I’ve often thought about how situational awareness applies to our faith. A few days ago, I found myself complaining to God about aspects of my life that I’m still not quite satisfied with. And it dawned on me, that I was only critiquing my life against the things I was situationally aware of at that moment. If I were to fully psychologically engage with all aspects of my life (including the now eternal nature of my life) and look beyond those parts for which I have developed complacency, I would probably be blown away by God’s consistency in blessing me.

To say that the church has been through a lot in recent times, would be to suppress the magnitude of reality. Change has occurred at an alarming rate that overshadows decades and even centuries of stable cultural opinion

Mum’s are generally busy. Whether they have one kid or eight. Whether they work or they stay at home. It just comes with the territory. Yes, there are degrees of busyness. Some mothers are busier than others. But in general, all mothers would say they feel stretched.

The fact that Jesus has overcome the world, is supposed to give us a reason to be encouraged. But why? What is it about His overcoming that would give us hope?

It’s only been a 1 month since our feet touched the magical grounds of Disneyland. And even though I have been many times, I found myself marvelling again at the imagination of human beings.

It is truly an inspiring place, and the leader in me couldn’t help but take a few notes that we hopefully can all ponder over.

I have pretty high expectations of myself. A lot of the time when I achieve something, I’m not necessarily pleased. I’ll often critique heavily what I have done. It is very deliberate on my part to celebrate my successes, because my natural instinct wouldn’t be to do so.

Leadership is not excluded from the woes of disillusionment. It can be a difficult pill to swallow, that those you so faithfully served could behave as an opponent. The feelings of betrayal are real, even if you were in the wrong.

So what does it look like when a leader becomes disillusioned?

We weren’t made for rejection. Researchers have been demonstrating the effects of rejection on the physical body and the mind for some time. And it's clear that rejection is an effect of sin. Rejection is not a natural product of love, so it can’t have been something we were made to endure.

That’s what makes it even more amazing that Jesus endured so much rejection throughout his life here on earth.

1 Corinthians 11:26

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

When we take communion, we are engaging in one of the only rituals that the Lord Jesus instituted…

So much of the story of the cross engages and ministers to us. Even though the primary agenda of the cross was to make salvation available to all, Christ's response to all that took place demonstrates a deeper understanding of His love and sacrifice.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Luke 23:34

There are two astounding factors to this statement that Jesus made whilst hanging on the cross. Firstly, He asks God to forgive those who had perpetrated this heinous act. For most of us, when we experience pain particularly that of an unjust nature, the last thing we ask God to do is forgive our perpetrators. Jesus demonstrated the principle of loving our enemies perfectly when this was His cry.

How interesting that the day of Jesus death was also the day of preparation for the Sabbath?

“He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

Luke 23:35

The Last Supper was a busy night. Jesus not only had to deal with the knowledge of his coming death, but he also confronted his betrayer, settled an argument between the disciples, and instituted a ceremony that believers would practice for thousands of years to come.

God’s faithfulness is something that I reflect on often. In some ways, at the outset of my life, there was not a lot of chance that I would know God. And yet here I am, having been a believer for the last 30 years. All because of the faithfulness of God to me.

For us as believers, we imagine that when Jesus hung on the cross the world stood still. We assume that most consider that day to be the defining event in the history of the world. But there is no real evidence to suggest that, were you to look through history books alone. Yes, history acknowledges that Jesus died on a cross, but it certainly doesn't mark it with any special milestone besides its relevance to the Christian populace.

As I reflect upon the death of Jesus, I can’t help but produce this romanticised version in my head. Maybe it’s because of the many artworks I’ve seen that display the purity of His sacrifice. They beautify his image to communicate his divinity.

Light. We need it. Without light we cannot see. I recently spent several days away in the country, and I quickly realised how much I rely on light. In the evenings, when I gazed out the window all I saw besides the occasional star was pitch black.