A Different Perspective Official Podcast

Bringing up children can feel like such a thankless task some days. You invest, invest, sacrifice, invest some more – hoping that one day, it'll all have a positive impact on them. Well, I want to share something with you about this investment thing that'll just blow you away. We've been talking, these last 3 weeks, about Building a Godly Family. And today, today I want to share a story with you t...

One of the greatest teachers of all is life itself. We learn so much just by living life. Now – here's a thought. What if, I mean what if we shared some of the challenges and trials that we face, with our children? What if they were able to benefit from the things we're learning? A good many years ago now, when I was in the Information Technology industry, I used to attend I guess 3 or 4 conferenc...

So many people want to build a godly family. To have a family that's not necessarily perfect, there ain't any of those, but one that's full of peace and joy. A safe place for children to grow. But if we want our kids to grow up to be godly – one of the things we have to do, is actually talk to them about Jesus. Every time I look up at the stars and the moon at night, I'm utterly gobsmacked by what...

We parents try to do all the things we can to help our children to grow up. We advise. We admonish. We even end up preaching at them sometimes. But it's not what we say, it's what we do , how we live – what they see our life to be, that has the greatest impact in shaping them as they grow up. I don't know how things are in your neck of the woods but one of the really hot topics around where I live...

With all the entertainment options and gizmos available to us these days, there are so many distractions. Things that stop us from interacting and doing the things that we need to do to build a godly family. I remember with great delight the days that I used to come home from school in my younger years. I was allowed to watch an hour, maybe an hour-and-a-half of TV. It was a great big hulking blac...

Honour is not something that gets talked about a lot these days. But Commandment number 5 out of the top ten is to honour your father and mother. And it turns out that there's a very good reason why it's right up there at number 5. It's funny how the way we think; the things that we think are important. They change over time. If you got a 15 year old down with a 45 year old and a 60 year old and a...

They say that what marriage is all about is two becoming one. It's a great theory but, well, as I heard someone say once, it's the "becoming" that's the problem. That's where the hard work really is. Well, over this last week-and-a-half, on the program, we've been talking about building a Godly family and this week in particular, about realising the enormous blessing that comes from having a peace...

We think of men being the stronger sex and the Bible even talks about women as being the weaker sex. But some of the strongest people I know are women – and you women, your particular brand of strength can be such an amazing blessing to your families. You know, so often we look at men and there's something about their physical size and brute strength, their ability to go out and crash through prob...

We men are a funny breed – we have the whole provider and protector thing going on inside us. And you know something, if we know how to live that out in a godly way, we can be such a blessing to our families. We men are a funny breed. There's something deep inside us that makes us the protectors and providers for our families. Most men, not all but most men are programmed, hard wired, to provide a...

Peace is one of those things – well, who doesn't want peace in their lives. Freedom from conflict. But imagine, imagine what a blessing it must be, to have peace at home. A family that thrives on peace instead of being lost in conflict. If God offered you anything you wanted in this world, anything at all, what would you ask for? Tough question. It takes a bit of thinking about: a new car, a bigge...

This week on A Different Perspective, we've been chatting about building a godly family. Well, at some point – the talk has to turn into action, otherwise nothing's ever going to happen. The question is – are you ready? Well, are you? This week we've been talking about building a godly family on the program. The whole gist of it has been this – it doesn't matter how dysfunctional a family ours is...

The first thing a doctor tends to ask us when we visit is about our family history. And just the way that physical things get handed down to us genetically, so do emotional, behavioural and spiritual things. Question is, what can we do about them? One of the things that brings so much dysfunction into families is, well … things from the past; things that have been handed down genetically, emotiona...

Let me ask you something – if you could set about building a Godly Family – what would that look like? I mean how would you know when you'd arrived? A Godly family. Man – wouldn't that be amazing. I'm excited because this week we're kicking off a few weeks looking at what it means to build a Godly family. That's why I'm so excited. Because I've been praying, praying that of the millions of people...

It's easy to look around at other people's families and think "Boy – how come I didn't get a normal family like them." Truth is though, that no family's perfect. And no matter how dysfunctional your family might be, God has a plan. We don't have to look very far to see that, in society today, families are becoming more and more dysfunctional. It doesn't matter where we live, how wealthy, how poor....

You know something – that old saying that blood is thicker than water, it's true. There's a special bond between members of a family. Our family really does matter. And that – that's why it's time to start looking at what it means to build a godly family. It's great. Here we are; a new week. And today we're going to start a discussion, you and I, about something completely different. Something tha...

Music has this ability to – well, to lift our spirits. To move us on the inside. In a way that nothing else can. And so when we make music in our hearts – music for God – there's a healing that comes out of that overflow. There's something special about music. We each like different things. For me it's Beethoven, Chopin, The Little River Band. Funny thing music. I mean I listen to one of my favour...

Have you ever been half hearted about something? We all have – and the thing is, when we're half hearted, there's one thing for certain, we're never going to succeed. Part of us puling this way, part of us pulling the other way. Tears us apart. But God, God is into healing our hearts. You know one of the things that I give thanks to God for is that I'm not indecisive. Well, at least I don't think...

You know something – if I were God, and you should be sincerely thankful that I'm not, but if I were, there are a few people on this earth who would discover what wrath was all about. But fortunately for you, I'm not. And in fact, what really shocked me was to discover that God has this amazing heart – this amazing desire to heal those who once hated Him. I don't know if you remember that old Fran...

So often – religion is about the things we do. It's about being seen in the right places, showing up, doing things for God. And I can easily fall into that sort of thing. But I remember the shock I had when I realised that God isn't so much into religion, as He is into a relationship. I remember a decade and a half ago when I became a Christian. I remember the first time I took myself off to Churc...

If there's one thing that most of us can't stand it's a fake, a hypocrite. Someone who's one thing on the outside and something different on the inside. And when that fake, that hypocrite is us – it can end up tearing us apart. I don't know about you but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a fake. A product that doesn't do what the advertisers claim that it will do. A person who says one thin...

When we're exhausted – so tired we can't go on, turns out that what we need to do is to stop and revive, in order to survive. We need revival deep in our hearts.  And as things turn out – well, that's God's plan too. To revive an aching heart, and a failing spirit. One of the things that happens just about everywhere on the planet I suspect is on those special holidays, those long weekends, school...

Sixty years ago, heart transplants were an impossible dream. Today, thousands of people have heart transplants every year. They're a reality. And it turns out that God – well, God's in the heart transplant business too. In fact, He's been in that business for a very long time. I don't know about you but I am old enough to remember the very first heart transplant. It was performed by Dr Christiaan...

Sin is like heart disease – it robs us of life. Anger, resentment, pride, dishonesty, lust – all those things rob us of life. But we, well, we want to sweep them under the carpet. Problem is, when you do that – all you get, is a lump under the carpet. They say men are the worst at going to the doctors. So many men drop dead in the prime of life from bowel cancer and heart disease. Because we just...

We people are very much into surface things – things we can touch and feel. Someone dresses well or performs well or looks good – and we judge them to be successful. But God's interested in something else. Something quite different. God's interested in our hearts. I don't know if you've ever watched the Oscars on TV. You know, the movie awards they give in Hollywood, in  "Tinsel Town" each year. L...

The average human heart will beat between 2 and 3 billion times in a  lifetime. Amazing little thing. But when it's sick, when it's diseased, that can be life threatening. And it's the same with our other heart too – that deep place where we live – you know, our heart. Your heart and my heart, well I don't know if you've ever thought much about this but our hearts are amazing little machines. Let...