By Michael Smith Kia ora, Elevate whanau. My name is Michael for those who don’t know me, and I’ve been involved in supporting people with disabilities since 2015. I hope you are all doing well. I’m talking about forgiveness. In the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus said to Peter to forgive a brother/sister 77 […]
Get The Sticker!
February 14, 2024
By Manuele Teofilo Many of us who use a wheelchair or mobility equipment here in New Zealand are familiar with a sticker. A sticker on the equipment we use daily, and we call our own, that says “Equipment of MOH” or equipment belonging to the Ministry of Health. Or something to that effect. We use […]
Find God’s Peace this Christmas
December 6, 2023
By Sarah Houston Happy Christmas Everyone Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Many of you may be sitting down very soon to write your annual Christmas newsletter to send out to friends and family, sharing all the news about the happenings in your […]
Relationships Are Central to Being Human
November 13, 2023
By Kirsty Armitage This year our devotions have focused on the theme of connection. Relationships and connections are an essential element of being human. It doesn’t take much to find proof of our need for genuine connection. One search online will bring up a multitude of articles and personal accounts of loneliness and isolation. Scroll through any […]
Finding God in Unexpected Places
October 6, 2023
By Manuele Teofilo Many stories in the Bible are of people finding God in unexpected places. Just like we have many stories in our lives of unexpected blessings and God revealing Himself in ways we don’t expect. One story that stands out to me is Exodus 3:1-4 when the angel of God appeared in the […]
Courageous Love
July 25, 2023
2 Timothy 1:7 “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” It’s one of my favourite verses at the moment. It’s definitely been one of my battle Bible verses this year. We have such an incredible and generous God who gives us His love. We don’t need to earn it, He just gives […]
Loving Yourself and Others – Part 2
July 11, 2023
By Michael Smith In my last devotion I talked about connecting with God, and now I want to talk about connecting with others. What came to my mind when I thought about connecting with others was my men’s group, my recovery group, and my Church, and each of these groups have played a positive impact […]
Loving God – Part 1
May 16, 2023
By Michael Smith Today, I want to share some thoughts around connecting with God. Luke 10:27 in the NIV says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” There are a few ways that we can do this. The […]
The Curtain is Torn!
April 3, 2023
By Kevin Park Don’t we love connecting with people? I do. I love connecting with people because I receive encouragement from them and I give encouragement. It also gives me a sense that I’m not alone. Because of our fast-paced culture, people may forget the importance of meeting others and carry on doing their tasks […]
Excel in Prayer
March 13, 2023
Jabez prayer: “Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me…God granted him that which he requested” – 1 Chronicles 4:10 (KJV) Jabez’ most important characteristic was that he was known as […]