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It’s now official – the tax hike on alcopops drinks has had no affect whatsoever on the level of binge drinking in Australia! How surprising! Sure, the sale of alcopops has decreased but Mr or Ms Drinktoomuch has now switched to mix-your-own drinks buying cheap spirits and fruit juices or sodas.

I’m not sure where our Federal Government got their advice from on this issue but it seems like a no-brainer to me! The problem is not alcopops – or any other alcoholic drink, or even the availability of alcohol. This was proven in the prohibition era when the alcohol industry simply went underground and some people still drank too much because that’s what some people will do.

Hiking a tax on one brand of alcohol is like putting bandaids on measles spots. It might hide the problem for a short period of time but the real problem is still simmering beneath the surface – because the real problem is internal not external.

The problem that binge drinkers have is something within them. That’s true of all life-controlling problems and banning something or increasing its cost will only shift the problem; it will never cure it.

Jesus came not to put bandaids on our problems but rather to address the core issue – the human heart. The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus’ solution? To give us a new one – a heart that desires to do the right thing; to live a life of goodness, moderation and self control.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

The Olympic Games have come and gone for another four years – or have they? Right now in Beijing 4,200 athletes from 148 countries are taking part in the 2008 Paralympics. The Paralympics are a multi-sport event for athletes with physical, mental, and sensorial disabilities. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputees, visually impaired athletes, and those with cerebral palsy.

I find the Paralympics so inspiring! There are paraplegics in wheel chairs playing basketball. There are amputees with prosthetic limbs running faster than I can with two good legs. These are men and women who face great difficulties and overcome them.

We saw another amazing example of this kind of character a few weeks ago when Nick Vujicic was featured on Sixty Minutes (Nine Network). Nick was born without arms or legs and yet this young Christian man travels the world speaking to and motivating thousands with his faith, humour and upbeat personality.

And then there are the others – people who face similar challenges (or less) and yet go through life with a grudge; a huge chip on their shoulder; an “I hate the world and it owes me” attitude.

What makes the difference? One word – RESOLVE! People like the Paralympians and Nick Vujicic have resolved not to allow their disability to be their enemy. Instead, they have made it their friend and have succeeded in life despite the setbacks.

What are you facing at the moment? What is your attitude to it? What have you resolved to do despite it? Consider the Paralympians, Nick Vujicic and Jesus Christ “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Succeed, despite the odds!

From time to time we hear about a high profile Christian leader who hasn’t been living up to the high calling of their profession. When details come out about inappropriate behaviour there are a number of emotions that we experience – shock, anger, disappointment, grief, bewilderment and so on. All these emotions are justified and need to be worked through in a godly way.

In the last two weeks we’ve heard of two such cases. First there was the news of Todd Bentley’s marriage break up because Todd had “entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff” (click this link for more details). Todd and Shonnah are now receiving counselling and Todd has been stepped down from the ministry for at least nine months.

Then the news about Mike Guglielmucci for whom many of us had been praying since the “diagnosis” of cancer in 2006. This now all seems to have been a hoax that Mike had kept up for over two years even deceiving his closest family and friends. Mike too is receiving professional help.

Even though I personally have many questions about both of these situations, I think it is vital that we remain godly in our attitudes. It’s fine to be angry – but not to sin (Ephesians 4:26). It’s also quite legitimate to be disappointed, shocked and grieved – after all we had hoped for better things. But above all we must remain spiritual. In Galatians 6:1 Paul says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” One of the signs of true spirituality is the gentle restoring of a fallen brother or sister. We are also exhorted to watch ourselves. It’s easy to point the finger at someone else’s mistake but which one of us is free from the risk of likewise becoming caught in a sin from which we find no escape without accountability and help from others?

So in the coming weeks and months I encourage you to use some energy to pray for Todd Bentley, for Mike Guglielmucci and their families. Times will be tough for them because of emotions that will war within them and a merciless media who rub their hands together with glee because another of the righteous has fallen. Let us not be guilty of shooting our wounded. Let us pray for restoration and grace.

Our family has really enjoyed watching the Olympic Games. It’s been inspiring to see the results of the amazing dedication and hard work of sportsmen and women from many nations of the world. That’s what I always find staggering – the work, sacrifice, self-control, self-denial & training that goes on day after day for months and years leading up to an event such as this. And then, in a matter of seconds or minutes the event is over and only one person – the best of the best – wins the ultimate prize: a Gold Medal.

