St. Enoch's Presbyterian Church

04/09/2026

"That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13

04/09/2026

Changing Lives

The Good News is literally life-changing!
Believing in Jesus Christ transforms us into people of God’s Kingdom. The Holy Spirit then gives us love for others (Colossians 1:8), and a desire to honour and please God with our lives (:10). Our faith changes our direction. This is significant because ‘If you don’t change direction, you may end up where you are heading.’
This is an exciting but difficult journey. Along the way we come to understand God’s will better. We also grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding. This helps us along the way as we are being transformed to be like Jesus and reflecting God’s image. (See Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2; Ephesians 4:24) Although we need endurance and patience along the way, we are also filled with joy which is not dependent on circumstances. We live with gratitude for God’s love, Christ’s sacrifice, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We have all the tools imaginable, but if we do not pick them up and use them, nothing will get done.
How much have our lives changed? What still needs to change?

28/08/2026

Freedom!

Due to our inherent desire to have control we find it difficult to get our heads around the freedom we have in Christ. Is that why Galatians 5 strongly encourages us to stay free?
Somehow, we find it preferable to have a set of do’s and don’ts which enable us to gauge whether we are likely operating at a passing level. Sadly, it also enables us to distinguish between those who are good enough (in our opinion) and those who do not quite make the cut. But that is not freedom!
In Christ we are good enough – even though we are a work in progress. In Christ we totally passed the test of salvation. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT) The freedom in Christ brings us secure joy. “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” (Romans 5:11 NLT)
But what can we do?! And what should we not do?! we continue to ask.
We are simply called to use our freedom to serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13-14) When we love, we remain in Christ, and He in us, and we are progressively transformed. “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT) That is true freedom.

21/08/2026

Redemption

It is clear from scripture that our sins are persistent and leave a deep, dark stain on our lives. No human can take our sins away, and we cannot rid ourselves of it either. Thankfully, through the blood of Jesus, God forgives and cleans us so that we can stand as new people in front of Him. Although we cannot barter, buy or trade anything for this forgiveness, it does not mean that it does not require something of us. We need to acknowledge our sins, be remorseful and repent. The true wonder of it all is that God doesn’t forgive our sins and then keeps it close by to remind us of them. No! As far as the East is separated from the West, that is how far God removes our sins from us. His Mercy, kindness and forgiveness is the gift that truly keeps on giving!

14/08/2026

Investment tip

Being the best orator and a polyglot, being very adept in understanding and sharing God’s word, being intellectually superior, having an unwavering faith, or being generous to a fault and giving yourself to others in an exceptional way, is worth nothing without love. If love is not the reason why and the way in which we do anything and everything, we do not add real value. Or as 1 Corinthians 13 puts it: if I didn’t love others, I would be nothing and would have gained nothing.
Everything is temporary and incomplete (imperfect?). Except “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT) It would therefore be wise to invest in love before anything else. In and through Jesus, faith and hope offer excellent and guaranteed returns too. Faith and hope enable us to love in a Christlike way. Faith gives control to Christ’s love in our lives (2 Cor 5:14ff). And “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” (Hebrews 6:19 NLT)
Let’s not get too preoccupied with attributes, abilities and assets that has no real and lasting value. Invest in faith, hope and especially love.

06/08/2026

Whatever the forecast

Maybe your life is happy and serene at the moment. Or perhaps there are some storm clouds building on the horizon, rumbling ominously. Or you have huge waves and strong winds all around you threatening to overpower the reserves you have left to survive and carry on.
Whatever is going on for you at the moment, keep an eye out for Jesus. He sometimes appears when and where we least expect Him. Without an awareness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who loves us and for whom nothing is impossible, we might think our eyes are deceiving us. “It’s a ghost!” was his disciples’ reaction when He came to them walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 14:26)
When we do more than keeping an eye out for Jesus, but centre our attention and our faith on Jesus Christ, we are capable to do amazing things and get through very tough times. Not because we are remarkable. “All glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT) Whatever situation we find ourselves in holding on to Jesus’ promise “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b NLT) encourage and strengthen us. It raises the holy hope we have in Christ. It even enables us to always be joyful. To never stop praying. And to be thankful in all circumstances, because it is God’s will for us who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT)

St. Enoch's Presbyterian Church in Tauranga, New Zealand.

