Offence ! Exasperation ! Purpose !

Mark 6:1-6

New International Version (NIV)

A Prophet Without Honor

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

it might help you, or be a  pain in the neck to you, but you can listen to a message I recently preached on this.. you can listen in at this site...   www.ringwoodsalvos.podbean.com

I wonder why it is we are so worried ( as Christian Leaders) about offending people, offending society, offending the movement ?  It really worries me and challenges me that we should be more concerned about offending God. 

Like Billy Graham's quote above... in an effort to keep the peace with everyone,. most often at times, all we really do is offend God.

the question therefore  should be or could be, 

who is it we would prefer to offend ?  Humanity ? Our churches ? Our community ?  or God ?

obviously , I think, most of us, would like to offend no-one, 
not humans or God, 

but in some cases by trying to please one, we by default, offend the other.

We dont try to, but it seems that no matter what you do, you will eventually offend someone, the real question is, who will it end up being ?

As a Christian Leader, I have found, you most often walk on this very thin tightrope of being politically correct, and, an even thinner tightrope is, of being theologically correct for the Bible scholars and critics.

You could easily throw your hands up in exasperation, and say its all too hard, and I think I will go back to what I used to do,  and thats exactly what the devil would have us do.

So instead of offending people, we become exasperated, we choose to not live out our purpose.

Have you ever wondered, what actually does offend God ?  Do you even care ? 

I think when we call something ok, what God says isnt,  when we water down biblical truth, when we doubt the wonder working power, when we say stuff, like, God doesnt do that anymore.... when we discredit the Holy Spirit, when we behave in a fashion that limits the Spirits power around and within us...

everytime we say or think or behave like that, we Offend Him.

May I remind you ( and myself)  that nothing is impossible for Him . !!!!   

Let me help you think through what that might look like...

when we say or think God cant heal, forgive, redeem, release, empower, equip... anyone ?
when we say or think that something isnt important and we are too busy for it ?
when we say or think God doesnt do things like that anymore ...


Seriously, nothing is too hard for Him, we need to get back to a few basics and start believing and living in faith again.

every person on the planet has choice...

we can choose to believe

we can choose to not believe.

we can choose to ignore the call of God on our lives.

we can choose to walk away from that call.

we can choose to live offended.

we can choose to live exasperated.

we can choose to live out purpose.

we can choose how much we will love God.

we can even choose to not love Him at all. 

we can choose to go to church and get involved. 

we can choose to live on the fringe and play games with church (and God).

we can choose which church to attend.

we can choose to not go to church at all.

we can choose to go to heaven.

we can choose to not go to heaven.

we can choose who we will spend our lives with on earth.

we can choose to be a friend or an enemy of others.

So... like the people of Jesus' day, as recorded in Mark 6..... offended by Him,  they were amazed at Him, but He was amazed by their lack of faith. 
 These people chose a certain response to Jesus... we can as well.

who are you ? 

what are you choosing for your life these days ?

I encourage you to choose Jesus WHOLEHEARTEDLY.... 
Be completely sold out on Him, not half baked, or compromised, or weak and have insipid spirituality without any depth or meaning or substance.

I encourage you to raise the bar in your life.
I encourage you to get back to the basics of faith. 
Live out your life in the purposes of God.

there is nothing better you could do with your life for eternity than that.

& if you are already pumped and pumping for Jesus Christ ?  

then go harder still, there is much to do and not that many who want to be involved in doing it.

May He bless you today !!!

 




 

Standing Firm in amongst opposition.

In Ephesians 6 we read something of what it means to be involved in the battle, which is...being a Christian Church leader. This blog entry is my take on it, based on where things currently lie for me, as one such leader.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV)

(pic of the ancient city of Ephesus)

For Paul to ask the believers of Ephesus to "pray for him, that he may be fearless" implies that he faced struggle and difficulty every time he spoke about Christ and did what he thought was right to do for Christ.

 

There are times, also... when I (we as church leaders) feel weak and insipid and keep quiet about what we hold as true....and am not fearless as we should and could be for Christ.

