Bruce Staley

As well as books I have used films as sources of inspiration for my posts. However, the inspiration for this post comes from a personal friend. Family dynamics can prove to be a rich source of material. Robert mentioned a conversation that he had with his younger sister in regard to the family. Robert: And who is your rock? Younger Sister: You are. Robert: And do you know who is my rock? Jesus. Robert has an elderly mother, living on her own in Melbourne, who regularly phones his younger sister to offload her troubles and woes. The younger sister already weighed down with Mum's woes has an older sister who also rings and offloads her burdens. Robert, the older brother, likes to call his younger sister to chat and listen. You know how it is in families. One person among the siblings is seen as the rock. And, on this particular occasion Robert, who is often the final person in the chain of family conversation, chose to declare Jesus as his rock. This was no idle declaration on Robert...

During my time consulting with people in management I rarely came across a management book that mentioned forgiveness. However, I did stumble across Paul Hanna's book, You Can Do It! More than likely I was browsing in bookstore at the time. Paul left Qantas Airways in 1988 to start his own management consultancy and by the late 90's was regarded as one of Australia's leading motivational speakers. In chapter nine, Forgive - and Heal Your Life , Paul covered the following topics, The person with the higher self-esteem apologises first, When you apologise, you discard your anger and make room for happiness, Regrouping after divorce, Dis-ease and unease toward others, Forgiveness and how it heals us all, Forgiving your parents for being human and When you blame someone, you give them power over you. Quite a list to cover in one chapter however, Paul does it well prompting the reader to consider the act of forgiveness more deeply. Dale Carnegie in his all-time classic, How to ...

Early Morning, Olympic Rings, Lake Wendouree, Ballarat While continuing my thoughts from films allow me to introduce Eric Liddell. Some of you may recall Eric was featured in the award-winning film, Chariots of Fire . While the film focuses on Eric's distinguished athletic career he gave it up at its high point to become a missionary to China. His decision became visible after the 1924 Olympic Games where he refused to run on a Sunday then afterwards winning gold and creating a world record in the 400 metres. Twenty-one years later, at age 43, Eric was nearing the finishing tape in his final race on earth. During his time as a missionary Eric wrote three religious works, two pamphlets and a longer work, A Manual of Christian Discipleship , which circulated in manuscript form in a Japanese internment camp, in his beloved China, where he died of a brain tumour on 21 February 1945. In his longer work, now published under the title, The Disciplines of the Christian Life , Eric explains...

Recently, Ian, one of my nephews, had his fifty-fifth birthday. I can still recall Ian staying a few days with our family when he was a lot younger. Before leaving to go back home he presented us with a lovely piece of pottery he had crafted and inside the vase he had placed small hand-written notes to each member of the family with another note to all the family. The note to me read,  “Spring is at hand the very moment you realise it’s winter.”  It brought a tear to my eye. I recalled that during one of our chats during his stay I had mentioned that I was in the midst of a personal winter. You can see from the photograph we still have the vase, which is now used as a pen holder. As well as the pens the vase still holds the personally-penned notes from Ian. Seasons or ‘wilderness experiences’ are common to the Christian journey. In Song of Solomon 2:11-12 we find, “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.” Just a...

Harry Houdini (born Erik Weisz in Budapest, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged different police forces to try to keep him locked up. This revealed a talent for gimmickry and for audience involvement that characterised all his work. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and to holding his breath inside a sealed milk can. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini) There were two things that set Houdini apart, firstly KNOWLEDGE of what he knew to be true and secondly, ENTHUSIASM, the capacity to persevere in the face of great odds and to overcome the temptation to quit. Enthusiasm is a passionate eagerness in any pursuit. Enthusiasm is a sign of responsible living, the sign that you are able t...

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him - that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognising and understanding [the wonders of His person] more strongly and more clearly. And that I may in that same way come to know the power out-flowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers]: and that I may so share His suffering as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death. That's it, everything in one grand statement... This passage, which takes a bit to get your head around, is taken from the Amplified Version of Philippians 3:10. Charles Swindoll personalises it this way, "I want to know Him. I also want to model the power out-flowing from His resurrection. And I certainly want to be continually transformed into His likeness...which requires accepting my share of suffering." This gives us a whole new perspective on life and its difficulties, its crises. All sorts of ...

In Acts 20:22 Luke records the words of the Apostle Paul,   And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, NOT KNOWING what will happen to me there. Again, the author of Hebrews in 11:8 writes, By faith Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went, even though he did NOT KNOW where he was going. The responses of Paul and Abraham can be seen as contrary to the common human response which says I want to know what is ahead before I commit myself. The follower of Jesus however, knows that the bottom line, when called by God or compelled by the Spirit, is to trust and obey even though we may not know what or where. Here's a brief checklist to confirm that it is of the Lord. Is the action consistent with the Scriptures? Is my motive unselfish and pure? Will my action injure others or my testimony? Seek wise counsel We are strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land, people on the move, unencumbered, ready to respond to the compel...