A Different Perspective Official Podcast

Trustworthiness is a quality that – I don't know what it is – seems to be harder and harder to find in people. Someone who's not trustworthy can be a huge burden. But the odd person that you can trust – what an incredible blessing they turn out to be. Trust is an interesting commodity, it's an important commodity and all too often these days sadly it's a rare commodity. Friedrich Nietzche was a 19...

How often do you do something for someone – and somehow, they forget to say thank you? It's not that you did it so that they'd thank you or recognise you, but a simple "thank you" would have been nice, right? There's a lot of power in those two words isn't there? Thank … you Thank you. Two very short simple words, they cost nothing to say and yet how often do you do something for someone and they...

Have you ever found yourself under the gun, under a whole bunch of pressure? Stressed beyond words, – wondering how you're going to get through the day? And someone comes alongside and through a simple act of service, lightens your load. What a blessing, eh?! So let's continue our journey discovering how you and I can be more of a blessing than we are a burden in the lives of people around us. It'...

Let's face it – we all need encouragement. Doesn't matter how strong and independent and together we think we are, we all need encouragement at some point along our journey. And at the same time, we have the opportunity to give encouragement, to be encouragers too. I love stories, good stories. Great story-tellers make us think and Tolkien is one of the best. Just that one line, 'All we have to de...

Arguments, conflict. It's something that we all go through. But there's some point – a flashpoint – where every argument begins. And it's right at that flashpoint that we can do something amazing to create peace instead of conflict. Last week we were chatting about this very thing, whether you and I are a blessing or a burden to the people around us and how we each can become more and more of a bl...

There's nothing worse than having people gossip about you, stab you behind your back. Well, actually there's one thing worse. It's when we gossip about others, when we're the ones stabbing someone else in the back. Yep –actually … that's worse. One of my favourite TV shows of all time is "Yes Prime Minister" – a very, very funny British comedy show about the behind the scenes, wheeling and dealing...

When someone else makes a mistake, when they fall short of expectations, our natural reaction is to criticise them, or perhaps punish them. Ostracise them. But consider this – what if our first reaction was to compensate for them – to make up for their shortcomings with our natural gifts and abilities? How different would this world be, if we all did that? People's mistakes can be so annoying espe...

We all have people in our lives who annoy us, drive us crazy and sometimes hurt us. You can picture them right now. So today, tomorrow – what are you going to do to bless those people in your life? Bless them?! You'd have to be crazy right? Let's face it, we don't jump out of bed in the morning with the purpose of blessing the most annoying and irritating and hurtful person in our lives do we? I m...

Let's face it – we've been programmed to believe that happiness is something we get when good things come our way. When the blessing flows into us. Hmm. Problem is that it's just not true. The joy and contentment we've been looking for only happen, when the blessing flows outwards, from us to others. I've told this story I think once before on the program a few years ago so if you've heard it well...

There seem to be basically two types of people in this world – those who are a blessing and those who are a burden; those who are an asset and those who are a liability. Which one are you? One of the things I love doing is tweeting. Some people don't even know what twitter is. That's okay, I was there once. Some can't understand the fascination but I love it, here's why. Twitter helps me to stay i...

Some people are trapped by the past – and that ruins their present and robs them of their future. But Jesus has a plan. It's a good plan. A plan for our welfare and not our harm. A plan for a future full of hope. The past, some people look back at their past with a fondness, they remember their childhood with great joy but the more I chat with people the more I firm up on my belief that it's simpl...

The lies that the world tells us about ourselves – who we are, who we aren't, who we should be – you know all that stuff – we'd like to think they don't have any impact – water off a duck's back. But that's just not true.  Sticks and stones aren't the only things that break our bones – because words do truly hurt us. I don't know if you've been able to join us so far on the program this week but I...