A criticism comes, a nasty comment, an untruth... a misunderstanding, an ill conceived perception and the enemy tries to quieten my mouth and resolve. Maybe yours also.

 

I have learned heaps already in my life, witnessed much in the ministry and I am not a stupid leader, I am not perfect, neither do I know all there is to know, but one thing I do know, I am on a journey, led by Christ, attempting to be obedient to His will and call and do what He asks of me to do, even in the midst of the struggle and criticism.

Sometimes people treat church leaders unfairly, say unkind things about them, and let misunderstandings rule the day. Church leaders,(myself included) must remain true to the commitment they have, remain committed to the calling in amongst the storm....and when the opposition comes, STAND FIRM, based on the direction Gods Holy Spirit has led them in.

Paul in his words to the chuch at Ephesus, reminded them and also us, that we must be "pray-ers".... praying in the Spirit. Led by The Spirit, fueled by Him, His servant, standing firm is just part of that.

 

Its hard though isnt it ?

 

We are reminded that the battle isnt against flesh and blood, but its tough when the opposition is or does come in flesh and blood.

 

When I think of this standing firm, thing....I get this image of a lighthouse being battered by the strong winds of a storm, and yet not being moved. and still in the middle of the storm, it still just stands firm letting the light being seen ...bright, true, reliable.

its easy to speak of objects, ........its harder dealing with the human soul and spirit and emotions that are dealt swift and concise blows by the devil, when he is trying to defeat the resolve of a committed church leader.

My thoughts are.... well, my thoughts, they may help you with yours...

 

when the opposition comes, and Paul tells us, its not if they come, but when they come... that we must stand firm, stay true to our calling, stay true to our purpose, even if the struggle is deep within the circumstance... stay true, stand firm, when the devil uses those you least expect he will use... stand firm when your soul quivers, stand true when the lies are spoken, stand firm when it feels like everything is going to come crashing down.

 

and finally let your light shine in such a way, that in the middle of the struggle, in the middle of the battle, in the centre of the oppossition, remain true to what you set out to do for Christ. Whatever that looks like for you as a church leader, let the light shine in such a way as to help others find their way through the storm.

The critics will always be around, they always have been....

They killed Jesus on a cross. They even thought they were doing the world of that day a huge favour by doing so.

..........................................................................................................................................................................

On my journey as a church leader, 19 years now...(and 8 years before that in youth ministry) I have learned much from many. I have had experiences with God that have shaped me, and formed in me, beliefs and faith that could not have been formed any other way. I have some heroes of the faith that have shaped me already, some from within the Army and some from outside of the Army, I have had and still do have, mentors and coaches who have gone before me and proven what it is to grow a church beyond anything TSA has ever seen in Australia,and I listen to these guys, they know what they are talking about, very wise men of God, used by Him for His glory in many ways and over many years. I am who I am today, because of the way in which I have been taught and trained. I have not arrived. God isnt finished with me yet. There is still much to learn. But one thing I do know, you never ever get to jump higher in high jump, by lowering the bar.... if you want to jump higher, you need to raise the bar.

For me and my ministry thats how it is to be. I want to jump higher in my ministry, do more, be more effective, more productive, be more useful to my Master.....

I hope for you and your ministry as a church leader, you may choose today to also raise the bar, and jump higher in your ministry, even if it is a tough as nails to do so.

May The Lord God bless your socks off these days. as I pray He blesses my ministry also.

 

(Iam ever so grateful to the following people for investing in my life over many years...hope I don't miss any)

Not in any specific order...

Rodney Barnard, Ian Hamilton, Shane Baxter, John Bond, Danny G, Frank Daniels, Brian Pratt, Rod Denton, Stuart Robinson, Wayne Pittaway, Lyndon Spiller, Baden Jeffrey, Ken and Barb Wilson, Ross Coverdale, Ross Hailes, Gordon and Lynne Jones, Len and Marney Turner, Brian Morgan, Winton Knopp, Cameron & Sue Wallace, John Jeffrey...

( Brian Houston, Bill Hybels, John Maxwell, Rick Warren, by default of their books and teachings)

and of course... Murray and Gladys Grant, Brian& Ev Golding.

and Julie Grant.

thankyou !!!

