A new reality.

These past few weeks have rushed past me, I can barely believe what has happened and what is about to happen.

Mel and Bryce are now married( one month now), and a part of me feels a sense of sadness that she has moved out and away. There is another part of me that is incredibly happy for her, because she is very happy and seems so content,  and that just makes me feel awesome.

And now we speed towards Chelsea and Ankits wedding, in just 3 weeks. And then off to India we go.

So life is interesting... there is so much going on, sometimes it feels "unreal".

But in the middle of the "unreal " something is very real and that is the knowledge that my life is changing dramaticaly these days.

It is so pleasing to know that God never changes, never, ever.

And yes in the middle of all of this, for me personally, is the sense deep within me, that God is calling me to a new place in Him.

A new experience, a new understanding, a new reality.  

To leave the old behind, to move into the unknown, total dependance upon Him, complete reliance upon Him.  Whatever that looks like.

Sometimes our reality changes, and it is due to changes in our circumstances, sometimes it needs to change, other times you have no choice.

  

But when a Christian has submitted to the Lordship of God and to His Sovereignty, ......when we live a life that is surrendered... then you can be pretty sure that your life won't remain the same.

Now, my personal changes are not just due to the Godly order in my life,( I know) but I can honestly tell you that some things actually need to change in my life, and maybe in yours too.  

I have this very deep awareness that God is in fact calling me to go deeper than I have ever been before In Him.  In the times when I feel sad, I sense Him speaking to me, just whispering my name.

I have found myself, a few times in tears as I grapple with this, but I also sense Him very close in these times, -  times of crisis, times of pain, times of loss, times of  despair, times of emptiness...

and the devil is close by, as well, telling me how pathetic I am... 

Yet... 

This is the battle isnt it ?  well maybe just for me.

I have wondered  about this battle this year, the struggle, the voices, loud and soft..... 

I have wondered why... 

and then there is the still quiet voice that gently whispers my name and  reminds me who I am, what I am to be, and who is alongside and within me.

Jesus, the lover of my soul....the one who loves me to the depths of my inner being....that only He and I know about...and He loves me for who I am, warts and tears and mistakes and failures and everything else as well.

Yep....my life is changing.  I will be ok.

we all will be, when we trust the Saviour of the World with our deepest soul secrets.

and now again a  wedding is being readied...

Mel and Bryce's wedding day was the best day of our families life so far...  

Chels and Ankit's will be the same....   India will be interesting, we will all be together and thats just the very best thing.  A family celebration like we have never celebrated before, and a new chapter of our lives, for all of us.

I can sense my mindset and values changing hugely.... its all good.

Jesus is still in my heart. 

Its all about Him.

I pray that when I come through this time, I will be more useful for King Jesus. 

A valuable assett for the Kingdom, a viable resource for Kingdom purpose and a formidable enemy to the devil.

there is a new reality starting to dawn / break out....  in Gary Grant.  

and it's all good !!!!!!

 

a personal, yet public blog...(my mixed feelings today)

It's finally here, Mel and Bryce's wedding.

(its wedding eve).

I have so many mixed emotions, anxious, joyous, proud, privileged, blessed, concerned, nervous, excited, content and yet unsettled.

Why ?

we have been on this amazing journey over the past few years and in many ways it all culminates tomorrow.

Bryce (if you should somehow read this) you are the best thing that ever happened to Mel. Thanks mate for your faithfulness, patience, love, grace and commitment. You are truly awesome. I know that your life has become complicated in a few ways, but you have weathered that storm, and you will be stronger as a result of that. You are precious to Jules and I. We are proud to welcome you into our family as our son in law. We love you man, you are just amazing.

