I was blown away recently by something a man, Des Ong, said to me. He said, “I’m sick of people calling ‘emotional intelligence’ a soft skill. No! Emotional intelligence ...

Do you remember when you were a teenager, how difficult those years felt. There you were, no longer a child, but not quite yet an adult. So confusing, so … misunderstood by all ...

Doubtless, you’ve heard that saying that to understand someone, you need to walk a mile in their shoes. In other words, put yourself in their position to see things the way they ...

It’s really quite staggering, you know, how often we judge other people – how they look, their facial expressions, their body language, what they say, what they do. In fact, ...

Just about everybody I talk to is able to point to something in their lives that’s just not working.  A Relationship.  Just how they feel about themselves.  ...

It amazes me how two people can look at the same issue, the same thing – the same object, even – and yet see two entirely different things. Why does that happen? How does that ...

I am utterly convinced that we can never ever spend too much thinking about and talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because the fact that Jesus rose from death changes ...

There have no doubt been times in your life when you’ve been afraid. Me too! And sure, it’s a natural, built-in response to keep us safe. But if we live in that state for too ...

Power and suffering are not two words that we use all that often in the one sentence, and yet when we’re suffering is precisely when we need God to unleash His incomprehensibly ...

As a father, there have been many times over the years when I’ve wished that I could impart to my children the wisdom of my years and the power of what I’m able to do for ...

Any husband and wife will tell you that arguments are one thing, but letting that discord fester – you know … that silent treatment that can last for days – is a disaster. ...

Invariably, whenever we have something to hide, it involves sin. Not always, but most times. If you have something that you want to hide from people, then the most important ...

Just about everybody I talk to is able to point to something in their lives that’s just not working.  A Relationship.  Just how they feel about themselves.  ...

We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. I have, you have. The question though, for each one us, is this: will we keep on doing those things, or will we come out of the ...

We love getting good news, no matter what’s going on in our lives. But the best time to get good news is when things aren’t going all that well; when we’re down in a valley ...

Have you ever felt locked in your circumstances? It feels like a straitjacket, right? If feels as though nothing’s ever going to change; as though you are going to be stuck in ...

Have you ever wondered to yourself, “What brings God joy?” I mean, we’re made in His image and we experience joy in our lives. So it stands to reason that He does too. What ...

How often in our lives have you and I put off something that we know would be good for us and yet somehow, we just never paid it enough attention? Somehow, we never got around to ...

How often have you heard of people who’ve won the lottery –  millions, even tens of millions of dollars – only to squander it all, What a dream – to win millions. ...

There are times in our lives when we need to step up and do something for someone else; something that’ll cost us dearly; something that’ll involve a lot of sacrifice. And ...

One of the things that the Bible promises us over and over again, is spiritual victory. We aren’t just conquerors God tells us, but more than conquerors. Spiritual victory is ...

Sometimes, to get what you want in this world, you just have to go and take it. Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to beat the other guy. And that … that’s the thinking ...

Fights and arguments – who needs them? Who wants them? Conflict is a terrible thing that robs us of our peace and our joy. And how easy is it to blame the other guy? I mean … ...

The main reason that we find ourselves in conflict situations is that we want one thing, and the other person wants quite the opposite. It’s a well-worn path, the one that leads ...

Most of us, in an honest moment, would admit that we’re not as wise as we’d like to be; that we have more to learn to become the sort of person that intuitively we know God ...

Jealousy and selfishness are two of the most basic of all human emotions. Indeed, they manifest from a very early age – pretty much from when a child begins to be able to ...

Rightly or wrongly (mostly wrongly) we have a hierarchy of sin, of bad behaviour, in our heads. Murder, theft, adultery – they’re really bad. Selfishness, jealousy, boasting ...

By and large, we associate growing older with growing wiser. I mean, that’s what’s meant to happen. But actually, a direct correlation between age and wisdom isn’t a given. ...

One of the things that the Bible promises us over and over again, is spiritual victory. We aren’t just conquerors God tells us, but more than conquerors. Spiritual victory is ...

Wouldn’t it be nice to become an overnight success.  I think that’s pretty much everyone’s secret dream. Success without the hard work, by next Thursday. Just perfect! ...

So did you choose God, or did He choose you? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It’s a perplexing question, but not an imponderable one. So, if you’re ready, let’s ...

Have you ever felt that God is against you, that He’s not on your side anymore, that He just keeps on putting obstacle after obstacle in front of you,  adversity heaped on ...

Despite all the incredible advances in science down through the centuries – putting a man on the moon, inventing supercomputers that fit in the palm of your hand – the reality ...

Having done the whole “kids” thing in my younger years, I wasn’t sure how I’d handle becoming a grandfather. Really, it bothered me. But the moment I laid eyes on her, ...

