North Ryde Christian Church

“Blessed are the warmakers” – this may ring true as we look at our world today. War-makers make money. War-makers gain land. War-makers dispense fear and accumulate power. Blessed are the war-makers as they shall be called the winners, the victors, our leaders.

Jesus Christ, however, challenges what we may see in the here and now, He broadens our gaze. He says,

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Matthew 5:9

Jesus’ call to be peacemakers in this broken and corrupt world is radical. Being a peacemaker does not mean remaining quiet, going with the flow, or avoiding conflict. Peacemakers cherish and strive for reconciliation between adversaries; calling out injustice, naming inequality, speaking inconvenient truths. It is often a dangerous and lonely calling. Yet a peacemaker’s blessing is beyond earthly riches and human glory. A peacemaker’s blessing is to be personally named as God’s child. To be identified by the Almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, as one of His very own. And to therefore be the heir to His kingdom.

Being adopted as God’s child is an immeasurable blessing only made possible by the ultimate peacemaker Jesus Christ. Because our greatest problem is not the conflict around us, it is the separation between us and God. The Bible calls this sin: living apart from Him, going our own way. And this is where Jesus stands apart. He does not only call us to be peacemakers, He is our peacemaker. Through His sacrificial death, He makes peace between us and God.

As it says in Colossians 1:21–22:
“At one time you were separated from God. You were His enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against Him. But now He has made you His friends  again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while He was in His body. He did it so that He could present you to Himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before Him.”

This is the good news. While we long for peace in our world, there is a greater peace we all need — peace with God. And this peace is offered to you. Turn to Jesus. Trust in Him. Ask Him to make peace between you and God and you will find a peace no conflict can take away.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I see that I have been living apart from you. Thank you for dying to bring me back to God. Please forgive me, make peace between me and God, and lead me in your way. Amen.

Acknowledgement: This article was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2026

Yesterday was ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day when we remember all those who served for Australia in armed conflicts. In particular, we remember those who died in defending our nation and our allies. Theirs was a costly sacrifice of courage and devotion for our freedom.

ANZAC Day is probably the most religious public celebration in Australia today. They sang the hymns “Abide with me” and the Recessional. And said, “We will remember them. Lest we forget”.

The Recessional is a poem by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) that is often recited at ANZAC Day services. It issued a warning against pride in British military might, cautioning that a nation’s success could quickly vanish if that nation forgot God.

It’s verses end with
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

It was about not forgetting to remember God, but on ANZAC Day it was adapted to not forgetting to remember the sacrifice made by our soldiers in war.

Kipling based the phrase “lest we forget” on biblical passages from where Moses implores Israel to remember God and His laws. The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell address to the Israelites before they entered the promised land (Canaan).

He told them, “Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Dt. 4:9NIV). They were to remember (and not forget) the covenants and commands given to them at Mount Sinai.

Moses also said, “be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” and “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees” (Dt. 6:12; 8:11). After they were flourishing in their new land, they were to remember (and not forget) the Lord who rescued them from slavery and told them how to live.

ANZAC Day is an occasion to remember the sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our freedom. Soldiers died for their nation, whereas Jesus died for humanity. The heart of the good news about Jesus Christ is the ultimate sacrifice: He died for us as a ransom payment for sin (Mk. 10:45). And it was not for His friends alone, but even for those who were far from Him.

Paul commanded Timothy, “remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Tim. 2:8). We need to remember what Jesus Christ did and that He is alive, interceding, and returning.

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples to remember Him by eating bread and drinking from the cup. He knew how easily we forget. We build memorials because stones don’t forget, even when people do.

Prayer

Father God, in our busy lives we need to remember (and not forget) what you have done for us. Like each ANZAC Day we remember the sacrifices of our soldiers, today we remember the supreme sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour.

We thank you for His sacrificial death that enabled our sin to be forgiven and us to be reconciled with God. And we thank you for His resurrection back to life which was a great victory over death, sin and Satan. Lest we forget. Amen.

Acknowledgement

This article is based on one from The Daily Declaration.

G Hawke

Getting an upgrade, whether it is with a phone, a flight, a hotel room, or something else, can be a moment of great joy.