Mel,(I doubt you will read this, but doesn't matter if you do or dont) I am so proud of you (both) but Mel you have come so far, I love you very much. I am proud to be your dad, and yeah I know we are exactly the same person in so many ways, and for that I apologise to you. However, I have some good traits as well, and hopefully that will help you . :)

What does a dad say to his daughter as she is about to be married ? I will most likely say the important stuff at the wedding... but I do want to express my feelings, I am so pumped for you Mel, you have so much going for you... put the past behind you, let the mistakes fall from your mind. Let the past be relegated to stay there... dont bring the past into the present and certainly dont allow it to change your future, Let the hurts drop away, allow the peace and love of God to fill your heart and mind, and the love of your husband to embrace your inner being to its very core. I dont think there is anything more special (on this earth at least) than when another person chooses "you". as you did Bryce, and as Bryce did you.

God bless your marriage Mel and Bryce...and your future. ( and thanks God for Coldrock Icecream)

 

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In other thoughts for me today...

Sometimes people say stuff that sticks in your mindset and damages you. Recently, this happened to me.

I have found myself grappling with the lies, and insults as well as "bullyish" behaviour of others, and I know that I am not alone with this, as I try to help others who have also been bullied and hurt.

Others who are shaped by careless words thrown at them by people who dont seem to be aware of the damage they inflict or even deliberate words used to belittle and demean others.

Insults.

Slander.

Rejection.

Lies.

all of these has no place in the Kingdom of God, neither has it any place in the life of a Christ follower, and we all find ourselves mixed up in it at times, and we need to repent of it and turn away from it and not be involved in it. ALL OF US !!!!

We must not be carriers of it and if we are the victims of it, which we all can be at times, then we must allow God to heal our inner heart and mind. And no way allow it to settle upon us.

We are shaped by God, we were designed and created for Him, by Him and in the likeness of His Son.

We are His children, we have divine destiny upon our lives we are purposed for His pleasure.

We are not junk, we were never created to be junk, we are not flawed, we are not useless, we are all blessed, we all have gifts to use for Him and if anyone tells you otherwise, that you are incapable, not good enough, ? if anyone says to you that you are worthless ? or no good ? or weak ? or silly ? or stupid ? or pathetic ? or hopeless? or anything else negative ? do not let it settle in your spirit.

Jesus see's you as good enough to die on a cross for.

He see's your potential. He knows just how special you are, and even if no other human see's it or say's it, He knows and that is all that really matters.

He knows you are awesome, and died for you so that you would live for Him forever.

 

I have seen people damage others so badly on this earth that they are never the same again. Some people just seem to want to destroy everyone else around them. This leaves scars in peoples hearts. The old saying is true, hurt people hurt people !!

Friends, if you are in a position today where you are damaged, hurt, feel rejected, abandoned, then turn it over to The Lord God today...ask Him and allow Him to heal your heart. He is good enough and more powerful than we could ever imagine, if we will just trust him to do some heart surgery in us all.

and if there have been bully's in your life ? well.... we have all had them, the best thing we can do for them, is firstly pray for them... and ask God to reveal His grace and power to them as well, most likely they are acting out of some kind of hurt/ damage themselves.

but secondly...dont allow their words to settle in your spirit.... let the words of the bully, fall to the ground at your feet...

 

You are better than that.

You are chosen.

You are a child of the most High God.

He died for you.

You are precious in His sight.

That makes you awesome.

well done !!!!

 

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TobyMac - Speak Life

One of our little guys from Ringwood came up to me on Sunday and said I would really like this
song...and he was right, so thought I'd share it with you here.... enjoy !!!

STOP. !!!!!!!! it's all about the heart.

What is more important than ability ? Heart attitude.

What is more crucial than skill ? Heart attitude.

What is more important than good looks ? Heart attitude. ( although good looks helps ...lol)

What is more vital than wealth ? or knowledge ? Heart attitude.

 

it is what is going on in the heart of a person that shines through. out of the mouth of a person, shows what is going on in their heart.

I would rather have the right heart than anything else.

recently .... I have discovered about myself, that others can try and squeeze you into a mold. You know, do what they expect of you to do. Be who they expect you to be, and when you start living your life that way, you become false and fake... not measuring up to anyones expectations, and worse still, falling short of who you were created to be. And the greatest danger of all, missing the mark on who God asks us to be.

Missing the mark, is sin. It's the best defintion of sin I know.

