Getting my knees dirty.....

I have been listening to Matt Redman's new album in the past few days.

I would strongly suggest you go to iTunes and buy the album for yourself and make an investment into your own spirit. It's great contemporary music for worship. But without a doubt there is one key song on the album which is speaking into my heart.

 

It is the song "Mercy".

The lyrics are .....

"I will kneel in the dust

at the foot of the cross,

where mercy paid for me.

Where the wrath I deserve,

it is gone, it has passed.

Your blood has hidden me.

Mercy, mercy,

as endless as the sea.

I'll sing Your hallelujah

for all eternity.

We will lift up the cup

and the bread we will break,

remembering Your love.

We were fallen from grace,

but You took on our shame

and nailed it to a cross.

Mercy, mercy,

as endless as the sea.

I'll sing Your hallelujah

for all eternity.

[repeat]

May I never lose the wonder,

oh, the wonder of Your mercy.

May I sing Your hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Amen.

[repeat 3x]

May I never lose the wonder,

oh, the wonder of Your mercy.

May I sing Your hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Amen.

[repeat]

I will kneel in the dust

at the foot of the cross,

where mercy paid for me. "

Read more: Matt Redman - Mercy Lyrics | MetroLyrics

I need God's mercy. His grace. His forgiveness. His love. His power. His anointing. His complete influence over my life.

Over the past few weeks I have felt a strong sense that my little world and all that I treasure and cherish has been under some kind of attack.

I feel a lot of things which I perhaps should keep to myself, some things after all are deeply personal, however ....I find myself singing along with Matt....

"May I never lose the wonder,
oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen. "

I think its possible to lose or forget the wonder of the cross, to grow tired of waiting, to be distracted by the temptations, and earthly things that happen around us, to the point where we find ourselves starting to function in auto pilot or settling for less than God's very best. You know, just going through the motions.

I don't want to be that kind of Christian leader.

May I never lose the wonder of your mercy. That's my prayer. That's my hope.

God has done much for me throughout my life and he just continues to do so. Everyday I am gob smacked by his grace and faithfulness.

What I don't deserve, I get.

What I do deserve, I am spared from.

I pray that this day, Gods mercy and grace will shine through me, and in me.....

I want to get my knees dirty, so that my soul may be clean.

To kneel in the dust at the foot of the cross.

My soul needs cleansing, purifying.....constantly.

A couple of sundays ago, when we worshipped at Darwin Salvos, they sang the song....

Purify my heart, refiners fire....

Make me clean...

And that's my prayer...

That as my knees get dirty, my soul may get clean and pure and holy.

And all because of his mercy........

MERCY

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The sin that so easily entangles.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)

 

I was reading this verse in Hebrews this morning in my quiet time and these words jumped out at me.

Sin easily entangles.

It seams easier to sin than it does to not sin.

How do you define sin ?

Missing the mark, missing the target, ......has been my best ever definition for my life, and it seams that for some, maybe you, and certainly for me... Its easy to sin. Its easy to miss the mark, to miss the target of my life.

Why ? What ? When ? How ?

Those questions are sometimes easy to answer to, but I don't want this blog to be negative, I want it to be positive... A blessing to someone who has missed the mark today and is reading this blog.

When we sin, some of us, feel shame, guilt embarrassment, even disgust in ourselves. But the writer to the Hebrews says .... Throw off the sin that so easily entangles. Don't dwell on it. " fess" it up to God and get back on the bike so to speak. Run your race, the one marked out for you....

Run it with perseverance, run it with resolve, run it with confession and repentance, run it with grace, run it in mercy, run it in forgiveness, run your race...not someone else's ...run your race.

Don't give up, becuase you hit a hurdle and tripped up.

Don't give up because you fell over on the sprint.... Get yourself back up, shake off the dust, and start your race again.

Don't ever give up.

Ever

Ever

Ever.

Sometimes it seams easier to know what the sin is, but way harder to identify the why behind your action.

So... Understand Hebrews ,

Throw off everything that hinders you...whatever that is.... A bad thought, a wrongful action, a lie, lust, greed, a bad habit, an inner thought which trips you every time, ...whatever it is...throw it off... And leave it off.