Some time ago I lived in a community in India. We lived in typical Indian accommodation on an Indian budget. We ate rice three meals a day except for the times when money was short and we had to fast for a period. I used a squat toilet and showered with cold water from a bucket. I slept on a mat on a tiled floor or shared a single bed.

After six months in India I was required to leave the country to renew my visa. A friend of mine was living in the Maldives at the time so I took the opportunity to visit her there for my visa run. Cue paradise…white sandy beaches, crystal blue and turquoise water, freshly caught seafood and tropical fruits in abundance. As I took a hot bath for the first time in six months I felt elation. This was an upgrade worth writing home about. Yet even as I enjoyed these luxuries their impending end weighed heavy upon me. I counted down the days and hours I had left in paradise with a pit of dread in my stomach.

That’s the thing with upgrades, they either end or become obsolete. The flight lands, the phone is superseded, the holiday in paradise finishes. But there is one upgrade that will never end or be outmoded – heaven.

The Bible says that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). As we swim in the waters of upgrade culture and find ourselves on an unceasing quest for the better, smarter, prettier, more luxurious, we are actually longing for the eternal paradise we were created for by God. The Bible describes heaven as a place of stunning beauty. A place of abundance. A place without suffering of any kind. And above all a place of perfect loving relationships with God and each other (Revelation 21-22). Whatever perfections or paradises you are seeking, heaven surpasses them all.

This upgrade is offered freely to all who come before God humbly admitting their rebellion against Him and trusting in their forgiveness through Jesus.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Secure your ultimate forever upgrade today!

Prayer: Dear God, I long for the perfection and paradise you promise in the Bible. I’m sorry I have tried to find it without you and ignored your claim on my life. Please forgive me through Jesus. Amen.

Acknowledgement: This article was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2026

For most Australians today literal darkness isn’t much of a problem. We have artificial light at our finger tips and as such can do almost any activity we wish day or night. But the metaphorical darkness of evil still plagues us. We witness political leaders using their power for their own gain at the expense of others, civilians being killed for disagreeing with authorities, money being siphoned into leaders pockets while populations are hungry and homeless. The rich protect the rich without reference to truth or justice. Self service, corruption, greed, deception, violence, this is the kind of moral darkness we can feel powerless to repel.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. famously preached “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This  is the  tragedy  of the unfolding events in the USA. When I see images of understandably angry crowds verbally abusing ICE agents I feel their anger with them. However, I also see hate fighting against hate and doubt it will bring positive change.

The problem is, if we are honest with ourselves, we aren’t full of the love and light needed to drive out evil. If we are really honest with ourselves, we are also guilty, at least to some degree, of self-service, deception, greed, hostility…

Jesus speaks into this when He says,

“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12NLT

When we despair of the evil in the world, the pain and suffering humans are causing other humans, and feel powerless to change, not only the system that has allowed it, but our part in it, Jesus’ promise brings us real hope.

Jesus doesn’t fight the evil in the world, or the evil in us, with hate but with love, self-sacrificing, pure, unfaltering love.

This is further explained in this Bible passage: “God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood [death] of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin..”1 John 1:5-9

The light of Jesus–His sinless life, His sacrificial death, His triumphant resurrection from the dead, is the only thing that can truly repel the darkness in the world and the darkness in ourselves. Eradication of evil won’t come to full fruition until Jesus comes back to earth to consummate His eternal kingdom. Until then moral darkness will always plague our world. Yet we can walk in His light, we can confess our sins and be forgiven. We can repel the darkness within us with His pure light, and shine that light to those around us.

Step into the light of Jesus and repel the darkness today.

Prayer: Dear God, I look at the state of the world and grieve the evil I see. Yet I confess there is also sin within me. Forgive me. Purify me through the death of Jesus on my behalf. Help me to walk in your light and repel the darkness around me. In Jesus name I ask this. Amen.

Acknowledgement: This article was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2026

There have been four shark attacks in NSW this week. A boy died after he was attacked at Shark beach in Vaucluse in Sydney harbour. A man was bitten at Manly beach. The other incidents were at Dee Why beach, and at Point Plomer near Port Macquarie. This follows fatal attacks at Sydney’s Long Reef and near Taree in late 2025.