 

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Red Shield Ramblings

Red Shield Appeal is nearly done for 2014. I stood on intersections, at the shopping centre, in the counting room, at the local Bunnings and watched as people responded to us, in many ways.

We had people doorknocking, in the streets, at the train station, sports centres, intersections.... even telemarketting.

I want to express myself in a few ways about those that helped, you are all total legends, retired people working tirelessly, - we had retired commissoners, colonels and majors all working very hard and many others who have done this year after year.

Thankyou one and all. especially those who have never been thanked, thankyou...

To those in the kitchen, cleaning, preparing food, counting money, banking, couriers of cash, you are all highly valued and appreciated.

To those who did hours of collecting (hour after hour)....you are inspiring.

To those who didnt help .... I wish you would help next year, we could so do with more support.

To the public who donated, thankyou... many lives will be changed by the money raised.

To the public who said no.... (sad face) ... (not much to say)

 

So....

 

The Salvation Army was raised by God for a very unique and specific purpose.

We are part of God's church. We are no better than the rest of the body of Christ, AND, we are no worse.

We love God and we desire to serve His people, to help people get a "hand up", not just a "hand out"... to bring "lift" to others lives.

Some think we are weird, others hate what we do, some love us, regardless, we must be obedient to Christ and His call upon our lives.

If you are Salvo, then this is not optional, it's not like its some kind of privilege for Officers alone, but for us all... when we wear the name Salvo we are meant to make a difference, we are meant to work hard to serve others and bring this "Lift" to people, by loving Jesus and serving His purpose on the earth.

Sometimes Salvos get this misunderstood. Making it out to be something it was never intended to be.

If you are a Salvo, do you remember what the 2 "S's" mean on your shoulders ?

Saved to serve, Saved even to Save, either way or definition means it has purpose..its not just a decoration it has purpose and so do we.

So my friends...

Salvos - this is a call back to purpose

Salvos - this is a reminder of who we are and why we were raised in the first place.

Salvos - this is a War Cry.... we are not a Spectator Army,

we are "THE SALVATION ARMY "....

THE ARMY OF SALVATION...

I pray we will once again rise up to be that Army that changes and transforms society and makes difference to the world in which we live.

 

Being involved,

participants,

servants,

active not passive,

willing,

a part of the solution not creating a further problem...

Salvationists bring Christ with them wherever they go.

Thankyou to all those awesome Salvos who served Jesus today and helped us do the work we have been mandated to do and be.

Let's once again take Jesus to our world, and see what He does when given the opportunity through us.

 

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Thoughts from Today !!!

A few things happened today which messed with my head.

Firstly, I spent some time with a respiratory doctor, who was talking to me about some breathing issues I am having. That was quickly followed by a CT scan where they wanted to inject something into me to help the scan, and that caused me grief. Yeah I know I am a wuss..... weak, pathetic... but I hate needles, never alone the thought of some kind of stuff causing my head to warm up... so I nearly feinted.... sad I know.

Got the through the scan after that injection idea was aborted..... 2 more tests to go.

And then a very good friend shared with me tonight, and some blessings were once again imparted.

Life and Ministry are interesting things.

....so... here's my amazing insights....

Without breath,(oxygen) we are dead. ( I thought I was going to die today...)

but seriously.....

Without the breath of God, as Christians we are not in that good a shape also.

" Breathe on me breath of God, fill me with life anew "

" Breathe on me breath of God, love and life that makes me new "

words of 2 great worship songs.... and God speaks through our friends, through His Word, through experiences, through worship songs..... this life, this newness... this shaping and His purpose.

God wants our attention, He wants us.

I am not that interested in being dead right now, physically or spiritually. I am ready for heaven, but I have much still to do on earth, (when my time is up, it will come quick enough) but in the meantime, for my life I am interested in Gods power flowing through me, in me, and out of me... His breath...His power...His love.

and hopefully flowing out of me will be words of courage and blessing to others around me.

I hope thats what people experience when they hear me or speak with me. And I apologise if thats not been the case.

 

May God Himself breathe new life ....new hope.... new grace....new mercy.... new love....new peace right into your heart today.