The sin that so "easily" entangles you ( me )

And get back on track.

It dawned on me today, that this sin easily gets us. We were born sinners right ?

It's often more natural for us to sin than be holy.

And that's where Jesus comes in, for He gives us an ability to be holy and to enable and empower us to throw away the sin.

So...fix your eyes upon Him, and not your sin.

Trust in him! to pick you up when you fall and fail.

Ultimately He loves us with love that we do not truly comprehend.

He extends grace to us when we least deserve it. And that's what grace is.... God's unmerited favour.

 

So if today, perhaps you are reading this and you have messed it all up. Made a mistake, fell over, hit the hurdle in your race and taken a tumble....

Don't stay down. Get back up. And get back into the race.

Satan would have us defeated and down. Jesus lifts us back up.

The rest is a our choice to position ourselves in one of those camps. Either with Satan or with Jesus.

Yep the sin easily entangles.

But Jesus is the great "un-entangler" . He loves us so much that if we will trust Him, he will help us sort out the tangles and get things back in order once again.

 

I have found, that when I have fallen in my past, that when I own that, confess it to him! receive his forgiveness and mercy! that he restores me... That he truly lifts me, that He allows me to see the error of my ways, and then gently...lovingly....he walks beside me until I am receiving and starting to run again this race marked out for me.

 

That's my God. Ever faithful. Never failing.

He is your God too.

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The things that puzzle me !!!

Often in my life I get puzzled. I get confused by things that happen around me, and often, by things that happen to me and the stupid choices I sometimes make for myself.

However there are some other things about life that puzzle me, and make me question a few things about myself, but also faith.

Here are a few of my puzzles....

1. Why someone can accept Christ and his kingdom! and walk in his ways! and then just turn around and walk away from the love of Jesus and serving in his house, the church ?!?!?! Now I get it that churches mess with people's heads, and that the demands and expectations from the church over people is sometimes way over the top, I also get it that sometimes our heirarchy systems leave a bad taste in people's mouths ....but walk away from Jesus ..? .... I have seen some who have had active roles in leadership, in helping others get their head around Jesus and his love, in church! only for them to turn around and walk away! seeing church and Jesus as secondary to everything else that might pop up.

It puzzles me !!!!

 

2. Why at times I make stupid decisions . It puzzles me about myself that even though I know what the correct choice is, I sometimes still choose the incorrect one. Sigh.

It puzzles me.

 

3. How a person can become a soldier after going through recruits classes, and stating an understanding of faith and doctrine about TSA. And then live a life compromised, or .....in uniform one day and not the next, or stop wearing it completely, or break all the promises they had made in covenant of soldiership.... Or just choose to go backwards away from the commitments they have made.

It puzzles me.

 

4. That a person can state something, about something..... And then be moved into position where they can change that something, and then they don't. Instead, becoming part of the problem rather than the cure. (sound cryptic ? Sorry...trying to protect myself)

It puzzles me.

 

Now I know I am going to get all kinds of responses of defence and justification and excuses why people choose this stuff for themselves. Some may even be angry over my puzzles, and comments..... Seriously, don't even bother.... I am just puzzled by it. And I don't need anyone to solve the puzzle by justifying or putting up excuses or playing the blame game.

 

I have enough trouble myself ..... But I always come back to Jesus. When I fail or fall down I always strive to get back up and back into the love relationship with Jesus! who accepts me as I am but doesn't want me to stay the same.

 

Do I need church to do that ? Maybe... Less you criticize and complain about that too, church isn't my idea its Gods idea. Its His Plan "A". And there is no other plan.

 

Jesus saves us from our sin, and saves us from ourselves.

Jesus is the answer, ..........what was the question ?

Jesus still saves people.

Jesus hasn't finished with you, in fact he hasn't even started yet what he wants to do in your life and mine.

It's always about Jesus.

TSA is about Jesus, even if we get confused and think it isn't, it is, and always has been and always will be.

Even if TSA looks like its more concerned about other things, deep down inside our core, it is Jesus that motivates us.

When life is over, it will be Jesus.

There will be No more puzzles then.

 

If you have wandered away from Him, please find your way back to Him.

