Category Archives: Bible

Bible, Personal Reflection, Spiritual Thoughts

What if I stumble….what if I fall….

June 11, 2025 Mark Edwards 1 Comment

News has broke that DC Talk and Newsboys front person has confessed to a whole heap of bad stuff.

Just makes me sad…that is all. Loved DC Talk. Fantastic music, lyrics and heart to their music.

Newsboys….especially prior to Michael, was formative in my early christian years. An old girlfriend had a tape from this Aussie band…’Hell is for wimps’. Played it and played it. Thats before they got huge. Conquered America and the CCM market.

Strangely enough my favourite song was ‘Breakfast Club’. For the irreverent take on serious issues…with a killer bass line. The Newsboys took their faith and music seriously, but not themselves too seriously.

Of course now in America they have been a huge band, selling out stadiums.

What do we do with the early DC Talk music? Do we try and erase it from our memories? It is a bit sad for me when I put it on, or think about it.

It is not about how you start, or how you are doing, but how you finish.

God is good Michael, and Psalm 51 is a great place to start. And it is good he is not hiding.

But…for a fan like me…it is sad.

Bible, Church, Personal Reflection

There is more

June 3, 2025 Mark Edwards Leave a comment

Acts 2

All Churches that have ever existed trace their history back to this story.

The moment when Heaven truly came to earth. When the Spirit like a Dove descended on the women and men gathered in that room. Filling them with an overwhelming sense of power. Holy Spirit, God’s Breath came and infused that room and those bodies with Gods own presence. God dwelling amongst His people sealing them with His own Presence. Jesus fulfilling His promise.

Awe inspiring, exiting, beyond ourselves and with a heady mix of wonder about what was to come next.

Pentecostals call themself that because they wish to emphasise this part of church history.

We need to be careful that we don’t ignore this part of church history, because it is all our history, this is the formative part of who we are as Church.

Bible, Personal Reflection

If I want creativity…

April 17, 2025 Mark Edwards 2 Comments

I have to let go of straight lines.

Certainty may stifle creativity.

I have been a follower of Jesus for a long time now. I have seen how messy life is. How random.

It is rare that I can join the dots of God’s plan. The joining has often happened after the season.

Somewhere in the midst of that is the joy of creation. Making something new.

Let me sing a new song to Jesus.

Bible, Personal Reflection, Stuff I don't know much about but rave on about anyway

Wine

February 25, 2025 Mark Edwards 9 Comments

For some wine, alcoholic beverages are problematic. The effects are devastating. For those people perhaps the brief thoughts here might best be skipped.

Recently I was listening to a podcast on wine and struck by the story of Noah after the flood.

Genesis 9:20-21After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.

Two verses and two thoughts.

A vineyard is not something you plant in the short term. Grains bear food within the season. Wine takes years to be something worth drinking. Noahs act of planting the vineyard was an act of faith. God would no longer flood the earth. It was time to plant something which would take years. The future for Noah and his family was assured. Wine would be something they could look forward to in years to come as his sons and their wives had children, then grandchildren. This wine would be enjoyed as they celebrated life and goodness and Gods provision.

The second thought involves the folly of wine. Noah became drunk, he was naked and the story would not have a good ending. In this moment Noah has taken what was a provision and a joy, and a sign of promise, and misused it. Does the misuse cancel out the faith and the joy? No. But it is a reminder. To celebrate the good things given from God, but not to misuse them.

The first miracle Jesus performed was to make wine. The best wine for the best occasion, a wedding. He drunk wine as He and His disciples anticipated what would be Jesus’ worst day. He will drink it again with His disciples when He returns. Most references to wine are positive in the Bible. I think back to my conservative bible college days when we were told the wine Jesus drank was non-alcoholic fruit juice. For a college which prided itself on Biblical authority, it sure took liberties with the reality of the text and the story.

Celebrate, enjoy, be grateful. Don’t be silly.

Bible, Church, Leadership, Personal Reflection

The wisdom of Jethro

December 10, 2024 Mark Edwards 18 Comments

Jethro was the father in law of Moses.

Moses had a problem, he was kept busy all day listening to the people, solving and judging on their disagreements.

Jethro came in and saw the problem, a problem Moses could not see.

All of us need someone who can come and see the problem we can’t.

Jethro had the courage to tell Moses the truth in love, kindly.

All of us need someone who we trust and trust to tell us the truth, even if it stings a little.

Moses was given some wisdom from Jethro. You don’t have to attend every argument you are invited to. You can and should as a leader delegate tasks, take the ones no one else can handle.

Getting given advice is good, implementing that advice is even better.

Bible, Theology

Revelation 20 and Revelation 21

September 19, 2024 Mark Edwards 21 Comments

Travelling through the book of Revelation has really brought home to me this outstanding book of the Bible. I have never tackled it before, and for good reason. It is a comprehensive, confusing and difficult book to deal with. That means that the rewards are great for unpacking it. ‘Discipleship on the Edge” by Darrell Johnson has been an invaluable reference book.

Consider just this one phrase, ‘It is Finished” seen a number of times in the book of Revelation. What does that bring to mind? Of course we think of Jesus saying this on the cross. Revelation reveals to us even more of what that phrase actually means. Jesus defeated sin, death and the enemy. This is one key to interpreting Revelation. Look at Johns context. Look at where we see Jesus in the book. Look at where we see the imagery and stories of Revelation in the rest of the Scripture.

Happy with this message, have a watch.

Bible, Church, Spiritual Thoughts, Theology

The Two Witnesses

July 24, 2024 Mark Edwards 17 Comments

As we move through Revelation 11 we are told about two witnesses who during the tribulation period give testimony. They are killed for their trouble joining the long line of people who have been martyred for their Christian faith. John the Apostle who wrote this book is well acquainted with this scenario having pastored to people who had seen over 40,000 Christians in the early church being thrown to the lions, killed for sport.

It’s a confronting reality to us comfortable Christians in the West to understand we are part of a people who have been killed for saying Jesus is Lord. Right now people are being killed all over the world for their faith. There are dangerous political systems on earth, right now, where to admit you are a Christian is to put yourself at grave risk. I might be discriminated against, someone might write a bad google review about my church, but that is about it for me here in leafy Kew.

Revelation is a reminder that persecution to the church world wide was a truthful history, is a present reality and most certainly is a future story. It is a salient reminder that our faith is real and has real consequences. We don’t laud our righteousness, we understand our sinfulness. But none the less we call the world to repent, something which is deeply offensive.