Paul Long's Ramblings

How true ...millions upon millions of people are still fighting and carrying on hate that began hundreds of years ago ...Christ can break the cycle Letting Go of Old Hurts One of the hardest things in life is to let go of old hurts.  We often say, or at least think:  "What you did to me and my family, my ancestors, or my friends I cannot forget or forgive. ... One day you will have to pay for it."  Sometimes our memories are decades, even centuries, old and keep asking for revenge. Holding people's faults against them often creates an impenetrable wall.  But listen to Paul:  "For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation:  the old order is gone and a new being is there to see.  It is all God's work" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).  Indeed, we cannot let go of old hurts, but God can.  Paul says:  "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone's fault against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19).  It is God's work,...

62. Living in New Zealand. Specifically West Auckland. Beautiful, green, less density, free parking and quiet ... And near enough to the city centre if I ever want to go there. Ha! As if :-) 63. Prayer. The privilege to enter God's presence via prayer at anytime on anything!! 64. The Sunday School children. Well, generally anyway! LOL. Just kidding. Full of life, helpful, friendly ... 65. Reuben and his teams . The worship / music teams and the AV. Wonderful man with persevering and pastoral commitment. Not easy to get people involved and the effort shows especially when I reflect on the situation before he stepped in and the amount of energy and time he took to get us this far! 66. Reflexology and my wife's willingness to use it on me! Really works well. First used internet, then library books, then bought a book and DVD on trademe. 67. My $4 mini study table - tiny thing but us it everyday. Coffee or tea on it in the morning to watch TV, even at night, and to pl...

Okay here goes part two ... 31. Kelston Community Church Detailing this will probably cover the rest of the 101 things .... so I won't. But I love this church and being her pastor. I am not saying it is easy (it is in no way a perfect church) but it is not too difficult as there is genuine support from the members of the church. 32-33. Elders. I have incredible church elders who though different in temperament and styles are a testament to Christian maturity and teamwork. I think the most important thing for me is not things like  "leadership skill" or "vision casting" but godliness and a pastoral heart. Our elders to me have this in abundance. It may seem rather cliche but I honestly do not know how I would manage without the three - Robert, Lye Chye and Max 34-38. Deacons . In a church where many are happy to serve but will not (for various reasons) take up official church leadership, agreeing to be a deacon is a big thing. And while I do not subscribe...

The year is almost over and it is a good time to reflect. So will see if I can list 101 things I am thankful for 2011. Obviously can't do it in one post and I have no idea how long this will take BUT I think it is a good exercise :-) No specific order of preference - will be fun to see what pops into my head! Will be a fun exercise too in "word association" OK. Here goes 1. God 2. Father 3. Son 4. Holy Spirit  Hahaha. Not trying to cause a heresy by naming four but this is actually how my mind works. Often in quiet or difficult moments I return to how thankful I am that I know God and that God is with me. No matter what people say "God is indeed great!" But then there are times when I specifically think of God the Father, then often God the Son, and at other times, especially over the last couple of months, God the Holy Spirit. Not going to try to explain this theologically but those who are Christians will probably understand what I mean. 5. Merv ...

Final pastor's notes for the year. Will resume in February 2012 To read, click HERE Blessed Christmas to you all and hope some of my pastor's notes has been of some help and blessing to some of you.

So true .... The Freedom to Refuse Love  (Henri Nouwen) Often hell is portrayed as a place of punishment and heaven as a place of reward.  But this concept easily leads us to think about God as either a policeman, who tries to catch us when we make a mistake and send us to prison when our mistakes become too big, or a Santa Claus, who counts up all our good deeds and puts a reward in our stocking at the end of the year. God, however, is neither a policeman nor a Santa Claus.  God does not send us to heaven or hell depending on how often we obey or disobey.  God is love and only love.  In God there is no hatred, desire for revenge, or pleasure in seeing us punished.  God wants to forgive, heal, restore, show us endless mercy, and see us come home.  But just as the father of the prodigal son let his son make his own decision God gives us the freedom to move away from God's love even at the risk of destroying ourselves.   Hell is not God's cho...

Taken from  http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/searching_for_a_peaceful_islam Dr Tawfik Hamid is an Egyptian medical doctor and Islamic scholar residing in the US. As a medical student he embraced the teaching of radical Islam and joined Jamaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group headed by Ayman Al-Zawaherri who went on to become second in command of al-Qaeda. Now he is campaigning for a reformation of Islam based upon peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic texts. MercatorNet sought his views about violence and Sharia law. MercatorNet:   The interim government of Libya has announced that "Any law that violates Sharia is null and void legally". Is it possible for a country which embraces Sharia law also to support human rights? Tawfik Hamid : No. The reason is that Sharia law as taught in mainstream Islamic books and by the leading Islamic institutions still teaches anachronistic medieval practices such as beating women, killing male homosexuals, stoning adulterers,...

Pastor's notes for 18 December 2011 To read click HERE

Pastor's Notes for the 11 Dec 2011 bulletin To read, go HERE

I honestly thought this was funny in a sad way ... Taken from Free Malaysia Today - which can be found  here Dec 1, 2011 KUALA LUMPUR: Umno’s three vice-presidents said today that they would withdraw from contesting in the coming general election if the party leadership believed they could not win. One of them, Hishammuddin Hussein, said this was the kind of sacrifice Umno needed from its members as it prepares for an election that would test its ability to survive. He cited the willingness of former Terengganu menteri besar Idris Jusoh to “sacrifice himself” and not contest. Zahid Hamidi said he and the other vice-presidents received a text message from Idris informing them of his decision. The other vice-president is Shafie Apdal. In his address to the Umno general assembly this morning, Umno president Najib Tun Razak made clear that the meeting would be the last before the 13th general election. He indicated that the party was in need of a transformation that would include a shi...

For the 4th December 2011 bulletin To read, click HERE