 

I will list a few more of my life's puzzles at the end of this blog, but remember this... A great quote I read the other day...

Failure isn't falling down.... Failure is staying down when you fall.

 

Other puzzles of My life...

Why we don't ask God to heal us when we get sick. When He has the power to do so.

Why we think that by doing things the same way we might get a different result.

Why we hold on to traditions that worked a hundred years ago but don't work anymore.

Why some compete with others, when we are on the same team.

Why we live for the moment and not our Eternal destiny.

Why we criticize other churches who are getting the results, when we are not.

Why we isolate people who are radical and are having a crack.

Why some think that they are better than others, or that their work is the only work that is important, when everyone is the same in Gods eyes, and that everyone has a part to play...everyone. Even you. Even me.

 

Sigh.... The puzzles of life and ministry. !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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1degree off course.

The story is told about a jet being off course just a few degrees with tragic results....
And I quote... ( source, internet)
" In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km) to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m).

As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the ground was rising fast toward them, it was too late. The airplane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board.

It was a terrible tragedy brought on by a minor error—a matter of only a few degrees. ^"

Now I know that not everything on the net is true, and I don't have time to check whether this is factual or not,It serves the purpose of this blog... And logically makes sense, that ...

If you were to travel a vast distance and be 1 degree off course all the way, the further you travelled then obviously the further you would be away from your desired destination.

I preached this last night at Ringwood... You can listen in at the Ringwood Salvos website link...

www.salvos.org.au/ringwood/

( choose podcast tab option)

But... Suffice to say, what do you do, when you realize you may be off course, not on the right track, heading in the wrong direction ?

What happens in a lot of our lives, and in churches everywhere, is that over time, we seem to waver in our purpose and direction... We seem to stray a little off course. And that can have catastrophic results over time.

Churches lose their way.

Christians start becoming self reliant.

Churches forget the original planted purpose.

Christians get distracted and divided.

We're all guilty.

Jesus said go into all the world, and over time we have stayed in our churches, getting comfortable with our human traditions.

We have guarded them, less anyone new come in and try to change us.

We have believed that the only way to worship God, is our way.

We have held up as a value, that which was only meant to be a tool ....to our God given purpose.

Someone once said to me...we must be careful to protect that which we have, otherwise the people outside of our church will take away our salvationism.

WHAT ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

If we don't have those new people coming in, we will have no Salvation Army anyway.

So...getting off course is easy, but tragically, hard to identify, and even harder to modify.

But if we don't, in our own lives, and in our churches then we are doomed to miss the intended target at our destination.

Just 1 degree off course in your life, and in our churches can have a horrible result. And sadly I think in many cases we already see the results of being off course for a long time now.

We justify our present condition, we defend our tradition, we get angry if it is challenged, and we even fire up if someone should even attempt to speak out against it.

But that doesn't change the course and the fact that we may be off course... The only way to fix or to tweak our navigation is to actually take some steps in the other direction and get back on course.

When people stop praying.

When people find reasons to not be in church.

When people think what we look like is more important than what we do.

When people want to guard the tradition.

When people stop reading their bible.

When people do these things it is choosing to go off course. It leads churches off course. And when churches start programming more than praying, when churches start getting so busy that there is no time left for anything new, when churches start celebrating and guarding the style of worship rather than the one we worship, then you can be sure that over time,that church will get off track, off course, and end up in a terrible dilemma.

So what do you do if you think you might be off course in your life and in your church ?

Turn around quickly.

Start doing some for the basics of the faith again.

Start opposites.

If you are not praying ? Then start praying.

If you look for excuses to not be in church, turn your attitude around.

If you have some habits that are killing you, find someone to walk with you and help you change your habits.

A final test for you( and me)...

Is your church growing ? Yes or no..

Are you growing spiritually ? Personally ? Yes or no.

Has your church seen better days ? Yes or no.

Have you seen better spiritual days ? Yes or no.

Everything we have done in our churches and lives up until now has given us the results we now see. If we want different results in our lives and in our churches, we must change the methods to change the results.

Get back on course.

Help your church get on course.

Pray and seek Gods heart for your circumstance.

And start the new journey, where Jesus is in charge and His purposes are more important than your preferences.

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How much does "Love" cost ?