This week on the program, I'm joined by a special guest Mike Ricchini – who had one of the most difficult starts in life and a tough childhood as an Hispanic Kid in a white neighbourhood in America –and today he's going to be sharing how it was that his life took a turn for the better. The last couple of weeks on the program we've been chatting about the fact that the lies that the world and peopl...

So many of the lies that the world tells us, society tells us – people tell us – end up messing around with who we are. Messing around with our lives. Racial tensions, the stigma of adoption – that'd have to affect you in your later years wouldn't it? Exciting week this week on the program because we're following up on what we've been chatting about over the last few weeks. It's the fact that all...

Imagine starting out life as the baby of a 15-year-old mother, with a drug habit … growing up bumping from one uncaring foster home to the next – when you grew up that sort of a past would mess with your head wouldn't it? Every now and then God makes a divine appointment for us, have you noticed that? What appears to be a random decision or a chance twist or turn in life, all of a sudden you run i...

When the people around us start behaving badly, as they invariably do, we sometimes want to use that as an excuse for us to end up stooping down to the same level.  And at the end of the day – that just doesn't work. We pretty much all understand the concept of the lowest common denominator. You look across a group of people and you pitch your message or your idea or whatever at the lowest common...

Everyone goes through stormy times in life.  And when we're bobbing around like corks in the ocean, what we really need is a solid rock beneath our feet.  But what if God means us, you and me, to be that solid rock in someone's life? I hate being on the water in a boat. I don't mind swimming, I don't mind being beside the water looking and I don't mind diving under the water but I absolutely hate...

What's Providence? Well, it's when God goes ahead of us and prepares the way. Pretty cool. But what if – I mean, just think about this – what if you and I could do that for other people?  What if you and I could be God's providence for them? I was looking up in the dictionary the other day the word  "providence" because I wanted to know exactly what the word meant. Like most people, I'd always tho...

Other people can frankly drive us nuts. But they are who they are – and here's a thought, when we let them be, God sets us free. Great theory – but how does it actually work? Over the last three weeks or so we've been talking about living the life God always intended. We have one chance at this life, that's it. It's not a dress rehearsal. And what's so incredibly sad for me is to run into people,...

There's nothing worse than going to a coffee shop for a good cuppa and getting bad service.  And it turns out that we're all in the service business one way or another.  How we serve others, makes a difference. There's nothing worse than going somewhere, a shop or a cafe or a restaurant, even a ride in a taxi and you get bad service. There's this little cafe close to home where my wife, Jacqui and...

No man is an island … actually, it's true of women too.  But sometimes, it seems like the rest of the world is pretty much ready to desert us.  And when we feel all alone, we wonder if we still have anything useful that we can do.  So … do we give up, or do we keep going? You know there are parts of the Bible that I'm prone to skimming over. For instance the genealogies. They're so long and boring...

For anyone who believes in this Jesus, one of the things that God wants us to do is to keep on shining His light into this world.  Sometimes we look at our circumstances – the conditions around us and things seem far from favourable.  So do we stop, or do we keep shining the light of Christ into this world? Over these last few weeks we've been chatting about rekindling the gift that God's put with...

You know what I've noticed?  It's awfully easy to lose our way in life.  We each have this God–given gift or ability and we head off into life with our dream for using it.  And then the cares of the world take over and we're off on the wrong track.  How do we stay focussed?  How do we get our lives back on track? One of the people with whom I have been greatly blessed in my life is my good friend...

We each have a God–given gift or ability – something that we're able to do better than just about anybody else that we know. But it's a funny thing – when we run into opposition and trials in life – the first thing we want to do sometimes is to stop using that gift. To stop living out who God made us to be.  Why is that? Now I don't know if you've picked this up in your life but life ain't always...

Each one of us has something that we're good at; something we enjoy doing; some God–given gift or ability that we just excel at.  But all too often, it's been buried under years of neglect.  And so many, many people live their lives, without ever living out their dreams.  But what if God never meant for that to happen? Over the past week we've been chatting about rekindling the flame, the passion...