that God will bring people to himself and use us if possible. This is a time also of knowing the true knowledge of God in our lives, and our friends and family too. So, when you are discouraged, pour your heart out to God in your prayers. And don’t forget to wait on God for the answer. Keep your eyes and ears open to him. God bless you. Max

20.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 226 Friday 13/11/2020 Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.... Without faith it is impossible to please Him. But with faith life is worth living. It is the solid foundation of life itself. Believe God and he will help you understand. The more you have faith in God the more you will understand, and the more you understand the more intimate with God you will become. That’s how Enoch did it, and he walked into heaven with God one day! The real thing is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. Your faith pleases God and he is looking for people to intercede for the people of this town. Do you want to help God with this? This is one way to use your faith. Ezekiel 22:30 God is looking for someone to help him. He says I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. Someone to stand in the gap, so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land. We are living in a vital time for God. Are you willing to help him by using your faith to intercede for our town and region. Don’t worry, you are not standing by yourself. We are standing there too. This wall is going to take some building. We want Jesus to give us the strength to carry his message of salvation to this town. We want to walk in the light of his presence. He promised us he would help and he gave the Holy Spirit to be with us to do it. Faith is the substance... we have it to do what he is helping us to do. We are praying and interceding on behalf of the our neighbours. All of Wellington to be saved. Let’s make sure it happens. Pray with us! God bless you. Max

20.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 231 Wednesday 18/11/2020 James 1:1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.... How do you see yourself? What is your image of yourself? There was nothing that James could do that did not involve Jesus. He was Jesus’ slave. His eyes were fixed on Jesus. He had nothing else to do other than to look to Jesus for direction. We might turn our attention to our work, or our family, or to driving the car with the radio or music playing. Anything that might keep our mind and body occupied. Anything but practicing the presence of God. James knew how to keep his focus on Jesus. So our task, should we choose to accept it, is to keep our focus on Jesus too. I don’t know about you, but I think I can guess, is to seek to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. Let’s practice the presence of God. Let’s start with Bible reading. Thinking about how to see Jesus in the Word you are reading. Let’s add 5 minutes, to the time we spend today, tomorrow. See if you can create a question from the passage and see if you can work out the answer. Don’t worry about it if it takes all day. The more time you have with Jesus! Remember that The joy of the Lord is your strength. Living a joy filled life is what walking with Jesus is all about. It is fun to be with Him. Learn to listen to Jesus voice. Ask a question and the expect an answer but make the time to listen for it. Sometimes he is immediate. Sometimes he takes longer. I was reading in Ezekiel and there was one time when Ezekiel had to wait 2 weeks before the answer came! Waiting for Jesus tests your faith and when you are tested like that, you grow. In endurance. In wisdom. In patience. It tends toward making you (and I) complete. Then that brings us back to considering where we stand with Jesus. We may be brothers in Christ. But where do we stand? As a slave? Fix your eyes on Jesus. God bless you. Max

19.01.2022 The Bible Blog: Day 91. 30/6/21 2 Timothy 1:6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you... We Christians have become comfortable in our Christian lives with God, haven’t we? Be truthful now! The book of Revelation has a word for us. Rev 2:4. We have lost our first love for Jesus. Do you remember what it was like when you first came to know Jesus? I must admit that I am not quite sure what it was like, but I do know how I have grown into l...oving Him with my whole heart! Jesus wants us to come to Him with a repentant heart, and when we do He fans into flames again that love, that gift, that joy, that courage and strength you have always had in you. Why do we need to be rescued? First and foremost, we are all of us, sinners. We have turned from God’s love to loving ourselves. We think we are better than He made us. We did not think that we needed to be rescued. We are so caught up considering our own navels that we cannot see the wonder and greatness He has in store for those who do put their trust in Him. And that leads us to the second issue. Sin leads us to hell. It leads to eternal death. Jesus described it as, in Mark 9:44 where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. That does not sound like I want to be there. The party is in heaven and the only way to get there is on the narrow way where you walk with God. That is where joy and love and life really are full. Forever! Start to live now. With Jesus. repent of all of your sin. Jesus has made the way by rising from the dead so that we can overcome death by believing and trusting and exercising our faith in Him. Let your heart be set on fire for Him. God bless you Max See more