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

I am Gary Grant, I am a Major in The Salvation Army, that means I have ministered for around 18 years, I have been through Human dissasters / Massacres, grown a church, planted a church, coordinated a new building program, built leadership teams, and preached Gods Word hundreds of times. I have done too many funerals to remember, and attended and ministered some of the most tragic of circumstances.....I have been touched by God, I serve Him, I am a husband, a father, a son. I have prayed and listened and heard from God. I am doing exactly what He wants for my life. I am not perfect, I am a work in progress. I have much to do, and I am still on a journey that is being shaped by God Himself. Soon I will perform the weddings of both of my daughters, I will give their hands in marriage and lead them through their vows...

I am very blessed.

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

In amongst this though, I have allowed myself to lose my focus.... to lose my "oomph".... I spoke about this recently in my church at Ringwood. Its easy for us to lose our heart attitude and allow it to be squashed in and through many ways.

As I prayed this morning I felt I heard God say to me, get your mojo back.... get back to being who I raised you to be, I didn't make you to be junk, to be second rated, or underrated...I didn't create in you a bad and dirty or divided or damaged heart, I created a good and clean heart.... He gave me insights, a leadership mantle, that may not measure up to every human around me, but over the past 18 years it has caused some others to follow Jesus. He created a mix of Spiritual gifts in me, that are meant to be for His use, from my heart.... and somehow, I have allowed what others think of me, to diminish that... so it must stop.

Today I draw a line in the sand of my own life and say STOP. Enough .

I must and I will get my mojo back and start to live out who I am, instead of who others think I should be. Especially based on their opinion of me, I love the Lord God, and I am here to serve Him and His purposes on the earth the way He made me, and I know I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

I serve Jesus Christ. I intend on allowing Him to continue to create in me a pure and clean and holy heart, a heart that has humility, not arrogance.... not thinking I am any better than anyone or everyone else around me, a heart that is full of love and joy and purpose.

 

I intend on serving Jesus and doing what He has called me to do and who He has called me to be, and that is " ME ".

 

The best is yet to come in my life and ministry.

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

I dont know what you want for your heart, but the best thing you could ever want for yourself, is humility in your heart and not an arrogance before God and others. What does it prove to think we are any better than anyone else ? What does it prove to put others down or to belittle them ? why do that ? It is best to allow God to soften our heart, to allow Him to work in our heart, to speak truth and allow the fruit of His Spirit to be evident in us, all of us need this. Fruit, like, compassion, mercy, self control, gentleness, kindness, love, forgiveness, blessing others ...serving others and not wanting to be served. Helping and lifting others, not putting them down, sometimes we think we are helping others, but if we have to lift ourselves in that process, all we are really doing is, making the other feel weak and powerless. When all we can do is criticize and complain, we miss the point of being who God intends us to be.... yes, He calls us to be salt and light, but not salt in an open wound, but salt as to bring flavour...light as to gently give direction in the dark.

May The Lord God bless you deeply today in your heart, where it matters the most.

 

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My Life is about to change !!!!

I have had many changes in my life, (in no particular order)......... the day I got married, started work, had kids, left home, went into ministry, bought my first car... and of course some of the big mistakes in my life changed me as well.

So, for me, and for Jules, life is about to change big time... our daughters will both be married within the next couple of months. The first wedding is in less than one month and the next 6 weeks after, and for the first time in 28 years we will be empty nesters.

it will no doubt take some adjusting.... and more than likely, a few tears as well.

we love our girls and we will miss them, even though they wont be living very far away from us for a while, but life is about to change.

there could be loads of things I could mention, like routines, and the normal life issues that every family faces, but for us, its a pretty big year.

I am not complaining...just blogging !!!!!

here is what it looks like...

• 4 weeks to the first wedding.
  
• 3 weeks after that we visit Perth for a weekend while Jules speaks at a women's conference, and I hang with some friends.
  
• 3 weeks after that the second wedding.
  
• 2 days after that, we travel to India, for the Indian celebration with the other family.
  
• we then arrive home Late October, just in time for Christmas preparation.
  