Some who read this entry of my blog will dismiss me as weak and insipid or even wishy washy, maybe evenly unmanly. Don't care what you label me....
This past few days has been horrendous in our family.
Julie is unwell.
Mel is unwell.
I have been unwell.
Chelsea is getting unwell.
And now Caddy is seriously unwell.
Caddy is our Labrador/Coolie pup. He was given to me for my birthday in March and he is just 8 months old.
He has meningitis, in his neck spine area and is in hospital having tests and treatments.
He is a special part of our family ....and we adore him.
So far the vets bills have reached $5000 and we have agonized over what to do..... Spend our hard earned savings, or have caddy put to sleep ?
When you love someone, like we love Caddy.... Well its not an easy decision.
We have paid the money and we now wait and see what will happen. Hopefully major improvements very quickly. Hopefully not, even worse news.
Nevertheless it got me thinking, what is the price of love ?
For Jesus it was everything, but what about for you and me...? And our pet dogs. ?
Some would say we were stupid....and maybe we were.... But what price ...love ?
When he greets you crying because you came home.... When that tail wags, because you are with him, when the ball is his toy for you and he to play together... And he always wants to play....and when he looks at you with those big brown eyes....and you just know he loves you...
What price love ?

What price do we put on life ?
Human or other ?
For me, I have a simple view of life... Its temporary, we have a better place awaiting us after earthly life,where there will be no disease or illness or pain or suffering or abandonment or loneliness or suffering or hard decisions like this one.
But when all is said and done, its not that hard a choice to try and  keep your friends and family alive, and Caddy is family to us. Priceless .
I love him and I must do all I can to help and heal my special little mate.

It makes one ponder what price we also place upon each others life ? And what we would do to help someone else stay alive and find real life?
Worth thinking about .

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Spring has Sprung

Spring is here... the birds are cherping, the trees are budding, the weather is warming and the nights are simply beautful, the heater is off.... and I even wore shorts on the weekend.

The smell of freshly cut grass adds  to the whole experience and there  seems to be a few more smiles around the place.

I am not sure I have noticed it as much as I am this year, perhaps its because we have trees at our place that have lost all their leaves and were left with nothing over winter. And now there are little green buds coming. 

Very awesome is our God.

God is amazing at how He renews the environment. How He created and designed it. How He provides for everything.

But what is more amazing to me is the way in which He renews people's lives. How He restores and cleanses and heals and revives.

How He speaks to us.
How He guides and guards us.
How He loves us, even with our warts and failures and weakness.

The other day I opened my bible and was reminded...

"You man of God, pursue righteousness....." ( 1 Timothy 6)

I got to thinking, if I am not pursuing Righteousness, what is it that I am pursuing ?  There is whole pile more to this little story and verse for my life and that travels back in time many years when  I was prophesyed over before I went into ministry, big days...big words....HUGE  God.

Pursue righteoeusness ? what does that even mean ? 

Pursue I understand....  it means..... what am I going for.... what am I trying to achieve ... what drives me...what motivates me...what compels me.... what I am chasing...


You might find yourself asking the same question and seeking clarity as what the true answer may  actually be for your life.

 
Righteousness.... what is that really ?

it is....
 
right wise ness
godliness
holiness
purity
gentleness
 



have a read of 1 timothy 6..... and there is recipe for success as a Christ follower... a recipe to hit the bulls eye....if you like.

Flee from...

Pursue that...

Fight the...

Take hold of....

I think God is amazing, that in the middle of a distracted, even perhaps dissappointed and maybe even defeated  life, He would beckon us once again back to the basics of our faith..    flee from that which distracts and defeats you, Pursue righteousness in all its forms of godliness, Fight the good fight (not the bad one) and take hold of this eternal life promised in and thorugh Jesus' name.  

Embrace your calling, dont run from it, win the battle of the mind, and the flesh, walk with and live for Jesus, who called us in the first place into His purposes and will, and  allow the newness of life to bud again in you and in us.

allow the season of .....Spring,  to spring in your spirit. 

dont let the baronness of winter, the desolation of the leaf less tree be your identity....know that new life can bud again and blossom and you will once again thrive like a tree of righteousness.

