Living in the Past.

              Today in my quiet time, I was taken back by a verse of scripture which spoke directly into my mind, from an event that happened around 20 years ago.  It was a powerful verse and a powerful time in my life where supernatural activity occurred and changed me...hugely. The event now isnt that important to speak of, and I wont write about it, for its not a thing you write about in a blog, its a thing you treasure in your heart and sometimes speak about if the timing is right, however, this verse from Hebrews 1, just caused me to stop in my tracks and reflect on my life and where I am at these days. Also, where I want to be at.

I don’t know about you, but for me...I dont really want to be a Christian who lives in the past.

Our lives, are shaped by events in our lives, things happen to us, around us, through us..that affect who we are. Some of these events literally change the course of where we are headed. That is sometimes a good thing, and sometimes it isnt.

For instance, sin...can change the course of your life.  Not such a good idea.

But also a decision to follow Jesus ..can change the course of your life.  That is a good idea.

This event I allude to, was one of those events which blew me out of the water and changed me, but as I read this verse again today, it occurred to me that I dont want to live my life based on something that happened 20 years ago, but rather I want to live my life with it being shaped by daily occurrences of God activity in my life.  The new thing He is doing. Every single day.  I am unsure it is like that right now.  This must change... but can I change it ?  And my answer is yes, for me, and for you also.

Its all about what I am trusting Him and believing Him to do in my life each day. How I am praying, what I am learning/reading etc.  Am I walking closely enough with Him for Him todo the miraculous in my life each day ?   

Everyone of us, have had activity in our life which has changed the course of our life for one way or the other... whether its the birth of a child, a marriage, a rotten relationship, abuse, wealth, poverty, a career, a calling... a ministry or when we discovered who Jesus was, or when we turned our back to Him, all these and way more have changed us, one way or the other.

I personally have had many supernatural experiences and each and every one of them has blown me out of the water in my faith and belief and what I might trust God for.

But I want to live my life on and in the here and now, and look to God for the new thing He wants to do in me today.  I love it, that in my mind I have memories  of awesome and amazing God activity that tweaked my life direction.  But I also confess I also have many memories of activity that has done the exact opposite also.  Activity which has pushed me back on to the broad road where everyone else walks.  Not the narrow road where few journey, towards Jesus.

Today as I share my pondering with you, I say...I am looking for the new experience in God where angels tread and serve... where miracles are common place, where healing happens, where salvation rules, where sin is forgiven and burdens are taken away.

   

                       

I want my life shaped in the here and now, by the here and now God, who is with us still. (Here and Now)

May it be so for me today, and may it be so for you today as well.

And by the way... I know that our past events that have changed us for the better are awesome and we should never forget them...however just hear my heart on this, let's allow God to do a new thing in us, something that He has never done before, -  I want my life constantly being shaped by Him, so that my future looks different to my past.

It's just my thoughts. 

Another year nearly over...

I am not sure its been my best year, 2017, but I am not sure it has been my worst either.

Do you ever reflect on the year just gone and wish you had done some things and hadn’t done some things ?   Well, it’s like that for me.  There are many things I wish I hadn’t done, and there a number of things I wish I had.

You can’t go back and change it.... but we can make choices that change what a new year looks like.

I am hopeful for that, for myself. I haven’t blogged much in 2017, and I noticed the last entry was in August..a bit slack of me really.

For 2018 things will be hugely different for me ( and Jules), we have moved house, and will work from home in a new role for TSA in Australia. It’s exciting, but also a bit daunting as we try and discover what the role truly means.

Here are a few things, my top 10, I hope to achieve in 2018 for my life personally. No particular order, and dont read between the lines, coz there isnt anything to read there.

1.   Balance up work and personal life.
2.   Live a holier life.
3.   Play a bit more golf.
4.   Try and eat a little more healthier.
5.   Stop being distracted by various things around me, that mess with my head and heart.
6.   Read more.
7.   Worship together with Julie at the same church. As often as we can.
8.   Become a grand pa....  woohoo.  ( I will be called Pa)
9.   Encourage and Add Value to others around me, to greater heights in their ministry.
10. Lead a few people to Jesus. (First timers)

Will see how I go with my top 10....  what about you ? You have any dreams or hopes for 2018 ?

I pray that our lives will be healthy, happy and holy this year.

Bless you.