 

Blessings

 

Gary

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Crisis of Belief

According to Henry Blackaby, a great modern day pastor and preacher, Author, people often go through this "Crisis of Belief".

I would add, maybe we need to have many Crisis', before we can actually grow into the people God wants us to be.

Quote from the book " Experiencing God " (Blackaby):

" An encounter with God requires faith. Encounters with God are God sized. What you do in response to God's revelation (invitation) reveals what you believe about God. True faith requires action "

The crisis often comes when we are challenged beyond our comfort zone or pesonal perspective or world view.

Someone will challenge what you believe and you will be caused to go back to what it is you actually believe.

Many Christians never seem to go through these Crisis' because there is not much, or very little challenge coming their way.

a few other thoughts from Blackaby ( and Scripture ) you might need to grab this book for yourself and take a read for yourself, for the entire thought and teaching.

1. The crisis often comes when it is something that only God could do.

2. Obedience shows faith.

3. I can see God at work through me. It is possible.

4. Joining God requires faith and action.

5. What you "do", tells what you "believe".

6.Actions speak.

 

It leads us to surrender amidst the crisis...

 

A prayer for the crisis....( from the book)

Dear Jesus,

each day brings another crisis of belief. I must make decisions that show whether I trust myself or whether I depend absolutely upon You. I must act on Your purposes that You have revealed to me. You have provided the chance for me to participate in God sized tasks. Keep me from temptation of looking for "me" sized tasks. God, I want the world to see You at work in Your world, in Your church, in my life. The only way this will happen is for me to trust You, follow You, and obey You. Help me do this today. Lord show me Your way. I will follow it today, no matter what the reaction the world has and no matter what result comes in my life.

AMEN

On Thursday in our Cluster:

we were challenged about whether we choose popularity with our church over obedience to Christ.

I was greatly impacted by this statement and since then have decided that once again I choose obedience to Christ, and all that means for me.

................................................................

This morning in my quiet time, God gently spoke to me about how those around Jesus in those last days of His very public ministry, were more than just hurtful to Him, but killed Him. Misunderstood Him, abused Him, named Him and He was the Son of God.

I wonder why if I should expect anything less than Jesus ?

There are some fundamental things I hold as true, and cant be shaken on these things. These things have been laid in my life and beliefs over many years of observation of TSA churches as well as other churches and much reading about What God is doing in our world..... these things have now shaped my personal ministry belief and style and who I am.

The temptation is, to be silent and quiet, and as such, lessen the potential negative impact on my life.

 

If God call us to change the way we think about things, a crisis will come. You will need to work it out for yourself. If He calls you to change your lifestyle, you will need to grapple with that. If He calls you into ministry, you will need to grapple with that also.

One thing is unavoidable for any of us, when He speaks, if we are actually listening to Him, we will not be left the same, not if we are true and obedient to Him at least.

His ways are the right ways.

 

so for me....

 

I know whom I have believed,and am persuaded that He is able ..... Crisis and all.

 

I will not be popular, and it is impossible to please all.

I wish I could do that, But Jesus didnt, and He was the Son of God.

 

so love me or hate me...I am who I am,

and I Know what God is doing in me, and its His way for me,

all the way. and I mean all the way.

 

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El Shaddai ( Ringwood Message 10am service,May4th, 2014)

( this is the transcript of last Sundays message at Ringwood, obvioulsy apart from the ad lib words spoken, for those who wanted to read it or hear it, we didnt podcast last week, happy for my notes to be read)

 

El Shaddai... our all sufficient God, our almightyGod, He is our Lord, we are His people, we are called here for His purposes, we are His children and He is our Father.

 

I felt led to start the message today with this beautiful song to help us focus on Him as we open His word today and listen out to what He wants to say to us here at Ringwood today.

 

 

And He [the Lord Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to HAVE FIRST PLACE IN EVERYTHING. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

- Colossians 1:15 - 20

 

Paul reminds us, as he did in his writing to the Colossian church, that Jesus came to have first place in everything... first place in our church, first place in our lives, in our families, in our choices, ....in everything.