19.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 240 Thursday 26/11/2020 1 Kings 18:38 Immediately the fire of the LORD flashed down...... Revival comes with fire. Fire burns. It burns away the dross, the bad stuff, and leaves us with the good material that can be used. Used for God’s purpose. That’s what revival is. Being set on fire! Who wants to be set on fire? Get with God and bug him about it! Elijah had about 3 and a half years to get fire to come down flashing down. The reason the fire flashed down was because the sacrifice was on the altar. Your body is the sacrifice God wants from you. When he sees that he will send the fire. When you put yourself on the line for God he fills you with a fire that will not let you go. If you say you’ll never mention the LORD or speak the name of Jesus, his word will burn in your heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in your bones and you’ll be worn out from trying to hold it in. You just cannot do it! (Jeremiah 20:9). In Daniel 3 we have the story of the fiery furnace. The only way for us to survive the furnace is to walk with the Son of God in it. Then we don’t have to hold it in. The message we have is life itself! Then we have the story of Pentecost. It is the fire that changes our lives for eternity. We want everyone to hear this message so Jesus has sent it to us with fire. This gets more exciting every time we hear the story. The Holy Spirit is here to excite the heart, to fill your mind and then to give you the strength to do what he has asked you to do. All the stories of revival come to us to make us get excited about Jesus using us to bring revival in our time here on earth. So join with me again in asking God to come with fire and make this Christmas like no one has ever been in before! Totally Jesus!!! God bless you. Start seeking him! Max

18.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 196 Sunday 4/10/2020 Genesis 3:22 What if they reach out and take... Have you ever thought about why we are not allowed to be in the Garden of Eden? Now we know what it’s like to be able to distinguish between good and evil. We would say something like:- now I have it all but I want to eat of the other tree. The tree of life!... So we are barred from Eden. Until... Revelation tells us that it is available to us when we get to live with Jesus forever. Truly we will be able to eat of it. Then all the knowledge and the wisdom of God will be available. We will be able to do all things we think we can’t do! There will be no negativity. No ‘I can’t’! it will be ‘I can’. Let me have a go at it! No ‘can I?’ It will be Jesus urging us on: Go on, just do it! You can, you know. Today, it is our time in history, so it is our time to stand up by the power of the Holy Spirit and take on the authority and power of God and declare I can and I will! We are here to encourage one another to take on this power and authority and proclaim the Good news. To take on Mark 6:7. Are you willing? God bless you. Max.

18.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 173 Friday 11/9/2020 Isaiah 26:19 But those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again.... Job in Job 19:26 says this in my flesh shall I see God. He knew that God had a life after death too. We know also that the resurrection is the basis of our faith in Jesus. It is fundamental. No resurrection, no life eternal. No eternal life we are the miserable people on earth. And I know that I am definitely not miserable. In fact I am happy. Happy that I know that my redeemer lives. Happy that he will greet me when I go to heaven to live with him forever. If God can love me with an everlasting love then I can trust him to keep me till that day we meet in heaven. That everlasting love. We have talked about that before and it really is amazing that God says that he knew me even before I was born. Before I was even a twinkle in my parents’ eyes. And now I am overwhelmed at that thought. I will see him for myself on that day. With eyes that don’t need glasses! It’s not his fault that sin separates us now. He has made the way back. He wants me to come back to him. Acknowledge my sin and ask for his forgiveness for forgetting who it was that made me in the first place. No, God wants me back! I also want to be with him! Jesus’ blood has washed me clean. I can be with him, for he sees me through Jesus’ blood. I am clean!!! We will rise up and sing for joy! His life giving light will and does fill me with his light and glory. My path is lit up by his glory. God bless you. Max.

