Australian Rugby Union player, Israel Folau, has lost his job this week after posting a picture on social media that said “Warning: Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolaters: Hell awaits you. Repent!”

In the comments he said “Jesus Christ loves you and is giving you time to turn away from your sin and come to him”, as well as quoting from the Bible.

Folau clearly believes in Hell, and he wants to take every opportunity to warn people to find safety in Jesus.

The response from Rugby Australia and the media is that his comments are “homophobic” and that he has “vilified” people by how he’s expressed his religious beliefs.

To be honest, I wouldn’t post that image on Instagram, even though I agree that we need to warn people about Hell.

Yet I, too, want people to know that no matter who you are or what you’ve done, Jesus loves you so much that he died to forgive you.

Everybody is guilty of disobeying God in all sorts of ways, but no matter what you’ve done, Jesus offers unconditional forgiveness if you truly follow him.

I love Izzy’s courage and conviction, and I share his passion for people to come to Jesus and be rescued from Hell.

And I think he’s right when he says that God considers homosexual activity to be one of many things that are immoral.

But whether you agree or not, surely it’s un-Australian to sack someone for publicly saying something that’s in the Bible.

We used to think, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”, but now our society silences views that are unpopular.

Nobody likes to be told that their behaviour is wrong, yet all of us are guilty in Jesus’ sight for all we’ve done to offend him.

At the same time, all of us can enjoy forgiveness in Jesus because of his self-sacrificing death on the first Good Friday.

JODIE McNEILL

When we created t-shirts for our church four years ago, we printed the slogan ‘Come Alive!’ in recognition of our official title, ‘The Church of the Resurrection’.

Last year’s hit movie ‘The Greatest Showman’ featured a song with the same title, in which the singers celebrate their decision to leave their unhappy life to ‘come alive’ as members of the circus.

The song describes how each of them were once a “dead man walking” but that they have heard the call to “come alive, go and ride your light, let it burn so bright!”

They have experienced a transformation so they can be “dreaming with their eyes wide open.”

The movie is a delightful tale of how their life has gone from sadness to joy as they hear the call to leave the security of their past to experience a new life full of both excitement and uncertainty.

It struck me how the life of these circus performers is like the Christian life.

It is costly to follow Jesus, and we know it won’t always be easy.

That is why Jesus invited people to “take up their cross and follow me.”

Yet, even though the cross represented pain and death, Jesus showed that after his death, he came alive.

And because he came alive, it meant that he defeated sin and death, and brought a guarantee of eternal life to everyone who truly follows him.

And so as followers of Christ Jesus, we await his return or our going to be with him, and we look forward to when we will fully experience what it means to come alive in Christ.

For in Heaven we will be able to sing:

When the world becomes a fantasy

And you’re more than you could ever be

‘Cause you’re dreaming with your eyes wide open.

JODIE McNEILL

(The song ‘Come Alive’ was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

I’ve known Jesus for a long time, and to be honest, I find it hard to understand why someone wouldn’t want to accept his love and forgiveness?

But I wonder if sex is the excuse people give for why they don’t want to follow Jesus and enjoy a relationship with their loving creator?

Perhaps people don’t want to follow Jesus because they think that it will mean they have to give up their sexual freedoms in order to be constrained by the Bible’s rules?

They don’t want to give up having sex with their boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancee… or the person they’re having an affair with.

They don’t want to stop having homosexual sex or visiting prostitutes, or doing all the kinds of things that they know God forbids.

Or maybe people don’t want to follow Jesus because they feel that their sexual sins will somehow disqualify them from being a Christian.

After all, it would seem impossible that Jesus would accept someone who’s had the kind of sex that is prohibited in the Bible.

But both of those excuses don’t work.

When Jesus chatted to a woman who was drawing water from a well, he promised her spiritual water that would fulfil her forever.

And even though this woman had been in a series of sexual relationships, Jesus was willing to accept her and to give her the kind of satisfaction that sex couldn’t bring.

So, no matter what you’ve done, Jesus will forgive you if you seek him.

And even though your sexual practices will be restricted to the maker’s instructions, it will actually provide the true sex that was designed for the greatest enjoyment.

As Jesus promised the woman,

“…those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 14:4)

JODIE McNEILL

As news broke this week about the conviction of Cardinal Pell for child sexual abuse, I was deeply saddened.

It reminded me again of how the church has failed so many people.

Sexual abuse has occurred in churches of all denominations, and it is an overwhelming tragedy.

There have been many cases of abuse in the Anglican Church of Australia, and we remain truly sorry for the betrayal of trust and the harm experienced by so many people.

Whilst new systems now provide greater protection from abuse, it comes too late for those who have already been hurt by the leaders they trusted.

Indeed, the impact of sexual abuse in the church goes wider than the immediate victims: it affects everyone who has had faith in the church.

For those who see the church as the place to meet God and receive his grace, this news can create serious disillusionment.

After all, if the church is polluted, then it seems impossible to really know God and receive his blessings.

Yet, from the ashes of this tragedy rises a new hope.

The Bible says that every one of us can relate directly to God, without priest or sacrament.

God speaks directly to all of us in the Bible, and you can hear him for yourself.

Which means that when the church fails, God doesn’t.

Even if you feel like giving up on the church, don’t give up on Jesus.

You can meet Jesus directly by reading God’s word, the Bible for yourself.

And you can pray directly to Jesus, because his death on the cross brings the ultimate forgiveness.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

JODIE McNEILL

If you’ve ever sailed on a yacht then you’ll know the exhilaration of submitting to the awesome power of the wind.

Yet when the breeze turns into a gale, it can be terrifying.

The Bible records a time when Jesus and his friends hit a fierce storm as they sailed across a lake, and it caused their boat to fill with water.

They were in real danger, and they feared for their lives.

And in their powerlessness, they woke up Jesus who was asleep in the boat.

They said to him “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” 

As he awoke, Jesus did not share their fear like any other human would, but instead he showed his sovereignty over the weather.

The Bible simply says “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.”

Like a parent rebuking a naughty child, Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be in the presence of a man who could truly control creation?

And as the roar of the wind was silenced, Jesus simply asks the disciples, “Where is your faith?”

On the one hand, it was a rebuke to them for not trusting that Jesus was in control.

But on the other hand, Jesus’ statement is a genuine question: “Where is your faith?”

For the people in the boat, fearing for their lives, they had to choose the place in which they would put their faith.

The only real hope is in the man who could still the storm with a statement.

In their wonder, they asked the question: “Who is this man?”

For before their eyes they witnessed the power of the man who created and rules the universe, and now offers true comfort and forgiveness when you put your faith in him.

JODIE McNEILL