How many anointings for Jesus?
Sometimes, in reading the Gospels, we come across incidents which at first glance seem similar, but upon closer inspection are not. Indeed, they may be referring to different incidents. That’s […]
Running to the End
Running to the End I really don’t know how I ended up training to be a long distance runner. I had been impressed with John Landy – the first Australian, […]
True Assurance
By James Jeffery One True Assurance / Fundamentals of the Faith (Part V) “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own […]
One True Mediator
By James Jeffery One True Mediator / Fundamentals of the Faith (Part IV) “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ […]
Light in the Darkness
LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Light is a concept we naturally consider as good and beneficial, while its absence – darkness – is alien and threatening. In the days of […]
Real vs. Counterfeit Repentance
By James Jeffery One True Assurance // Fundamentals of the Faith (Part II) “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” […]
Chinese Translation of Meditation
基督教冥想 初學者指南 我把平安留給你們，把我的平安賜給你們，我賜給你們的平安不像世人給的平安。你們心裡不要憂愁，也不要害怕。（約翰福音 14:27） 任何人都能冥想。問題是，你希望它有意義還是無意義？ 東方的冥想模式被一些西方名流視為典範。但情形並非一直如此。直到一兩個世代之前，基督教冥想都是西方的冥想模式，並且至今仍是世界各地數百萬人採用的方式。 兩種冥想的主 要區別在 哪裡呢？ 印度教等東方宗教旨在通過日漸複雜和自律的冥想來達到更高的精神境界。 然而，今天在西方， 這種冥想主要用於日常事務開始前或結束後尋求身心平靜。通常的做法是保持身體靜止，找到 一個自己的口頭禪，無意識加以重複以停止思考——關閉大腦。一切為了讓你感覺好一點。 這種簡化的方法幫助一些人通過呼吸練習來應對日常壓力，並以阻止思維來與世界隔絕。 自相矛 盾的是，有些人發現這很難做到。這是因為神沒有把我們設計成不會思考的受造。我們最大的福祉不是停止思考，而是盡可能最好地思考。基督教冥想因此有了用武之地。不需要冥想虛無（或停止思考）以達到更高境地，基督教冥想有意識地從一個更高的境界去獲取什麼。一種方法是倒空思想，而另一種方法則去發掘豐富美好的想法。 十分鐘的個人冥想時間大約相當於一天清醒時間的百分之一。如果你真的希望它能影響你一天中剩餘 99% 的時間（或幫助你睡眠），你應該進行豐富而非貧乏的冥想。 以下是關於如何進行基督教冥想的建議。找一個安靜、偏僻不被打擾的地方。兩種不同類型冥想的相似之處到此為止。選擇一節經文或簡短的聖經段落。網上有大量每日聖經靈修的資源。 另一 個（也是更好的）方法是尋找適合的經文。可以在白天花一些時間閱讀新約聖經某一章，以從中 找到一節經文作為當晚或第二天早上的冥想片段。 閱讀幾遍這節經文。慢慢地再讀一遍，認真專注於每一個詞。考慮文本中對你來說最重要的一個 或多個詞彙。捫心自問，這些詞告訴我上帝怎樣的屬性——他是誰，他說了什麼， 做了什麼； 它 們也告訴我自己的秉性——我是誰，我說了什麼，想了什麼，做了什麼？並非所有問題都有解答， 但至少會有一個答案。結合經文的上下文及其中最佳詞彙思考這個答案。 在腦海中思考這些 […]
Life is a Pilgrimage
By James Jeffery “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ…” Philippians 3:20 (ESV) The great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. […]
Thankfully, God often says ‘No’
Thankfully God Often Doesn’t Answer My Prayers I think we have all had a conversation like this: “…So what prayers has God answered lately?” “Ah, it’s so frustrating! I’ve been […]
A Powerful Story of Forgiveness
By James Jeffery “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for […]
A Prayer from the Ages
A Prayer from the Ages One of the few things every Christian can do for Christ’s church is to pray. But what should we pray for? Our prayers are often […]
The Wow Factor
The Wow Factor When preaching, we can often have those “wow” moments. Those “wow” moments are often seeing something that we haven’t seen before. It is having a deeper appreciation […]
Living in the Light of Eternity (Ecclesiastes Part III)
By James Jeffery “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring […]
Pleasure is Fleeting (Ecclesiastes Part II)
By James Jeffery “I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity” Ecclesiastes 2:1 (ESV) What would you […]
All is Vapour (Ecclesiastes Part I)
By James Jeffery If you were to describe life in one word, what would it be? Tragic? Meaningless? Joyful? Burdensome? Painful? In many ways, our life experiences shape how we […]
What Happened Between Ruth and Boaz?
One of the most controversial points of interpretation in the book of Ruth is what was Naomi thinking when she suggested that her daughter-in-law Ruth visit Boaz on the threshing […]