There have also been six drownings recently. Two at Kaluna Creek near Townsville, two near Bellingen, one at Fraser Island (or K’gari) in Queensland and one at Lake Cargelligo in central NSW. Because of this danger, a new system of video cameras and AI is watching rock fisherman at Blowhole Point at Kiama and Little Bay in Sydney.

Water activities and aquatic life can be dangerous. But that’s nowhere near the biggest drowning tragedy that has occurred. According to the Bible, millions of people were drowned when God caused a global flood when Noah was alive about 4,500 years ago (Gen. 6-9).

The flood was sent because of the widespread evil and wickedness across the world. Noah built a large barge (it only had to float) and warned people for 120 years of the coming judgment. Only eight people survived because they were on the barge. Did you know that this event was a pattern prophecy of how God would save people from their sinful ways? Such hidden prophecies of the Messiah, which are only evident in hindsight, are also called “types” or “typology” or “shadows” or “figures” or “pictures”.

Explanation

The floodwater depicts the judgment of God (1 Pt. 3:18-22). The barge depicts Jesus Christ. In particular, His death and resurrection. The barge was the only way of salvation. When the devasting flood came, only those who were onboard were saved; all those outside drowned. So, this teaches us that through His death and resurrection, Jesus is the only way of salvation. There is no other way to be rescued. There is no plan B.

The flood’s fury fell on the barge, but it did not sink it. It floated because of the water. This is an illustration of Christ’s death for our sins. At the cross, Jesus endured the wrath of God on the sins of mankind. When it looked as if it was a disaster, He rose from the dead! Judgment came upon Christ on the cross, but He rose from the dead.

The same water that floated the barge drowned those who rejected the message of Noah. The difference was whether they were inside or outside the barge. As the barge saved Noah’s family from God’s judgment when the earth was flooded, Christians are saved from God’s coming judgment through trusting in Christ’s death and resurrection on their behalf.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you for your great creation of the world and the perfect environment that Adam and Eve enjoyed. But we realize that it didn’t stay that way when they disobeyed and rejected your leadership. And this evil grew until you decided to judge it by replacing it with a new creation.

But you saved Noah’s family in a way to show us how you would save your people from their sin. The barge was like the death and resurrection of Jesus – both were the only way to salvation.

We thank you for His sacrificial death that enabled our sin to be forgiven in the new creation. And we thank you for His resurrection back to life which was a great victory over death, sin and Satan.

As those who have trusted in the good news about Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we offer thanks and praise for all that you have done through Jesus. Amen.

G Hawke

Each cricket series against England in Australia Glenn McGrath predicts Australia to win 5-0. And he is usually right! So, if you told me that in the Boxing Day test England has had their first win since 2011, I wouldn’t believe you. That’s 14 years without a win! If you showed me a report, I would think it was fake news. And if you showed me a photo or video, I would think it was generated by AI. How can I check if the report and photo or video was true or not? I could ask Sarah’s father Mark. He was an eyewitness yesterday at the MCG. That’s the kind of evidence I need.

The Bible says that the foundation of Christianity is that “Christ died for our sins …He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day” (1 Cor. 15:3-4NLT). The resurrection of Jesus is described as an historical event in each of the gospels (Mt. 18:1-10: Mk. 16:1-8; Lk. 24:1-12; Jn. 20:1-9).

Did you know that the Bible provides plenty of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus? It describes at least 10 physical appearances of the resurrected Jesus in different situations.

Resurrection Sunday

The first witnesses of the risen Lord were women including Mary Magalene who visited His tomb in Jerusalem (Mt. 28:1-10; Jn. 20:11-18). He spoke to them and they worshipped Him.

Two men on the road to Emmaus walked and talked with Jesus (Lk. 24:13-35). When He explained what was written about Him in the Old Testament, their hearts were on fire and they hurried back to Jerusalem to tell the others that Jesus was alive.

That evening, ten disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem were visited by Jesus (Lk. 24:36-49; Jn. 20:19-25). He reassured them, ate some fish and explained the Old Testament to them saying that they were witnesses of His death and resurrection. And He sent them into the world like He had been sent.