17.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 228 Sunday 15/11/2020 Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for,... I have to use this verse again, for we are being bombarded with half truths and incorrect information of what is happening in our nation, our world and in Jerusalem. The Bible says that he who blesses Israel will be blessed. He who curses Israel will be cursed too. My readings in Psalms lately have been telling me to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Well, I am being told again and again to polish up my faith, my trust in Jesus. He is coming soon. He is wanting to bless our Church, His Church, and we will be ready for him to do that. Won’t we? Jesus Christ is King, Jesus Christ is LORD. Hallelujah, Hosanna in the highest. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Not the media. Tighten your grip on Jesus. Read, mark, learn what he is saying to us all. His Word is truth. I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. (Do you believe that too?) Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither fears for today nor our worries for tomorrow not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. His love is revealed in Jesus. The time has come to make the decision to walk with Jesus, every moment of every day! I speak Jesus! We are going to be condemned, ostracized, ridiculed but we stand with Jesus and we will be vindicated. This is our day. Today is the Sabbath day where we put aside every thing else and set our eyes on Jesus. He is our King. He is our hope. Fix your faith on him! God bless you. Max

16.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 179 Thursday 17/9/2020 Isaiah 38:14. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble, Lord. Help me!... It seems to me, and maybe to you too, that we people (I mean God’s people) seem to fall in a heap at times and God seems a long way away. Hezekiah wanted a sign that God was with him. No problem. Let’s just move the sun backwards a bit!!! Now we don’t want that to happen at this time, do we? There is a story that came from NASA that, when they were looking at where satellites were to be at any time in the years to come they discovered that there was a day missing. A Christian man in NASA told them of Joshua’s extra about a day when sun did not set Joshua 10:13-14. That was ok but there was still about 20 minutes missing. So he told them of Hezekiah’s The sun going backwards by 10 steps. It’s all in Isaiah 38. And that solved the problem the scientists had with the missing day. And that solved the problem that Hezekiah had with his tired eyes. But how does that solve our problem? When we look to heaven and it seems like the door is shut? Jesus, of course, is the answer. He said he will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. Do you believe that? Fix your eyes on Jesus. If you do he can’t hide from you. No, that’s not right. I can’t hide from him!!! I don’t want to either. All the answers are in Isaiah 38. Just think of it he, Jesus, is ready to heal me! I will sing his praises, every day. Will you sing his praises too? I can tell you, and you can find out for yourself, that Jesus is absolutely trustworthy. Have a great day. God bless you. Max.

16.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 174 Saturday 12/9/2020 Daniel 9:3 I turned to the Lord and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting.... Why is it that prayer so important? What is it that makes prayer important? Right throughout the Bible we read of the men of God that they conversed with God. Some to the degree that they were friends of God. Like Moses. (Deuteronomy 34:10). Maybe we can also be like him and meet with God: face to face. Wouldn’t you like to do that? I am trying to build my own courage to say that I would love to meet with God face to face. Just like Moses did. Just like Jacob did (Genesis 32:30). Just like Gideon did (Judges 6:22). I would be like the Psalmist. Psalm 17:15 Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied. The wonderful thing about God is that, that is what he wants us to do! Are you prepared to open yourself up to God like that? Now we are getting closer to his heart! Daniel 9:9 But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. All he wants us to do is repent of our sin, come to him and ask for forgiveness, trust him and fall into his hands. His promise to us is: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34. Just be his disciple! Like Peter in this passage we may have to go through a little test first! Are we ready? God bless you. Max.

16.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 172 Thursday 10/9/2020 John 13:34. I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other...... Jesus loves us so we are to love each other. Just as we love him. It seems you cannot stop talking about how much you are in love with Jesus. He’s worth talking about. He’s worth talking to! So talk to him and learn to love him more. The more you do that the more the world will know you are a disciple of Jesus, and greater will be your glory. Jesus said in verse 31 that he was entering his glory, and that the Father would be glorified because of him. Let me tell you that the Father will be glorified too if your life shows your spiritual glory. So, what’s next? We’ve talked about love, and we’ve talked a little about glory and shining for Jesus, but there has to be more, doesn’t there? Of course there is! Let me illustrate with marriage. First there is the courting. Getting to know your other friend, love and partner in life. That’s a lot of fun. Jesus knows that too. He’s all for it! Talk to him, see him get to be with him. Are you getting the picture? Secondly, there is the engagement. This is the time of preparation for marriage. You know, the I can’t wait for that time. The expectancy of it! Is that the way you feel about Jesus. There’s so much more I want to know about you Lord! Are you learning to use his authority? His power? He said you can. Matthew 28:18 All authority is given to me... he gave that to us because he is in heaven right now and we are still here on earth. Getting to be more like him! Jesus’ life seems like he was excited about teaching his disciples to be like him. Learn how to be like him! Love him. Love him. Thirdly, there is marriage. But that is to come! God bless you. Max.