The world that God’s created for us to enjoy is so rich and abundant: Millions of plants and animals. Billions of colours. The incredible diversity of flavours in food. So many ...

Here’s a crazy statistic: there are over twenty thousand Christian denominations in the world today. Twenty thousand! That’s nuts. So, with all those different perspectives, ...

That feeling of complete inadequacy before God is one that many, many people have experienced, me included. How about you? You know you’re not worthy. You know you’ll never be ...

People talk about “Jesus” – but what was He about.  Why did He come to planet Earth.  Bottom Line – Why did He come for Me?  I mean He’s got to be ...

So do you mind if I ask you, is the life you’re leading a life that’s truly worth living? Are you filled with a sense of joy that you just can’t put into words? Or is it ...

Why is it that God, in His Word, appears sometimes to say the same thing over and over again? It’s tempting, isn’t it, to skip over bits of it as we think to ourselves … ...

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like today if Jesus hadn’t met you along your road, if you hadn’t heard His voice calling you to His freedom, His peace and His ...

The thing that I love most about God is the depth of the passion in His heart to set the likes of you and me free from the oppressive power of sin, that for all too long has ...

I believe with all my heart that today God means to set you free from the sin that’s been racking your life, because what Jesus did for you was, and is, for real. Dead to the ...

Today we’re going to dive into one of my favourite passages in the New Testament – because it’s the turning point from our old lives racked by sin to our new lives free from ...

It’s quite a conundrum, this Easter story that we’ve just celebrated over the last few days. On the one hand, Jesus’ death and resurrection has set us free from the power of ...

Most of the time, when it comes to this whole Easter thing, the bit we remember most is the bit where Jesus died on the Cross, to pay for our sin. And that’s certainly a ...

This is the day we’ve been waiting for… the day that so shocked the disciples, the day that completely upended all of human history, the day when, with overwhelming joy in our ...

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought all that much about the day after Jesus’ death. But it was a sombre day indeed as His disciples were hit by the tsunami of the reality of ...

Here we are … It’s Good Friday. The worst and the best day on the Christian calendar. The worst, because Jesus was nailed to that bloody Cross and died. The best, because ...

I wonder if you’ve ever heard of “Maundy Thursday”. Well, today’s that day, the day before Good Friday, when we commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus for the likes ...

In just a couple of days, on so-called “Good Friday”, we’ll be remembering what Jesus did for us on that blood-drenched Cross – the price He paid, the sacrifice He made, ...

When was the last time you truly blew it – you fell so hard that you could barely get up again? And even when you did get up, you were so afraid to look God in the eye and ask ...

When you’ve done the wrong thing, have you ever tried to justify your actions – in your own mind and before others? It’s called self-justification. You have to ask yourself ...

Most of the time, when it comes to this whole Easter thing, the bit we remember most is the bit where Jesus died on the Cross, to pay for our sin. And that’s certainly a ...

As we saw earlier this week, Jesus said that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. True. What we say to people – good or bad – is a reflection of what’s going ...

When was the last time that someone said something to you that smarted, that caused you to wince, to recoil; that caused you pain? Think back … is it an experience that you’d ...

As body parts go, your tongue isn’t particularly large – not like a hand or a foot, right? But even with its diminutive size, it can cause a world of blessing or a world of ...

As you and I look back on our lives, we can both recall times when we’ve said things that hurt people – lies, criticism, ridicule – that must have landed like a dagger into ...

So, a question: how do you treat people … at work, your family at home, your neighbours? When you look at them, do you see their humanity or do you treat them just as objects? ...

When I first became a Christian, I used to wonder why Jesus had to die for me. Why go through all that suffering? After all, I’m no criminal. I haven’t stolen, I haven’t ...

Satan has a burning desire to play merry hell with your heart and with your mind. Make no mistake, he is in the business of drawing you away from God, away from following Jesus. ...

Every now and then, we find ourselves in a position where people are plotting against us.  Murmuring.  Whispering.  It hurts a lot. We feel isolated and it can be ...

Most of the time, when it comes to this whole Easter thing, the bit we remember most is the bit where Jesus died on the Cross, to pay for our sin. And that’s certainly a ...

There’s a fine line, isn’t there, between confidence and overconfidence? But here’s a question: can you ever have too much confidence in God? Is it possible to be ...

Have you ever eaten a tough piece of meat? Meat’s allegedly good for you, and you can even pay a bit extra for a superior cut, but if it comes up tough after you’ve cooked it ...

Might I ask you today, what’s the one thing in your life that you’d struggle to lay down if God demanded it of you? What possession, what position, what proclivity … would ...