The following Sunday

Eleven disciples in the upper room at Jerusalem were visited by Jesus once again. He reassured them and challenged Thomas who acknowledged Him as “my Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:26-29).

An angel told the disciples that Jesus would meet them up north in Galilee (Mt. 28:7, 10; Mk. 16:7).

Before His ascension

When six disciples were fishing at the sea of Galilee with Peter, Jesus helped them catch 153 fish (Jn. 21:1-23). He also helped them with fish and bread for breakfast. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him and told him to “feed my sheep (His followers)”.

Then Jesus sent the eleven disciples to a mountain in Galilee (Mt. 28:16-20). There they worshipped Him and He gave them the great commission to make disciples of all nations.

Paul said that more than 500 people saw Jesus at the same time (1 Cor. 15:6). We don’t know where this was. Most of these witnesses were still alive when Paul wrote to the Corinthians (about 23 years after the resurrection), which means that people could ask them about it.

At His ascension

Finally, Jesus led the 11 disciples to the Mount of Olives (Lk. 24:50-53; Acts 1:3-8). He ate with them and blessed them and told them to wait for the Holy Spirit who would empower them to be His witnesses across the world. Then He ascended back to heaven. They were told that Jesus would come back. And they worshipped Him and kept praising God.

Lessons for us

So, the Bible provides plenty of evidence of the resurrection. The evidence is strong with over 500 witnesses! That would win any court case. This shows that Christianity is evidence-based and not blind faith or unreasonable.

Another evidence of the resurrection is the actions of those who personally saw the resurrected Christ. They had a life-change. They were transformed. They left Judaism to spread Christianity. And they were willing to suffer persecution and martyrdom. No one dies for what they know is a lie.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you for your great plan of salvation as revealed in the Bible. We have just remembered the coming of Jesus into the world as a baby who would grow up to be man who rescued us from our sinful state. We thank you for His sacrificial death that enabled our sin to be forgiven. And we thank you for His resurrection back to life which was a great victory over sin, death, and Satan.

We appreciate the overwhelming eyewitness evidence of the resurrection. It was not just one person or a few, but over 500 people saw the Lord before He ascended back to heaven. Like the eyewitnesses, we offer worship, praise and honour to our Lord and Saviour. As those who have trusted in the good news about Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we offer thanks and praise for all that you have done through Jesus. Amen.

G. Hawke

I remember Christmas eve as the peak of childhood excitement. I could say it was about family or feasts or celebrating Jesus’ birth, but the truth is it was all about the anticipation of presents. It was a magical feeling falling asleep on Christmas eve… the scent of Christmas pine, the glow of twinkling lights, the promise of presents.

But as the years pass, the excitement declines. As a teenager getting gift cards is preferable but not quite as exciting. As a young adult Christmas starts to hold more responsibilities and less magic.

As the excitement of presents dim over the years and the awareness of stress and conflict grows, that little figurine of baby Jesus in the manger starts to seem more important.

I want to take you back for a moment to the first Christmas evening. It was an ordinary night. There were no Christmas preparations, no gifts bought and wrapped. Ordinary shepherds were doing their ordinary thing watching their sheep. Then something truly remarkable happened. An angel in dazzling light appeared to them. The angel announced that the promised saviour had just been born in Bethlehem. And to highlight the magnitude of such news the whole sky was set ablaze with a multitude of shining angels singing glory to God. Read the original account in Luke 2:8-15.

That first Christmas the ultimate gift was given – the gift of peace with God. Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile God’s rebellious children to their loving heavenly Father. Jesus was born, lived and died to be a peace offering between us and God. This ultimate Christmas present, given over 2000 years ago in a little town over 14,000kms away, is still available and being received today.

What would it mean to you to have peace with God? To know through Jesus’s life and death you are completely forgiven and accepted by God; you are completely known and loved by God, you are right with the author of all creation and even after death you are going to enjoy peaceful friendship with Him forever.

Forget battery operated toys and giftcards, the gift of peace with God is like all our Christmases have come at once.

Prayer: Dear God, I accept the gift of peace with you through Jesus Christ. Thank you. Please show me how to live in this peace from now on. Amen.

Acknowledgement: This article was sourced from Outreach Media, Sydney, Australia.
Images and text © Outreach Media 2025