This week we have seen the sudden end to a number of budding political careers as the inappropriate online history of candidates was made public.

Comments were made on social media and blogs that included rude jokes and statements that have caused offence.

On Friday, Mr Creasey, a former candidate for the upcoming federal election, said that he had wrongly made “awful comments many years ago”, but that whilst he now distances himself from those comments, he said that his actions were “an important for young people that your social media footprint will follow you.”

Apart from the obvious wisdom of taking care when posting, commenting, liking, or interacting with social media, it is a timely reminder to us that every thing we say, do and think is known to our heavenly Father.

Even if our thoughts don’t leave our minds, our wrongful thoughts and attitudes are still known in full to God.

That is why we are all unable to stand before God and claim to be blameless in his sight, no matter how many good things we have done.

As we read in the New Testament, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” (Hebrews 4:13)

This is why everyone is in desperate need of a saviour who will take upon himself the judgement we deserve, so that God will look at us as pure and blameless.

This is why the Bible tells us that “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.” (1Pet. 3:18)

So, no matter what you’ve said or done, whether it’s public or private, you can be sure that God will forgive you for those sins if you trust in Jesus as Lord and saviour.

JODIE McNEILL

The most famous Irish event in our calendar is ‘St Patrick’s Day’, where we celebrate a cheerful, cleric in green robes.

Patrick became a follower of Jesus, and sought “that through me, many people should be born again in God and brought to full life”.

This mission cost him dearly, as he gave up wealth and security to evangelise a country that persecuted him.

From his ministry, Ireland gained a reputation as the land of saints and scholars.

Less than a hundred years ago, Sydney looked to Ireland to get quality teachers of the Bible, including T. C. Hammond, who as Principal, transformed Moore College into what it is today.

Yet now the Irish church is only a shadow of its former glory, and Ireland has become the least-evangelised country in the English-speaking world.

In fact, only one percent of the Irish are now Evangelical Christians.

There is a great need for gospel ministry in the Republic of Ireland, and that’s why Cameron and Alex Jones are planning to evangelise an Anglican church into existence in the Dublin Docklands, the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Ireland.

Fourteen years ago, Cameron and Alex travelled from Australia to minister in the UK, then three years later they moved to serve in Northern Ireland, from where they intend to move to Dublin with Irish Church Missions.

Now they’re asking their Aussie friends to help them raise funds to cover both a place to live and their living costs.

The Irish church has drifted a long way from the gospel heart of St Patrick, and now it’s time for gospel-strong churches like ours to share our resources with a land that was once strong in the gospel but now desperately needs the faithful, Bible-based ministry Cameron and Alex seek to share.  

JODIE McNEILL