My Story !!!

Over the past few weeks I have been thinking a lot about my story...what makes up my life, my experiences, my interactions and my relationships.

We all have a story, there isnt one person on this planet who does not have some kind of story or the other. And I guess that's what I wanted to blog about today...  it's how our stories impact each other, how our worlds collide, bless or even touch others. ( an hopefully not harm others)

Its not meant to be a preach this blog, but more of some insights I have gained as my story has unfolded, and especially this year 2017....

I believe that our story, our unique individual story that is " me" that is "you", are very important to us, after all, I am the only one that can live out my life and you yours, but from time to time, when we meet new people the stories of our lives are impacted.  Either for good, or not so good.

My life has been touched by so many people and in so many ways, over my life time, and some of those key people are super important to me.

Obviously my story was impacted hugely by the influence of my Mum and Dad and their values. I will ever be grateful for my parents and the way they taught me about life and how I could choose which way to live. My parents have been in heaven for a long time now, and I miss them enormously and would love to chat with them and tell them about how my story has been panning out.  

How their values have become mine.... how their love has been flowing in my life....how I have chosen to live for Jesus .... well it has a lot to do with the way in which they shared their story into my life. But at some point I still needed to make that my own, choose my own values, and boundaries and who I was going to live for.     We all need to do that .

But it is one way that  our lives impact each other. But still, my story is my story not theirs and I choose it for Him. ( Jesus )

Recently Jules and I went on a visit to China on a holiday that we had saved for, for some time. When applying for our visa the Chinese consulate were not too keen on my proffession. They asked for letters from TSA to state that we would not evangelise  in China, that it was a holiday and not a work trip etc.  Well, we finally received a visa and off we went.  We were joined by 40 other Aussies who also came on a holiday in our tour group from all around Australia.  It was amazing.

In our tour group were some amazing people, who we made friends with, and as we travelled together for 10 days we started to hear each others stories.  Some  of which caused Jules and I to see that we had connections with some of these people through crazy coincidences.  And again our stories crossed or collided. Some of which was sad and some of which was amazing.  It sure made our holiday much more fun than  we had thought it would have been.  (Tanya, Fiona, Susan, Liz, Kelly, Olivia and Harry,....if you should read this, its about you, we had huge fun because of you, thankyou.)

and no we didnt evangelise at all.. we were too scared to.

Well I am sure you get my drift about the story of our lives. Sometimes people come into your lives for a period of time and you are not the same anymore.

My story has been shaped by so many, like when my daughters were born...into our story when we thought we were not able to have children. Two gorgeous girls were entrusted to us. We love them hugely. And our lives were never the same again. Recently I heard that they think every blog I write is about them.. NO it isnt girls, this little bit is, but the other blogs are not aimed at you, that was never my intention.  (but this bit is !!! so there)  Love you !!!!

So what am I dribbling on about ?

For me, I want my story to be a good story, with a great ending. 

Where my life story impacts others for good...and not bad. Where the choices I make, impact others in positive ways and edifying ways.  I know I have not always been like that and have stuffed up way more than I want to admit to. But deep inside my being I have this desire to be a blessing through my life story.

This world is shaping up to have some not so good stories around the place where we are all impacted by the choices/stories of others. Some with very bad outcomes.  Some who confuse us with their views. Some who seem distracted with stuff that causes conflict and division. And it seems a small minority that use their story to bless and encourage and uplift those around them.

I love hanging out with  people like that. 

I want to be like that, a person who blesses and doesnt curse, a person who brings lift into other peoples lives.

There is this old fashioned song that TSA used to sing, maybe still does in some places, and the words go like this:

"This is my story, this is my song, 

praising my Saviour all the day long,

this is my story this is my song, 

praising my Saviour all the day long "

Jesus has impacted me hugely and still draws me back to Him every single day.

Cant help it !

well......

Whatever you do with your own unique and individual story ..

Can I encourage you to make your life story count for something greater than just yourself.  

To bring positive influence to those around you and to bring lift in another persons life.

It sure would be different to what some are dishin up these days hey ?

What an opportunity exists !!!

If ever there was a time in Australia right now for the Christian church to stand up and make a difference, now is that time.  It's perfect. 

 Yet here is the serious dilemma.

We most likely will stay silent, and do nothing.