14.01.2022 The Bible blog: Day 96 6/7/2021 2 Corinthians 4:6 Let there be light in the darkness God said, and He has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." We are rather fragile people and carrying around this light in our hearts can be daunting. But there is great power in God and we are carrying a great treasure. Now, what does that tell us? It says we cannot rely on ourselves, we must allow God’s great power ...to shine from us. Although there are people who think they can push us around, we know that with God we will not be crushed. We may be perplexed, but we are not in despair. When David was fleeing from King Saul, there were about 400 men who came to him. They were described in the Bible in 1 Samuel 22:1-2 as men who were in trouble or debt or despair or discontented. That is a bit like Jesus to whom were attracted publicans and sinners. Do we attract people to us? People who are in need of God in their lives. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. We have everything we need to allow our lights to shine for Jesus. Somehow we need to polish the lenses so that the light can shine through. Holy Spirit come and make me shine for you! You live in me. Help me. We have everything we need for love and good works. Let’s make it count. We don’t face death like Paul did, but we still need to expose people to the wonderful grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. How will people who live around us know that Jesus is here? We are here to open the eyes of the blind, that they may see! God bless you Max See more

14.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 241 Friday 27/11/2020 Acts 2:4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages... There were certain things that happened on the day of Pentecost. A roaring wind. Tongues of fire. Everyone speaking in all the languages of the people in Jerusalem at that time. No one missed hearing the Gospel message. It was as noisy as... but there was one other the Holy Spirit. The presence of God. We cannot be in the presence of God the Holy Spirit and be silent. It’s just not possible. We have a job to do for Jesus. He said ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel’. We can’t do it by being silent. It is our job to tell those who live around us the good news that Jesus has made the way to heaven possible. Our job is not to keep silent! Jesus controls the course of human events. He give us wisdom in all our dealings with others. And don’t we know that we need wisdom in just being with other people. We like some people and we don’t get on with others. We judge some people (we shouldn’t judge anyone but we do from time to time). We don’t speak kindly to others. These are things that are part of our normal lives and Jesus wants us to imitate him in everything we do and live by. How do we live for Jesus properly? We spend time with him. We spend time copying those we love. We try to imitate them. We do, don’t we? So what is the answer to all this? To love Jesus with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. So let’s get stuck into doing just that. Love him. Read his Word. Pray with him. And may God bless you today! Max

13.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day169 Monday 7/9/2020 Isaiah 7:11. Ask the LORD your God for a sign of confirmation.... King Ahaz refused to ask God for confirmation and Isaiah was rather cross with him and said Must you try God’s patience too? How can you or I stand firm in our faith if we can’t go to God with our questions and problems? In this case God himself gave Isaiah the prophecy of A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call him Immanuel. Now the upshot of that was that you are now reading this blog. Good for you! You know that God is looking after you. He has given you, among other things, eternal life. And this life is in his son, Jesus. Jesus has given you also, authority in heaven and earth to make disciples of every one you meet. Tell them the good news and teach them the way of the cross and obedience to Jesus. Easy!... Jesus told us this, and if he said it, we should seek to follow his way of doing things. That is what he left us to do. The best way to do it is to love him with all our heart, soul and mind. Let him direct your life and all these things will be added unto you. This is his sign of confirmation for you, and me too. He gave us his Holy Spirit to live in us to prove it. It was his promise to us, and as we know Jesus NEVER breaks a promise! Live today, and every day, with the sure knowledge that the Holy Spirit will guide and be with you and use you to help him do what Jesus has asked us to do. To help him build his Church. To tell others the Good News! That Jesus loves them. God bless you. Max

