August 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - The Excellence Centre

My Time at Pacific Hills Pt2

Aug 10, 2016 | Teds Thoughts

From the orphanage at Pennant Hills to the beautiful new semi-rural environment at Dural, we thank God for His provisions and His blessing at our School. We are grateful for our other Pacific Schools at Maclean and the Tweed. We thank God for the opportunity to establish Special Needs programs for the integration of special needs students into the life of Pacific Hills, and now we thank God for our New Hope schools.

We are thankful for the Augustine programs that is for the students with the type of abilities that have led to high performance. We thank God for the gifts given to our community in the Creative and Performing Arts and in Sports and in public service.

We thank God for the Missions program which is such an important part of the ministry of the Pacific Hills Christian Schools. Linked to that, we have the Christian Education Development Program for supporting Christians in education in other parts of the world.

Pacific Hills Christian School has been the parent of Pacific Outback Christian School at Bourke, Pacific Coast Christian School at Tweed Heads, and Pacific Valley Christian School at Maclean, as well as being the operator for several years of Southland College. It is also now the parent of The Excellence Centre, which provides professional development within a Christian community of reflection and practice. The ongoing vision for Christian education by so many Board Members has highlighted the importance of good committed men and women to the governance of our School community.

For all of these people and for all of the blessings, we thank God. It is my prayer that Pacific Hills will continue to be strengthened within its own community and as it serves within Australia and different parts of the world. All we have is only by God’s grace.

show less

Back to Ted’s Thoughts

Change and the Seasons of Life Pt 1

Aug 3, 2016 | Teds Thoughts

At this time of the year as we come towards Spring, we are reminded that our environment changes. We see blossoms taking the place of bare branches, we see the dormancy of winter being replaced by the return to the warmth, and we see the vibrancy that is Spring and Summer. Of course in Australia we do not have the radically different seasons that are experienced in many parts of the world, yet none the less, we see the changes. These changes affect in many cases our psyche, they affect our physical habits, even our clothing and footwear, and the way we spend our leisure hours.

The seasons of life for each one of us are not always understood or appreciated but we just live life. Yet for each of us there is early childhood, and then the years of adolescence, and young adulthood, followed by what is called middle age and then the senior years of life. At different points in these seasons we can live through great excitement and deep tragedy, time of friendship forming, and loss of friendship. We can have times of anticipation and reflection and hopes and dreams and fears and disappointments. These are some of the aspects of the lives of human beings.

In the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, we learn from the writer about the seasons of life that for the different things of our life there is a time. Indeed, Chapter 3 verse 1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”. Then in Chapter 3 verse 11, we read, “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of people; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end”.

So we are then drawn to the One Who is unchanged and unchanging, our great God. Although God is in time and space where we exist, He is also beyond time and beyond space, a concept that we have difficulty in understating and appreciating. In the end we need to have faith. As Hebrews 11 verse 6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him”. Therefore, we as human beings must come to the point of trusting God, acknowledging His provision in the various stages of life, and in the various circumstances in which we live. We are so thankful that God has revealed Himself to us and His purposes and His power. In knowing God therefore, we can have fulfilment and contentment despite the changes that are the lot of our humanness and our lives on the Earth.

show less

Change and the Seasons of Life Pt2

Aug 3, 2016 | Teds Thoughts

It is of great importance that we teach the new generation to trust God by knowing Him, loving Him and worshipping Him. In these ways our young people will have the Rock which is God with us through all the vicissitudes of living in our humanity. As parents and as significant others in the lives of young people, there are many times that we would like to protect our children from the harshness of living, but in many cases that is not possible. Therefore, we must teach our children, by our example and by our training of them, that they can have assurance and a certain hope in their lives as they trust in God by obeying His commands.

An important summary of the commands is found in 1 John 3:23, “This is God’s command, to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us to do”. As caring parents and teachers we cannot always be there to save those under our care, but God is always there. We need to encourage our children to believe in Him and to be followers of His Son in order for them to live with hope, peace, joy and love in their lives.

Therefore, the seasons of life will not be daunting nor disappointing. Rather the seasons of life will be lived in acceptance of God’s will and purpose and in God’s strength by His grace. Therefore, our children will be blessed by God as they trust in Him and will be a blessing to others as they reflect the teachings of the Bible in their personal lives and in their relationships with others. The early Church Fathers said it well, “The end of being human is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. So for us as Christians, the seasons of life are just that: they are just seasons. A life lived for God and under God’s authority, is a life lived well and purposefully and contentedly. We thank God for His revelation and we thank Him for the circumstances and the people in our lives. God has called each of us at each point of our lives to that place for His purposes.

show less

Back to Ted’s Thoughts

Let us be Learners Pt 1

Aug 3, 2016 | Teds Thoughts

All truth is God’s truth. Within the field of knowledge, there is universal truth and there is relative truth. What we cannot comprehend is what God reveals – it is still the Truth as He is unchanged and unchanging and His Word never changes. God is our Teacher, the One in Whom we put our trust, because He is completely trustworthy. He is our Creator God who has prepared for us to know Him and to know about Him. At all times we should celebrate the wonder of the reality that God created us, knows us, loves us and wants what is best for us as His creation and as His children. As Christians we are taught that, “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10).

In our humanity we must acknowledge the sovereignty of God, for He is our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Lord and Judge. We need to come to Him by faith as it is His way to do so, acknowledging that it is only by His grace that we can learn of Him so that we understand His will and purpose for each of our lives and for the lives of the communities in which we live. In our humanity we are weak, vulnerable, poor and incapable of living fulfilled lives without God and His power, strength and understanding. As we read in the Bible, when we are at peace with God we have embraced that “Which passes all understanding” (Phil 4:7). In our humanness we have much ignorance and yet much potential as we come to God for His wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

show less

Let Us Be Learners Pt2

Aug 3, 2016 | Teds Thoughts

In our lives as learners we have many teachers. We have the wonderful world of creation, which God has given us to enjoy, appreciate and celebrate. The Word of God is also our teacher as from the Word we learn of the person, purposes and power of God. The Son of God, the Christ, is our Teacher who became Immanuel, God with us (Matt 1:23), Who is the manifestation of God in His glory, being full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The Holy Spirit of God is also our Teacher from Whom we learn, and Who convicts us, counsels us and trains us according to God’s way. Each of us also has teachers from history and from our contemporary world, who display something of the character of God and who reflect, therefore, something of the truth that God has given to us.

As we learn of God and His will and His way, through His creation, through the Word of God, through the Son of God, through His Holy Spirit, and through the lives of others, we are being transformed in a process of personal spiritual formation. This change that is occurring in each of our lives as we listen to God’s truth coming to us in various ways enables us to grow towards maturing in faith, understanding and commitment. In this way we move from the known to the unknown, from the practical to the spiritual, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Therefore, we celebrate that we are privileged to be learners.

As we allow ourselves to be learners and as we engage in the art of growing in knowledge of God, so we are best prepared to worship our God. As we learn, we are enabled, empowered and motivated to serve. As we are built up in the faith that has come to us as a gift from God by His grace, so we will follow the example and teaching of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Who taught us that we have two particular responsibilities in living as a human being under God: we are to bring glory to God by the thoughts, actions and words of our lives, and we are to bless others as Christ’s ambassadors so that they too may learn to know God and to worship Him.

show less

Back to Ted’s Thoughts

Next Entries »