 

 

Now I am not assuming for one minute that He doesn't already have first place in your life, and in our church,

 

but I will say this...

 

its easy for Him to slip into second place, and even third place in our lifestyle and sadly even in the church.

 

 

 

so what do you do when you realise that He isnt first. ?

 

what does the church do when He has slipped into second position ?

 

 

sometimes when I preach I know I upset some people and I don't try to...really I don't, I don't get up on Sunday morning and think to myself, who can I upset today ?

 

when I was much younger than what I am today and was a youth pastor at Perth Fortress, another youth pastor (from Camberwell) said to me...your job Gary is to challenge their socks off..

 

so... have you got socks on today ? those who socks on today, please stand ...

(just a bit of fun)

 

thats never left me and I am seriously not trying deliberately to upset your personal apple cart , and if things are going well for you, spiritually, well know I am talking to the person sitting next to you....

 

in fact just say to them, " He is talking to you today".....

 

seriously... then...

 

what do you do if Jesus isn't first place in your life ?

 

it has been said by some in the past and I quote....

 

" you can tell how popular a pastor/officer, is by the amount of people who come to church,

but you can tell how popular Jesus is by the amount if people who come to the prayer meetings "

 

this is not some kind of guilt trip in getting you to come to the prayer meeting at 6am tomorrow.... even though its a very powerful meeting, and God is present. :)

 

but it is a challenge to get El Shaddai back on the throne of your heart to make Jesus number 1 and for that I make no apology whatsoever.

 

If He already is on the throne of your heart, then celebrate it,

 

and live it...

 

but if He isnt,

 

If He has slipped into second,

 

if you have become distracted and tired of waiting, bored with church and Christianity, just going through the motions....perhaps too busy with the church work load...

 

then this challenge is for you.....

 

the bible tells us ( Isaiah 40 )that strength will come when we wait upon The Lord...

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. [II Cor. 12:9.] Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. [Heb. 12:1-3.] (Isaiah 40:28-31 AMP)

 

I dont know what you want for your life and for our church, but for a few moments this morning as we consider Gods Word to our hearts today lets consider our options..

 

usually there are 2 choices in every situation, and in church

and in our life there is also...

 

we can choose to live:

 

powerless, weak, insipid, gutless,

going through the motions,

living out of duty

coming to church out of habit,

 

some churches are full of people who have become stuck in religious ruts...

 

or you can choose to live the opposite:

 

full of Gods power, strong, courageous,

celebrating each and every week in worship and praise unto God

coming to church out of desire and purpose.

 

and there are some churches that are also full of people like this as well.

 

but it is a personal choice in how you will live.

 

but when a church is full of people choosing to grow closer to Jesus,

 

to place Him as Lord, in word and action... living it out....

 

recognising Him as El Shaddai, all sufficient One

almighty God,

everlasting Father,

ever present God, and all powerful one...

 

when we Wait upon Him, hope in Him, expect Him to do what only He can do.

 

then something happens and it changes us.

 

 

some here will not like this last bit that I need to speak today, but nevertheless I will run that risk this morning.

 

Jesus is coming back one day, no one knows when...but the bible does give us some clues, and is very clear that, the world as we know it, will not always be like this...

we don't talk about anywhere near enough, for fear of scaring people, but nevertheless it is our hope, that we will be united with our King forever.

 

recently there has been some signs in the world of His impending arrival.

 

we get skeptical around about now,

when a preacher starts speaking this stuff,

 

but we should pay more attention to the events occurring in our world.

 

I wonder if you have heard of the strange sounds coming from the sky around the world these days ...in various capital cities, musical sounds are being heard without any explanation of where they come from..... try and google it and check it out for yourself, now let's just keep getting freaky...and mention the blood moons and the solar eclipses...

 

whether its now or another time in history still to occur, lets not misunderstand the truth of our faith and hope.. and know that the bible speaks of these blood moons and solar eclipses and trumpet blasts in the air... as all birth pains of a new world, and the return of Jesus.... I am no expert, and I am not sure there are any other experts either, as it hasn't happened yet, so no one has seen it as yet.. but I beleive the bible.... and what it says about the last days.

 

will we be ready when that day arrives ?