13.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 232 Thursday 19/11/2020 Ezekiel 33:10 How should we live then.... Psalm 128:1 How joyful are those who fear the Lord. And James 2 says that when we live by faith we back it up by living in love. As believers in Jesus we are called to live and love as he did, and does. Faith must be evidenced by our deeds. Words are evidenced by our actions. Proclamation by demonstration. Conversion of individuals by the transformation of society. It’s obvious that talking about God without action for God is absolute nonsense. We know that sin needs to be repented of. Honour needs to be given to God. Love needs to be the way in which we live when we repent of our sin and seek his grace. Now we need to look at ourselves and see how we can put our faith into action. We must be true to our Lord. He has saved us from eternal death! What must we do then? According to the Apostle James we need to spend our time in strengthening the weak. Healing the sick. Helping those who are injured by willful lives, by homelessness, by poverty etc. search for those who do not yet know Jesus and look to encourage people who have been with Jesus before, to come back to him (prodigals). Help those who are victims of injustice. The wonderful thing is that Jesus helps us to do this. He says that he is the Good Shepherd. And he says that do all this comes with showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26 God bless you. Max

12.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 230 Tuesday 17/11/2020 Hebrews 13:5-6 for God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence...... In all of life we can say with confidence that people are what is most important in this world. In fact, what is most important to each of us. Your Mum and Dad. Your brothers and sisters. Jesus. Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, makes us (you and me), count. We can be, when we are with him, as bold as a lion. We can use his strength to be morally sound, to stand for something. The old saying is if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything. Our lives can be strong in him, completely satisfying, full of grace, and our eyes fixed on him. People count in your life and community when you: extend hospitality, help others in need, honour marriage, be content with what you have, seek to please God by offering praise to him. Remember he does not change, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is worth every moment of your life. All of our lives. Let’s make our congregation a community of grace, where everyone finds love, meaning and hope! God bless you. Max

12.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 178 Wednesday 16/9/2020 Psalm 107:6. Lord, help! They cried in their trouble, ... Is your cry for God’s assistance because you are in distress? Or is it because you need some assistance in what to do next with your life? Do you feel like you are accomplishing something? Or is it that you feel like you are missing something that could really make a difference, in your life or others about you? These questions seem to come up often in my life, so I suppose they do in yours also. This Psalm is a bit different to most of the others in that people are found in everyday life but are in some kind of crisis. Read it through for yourself and see if these sorts of things apply to you. But make sure you read the last 3 verses. They are for you today. Those who are wise will take all these things to heart and ponder on them. They will look at history and see God’s faithful love. They will see, no, let’s change that to, we will see all that is happening around us and praise God that we are here at this time to take part in the most momentous occasion in all of history. Jesus has put us here to be the best we can be for such a time as this. So when you pray with the cry of your heart saying ‘Lord, help!’, listen very carefully for his response. He is saying ‘I am here for you, and I have you in the palm of my hand. I am leading you and guiding you, and using your special gift to be my soldier at this time. Are you ready to take and follow my orders for you?’ In front of us is the unknown. It is a bit scary. But it is also filled with great reward, joy, peace and God’s wonderful love! God bless you. Max.

09.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 182 Sunday 20/9/2020 Galatians 2:20 I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.... The idea is to live by faith in Christ. That means if you have never said yes to Jesus in your life, that now, today, is the time to make that decision. There is a scripture that says justification by faith. The only way to have sin in your life, dealt with. People without God are slaves. Slaves to the law. People who walk by faith are slaves to Jesus. Slaves to freedom. Living by grace and trust. Abraham had two wives. One was a slave woman. One was a free woman. He had a son by each of them. And today we can live by following the slave woman’s son, or we can live by following the free woman’s son. The question is not are you the son of Abraham?, but who is your mother? Hagar will bring you slavery to law, i.e. failure, confusion and defeat. Follow and have Sarah for your mother and be a son of promise, i.e. freedom in Christ. Be born again into freedom by the Holy Spirit. Our life then is one of faith, lived through a life of love. There is no other God. None but Jesus. God has given him a name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth. Philippians 2:8-11. Declare Jesus is your LORD! God bless you. Max.