I often wonder about myself and others when I consider these kinds of opportunities and pose a few questions of my own. Maybe its an internal struggle, maybe its apathy, maybe its lethargy, but it could also be likely that it is because we are too concerned about our reputation or image and we simply dont want to confront sin anymore or confront sinners and get conflict. Is it possible that we have simply opted for the easy way, the comfortable and non confrontational approach to ministry and mission and are awaiting people to come to us, rather than us go to them, ?

Recently there was an article published in the Australian Newspaper that says it all way more clearly than I can say, you can find the link for that article on my Facebook page, but suffice to say however, that I have some thoughts which I want to express, that's why I have my blog in the first place.

Not everyone will agree with my thoughts, and thats ok, it's not meant to be an argument but rather a challenge, and that's where I would like the reader to position themselves in relation to my blog article today.

There are a few assumptions / hopes / questions I have:

1. That we (you) have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and have handed over to Him  

Lordship of our lives.

2. That we are fair dinkum about that relationship we have with Jesus.

3. That we are not playing churchy games, tied up in ritual and meaningless activity that 

    only satisfies ourselves.

             4. That what we do in our worship services is worship unto God                            and not entertainment to ourselves.

You see one of the big problems facing the Australian church these days is exactly what I have stated,  in some ways we are caught up in ourselves and have forgotten the urgency of the gospel and the message we carry, or should be carrying to our communities. 

(yes and I know not all of us are like this, but the evidence suggests that it is largly correct)

We have become complacent and silent when we should be vocal and intentional in our message of hope and love and grace.  We have substituted the message for the method. Or could it be, that we have sometimes made it more about the form rather than the function ?  What it looks like rather than what it is ?  We have justified ourselves by self talk, that what we do is good for humanity, - and yet if it isnt laced with the gospel message and the hope that Jesus actually is, then that is simply all that it is.  Just a comforting activity to aleviate something while people travel to a place other than heaven.  That is not our purpose and that is why people are not  being saved.

Dont get me wrong, I firmly believe in alleviating human suffering in anyway we can, but we were raised to be activists in getting people saved in that process, if that has stopped or lessened, then we have lost our purpose.

The good news about all this is that we are poised to make a difference to our country. We are well positioned, to turn a few things around in our own mindset.

Its time we  stood up, courageous...brave and true, after all, in the Salvos half of our songs are about having that exact character.  And not just singing or playing an instrument about it, but rather being it.

It has been said that TSA is kind of like a 2 sided coin, one side our Social work and the other our Church work... neither side can function without the other. And neither side more important than the other. You might expect me to say that our church work is more important and in many ways it is...but we are TSA and both sides count and both sides must be equal, neither more prominent than the other.  If it isnt like that we will not be fulfilling our God given mandate.

so... here is the upshot....

If you back off from sharing Jesus with pre saved people,  If you feel awkward when sharing your faith, If church for you is just going through the motions, if there is no real Holy Spirit power in your life, if you are silent when you could be vocal, if you are scared of the consequences of speaking Jesus to others... then you are in good company, for there is a whole lot of us doing that and Australia is losing faith as result of that.

The good news, I firmly believe, is that, if we turn that around, our Nation will once more be known as a faith filled Christian nation.  

Afterall, there will come a day when everyone will need to account for our actions and how we lived for Jesus on the earth.

It's in the bible, check it out.

It's who we are.

#itsallaboutJesus.

a few tips to get courage:

• get involved in a bible study / small group and spur one another along.
• get praying again in our churches. 
• ensure your inner motives are based on your inner convictions about Jesus.
• when you are in public, make sure you  have been with Jesus in private.
• make sure that your activity isnt about entertainment, but rather about Jesus.
• get a mentor/coach who will help you be accountable in this process as a Christ follower.

AND...

Pray for our country.  

Seriously Pray.  

It changes things !!!!

Getting your buzz back !!

What do you do when you lose your Buzz ?

Sometimes we lose the buzz, we lose our joy and things feel flat and boring. I hate that feeling, and I wouldn't have thought that anyone would really like being in that position . Buzzless. Buzz deficient.

Yet life dishes that up, doesn't it ? Something happens that causes us grief and we lose the excitement and thrill, or exhilaration of what we once had.

If you have ever lost your buzz, then you know exactly what I am talking about.
So what do you do about it ?

How do we get the buzz back ?


