Above all else

God provides the bread of life When I think about why Jesus had the crowds following him around during his 3 years of ministry, I tend to imagine that they must have been amazed by the miracles he was doing, in casting out demons, healing the sick etc. But it was pointed out to me on Sunday that in fact, they were following him for much more mundane reasons: Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” John 6:26 I never noticed that before. Isn’t that interesting? They were just hungry for the physical food he was providing! Even today though, I think we often follow Him for similar reasons: help me to do well in school/at work, help me to have good health, help me to have obedient and successful children etc. But Jesus said to the people then, and He says to us now also: Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you

It's been one year since my brother passed away. Well Wayne, I'm sure you know this in heaven already, but in case you're busy, we didn't manage to win the Champions League or the Premiership, but Fernando Torres has turned out to be a really good buy. And your Lakers are in the NBA finals! I'm still rooting for the Celtics though, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to cop out on that :)I miss you man.

I had some devotional time with the kids recently and the theme was obedience for children. We discussed 3 key elements: a. obedience = obedience that is STRAIGHTAWAY b. obedience = obedience that is done AS WELL AS YOU CAN c. obedience = obedience that is WHAT GOD WANTS, NOT WHAT YOU WANT I thought this was an excellent description of obedience and I made my kids memorize it - “straightaway”, “as well as you can” and “what God wants, not what I want”. 1 John 5:3a says “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” So we can't run away from it – if we say we love God, we demonstrate it by obeying his commands. Anything else, no matter how we try to rationalize it, means that we fail to love God. Interestingly, 1 John 5:3b goes on to say “And his commands are not burdensome.” Isn't God a wonderful God? So today, take some time to internalise this. Obedience is done STRAIGHTAWAY – when God speaks, through His word or through the advice or example of Godly family and friends, obey

I first watched Enchanted on the plane to New York in early 08. Hearing this song made me really miss my wife and want to appreciate her much much more. I know, I'm sappy. Anyway, I unashamedly admit that this cheery, artfully choreographed piece is now one of my favourite songs. Enjoy!

Some more funny moments: 1. We were all at my parents' place and I'd brought over our Wii so they could see the Wii sports games. My Mom and Dad were pretty impressed with the golf and bowling games! So anyway, I'd gotten to demonstrating Dragon of Fury or something - I can't quite recall the exact name of the game now, but it basically involves wildly swinging the WiiMote like a sword and blasting assorted baddies into the ether. I got to the boss stage and but kept getting defeated. This caused Daniel to get more and more upset, and when I got to my last life, he muttered something under his breath and ran into the bedroom and closed the door. I thought he was grumpy about me not being able to beat the big bad baddie so I went after him and sternly asked him why he was so worked up over a game. His answer? "But Daddy, if I hide in the room and don't watch, you will win." I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I can hardly blame him, because my own p