Reality !

I chose deliberatly to come and sit in MacDonalds today to think about life, do some prep and be in touch with reality. You know be where the people are.

People munching on burgers and fries and hash browns... sipping coffee, chatting, and escaping a cold wet day in Melbourne.

2 ladies sit in front of me, both are on their mobile phones texting... someone somewhere, but not really engaging each other in conversation too much. what an interesting world it has become...

what really is reality in this world these days ?

we are all so busy rushing around here and there.... so much to do, and we all carry our burdens and worries and fears... we also carry hope and dreams and sometimes those dreams are shattered in the harsh reality of what life has become.

One such incident occurred at Ringwood yesterday... it was nothing short of a miracle ...or something crazy.

We had arrived for work and were just settling into the office when there was a commotion in the foyer... a man had entered into our foyer along with our receptionist and he immediately burst into tears, distraught completely.

I will call him Jack, for his confidentiality...and I feel nearly ..that I shouldnt share the story, but I sensed God in this story unfolding before my very eyes..and hope that God receives the glory due His name as result of this incident.

So, "Jack", could not control his weeping, I gently led him away from reception into my office so I could find out what was going on for him.

Trying hard to calm him down and hear him, the words gently fall off his lips that he had just taken an hour earlier, some poison mixed with water to try and kill himself. He had been driving aimlessly for around an hour and randomly found himself parked in our carpark and walking into our foyer and asking for help in this do or die minute. He had travelled a fair distance in his car before finding himself in the Ringwood Salvos carpark and seriously he was in trouble.

We immediatly called for an ambulance and they arrived very quickly, checked him and took him off to the hospital, where I believe his life was saved.

This was very much a random encounter... or was it ?

How did he find himself in Ringwood...?

When his original home was far away...?

I believe that God led him to us, and we played a part in helping him to survive.

Later in the day, Jacks son arrived to collect his car, and I just checked up on things, to find that Jack was in hospital and will be helped and monitored to help him recover and then to manage and deal with his reality that had led him to this desperate point in his life.

I may never meet jack again.

And the reality of that day, was stark, sharp and really hard, and for some people in this world, that's what their life reality has become. It's tragic. I felt very sad for this man as the day unfolded I wondered what had happened for him to feel that it wasnt worth going on in life.

But here's what I know.... and I really know this......

God often intervenes in our lives to bring about hope, healing, rescue and salvation.

Yesterday, hope came to Jack....he didnt know us, and we didnt know him, and yet God knew that we would help him ...

so there he is in our foyer at Ringwood Salvos....

and here we are..

impacted hugely by Gods invasion in our normality on a routine Monday morning at work.

Reality ?

what is it ?

Is it Macca's...Yes ?!

Is it God leading his kids home so that they would be saved and helped ?

Yes it is.

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So, as I conclude this blog of thoughts for today, let me just ask you what is your reality ?

if its super tough at the moment, then why not take a risk and reach out to someone who loves Jesus and just seek some help... you will find God there. He cares about you. He cares about us all, even if we doubt that is true.

If its too hard, then go get help urgently... make that phone call, get to a church or a hospital... seek help.

If your reality is ok, you will know, that there are many around you that are doing it tough.

so..... reach out and love someone today...

it might just save their life.

 

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I want to see.....

Last night in our Prayer and Praise meeting I got this thought... I want to build on it here in my blog.

The miraculous activity of God that I read in my bible is a very different reality to what I see in my Christian life these days, and I often ponder and wonder why that is.

Dont you ?

My God is a powerful, almighty and amazing God... His power and ability blows me away and I have seen some of that, with supernatural activity in my life at various times. But I dont see it all the time.

Is it because He doesn't do stuff all the time ? or is it because I have sin in my life or some barrier that stops Him from moving in such ways ? or is it that I havent prayed right ? or havent prayed full stop ? Is it because of lack of faith ? is it because God doesn't feel like doing this or that ?

Dunno !!!!!!!

Let me remind you and myself, of some of what He has done...

He split the sea apart so the Israelites could escape through the water...

He poured down fire from heaven and burnt up the altars and destroyed the Baal idol worship in one crazy session of prayer.

He caused Lazarus to be raised from the dead, a blind man could see after Jesus touched him, a crippled man walked home after his mates lowered him through a roof to Jesus, a man with leprosy was healed and a demon possessed man was freed and a bunch of pigs destroyed.... all healed, all sorted, by God.

You seeing any of that stuff goin on around you ? these days ?

Well I am not and I want to.... !

I have had a few miracles happen in my life and in my family, and we need more.

I need the seas to part so I can escape the enemys advance.... I need the healing touch of God upon my daughter, I need the fire from heaven to fall upon my ministry and through my ministry, I need Gods power flowing in my life to burn up the influences of evil and hurt and abuse around me.

I have gleaned, that in my life, I often seem to go from stage to stage in my life as a Christian, you know, moving from here to there, growing, faith rising, and then diminishing... like 2 steps forward and 1 step back... being hot then cold... and sometimes lukewarm. I dont want to be lukewarm and I dont want to be cold I want to be hot, all the time hot ( to understand this more you will need to listen to yesterdays sermon podcast from Ringwood Salvos, it will be up-online later today).

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For me these days, I am hungry for the supernatural power of God to flow in my life, in my family, in my ministry and church, in my personal life, in my public life and in my inner being where no one else knows anything about, other than God and me.

I want to see the waters part so that people can be rescued by the supernatural move and touch of God. For people in my family and people in my church.

I want to see the miracles of healing over the sick that are not getting better around me.

I want to see depression dissappear by a touch from God in people's lives.

I want to see lost people find Jesus as Saviour.

I want to see churches stop going through the motions week in and week out and get serious about Christianity ....evidenced by growing prayer meetings. I still believe that the biggest sign of church health is in the size of the corporate prayer meetings.

I want to see God do things amongst us, that are unexplainable in human terms.

I want to see hope rise, faith rise, passion for Jesus rise, grace rise, mercy rise...love rise.

I want to see criticism and hurtful actions and comments go away...

Dont tell me it cant be done ?!

If you tell me it cant be done,

then you are telling me that God is limited and that it is impossible for Him, and I simply dont believe that.

I want to see the fire fall from heaven upon my church, my family, my life - in such a way as that it burns away all the sin, and fills people( myself included) with supernatural power, all encompassing passion for Jesus that turns things around... never the same again, kind of power.... the kind of power that causes people to fall to their knees in repentance and surrender...in submssion and reverance, that causes games to stop being played, and a key evidence of it will be a massive influx of people coming to Jesus to be saved.

Is it all a dream ?

all a fantasy ?

an illusion Or myth ?

is it just that God only did that back then and cant do it now ?

Is it that we will never see this kind of move of God ever again ?

No I dont think that is how it is....

I really believe, deep down in my heart... in the secret places of my spirit, I still long for this to occur in my life and ministry and a small part of me believes it can still happen again and will do one day and I hope to be in position that day when He does it, that I wont miss out on it.

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I also believe that Jesus is coming back one day and will rescue us from our selves and this world of hatred and hurt and abuse, illness and violence....where people are mistread and abandoned and killed and left for dead. Where God is ignored and forgotten and disbelieved... and every other idol and god worshipped. The great plan of God will one day unfold before all eyes and every game that was ever played out in churches and in other places will be defeated and once and forever put to rest.

Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly...come now. Come today I pray.

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