Let's firstly determine what the buzz is that we lost.

It could be a job, or relationship, or a friend.... it could be that the buzz of life was deep satisfaction in what life was for you at any given time. It could be that the buzz was just a special sense of well being and contentment of life... and I think for me that's the bit I want to speak about specifically in this blog entry today.

When you lose contentment and a sense of well being, I have been here.

I think we find contentment in some confusing ways at times, sometimes it isn't orchestrated by us at all, we inherit it... and if we lose it, we may find ourselves feeling ripped off, defeated, deflated or even lost.  Thats not a great to place to live.

Someone once said, if you are going through hell dont stay there, keep moving ... that makes a lot of sense.

If there is nothing you can do about the situation, then we need to find a way to be content in the middle of the situation, and then look for ways to improve the status quo.  I am no psychologist, but I do know that if you hang around with turkeys, you will never soar like an eagle. If you want to be an eagle you will need to hang around with eagle type people.

You become like the people you hang around with.

If  you find yourself today feeling like you have lost the buzz, can I suggest that one quick way to change that is to go back to some basics and do some inner soul cleaning and decluttering.

By decluttering our soul we often find our buzz coming back.

Having said what I said about the eagles and turkeys, I dont think for my life that I want  my life buzzed up by others and what they might do to me or around me, but we are influenced by those around us, so it's important to be careful who we allow to influence us, but I think the true buzz might return when we get to influence those around us for good.

Perhaps. And its just a thought...

The buzz might return when we learn to give and help others to grow without a sense of selfish notion in our spirit. Or without seeking something for ourselves in the process.

A few years ago, I was attending a gym almost everyday and walking 5km's everyday and it felt pretty good. One day as I was walking home, I sensed something in my body that just made me feel good... the experts told me it was endorphins...  and I felt like I was going to explode out of my skin in a really good way.

Getting contentment and an endorphins like feeling (buzz) is not always an easy thing to achieve, but I do believe it is achievable and  also desirable.

I know that there will be some readers who would say, that it is impossible and they feel trapped in a deep dark hole.
I cant answer all the questions, but I know this, that in the middle of hurt and pain and buzzlessness, there is still hope and there is still a way out, and that if we ask the right questions of the right people at the right time, then our life may once again be buzzing with hope and joy and peace.

Which I firmly believe we all seek, even if we wont admit it.

For me, and maybe for you too... I find my biggest contentment in Jesus and my relationship with Him. Each new day is a new opportunity to start that relationship again and to strengthen it, and each new day I begin with Him, I feel more optimistic than the night before.

I am a believer that Jesus is the source of my BUZZ.. not TSA or anything else, so that when I sense my earthly buzz getting dimmer, Jesus is my source for the true spiritual buzz of my life.

Just a thought.

He can do that for you too.

What if, getting your buzz back was as easy as a simple prayer everyday ? Would you do that ?

I think it gives a pretty cool clue...

Jesus is the buzz.. connect with Him today. It cant hurt.

This is sure to offend someone...( and I am not that sorry about it)

In my quiet time this morning, as I sit quietly and reflect upon my life and what I see and sense around me these days, I must confess I have some concerns ...things that worry me, even frighten me.

I apologise if this blog offends you, but I guess if you dont want to be offended you could always stop reading right now and go away ...(lol).  That's up to you...  !!!!

I sit in my prayer room, looking at my books, many of which have changed my view on life and ministry...people who have gone before me, people wiser than I am, with loads of experience in leading church and changing church for the Kingdom of Gods sake.

I want my life to count for something, that when I die, that I might have made a difference to something, someone ..somewhere.  I tried to write a book, but never got it finished.... and my life is heading towards its end, 57 years of age, I may have 30 years left in me, at best.

Life is short there are rumors of war and some crazy bloke up north who wants to annialate us all by dropping a bomb on innocent people for some stupid reason, we have a crazy group of people running around chopping off peoples heads and Christians are hot targets.  Its truly only a matter of time before Australia is gripped with fear over terrorism on our shores.

And so here comes the offensive bit.... ( your last chance to go away )

Many people I know, and some obviously who I don't know have given up hope, they have got bored and started to disbelieve, even doubt that God exists. Turning their back on church and Christ.  And yet thats where our hope truly lays. I would hate it to see anyone pass from the his life to the next  having rejected Jesus only to find out that they were wrong.