The dedication of these men and women is to be admired and emulated by those of us who live under the name of Jesus Christ. Why is that people will go to great lengths to win a temporary prize but not lift a finger to win something eternal? The Apostle Paul uses the Olympic Games of his day as a challenge that is still worth taking on:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Running to win; strict training; self-denial and sacrifice – not popular concepts by any means! The majority will never live like this but they will admire those who do!

What I have believed and taught for years has finally been backed up by research – children are born believers!

I don’t have time in this blog to go into the theology of children and their eternal salvation.  If this topic is of interest to you listen to this message in the Answers to Searching Questions series in which I address the question, “What happens to babies and young children who die? – Do they all go to heaven?”

Now, back to my original statement – children are born believers!  The Age recently reported that “Infants are hardwired to believe in God, and atheism has to be learned.”  According to Dr Olivera Petrovich, an expert in psychology of religion, belief in God is not taught but develops naturally.  Her findings were based on several studies particularly one of Japanese children aged four to six, and another of 400 British children aged five to seven from seven different faiths.  The conclusion: “Atheism is definitely an acquired position.”

This has certainly been born out in my own experience over many years of teaching Religious Education to children in Primary Schools.  There was always the one or two kids who would be atheists but it was always as a result of what they had heard their parents articulate about there being “no God.”  All the other kids – including those from homes where no particular faith was adhered to – believed in the existence of God and were fascinated by discussions on spirituality and life after death.

What a huge responsibility there is in parenting a child – to protect this inherent belief in God and to nurture it into a vibrant faith that remains a strong foundation throughout the child’s life.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”  (Mark 10:14-16)

What a huge responsibility there is in parenting a child – to protect this inherent belief in God and to nurture it into a vibrant faith that remains a strong foundation throughout the child’s life.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.”  (Mark 10:14-16)

Last week Christie and I watched with fascination an excellent program on TV hosted by Jamie Oliver.  I’d heard about this controversial show and some of the feedback that had occurred when it was aired in the UK.  On this program Jamie demonstrated how badly battery hens and chicks are treated in British egg farms.  During one scene he showed how cute fluffy male chicks are deprived of oxygen and literally suffocated to death.  As the camera panned around the audience many were in tears at the senseless horror they witnessed with their own eyes.

During the program the stark truth dawned on many in the studio audience – and I’m sure on many of us watching in our homes:  this mistreatment of hens is going on all the time to provide us with meat and eggs and we weren’t even aware of it!  But now, thanks to Jamie Oliver, we are aware and we can do something about it!  Things are already changing in the UK and I would imagine some hard questions will be asked in Australia too – and rightly so.  Matthew 6:26 reveals that God cares for his creation including the animal kingdom.  Proverbs 12:10 says “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal …”

As I continued to watch Jamie’s presentation I started wondering about what other horrors are allowed to go ahead unhindered even in our “civilized” society simply because people are unaware of what’s going on.  We are aghast at the treatment of hens, but what about the treatment of innocent babies in the womb who are terminated in their thousands right here in Australia?  What if society were similarly exposed to a program that demonstrated how cruel an abortion really is?  Of course it will never happen – it would simply be too horrific to watch.  But if we speak out for chickens shouldn’t we also speak out for vulnerable babies rather than pass laws that seal their doom?  After all Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Australia has become the fattest nation in the world, with more than 9 million adults now rated as obese or overweight, according to a new report: Australia’s Future ‘Fat Bomb’ from Melbourne’s Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.  The report shows that Australians now outweigh Americans and face a future “fat bomb” that could cause a vast increase in sickness, premature deaths and place a huge burden on our health system.

The latest figures show 4 million Australians — or 26% of the adult population — are now obese compared to an estimated 25% of Americans. A further 5 million Australians are considered overweight.

But soft bodies are not our only problem.  These statistics show that many Aussies also have soft minds!  In other words, we know what to do but we just don’t do it.

There is no lack of information on the importance of a balanced, healthy diet and regular exercise.  We all know these things are important but for whatever reason over half of us do little or nothing about it.  We lead sedentary lives; spend countless hours watching TV while snacking on unhealthy processed foods; and think that the five food groups are pizza, chocolate, coke, French fries and KFC.

On the flip side of this is another problem – obsession with body image.  In the last decade there have been approx 40,000 surgical procedures related to weight loss.  Fad diet books often fill the Top 10 most sold books and we are constantly bombarded with conflicting information about what foods are good and bad for us.  Many guys are aiming at the false ideal of looking like the cover model on Men’s Health magazine – after all, happiness is a six-pack is it not?  Women are confronted with pictures of skinny models and told they need to look like this as well.  What is rarely understood is how these people get to look like this in the first place – a combination of good genes, hard work, extreme dieting and airbrushed photos (that’s right, most of these men and women don’t even look like there own photo!).