08.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 238 Tuesday 24/11/2020 James 5:18 Elijah was a man of like passion as we are. He prayed earnestly.... The thought of you stirs me so deeply, That I cannot be content unless I praise you. Whatever Elijah can do so can I! That means my prayer is powerful too! Of course that means we need to know the Saviour personally. We do that by walking with him continually. I want him to rub off on me! That way my passion is his passion. Just like Elijah’s was. 1 Peter 1:3 It is by his great mercy that we have been born again. Or the NKJV says his abundant mercy. The mercy of God is abundant. He is tender towards you. He forgives all your sin and sinful ways. Does not chide us for doing things wrong but shows us the way to do it right. While we are thinking of Elijah, let’s just look at what he did. He went to the king and said that it was not going to rain for three and a half years. Then God told him to hide at the brook Cherith. What did he do there? He was quiet before God! I’m sure he spent all his time talking to God. Seeking to see God. Seeing the vision of God. Seeing what was going to happen on Mt Carmel in a couple of year’s time. Then he called the nation to Mt Carmel. Next, he shows us what spontaneity can do. All of his story is found in 1 Kings 17 and onwards. Read it for yourself. But learn its lessons too. Listen for God to talk to you. When you can hear God’s voice speaking to you, you know you have a message to pass on to others. Elijah prayed earnestly. How do we pray? Do we want our prayers and our lives to be fervent? 1 Peter 1:8 Let’s call down the fire of God into our lives so that this town can also feel the fire of God. God bless you. Max

08.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 177 Tuesday 15/9/2020 Mark 9:23. What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Anything is possible if a person believes.... God is laughing at the devil now because he is seeing you taking hold of his Word and proclaiming Jesus everywhere you go. People around us are starting to ask questions. Like what is the meaning of my life? Jesus is life! His blood heals all our sins, our sicknesses and our fears. He fulfils all our hopes and our desires. Are you asking God ‘If you can?’ Then I am telling you that all your hopes are answered by God. He knows your wishes and desires. Are you in agreement with Him? Only people who agree walk together. Anything is possible when you agree with God. All of us need to improve our prayer life with Jesus. I know I do! There is so much going on in the heavenly realm right now around us that we need to strengthen our prayer life to be in communion with God. Satan is trying to take our minds off the glory of Jesus, and put it onto things like sport. Look to Jesus and see the glory in him. Want that glory to shine out of you too! When our sight is looking to Jesus then we too, will see the people around us looking to us to find out what is going on. Our every day connections with our neighbours and acquaintances will be much more exciting. Jesus is turning things around here! It’s not ‘If I can’, it’s ‘I will’. Spend more time with God in prayer. Spend more time reading his word the Bible. Spend more time, if you can, with other Christians talking about these things. God bless you. Max.

05.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 224 Wednesday 11/11/2020 Exodus 14:14. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.... Today is Remembrance Day. We remember the end of world war 1. We can also remember that God wants for us to be calm and remember what he did to bring the Israelites to the Red Sea. He brought about complete freedom from slavery to the Egyptians. Now he is about bringing complete freedom from Satan and his child sacrificing. He wants us to remember what he did on the cross to bring about freedom from sin! We need to come to God with our praise and prayer and see what God is about to do in our time. God the Holy Spirit is filling this world with things that we have been longing to see. I don’t know what they may be because I have not seen them yet myself. I am waiting for God to move. Have you got your eyes open? We are praying for revival. It’s coming. And when it does we will be overwhelmed by God’s almighty greatness and goodness. Overwhelmed by love! We are about to come out of slavery to this world’s sin and seduction. We are about to come into a time of abundant blessing, goodness, joy and justice. All we are asked to do right now is to wait! Got it? Wait! This is remembering that God is good! God is great! God is in control! He has it! All we are to do right now is to remember that God is God and wait! Be calm! God will show his glory and every one will know that there is a Glorious God. Whether they believe or not is up to them. What we are to do is to show people who Jesus is and what he did for them. Got it? He will fight for us. God bless you. Max