Its kind of like the ANZACS having fought for our freedom, only discovered that our freedom was lost because of political correctness and opposition to our way of life after they had died for their country . ( well maybe it's nothing like that at all )

Jesus came to the earth, His life sacrificed for our sin, that when we choose Him, we have a promise of eternal life after we die. With Him.

Many people get caught up in an emotional response to this truth and in a fleeting moment they commit to Him, but when the life dished up gets tough, they turn from Him and run away and give up on Him.

Our promise as Christ followers is that I once we die we will be with the Lord.  End of story. Or beginning of the story.  Depending on your theology, whatever.... my belief is that when I die I will live with the Lord Jesus forever, and I just want others to have that truth for themselves also.

My friends, my family, Salvos... everyone...  and yet, many will miss it, completely for they have built their life on an insipid human foundation that isnt enough to get them into heaven.

We dont want talk about it do we, its not politically correct, it offends ...it scares, it disturbs us, it messes with all kinds of issues when we start disturbing stuff here on earth with Kingdom speak.

But say that bloke does just drop a bomb and in an instant its over for many of us, ......are we ready for  what is on the other side of the grave ?  Truly ready ?  Would we be happy if we had it wrong about Jesus on the other side of the grave ?

Well my rant is pretty much over, but I will finish by saying this....  it's not too late to lay down your life for Jesus, to accept Him into your heart and allow Him to rule your heart.  It might just change everything for you, it did for me.

If I am wrong...well I am wrong... but what if I am right ? What then ?

Where are you sitting. These days.

If you got this far reading this blog, well well done to you,  I am not done challenging... yet,

many of us have started building our lives based on human goals, on this worlds ideals and not a slight thought given to a creator God who sent His Son to die for us that we might have life forever more.

We live for the moment and hardly give any thought to what lays beyond the grave... but friends thats what counts most of all.

Think about it today, make some changes,... trust Jesus.

As I finish this blog today I wanted to send you a link to help encourage your spirit... if you have come this far, in the blog... you might as well take a listen and be blessed by Gods people singing about HIM.

Its all about Jesus. Always has been and always will be.

ELOHIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTT9aLFR3YM&sns=em

Being a Significant leader.

I haven't blogged for a little while and I thought I would just jot down some thoughts today that are going through my head.

These thoughts arise out of a busy week...with a mixture of great stuff as well as some not so great stuff, which is what it is like in ministry and has been for the past 22 years or so.

As I conclude my quiet time today I am drawn to think about a good friend of mine who is involved in a significant ministry and is making some key differecnes to those around him. In fact his future ministry is looking very exciting and he will end up being a world changer for some people who need a change in their world. (For Jesus that is )

It leads me to think about what is " A Significant Ministry ".. what does it mean to be a man or woman of significance ?

Well in man's eyes, we make judgements on this very issue all the time, I am not sure how we come to some conclusions around whether a person is significant or not, but I do know this, anyone who chooses to lay down their life to serve the Master and His Kingdom, in HIS eyes , is significant.

Jesus said, whoever wants to be great must be servant of all.... its a hard thing, isnt it ?

We are not always that keen to be a servant to everyone... and let's just clarify that it's not about being a slave or a doormat to everyone, but rather to think about others before ourselves, to see what we can do to help others, to lift them, to encourage them, to add value to them.  I am not so good at this, and still working on it in my own life.

Am I a Christian leader of Significance  ? (Well dont answer that !)

In some ways, no way...especially when in comparison to many around me who are.

And I guess that's where we get unstuck... we compare ourselves to those around us, we look at others and think I could never be like them, or do what they do, or think the way they think... when at the end of the day we were never asked to be like anyone else, we were asked to live our lives like Jesus. And to be like Him, and thats the way to be significant, if that is a goal to be aimed at.

But at that very level we must understand that Jesus said He was servant of all. And there is arguably no one more significant than what He was and is.

There are times when others make you feel insignificant, and devalued and thats a sad place to be placed. When we look for affirmation and it doesn't come, when we are overlooked for something we would love to have a crack at, and it is given to someone else, when we want to make a name for ourselves and the ones in power cant see it in you, these are all times of discouragement and devalue...

All you can do...all that any of us can do, is seek to serve the King, and find our meaning and the definition of our life in Him.

And thats makes us all significant.

Just a thought.