I have heard the voice of the Lord.

He called my name, and once again reminded me that there is something to pursue.

an achievable and obtainable goal.

a target to hit in His name.

I am not done with.

He hasnt finished with me just yet.,

there is still much to do, and I am up for it.

Spring has a habit of doing that within you if you will allow it. 

It's a beautiful day, and God is doing something beautiful in each of us these days.  

Just let it blossom in your life and bring glory to your creator God.

 

 

Seriously, this is about YOU !!!!! Read it ...

 

 

Have you ever put yourself down ?

Thought you were worse than someone else?

Inferior or a lesser person ?

 

There have been times in my life when I have observed other officers/pastors around me, and I have felt lesser, not as good, inferior to them.

I am not sure they have made me feel that way, even though I know there are people out there who do have a habit of doing that. Heaven help me, if I have ever done that to anyone else.

 

But sometimes I have felt inadequate, pathetic, weak, incapable, and unworthy to be an officer, and certainly not as good as others.

 

Perhaps you have felt that too.

 

 

Or

 

 

Have you ever thought you were better than someone else ?

Thought you were superior to someone else ?

 

It's not often that I think I am better than others, its a very big danger to see yourself as better, or superior. We all know what it feels like when we come up against someone who functions as " superior " or thinks he is better than us.

 

It is very true that some have certain gifts and abilities and strengths, and that might set them apart as different.

 

But never better, or worse.

 

Some people isolate themselves from others, due to this inferiority or superiority complex.

 

Some people are hard to be around because of it.

 

Some people just get hurt by it.

Others get jealous or envious by it.

And there are some who just get bitter and twisted, angry and resentful.

 

Why do we do that ?

 

Is it our sinful nature ?

 

 

God made you to be you. As you are, to develop and learn and grow and be all He desires and designed YOU to be.

 

Why do we compare ourselves ? To anyone else ?

Who set them as the benchmark ?

 

Sure they may have runs on the board, they may have achieved great results, and be high profile in their field, but that doesn't make them better or worse than you.

 

I look around me at some superstars of ministry.... ( and hope they will forgive me for mentioning their names, and for those who wish I had mentioned your name , sorry )...

 

But......

 

Major Rob Evans

Lt. Pete Brookshaw

Major Brendan Nottle

Lt Col Janet Munn

Major Marney Turner

 

They are all high achieves in the Kingdom of God ( along with countless others, sorry I can't name all my Hero's).....

 

And then there are the plodders, the ones who just plod along, faithfully everyday, every week, just doing their job, assisting people 1:1, no flashing lights or red carpet at their feet, just reliable, hard working servants for Jesus. ( I am not trying to offend or belittle or harm anyone.... Please understand the spirit of this blog)

 

Also, superstars..... !!!!!!! ( I truly mean that)

 

So ..what's all this about ?

 

God makes us to be us.

To do and be what He has given and called us to be and do.

 

To not compare ourselves with anyone else.

To not think we are better or worse than anyone else.

To not feel inferior, or act superior to others.

 

To just be open and ready and willing to go, to be, to do, what God,our maker...asks of "us" to do and be.

 

Nothing else on this planet matters really. But our faithfulness to our God.

 

We all form opinions about people around us, and its true that some simply act in ways that don't help...

 

But that need not be our problem.

 

All we need to do, is concern ourselves with faithfully serving Jesus in the way He made us to be.

 

Doing our best to show ourselves as a workman approved.

Doing our best to develop and hone our abilities and skills so we can be best at who we are. ( not who someone else is)

 

Criticize less.

 

Encourage more

Praise more.

Pray for others more.

 

And leave the rest to God.

 

Just a thought !!!!

 

Why not share this blog with others, it applies to us all. Doesn't it ?

 

 

 

God is with us,

He loves you,

He created you,

He designed you,

don't let satan deceive you,

God doesn't make junk.

You were not a mistake.

You are no better or worse than anyone else. Just be You.

He created you for greatness and for blessing.

 

He created you to be you, in the middle of many.

 

He desires you to grow and become even better at being "You".

 

Why not trust Him today...

And just walk in the confidence of our creator God.

 

What a day it will be, if you do.

 

 

 

 

 

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