04.01.2022 The Bible blog: Day 94 4/7/2021 Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Saviour. I find protection, He is my shield, the power that saves me and my place of safety. How can you find words that describe Jesus in such wonder, like these ones? I love you Lord, you are my strength. In this age where we find ourselves, it is imperative that we continue to praise and glorify our Lord, because if we didn’t we would be lost in the plethora of communistic rhetoric. I hav...e a copy of a page from the Deakin University training manual of 2013. Student teachers are asked to answer questions in a reverse role situation about being homosexual. Question 1: What do you think caused your heterosexuality? My answer to this: Now the Bible is very clear on this because God created male and female to be fruitful and multiply. He took, from Adam, a rib to make a woman. Not another man! It is the wonderful job of a man and a woman to make another man, or woman!!! When we follow this we can praise and glorify and worship our almighty God. We can be filled with the Spirit of God. And we can walk in power, and wisdom and understanding that being creative is truly a God given gift! Isn’t it marvellous that God has given us this gift, (among many others as well). The Holy Spirit is our guide and He guides us into all truth. He does not and will not lead us astray from his wonderful blessings. Keep praising Him, standing on the promises that never fail. I’m standing on the promises of God. God bless you Max See more

04.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 176 Monday 14/9/2020 Habakkuk 2:1 There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.... Habakkuk was complaining that the Babylonians were brutal and wicked. Should they be allowed to swallow up God’s special people? will you let them get away with this forever? He asked. Then he waited for God to answer. The Bible doesn’t say for how long! One thing he did do was cling to God the only source of life forever. What was around him that made him think twice was the lawlessness and violence. God had to do something about that, didn’t he? Paul, the apostle, quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41 saying look around at the other nations. See what God is doing there. Now turn your eyes back to here and see that we have to be totally true to God, no matter what is happening. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. There is no other answer to life’s situations. Jesus is the answer. The only answer. ‘I’m biased’ you say. Yes! Because Jesus is the only answer. God bless you. Max.

03.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 229 Monday 16/11/2020 Psalm 126:5-6. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.... Being in the presence of Jesus and walking with him closely requires these three things: Happiness, Holiness, Humility. They are vital for a healthy relationship with Jesus. I think we all understand happiness. It is said that children laugh about 150 times per day on average. Adults laugh about 6 times a day on average. Jesus said to allow the children to come to him because they are of the kingdom of heaven. I think Jesus knows why! Holiness is a bit more complicated to understand (because we don’t laugh enough!). the bible says to come out and be separate from the rest of the world. Being separate to God is the question. Are you allowing yourself to be separated to God. Can anything ever separate you from God’s love? Neither angels or demons, life or death, no, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. So staying close to Jesus and walking in relationship with him keeps our holiness holy! Remember our God is a devouring fire. The three men in the fiery furnace knew how to be holy! They walked with Jesus! Humility is also hard to define in our lives. Controlled strength seems to be close to the mark. Knowing who you are in Christ is close to helping you to be humble. It is not being puffed up or so sure of yourself that you have no qualms about treading on peoples toes! It is knowing and being sure of yourself and your standing, when you are with Jesus. Be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Have sin in you dealt with by our holy God then your harvest will always be with shouts of joy. God bless you. Max

03.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 225 Thursday 12/11/2020 Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword?... Have you got to the point in your life where you can say who can separate me from the love of Christ? Is your life full because Jesus is there with you? Let me say to you that all things work together for good to those who love Jesus. So loving Jesus is the best course of life abundant life. Living life with Jesus is always like walking in the light. Walking in the light means that you don’t have to stumble. You can see where you put your feet! Walk in the light as he is in the light, and you have fellowship with Jesus and with one another. There is great security when you walk in the light. Jesus is light. What joy there is in knowing the light will be with us for eternity. In fact, there is no impurity or insecurity permitted for those who walk with Jesus. Our aim should be, and is, that such a walk should be totally unimpaired. If there are sins of ignorance the Blood of Jesus will continue to remove them. As far as the east is from the west. God does not only forgive, he cleanses. His promise is to cleanse. He is faithful to his promises. He cannot break them. He has written them in his diary. And with them he blesses you. God bless you. Max