Have you ever been sunburnt? I remember as a child, a few times being burnt red-raw. And my mother would pour olive oil on my skin to soothe the pain. That oil, absolutely, was ...

When we’re struggling through difficult times, when we’re living out the consequences, frankly, of our own sin, it’s easy to imagine God sitting up there in the comfort of ...

Life has a funny habit of taking a sharp turn from good times into bad; from a time of abundance to a time of famine; from a time of joy to a time of sadness. And the further we ...

Every relationship in our lives at some point is at risk of growing stale. What was once a vital, passionate, rewarding relationship – whether with your spouse, or a friend … ...

Sometimes, we think we’re going along just fine – and then we react to something, and all of a sudden, we realise, we’re carrying around a bunch of hang-ups.  ...

There are times in our lives when our circumstances are far from ideal; when everything appears to be going against us. And it’s in those times that God means for us to live in ...

The Christian view of the respective roles of men and women these days is often sneered at. It’s often criticised because it seems out of touch with today’s 21st century ...

Monogamy is one of Christianity’s greatest contributions to the society in which we live today. Requiring men to show love, to serve and to exercise self-control in their ...

Okay, today … today we’re going for a super dose of the politically incorrect. And it comes straight out of God’s Word. In fact, it’s something of a flashpoint between a ...

Any psychologist will tell you that, despite the whole gender-fluidity thing that’s being pushed in some quarters, there are some very fundamental and powerful differences ...

Have you ever picked up an old book, read it, and thought to yourself, man, that is so old-fashioned? Those attitudes, the way the world was back then … it’s all so irrelevant ...

There are, it would seem, two types of people in this world; those with a teachable heart, and those without; those who are open to admitting their faults, learning a better way, ...

Sometimes we can find ourselves wandering in a spiritual wilderness.  We’ve all been there at some stage in our life.  And when we are there – it’s as though the ...

The truth, as things turn out, can be a dangerous thing when used in the wrong way – much as a sharp knife can be deadly if wielded in anger. Sure, the Good News of Jesus is the ...

When was the last time that you felt ashamed of what you’d done? It’s not a nice feeling, is it? And like Adam and Eve back there in the Garden of Eden, our natural instinct ...

My mother used to read the horoscope in the newspaper every morning. It’s something we often chatted about over a cup of tea when I was a child. Surely there can’t be any harm ...

So let me ask you, what causes your anger to flare up from time to time? We all have triggers that set us off, and when the adrenalin’s pumping through our veins, man … we can ...

Have you ever had that sense that “I simply don’t have enough faith to get through this tough spot?” Right when you need it most, out there in that wilderness, your faith ...

If you’re anything like me, you like a bit of order in your life. I think we all hope that life will make sense, that it’ll be predictable, that people will see things our way ...

Success is a word that we all like to embrace. After all, who doesn’t want to be successful at whatever it is they turn their hand to? But as alluring as it may be, success is a ...

The big mistake we make in this life is that we think that happiness and joy are the same thing. They simply aren’t. Happiness relies on our circumstances, and they can change, ...

So … a question for you today. Given a choice, would you prefer to live the rest of your life with your hands and feet shackled in chains, or would you rather be free? You’d ...

For most of us, our default position in life is that we really, really want to trust you. But … can we trust you? Are you trustworthy? Well, that depends. Is what we see and ...

Making fun of our political leaders has become something of a national pastime for many people in society today, not to mention whinging, complaining, attacking, undermining and ...

You know how it is … out of all the important things in your life – your relationships, health, finances – nine out of ten of them are bubbling along just fine, but ...

There are so many different ways of loving the people around us. And us loving them is something that’s very much on God’s agenda for your life and mine. So, what do you do ...

Have you ever had someone in your life – perhaps a member of your extended family or someone with whom you’ve been friends for a long time – and you get to the point where ...

In this day and age, the deal is that when you invest in something you expect a return. After all, that’s what, by and large, makes the world economy go round. I lend you some ...

The big mistake we make in this life is that we think that happiness and joy are the same thing. They simply aren’t. Happiness relies on our circumstances, and they can change, ...

The big mistake we make in this life is that we think that happiness and joy are the same thing. They simply aren’t. Happiness relies on our circumstances, and they can change, ...

Regret is an emotion that, obviously, we wish we’d never experienced. And yet, here we are. We all know what that word “regret” means – not because we’ve read the ...

It’s funny how the human psyche works. Sometimes the obvious can be staring you in the face, but somehow your mind can’t grasp it. It’s only when you come back to it a ...

So, a question for you today: how often do you think about how you’re living your life? How often do you reflect on how you respond to different situations, different stimuli, ...

If you’re someone who joins me daily in this Fresh devotional message – whether by email, or on television, radio, through the many digital channels … wherever – have you ...