30/07/2026

Faith and Miracles

Jesus just fed 5000 people with five barley loaves and two fish, walked on water, and teleported across the lake (Sea of Galilee) to Capernaum, and his first response to the people was: You are fixated on the supernatural, but you are missing the point. They then wanted to gain the ability to also perform supernatural acts (God’s works). But Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29 NLT) Referring to the manna in the wilderness, they persisted in asking for supernatural acts so they can believe. Jesus simply drew them back to himself: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35 NLT)
The number of supernatural acts of God we experience depends on our personal definition of a miracle and our ability to notice God at work. Very few of us will see water turned into w**e, or a small amount of food being used to feed thousands of people. But coming to faith is a miracle in itself. It is only by the facilitation of the Holy Spirit that we are able to believe in Jesus Christ, the one sent to restore us and our relationship with God. The one who is with us until the end. Faith sensitises us and enables us to notice small and big God-filled things happening in and around us, bringing a sense of awe and gratitude and an awareness of God’s love and grace. Thank you, Lord, for the miracle of life, faith and your love for us. Amen.

23/07/2026

If you accept the reality of something it changes your behaviour. A study done at the University of Otago shows the Antarctic ozone hole sits over the South Pole and does not directly open up over New Zealand. However, as the springtime hole breaks up each year, ozone-depleted air drifts northward, leading to naturally reduced ozone levels and exceptionally high UV rays across New Zealand during spring and summer.
If you accept this, you will probably behave in a sun smart way. If you do not accept that, you will not bother to slip (into protective clothing), slop (on som sunscreen), slap (on a hat) and wrap (on some sunglasses).
Accepting the reality of the Kingdom of God has the same effect. Knowing the Kingdom usually begins small, grows beyond expectations, is transformative and invaluable beyond comparison, and is worth joyful sacrifice, make us excited and focussed on the Kingdom. (See Matthew 13) It makes us proud to be part of the Kingdom and energises us to engage in the movement. I mean, who would not like to play a part in making our church, our community, our city, our world, heaven on earth. We do not get overwhelmed or disheartened because we know, as yeast - the Kingdom effects are invisible up to a point, like a small seed turning into a tree - it can take a long time, and like an invaluable treasure – it is worth giving up everything for.

17/07/2026

It seems to be as easy as that: “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:21 NLT) On a spiritual level, Jesus already conquered evil. (Col 2:15; 1 John 3:8; Heb 2:14-15) We simply need to give effect to that by doing good. The most effective way to grow our faith is to do what we confess: “Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.” (2 Corinthians 5:14 NLT) Our new lives are marked by the new commandment we received from Jesus: “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:34b NLT)
Doing good is not always straight forward. That is why the guidance we get in the Bible is invaluable. We find a tidy list of helpful hints in Romans 12:9-21. Regularly reading through them will help to keep it front of mind and will help transform how we are. We need to allow God to transform us into a new person by changing the way we think. (Rom 12:2) Then we will do good and daily conquer evil.

06/07/2026

Sometimes we cannot remember what we read five minutes after closing the Bible. It is possible to go through the ‘ritual’ purely to fulfil what we see as an obligation, rather than expectantly seeking fellowship with God through his Word. It is also true if, for whatever reason, we are not ready to hear the Word, our brains seem to obscure the Word – preventing it from entering our awareness. Then there are times our good intentions to give effect to a nudge from the Holy Spirit dissolves like mist in the morning sun.

That is why we are encouraged to not “just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLT)

So, perhaps we should get into the habit of asking ourselves, ‘Where did this Word fell?’, every time after we read the Bible or listened to a message, or experienced a nudge from the Holy Spirit.

May God’s seeds always fall on good soil in our lives and produce a rich harvest which brings God glory.