03.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 239 Wednesday 25/11/2020 Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the Seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.... I think this is a change in my ideas of the blog this week. But I have been thinking of revival and praying about, and for it, just about every day for some time. I want Jesus to send revival. I think Jesus is going to do something very big. Overseas, they think Jesus is going to send them revival. And he will. Here in Wellington Jesus is coming with revival! And he will. But. Revival seems to come with fire. It is a prerequisite. Isaiah had to be set on fire. So he was touched with a burning coal. You and I need to be set on fire. So we need to be touched with fire! Got the picture? Fire purifies, fire cleanses, fire softens hard things, fire warms the heart too, fire removes your guilt, fire allows God to forgive your sin. My heart needs the purifying, cleansing, annealing (softening), warming and forgiving of sin too. If we are to experience the fire of revival then our hearts have to be this way. All of us! Do we want to have revival? Then we need to be seeking God with all our heart. He will forgive our sins and wash away all uncleanness. He will send his fire to do what he needs to do in our hearts. Keep seeking him. Keep reading his word. Keep listening to his voice. (You don’t actually hear him speaking to you? But that is for another blog). Keep asking for the fire of the Holy Spirit in your life. Jesus told a story of the unjust judge. He was constantly asked, and asked, and asked until he gave in. I don’t think the Holy Spirit is unjust but he is coming with fire. Don’t let him pass you by! God bless you. Max

03.01.2022 The Bible blog: Day 92 1/7/21 Psalm 78:32 But in spite of this, the people kept on sinning. Despite His wonders, they refused to trust Him. God our Father is prepared to do exceedingly abundantly for us His children. But too often we become so engrossed with His gifts that we forget and neglect the Giver!. The noise and the parties going on, on the broad way attract us and we go from the peace of God to jazz with the Devil. Then we suffer. Do not separate the gifts of ...His grace with those of His power. All good and perfect gifts are from Him. Thank Him for them and use them at His discretion. Give Him thanks for them. When we are born the Holy Spirit gives us our first breath. He breathes His spirit into us and we have life! Sin was never to be part of what God has in store for us. It is life, and that life is for ever. Do not let sin distract you from life. Bright lights, noise and frivolity should not be the attraction of life that we think of here on earth. Satan wants to kill our soul with that kind of stuff and nonsense. Don’t let stuff turn you from God your creator. Do not turn towards sin. Look again to the glory and wonder of God who made all things for us to enjoy. When we finally get into heaven with Jesus we will see that His bright lights do not fade away. There is plenty of joyous noise and there is the marvellous marriage feast of the Lamb. Now that’s what we have to look forward to. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your ears open to hear his voice. This is the way, walk in it. Isaiah 30:21 God bless you Max. See more

03.01.2022 Pastor's blog: Day 243 Sunday 29/11/2020 1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.... This verse (look it up, don’t take my word for it), goes on to say Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. Love is so closely linked to God, for God is Love that even if you don’t know Jesus yet you are still a child of God because you love someone. You are imitating God! We love God because he first loved us. Jesus came to earth because he loved us. Right from the very beginning. You just can’t help but love him back. He went through all that trial , whipping and crucifixion, but it was when the face of his Father was turned away that he actually cried out My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That was a love cry if ever there was one! And that is why we continue to love others. He did and does. So we do and do! Dear friends, continue to love. Never stop loving others. Never stop loving Jesus. The more we love him the closer to him we become and the closer to the revival fire of God as well. That’s exciting. We want to have the fire of God all around us. People being saved. Excitement of life, love and heaven surrounding us. Just a foretaste of eternal life itself! Real love is not that we love Jesus, but that he loved us. He came as the Saviour of the world. All the world deserves to love him. We must tell the world of this wonderful love. And we start by loving each other! Then as verse 12 says his love is brought to full expression in us. You need proof? He has given us his Holy Spirit to live in us! God bless you. Max