 

Jesus will return for His bride... the church. and when He does..... here are a few things we will not be interested in any more....

 

we will not be interested in criticising the preacher /officer ... haha

 

neither will we care too much about our job

 

we wont be worried about what uniform to wear

 

or what people are saying about us

 

we wont care about the music style, or the programs we run in a church

 

neither will we care about what church we come from

 

but we will be very glad we were a part of His bride.

 

for when that day comes, and mark my words, it will come, like a thief in the night the Word says....

 

all we will care about is El Shaddai......

 

so we might as well start preparing for that day right now.

 

Let me tell you 2 key things to do, (there are many more) to get yourself ready for that day..

 

but for today just 2...

 

write them down...

 

don't forget them,

 

let them become habits in your life, not a "once of " event....

 

1. Start praying..... continue praying.....join with others and pray together.

 

2. Worship Him and praise Him, here on the earth with total freedom and utter abandonment unto Him. Allow yourself to become Sold out for Jesus.

 

these 2 things will help you be prepared for El Shaddai when He comes calling for you.

 

 

Finally today:

 

don't put it off, make the change needed in your heart today to step closer to Jesus. No matter who you are, everyone of us here today, whether a Commissoner or a Colonel or Soldier or a Captain or an Adherent or a Major...whether retired or active. we all could be closer yet to Jesus.

 

could it be possible that by choosing to not step closer to Jesus, actually means you are choosing to step away from Him ?

 

you will need to work that through for yourself.

 

so as we pray this morning and listen to that beautiful song again...

 

you have opportunity to do business with El Shaddai in this place today.

 

Prayer

 

( check out the following link and listen in and respond to El Shaddai )

 

 

http://youtu.be/jy5XA4SwuPg

 

bless you !!!!

 

 

 

 

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Easter Reflections.(so proud of my mates today)

I have been watching the many and varied reports of Good Friday worship around Facebook - mainly, and as I sit here and listen to God music and reflect upon the day, its just been a good day.

I love seeing the various displays and ministry visuals used by great ministers and officers doing their very best to get people focused on Jesus.

We all try hard at this, the truth is, if our church people dont enter in, dont grasp what is in their hands and in their church, then there is precious little that can be done to assist them.

I am not so much saying this about myself as much as I am about some of my friends in ministry... but I wonder if our churches really realise how blessed they are having some of these fine leaders as their leaders, appointed and assigned by God to that church ?

I look at various attempts today to help our congregations grapple with Easter truth, and a lot of effort was put in by Officers, Pastors and leaders...and I say well done. (especially you Rob Evans, what a legend you are)

Good Friday comes to a close, and I am about to hit the cot, for some much needed sleep.... today I worshipped and tried to serve The Lord Jesus Christ, with all my heart... with all my ability, ...

I visited my brother in hospital,

sat down and chilled with my family,

played with my precious dog..

drank coffee and ate hot cross buns...and life is pretty good isnt it ?

and yet for many there is no hope, and the message was lost today on countless thousands of people in our country.

Many Christians today ignored the worship bit and just didnt get to church, some didnt even think about Jesus for one minute.... and of course hundreds of thousands gathered in churches all around the world to once again worship King Jesus.

 

another easter will be over soon.... will He ( Jesus ) mean anything at all to you this year ?

Will He affect you in any way shape or form ? or will easter just mean another long weekend break from work ?

 

Well Easter Sunday 2014 still awaits you...get to church, worship Him.

He died for us, and rose back to life for us...for you !!!! for me !!!!

and thats just awesome.

.........................................................................................................................................................................

and finally, to all my Officer colleagues and ministry leader friends, well done for all you attempted to do today in ministry, in calling Gods people to focus on Jesus.. well done for the hard work, for the hours of prep and running around trying to get that perfect prop to help, for the message you preached and sweated over... for praying it through and listening out for Gods heart for your specific church and ministry... well done for being faithful, well done for the sleepless nights, getting to your church before everyone else does to make sure it is just right... and then cleaning up after everyone has gone home....

I know He called us,

but thanks for all you do in His name.

Have a blessed Easter Sunday. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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