• straight away after Christmas, early January, I then travel to London for 6 weeks of ICO, followed by 4 weeks of leave in London and maybe Paris. (with Jules joining me in late February)
  
• back home in March in time for Easter and back into work.
  

so life is about to go nuts....for me !!! But its not bad... its good, but it is going to change my life.

 

Sometimes our lives need to have changes. Sometimes we need to be challenged and shaken out of comfort zones and normality. Sometimes we just need to go nuts for a bit.

 

Jesus Changed my life, and still challenges me every single day. And there is still some more change required for me personally.

 

and here's another thought....

its not rocket science this....

 

BUT... if you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you already have.

If you want different results in your life, if you actually want (or need ) change, then you have to mix up and change what you do in your life.

 

So... think about this... if your life, your ministry, your church, your career, your relationships, your family is stuck.... not much growth, not much life .... then everything that has been happening up until now has led the situation to be in the condition it is in.

If you want a different result, a different condition... then the process must change.

 

That really has nothing to do with the changes about to happen to us, but .... change is something some people either love or hate, but in this world it is inevitable, everything changes..... our age, our families, our work, our kids, our parents, our finances, (after a couple of weddings etc sigh !!!!) and also our church and social networks.

 

the one thing that never changes is God Himself. what a relief that is.

 

And there is this further truth that must always be considered.... in every situation, church, family, work, life...

if you are hitting a brick wall, not winning, not achieving what could potentially be achieved, if things are stagnant or going backwards.... then you MUST change the processes, otherwise you will stay stuck.

And right here at this position you will potentially have some pain.

But the old analogy is still true, no pain no gain.

 

Yep, my life is about to change again.... and for our family massive change.

But Love will carry us through. It always has and it always will.

 

 

 

 

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I have a dream !!!

I dream of  a day when things will not be as they currently are.

what do you dream of ?     You being famous ?     or you making Christ famous ?

changing the world ?  making it a better place ?


I want to share with you, some of the things I dream about these days, these things shape my prayers, and my choices everyday, they lead me... closer to Jesus.


I dream:

when the Salvation Army will be a huge growing church that impacts the nation and shapes local community.

when prayer meetings in TSA are the best attended meetings every week. Packed with hungry Christian ( Salvo's)  seeking Gods heart.

when Gods power is evidenced amongst us in tangible ways, with people being healed and set free and delivered and transformed right before our very eyes, and this is common  and normal amongst us.

when the church stops picking on, and criticizing the church. (not just our church)

when I am consistent all the time with in my own life.

when the queues are so long to get into church every Sunday and in every Worship service.

when coming to church requires you to be at the church 2 hours early just to get a seat.

when people just walk in off the street, feeling drawn to this place, and they just ask, who is Jesus and how can I meet Him.

when Christians just turn up each day, looking for opportunities to serve in the House of God.

when we understand that we do not seek the applause of men, but rather the applause of heaven.

when our Officer Training College is full, with a waiting list of people ready and willing to go into full time ministry.

when our Salvation Army Churches have many people who are willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.

when people say to their boss and to their coach, NO, I cant play / work on Sunday, I need to go to church.

when you get a phone call in the middle of the night from someone who is just so excited about  what they just learned from reading  their bible.

when our church is impacting the world in such ways that a real and very visible tangible difference is made.

when poor people are served with food freely, given beds to sleep in, blankets to keep them warm, free medical care and support, without discrimination or prejudice, or condemnation...

when everyone is cared for equally, loved with unconditional love....

I dream of  day..... when I am able to love and be loved, to care for others and to be cared for by others, to be known by others and to know others, and our churches in The Salvation Army are known and characterized like this everywhere, all the time.

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

Yesterday in our church at Ringwood I touched briefly on this kind of Vision of what church can look like, and what I hope one day it will be like.... ending with this beautiful rendition of   "The Impossible Dream"  take a look and listen and let God speak into your heart and soul and mind, ..........................and may I say it ?

Start dreaming again of what God can do in impossible situations.

http://youtu.be/AijRBQf-ato 


Dream away, and surrender to the Cause of Christ on the earth.

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 !!!