The Bible teaches us to look after our bodies; after all, they are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Learn to eat healthily.  Find an exercise that you enjoy – and that is age-appropriate – and do it 2 or 3 times a week.  But please don’t buy into the media image of the beautiful person.  True beauty is what emanates from the inside of you and it is that which will last forever – long after that beautiful body of yours has returned to the substance from which it was made – dust!

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There is an ongoing debate in politics as well as in the media about government funding of independent schools – and there have been a lot of misconceptions and distortion of facts.  In particular The Age has been running a campaign against funding for independent schools using phrases such as “a flawed funding model” and “generous funding to independent schools”.  In 2007, columnist Katherine Deveny put it more bluntly when she wrote, “private schools should not receive funding.”

What is often not mentioned is that the existence of independent schools actually saves the taxpayer money.  For example, one local independent school receives almost $3,000 of funding annually per Primary student and about $3,800 per Secondary student.  The average cost of educating a student in a government school in Australia is over $7,000 (Primary) and over $9,000 (Secondary).

In other words, every primary student at this local school saves the taxpayer over $4,000 a year and every secondary student saves the taxpayer over $5,000.  The combined 2008 saving to taxpayers from families attending this school will be over $13 million.

What needs to be made clear is that scrapping – or reducing – government funding to independent schools will increase fees thus forcing some families to send their children to government schools and putting extra stress on the public school system.  This in turn will cost the taxpayer more.  It would also reduce the education options for families and penalize people of faith who desire for their children to have an education that is consistent with their religious beliefs.

I believe it is the right of every parent to send their children to a school of their choice – be it government or independent, but please let’s not buy in to some of the tripe that is being served up currently by some politicians and media commentators.  It’s hard to believe they don’t have some sort of anti-faith agenda!

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Relativism!  It’s defined by Wikipedia as “the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances.”  Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical proposition’s truth.  To put this in simpler words, relativism is a “make it up as you go” morality.

We hear of an increasing number of examples of relativism weekly.  Relativism says…

  • Its okay to publicly display photos of a naked 13 year old girl, but it’s not okay for a TV personality to make fun of a female reporter.
  • It’s fine to allow a 12 year old girl to have a sex change; but it’s not fine to reveal the names of child sex offenders when they are released back into society even though the likelihood is that they will offend again and rob precious children of their innocence.

Relativism!  Let’s just make it up as we go.  It’s whatever feels right – or wrong – at the time.  In contrast to this the Bible gives an unchanging morality.  It’s these timeless truths that attracted thousands to Jesus in the relativistic Roman Empire of the first century.  It’s these same truths that still attract hundreds of thousands to Christ every week all around the world.

A final comment on the child sex offenders’ issue:  Derryn Hinch
continues to be a leading voice on this.  If you feel strongly about
this issue you can sign a petition on Derryn Hinch’s website:

http://www.hinch.net/name-them-shame-them/name-them-shame-them-rally.html

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The radio talk-back waves have been crackling with strong debate this week over a Sydney art gallery’s display of photographs by controversial Melbourne artist Bill Henson.  The 20 photographs are of a naked girl and boy believed to be around the ages of 12 or 13.  These photos have been seized by Sydney police and charges are expected to be laid.

The comments on the radio have been many and varied and this issue has obviously polarized the community.  There are a number of things that I find fascinating from this debate but I will focus this blog on two of them:

First is the call by Cate Blanchett, and dozens of other 2020 Summit delegates, for the Prime Minister to retract his criticisms of Bill Henson as they “damage Australia’s cultural reputation.”  And showing naked pictures of adolescents doesn’t do damage?  There is something even more sinister here when the so-called cultural elite want to gag free speech from those who disagree with them.  I applaud Kevin Rudd for his courage in taking a stand on this issue.  Political, church and other community leaders have a right and a responsibility to exercise a prophetic voice that speaks out for truth and righteousness.

The other issue is the justification of these photos by some people.  If a pedophile is found to have such images in their possession they are arrested and jailed – and rightly so!  In one interview these photos were described as “High Art” and that was used as justification for their legitimacy.  So the man or woman found in possession of photos of naked minors in various poses in alright as long as it’s in the name of high art?  The problem here is that we have a society where black and white are viewed by many as merely shades of grey!  That’s why I love the Bible and my Christian faith.  Some things are right – other things are wrong!  Thank you Mr Rudd for speaking out on this – please don’t let people silence you even if they do happen to be famous!