{"id":7267,"date":"2026-09-16T09:52:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/?p=7267"},"modified":"2026-10-16T10:39:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T00:39:37","slug":"september-13th-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/september-13th-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"September 13th, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7267\" class=\"elementor elementor-7267\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2c65f85b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2c65f85b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4ddacb3\" data-id=\"4ddacb3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c6c6c9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4c6c6c9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>\r\n.food-for-thought {\r\n    max-width: 1200px;\r\n    margin: 50px auto;\r\n    padding: 20px;\r\n    font-family: \"Segoe UI\", Arial, sans-serif;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.food-header {\r\n    background: linear-gradient(135deg,#0b2341,#1f4a7a);\r\n    color:white;\r\n    text-align:center;\r\n    padding:60px 40px;\r\n    border-radius:15px;\r\n    margin-bottom:40px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.food-header h1{\r\n    margin:0;\r\n    font-size:3rem;\r\n    color:#d4af37;\r\n    letter-spacing:2px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.food-header p{\r\n    font-size:1.1rem;\r\n    margin-top:15px;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.quote-card{\r\n    padding:35px;\r\n    border-radius:12px;\r\n    margin-bottom:25px;\r\n    box-shadow:0 5px 15px rgba(0,0,0,.08);\r\n}\r\n\r\n.quote-card h2{\r\n    margin-top:0;\r\n    color:#0b2341;\r\n    font-size:2rem;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.scripture{\r\n    display:inline-block;\r\n    margin-bottom:20px;\r\n    padding:6px 12px;\r\n    border-radius:20px;\r\n    background:white;\r\n    font-size:14px;\r\n    font-weight:600;\r\n    color:#666;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.quote-card p{\r\n    line-height:1.9;\r\n    color:#333;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.gold{\r\n    background:#fffaf0;\r\n    border-left:6px solid #d4af37;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.blue{\r\n    background:#f1f6fc;\r\n    border-left:6px solid #0b2341;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.green{\r\n    background:#f4faf4;\r\n    border-left:6px solid #567d46;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.grey{\r\n    background:#f7f7f7;\r\n    border-left:6px solid #888;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.quote-mark{\r\n    font-size:50px;\r\n    line-height:1;\r\n    color:#d4af37;\r\n    margin-bottom:10px;\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"food-for-thought\">\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"food-header\">\r\n        <h1>Food for Thought<\/h1>\r\n        <p>Wisdom and reflection from Christian thinkers, pastors and theologians<\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Jerry Bridges -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card gold\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Jerry Bridges<\/h2>\r\n        <div class=\"scripture\">1 Timothy 4:7<\/div>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            I have been in full-time ministry for well over twenty-five years and have served both overseas and in the United States. During this time I have met many talented and capable Christians, but I think I have met fewer godly Christians.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The emphasis of our age is on serving God, accomplishing things for God. Enoch was a preacher of righteousness in a day of gross ungodliness, but God saw fit that the brief account of his life emphasised that he walked with God.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            What are we training ourselves for? Are we training ourselves only in Christian activity, as good as that may be, or are we training ourselves first of all in godliness?\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Billy Graham -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card blue\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Billy Graham<\/h2>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            To me, there has always been a wondrous mystery to the preaching of the gospel. We are commanded to be faithful in proclaiming the Word and yet, at the same time, every success, every advance, no matter how slight, is possible only because God has been at work by the Holy Spirit.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The Spirit gives us the message, leads us to those He has prepared and brings conviction of sin and new life. When we understand this truth, it frees us from the temptation to manipulation or pressure. It also should free us from pride and boasting because we know that God alone must receive the credit for whatever is accomplished.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            When we understand that truth, we also realise the urgency of prayer in evangelism. My own ministry, I am convinced, has only been possible because of the countless men and women who have prayed.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The words from Zechariah should be written indelibly on our hearts and minds:\r\n            <strong>\u201cNot by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,\u201d says the Lord Almighty.<\/strong>\r\n            (Zechariah 4:6 NIV)\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Walter Brueggemann -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card grey\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Walter Brueggemann<\/h2>\r\n        <div class=\"scripture\">Matthew 3:9<\/div>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The news of the gospel and the reality of new life depend upon the will of God. The statement of John and the entire Abrahamic narrative speak a judgement against those who cling to their anti-promise ways of identity.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Richard Foster -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card green\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Richard Foster<\/h2>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            A misconception about prayer is the common teaching, \u201cPray once! Any more than that shows a lack of faith.\u201d\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            No. I understand the good intentions of people who teach this way but, very frankly, it flies in the face of a great deal of biblical experience and teaching, especially Jesus\u2019 parables of persistence.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            We are to keep at this work because we are the channel through which God\u2019s life and light flows into individuals and situations.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            May I call you to the adventure of prayer. Nothing draws us closer to the heart of God.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card grey\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/h2>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Real silence, real stillness, really holding one's tongue comes only as the sober consequence of spiritual stillness.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Timothy Keller -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card blue\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Timothy Keller<\/h2>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Even Nietzsche could not escape his own scalpel. He criticised secular liberals for being inconsistent while simultaneously making his own moral judgments.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            He praised courage, nobility and self-fashioning despite claiming there was no objective moral foundation behind those values.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Why is the noble spirit noble? Why is courage good? Where do such moral values come from? By his own philosophy he cannot ultimately justify those claims.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            In short, he cannot stop doing what he tells everyone else to stop doing.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <!-- Alain de Botton -->\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"quote-card gold\">\r\n        <div class=\"quote-mark\">\u275d<\/div>\r\n        <h2>Alain de Botton<\/h2>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Loving relationships are fundamental to happiness. Our quest for the external goods of status and money is really another quest for love.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Food for Thought Wisdom and reflection from Christian thinkers, pastors and theologians \u275d Jerry Bridges 1 Timothy 4:7 I have been in full-time ministry for well over twenty-five years and have served both overseas and in the United States. During this time I have met many talented and capable Christians, but I think I have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,8],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[27],"class_list":["post-7267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food_for_thought","category-gold-coast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7267"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7272,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7267\/revisions\/7272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7267"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micro.gci-au.church\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=7267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}