The hot girl on the highway ....

I guess this blog has been brewing in me for a few weeks, if not a few years, or maybe my whole life ..I am not sure, hopefully it will make sense ...hopefully it won't offend too many people, hopefully it will cause a few readers to consider the direction that their life is currently taking.

 Firstly, I am not a perfect Christian, I never have been and probably never will be, so don't think I write from some kind of self righteous , pious position of thinking I am better than anyone else.

I don't think that at all, in fact I may very well be worse than anyone else.

 Secondly...and before I get into the meat of this blog entry, if you are " not interested" in my writing and blogs then check out now, don't bother reading any further...

 If you are still curious as to what the blog is going to be about then keep reading, you never know it might just be the best thing you read today.  ( of course it might not be as well... But it is the truth )

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Do you care where your life is headed ?  Do you ever think about what will happen when you die ? Do you just assume that you will go to heaven ? Do you ever wonder why you make some of the choices you do and the consequences that those choices will have on your life ?

 I have observed a few people who once chose to follow Jesus Christ, but over time they just gave up on Him. They walked away from Him, stopped believing in Him and certainly stopped serving Him.

 They stopped going to church, in some cases stopped wearing the Uniform (or doing what churchy people do) and started doing everything opposite to what they originally confessed they once believed in.

 (By the way this is not a blog about making people feel guilty or shame... Just my thoughts on life and what I see happening around me)

 When I was a much younger bloke than I am today I remember a defining moment in my life when my life could have gone in a completely different direction.

 Hold onto your hat ...a confession is about to be shared....

 I was about 17 years of age, had my license and my first car...life was free, I was a bandsman at my home church in Perth ... And it was a Sunday.

 I went off to church in the morning as usual, and after lunch in the afternoon my mate and I went cruisin... Down by the beach.

 We were checking out the sights, the beach, the beautiful warm day, 2 young men, on the prowl if you like... And there they were, 2 hot young girls hitch hiking.

We stopped and picked them up of course and kept cruising up West Coast highway along the lovely beaches of Perth on a hot summers day.

 Well these girls were a little bolder than even we were... And a little "out there "... So I will let you work that bit out,

 (no I didn't sin, so don't think it's that kind of blog, but I will confess to thinking about sinning) 

anyway, to get to the point, by the end of the afternoon I had one of the girls phone numbers and she had asked to go out with me that night. Sunday night !!!! I said yes.... Which actually meant that I would need to skip going to the Fortress for the Sunday night service.

 Well, I got home and then went and rang her at the public phone booth,  (no mobiles in those days) she flirted and so did I .... And I knew what would have happened if I took her out that night.

 I was in an inner turmoil... My body was screaming at me, to go out with her, my conscience was gently reminding me I had obligations and needed to be at church that night.

 I went to church. And never called her again.

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 Why do I tell you that story ?  

 I think that many of us are facing these kinds of choices very often in our lives, and we are giving in too easily.

My life I know, would have taken a completely different shift in its direction had I made that choice that night. ( now don't argue it or debate it, you don't know the full story, just believe me...I wouldn't be who I am today If I had gone that way)

 I was raised as a Salvo, for many years I played the game... Just went through the motions, wore the uniform ...looked the part and belonged.

I conformed to the expectations of the day and as time went on, in those early years of my life, God had His hand upon me and gently week by week I heard the great news that Jesus Christ loved me and invited me to love Him in return.

 And all the time, and I mean all the time.... There were always situations presented into my circumstances that allowed me an "out", or to choose something different.

Just like the hot girl on the highway that day.

 I think that's why some have walked away from our churches, the options were too attractive, the church expected too much, or what we saw in the church from others, was something that we decided we didn't want to be a part of.

 I get that bit.... there are some in the church that turn me off today as well, and I am a preacher....an Officer. A Pastor.

 But the truth is I am not an Officer to please any other human, I am an Officer to fulfill a calling on my life from God Himself.

 There is no argument or confusion in my mind about that..  I am called to belong to Jesus, to serve Him on the earth in His church and specifically TSA and to do my best to help TSA to become a better "thing" than it currently is.

 One final story...

 In those days (after the hot girl on the highway) I distinctly remember one Sunday morning ...playing in the band at Perth Fortress and hearing God call my name.

I got out of my seat and went to the altar to pray and offer Him my life, it was a pivotal moment in my life, another defining moment.

A life changing choice was made that day. I have never been the same again.

 I still get tempted..... I still wonder about life on the "other side ",

 And I still even to this day, get frustrated by what I see around me and the choices that others make that sets their lives on a completely different trajectory... Away from God. And in some instances that hurts and concerns me deeply.

And the devil comes to me asking me why don't I do the same. 

  He (Satan) says to me, believe me, I have heard him clearly...( I think we all have) why not just give up, you can't make any difference, you are weak, you are a failure, you should see what you can do with this or that...  TSA has no place for you, it is gone and you won't be able to change it... Just look at it... And then of course he throws at me my sin and reminds me of every mistake.

 And for me this is what it is all about..... The constant battle between good and evil, between God and my self will and the devil

 (if you have read this far..well done to you ..or sorry lol)

 Jesus Christ called me by my name.

He called me to a purpose that I haven't always been successful in fulfilling, neither have I always won.

I still journey to holiness and purity and long, to one day, be holy and a reflection of Jesus to others around me. I don't think I am anywhere near that just yet.

 His claim on my life and my belief in heaven and eternity,  and my destiny to live with Him there forever when I die, is what holds me, drives me..and keeps me coming back to Him.

 We all choose various  roads to travel, some  of those roads lead us away from Jesus, and some lead us to Him and a stronger relationship with Him.

 It would have been so easy to choose the hot girl on the highway...... if I had done, my life as I know it, and I mean everything...Jules, Chels, Anks, Mel, Officership,  would not be as it is. 

 Who knows what other choices I might have made along  that way.

 We all get to choose.... That's the great thing about the Christian life, we get to choose it or refuse it. 

We get to decide which path in life we will journey, but please know.... Every choice  Has a consequence and ramifications mostly unseen at the time of choosing.  

 The bible tells us that the wages of sin is death.... In other words, the consequences of our sinful choice is being separated from God forever...  

 But the bible also tells us that the choosing of Jesus... Opens the way for us to spend eternity with God in peace and unspeakable joy.  

 I choose that.     Still today I choose it.

 Choose carefully, life has a habit of giving us what we chose.        

It is really..all about Jesus.