Five Minutes of Your Time

A Tale of Two Dogs

2011-11-08T09:07:00.000+11:00

Once upon a time, there was a dog that lived in a sprawling house in the middle of the city. Though the house had plenty of doggie toys and plenty of room for play, the city dog hated being cooped up inside. Day after day, it looked longingly out the window and past the fenced-in yard around the house to the street where cars zoomed and pedestrians rushed by. The dog made little use of its spacious accommodations, choosing instead to focus on the doors that were always closed and the curtains that were always drawn.

Every evening, the city dog anxiously awaited the arrival of its master – not because it loved the master but because the master’s arrival provided an opportunity for escape. As soon as the dog heard the master’s keys jingle outside the door, it attempted a mad dash out of the house and into the yard. But without fail the good master, with a pained expression of disappointment, made sure the dog stayed inside where no harm might befall it. Wearily the dog would retreat to a corner of the house and start planning its next escape.

~~~~~

A dozen miles away, there was another dog. This dog lived in a one-room house set on a sprawling country farm. At one edge of the farm’s borders was a cliff overlooking a rushing river. On the other side was a dark forest. But no fences were present. The country dog was free to roam the farm, but it usually preferred to stay close to the front porch. It worried that if it strayed too far, it might miss its master’s arrival.

Every evening, the master’s arrival was the highlight of the country dog’s day. As soon as the master came into view, the dog would bound to his side to greet him. It followed close behind him, wanting to get into the house, not because of anything special inside but simply because it was where the master stayed. Each day without fail, the master showered his love and affection on the country dog and then led it inside the tiny farmhouse, where it wagged its tail with great contentment. Even in a shack, it was so satisfied to be in the master’s presence that the outside world held no power of attraction for it.

Lesson

Growth in holiness does not take place when our focus is on the boundaries but when our focus is on the Master. Fences may keep us from harm, but love for the Master is what keeps us from fences.

(Source Unknown)

Good Leadership Blogs

2011-11-07T15:34:00.002+11:00

4 Words to Help Discern a Vocational Call to Ministry

20 Points on Leading Millenials

Leadership Under Stree - The Jesus Model

Wisdom from J.Lo

A Word for Ministry Families with Children.

2011-10-21T15:23:00.001+11:00

As a preachers kid, and now in the ministry myself; I am often asked what it was that my parents did that resulted in me following in their footsteps.

Before I go any further, let me first say that our ministry is a calling from God and it is not a “genetic” or an “inherited” thing. We all have a ministry as part of the body of Christ, and it is our responsibility to answer the call of God on our life and to do what He wants us to do. As parents, my wife and I do not pray that our children will become preachers, teachers, apostles, prophets or evangelists; but our prayer is that they will answer the call of God on their lives, and be involved in their God-ordained ministry.

My parents never put any sort of pressure or expectation on me to be a preacher or pastor. That pressure was there, but it usually came from “well meaning” people who would say things like “are you going to be a preacher like your daddy one day”. However, my parents did encourage me to be active in ministry, whether it was assisting in the maintenance of the church grounds (mowing lawns and gardening), playing musical instruments, or any other activities around the church.

So what did my parents do? First of all…..prayer! I acknowledge that it is only by the grace of God and the prayers of my parents that I am serving God today. I know my parents were not perfect, but they loved God, loved each other, and loved their children. What more could one ask for?

My parents were Godly examples – they were the same at home as they were at church. There was no “fake”. There wasn’t any “turning it on for the church people”. I believe that one of the most important things in raising children in the ministry is “authenticity”.

My parents modelled the importance of having priorities. We were taught that God was our first priority and my parents modelled the application of that principle in life. Now looking back, I can see that when priorities are “nailed down”, it makes decision making a lot easier. I remember many problems being sorted out by going back to our values and priorities. I recall a discussion about playing “just one game” of cricket on a Sunday. It was never going to happen – because Sunday is church. Cricket is for every other day of the week except Sunday. Although I wasn’t always happy with the outcome of the decision, it was always consistent.

There were times when I would have preferred to be just one of the other church kids, and not have to deal with the expectation that preacher’s kids are born angels and don’t do anything wrong. If you don’t remember anything else I’ve written, please remember that preacher’s kids are like any other child. Please don’t expect them to be anything else.

Recently I was reading the gripping account of Abraham and Isaac, and it occurred to me that Isaac was never consulted about the little expedition he and his dad took. When Abraham headed up to the mountain to worship, we do not read of Abraham asking for Isaac’s opinion. Similarly, being born into a ministry family is not something children get to choose.

When Isaac was bound on that altar, he was caught up in something that was a matter between Abraham and God. Abraham said, “me and my boy will go yonder and worship” (Gen 22:5). I cannot see anywhere where Isaac was okay about it.
Isaac was a “victim” of somebody else’s decision, and his dad called it worship. Sometimes being a “preacher's kid” feels like that.

To take it a step further, Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice. Here is Isaac climbing up the mountain carrying the wood (a burden) which was somebody else’s decision entirely. Isaac ends up bound on an altar with a knife to his throat and it was all because of Abraham’s issue with God. This was not a matter between Isaac and Abraham, it was about Abraham showing his love to God.

Reading through the account I was gripped with thoughts of what Isaac must have been thinking when it dawned on him what was going on. Abraham didn’t say “we are going up to the mountain and I’m going to slit your throat”. No – he said “we are going to go worship”.

Isaac says, “I see the wood and I see the fire – but where is the sacrifice”. (Gen 22:7)
Abraham didn’t say “you’re the one Isaac – I am going to sacrifice you”. He said “God will provide the sacrifice”. (Gen 22:8)

Without these words, I don’t think Abraham could have made it - “Son….God will provide”.

The next time a question comes, speak these words “God will provide”.

Worship requires sacrifice. But God will provide what is needed for you to achieve God’s pleasure in your life. Our responsibility is to climb and rely on God to provide.

As the story progresses, the knife is about to come down and Isaac is gazing into his fathers face (who is worshipping remember). Isaac is the victim and he is about to lose his life. Then, right in the middle of his dilemma, Isaac heard the voice of God. The Bible says that the angel of the LORD spoke to Abraham out of heaven (Genesis 22:11). As a result of this whole expedition, not only did God know Abraham was committed but there was a young man who heard the voice of grace. Isaacs bonds are loosed he is a changed individual, because he heard the voice of God in his dilemma.

If I was Isaac, I would have responded by saying, “Dad, let me have a word with you. That almost killed me and I don’t want anything to do with it. Your idea of worshipping God and serving God is too much for me and I want out”. But that was not Isaac.

We read in the Bible about God being “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Here is Isaac, who for the most part was not notable. Other than being the one on the altar at the mercy of his dad, Isaac is not really known for anything. Everything Isaac received, he received from his dad. Isaac didn’t dig his own wells, he re-dug his dad’s wells. Isaac didn’t accumulate wealth, He inherited wealth from his dad.

While Isaac didn’t dig his own wells, he still had to access the life giving water for himself. In other words, he had to make them his own. All children, especially ministry children, need to make “things” their own.

As parents, we need to demonstrate to a lifestyle/environment that will hopefully influence them to choose life. They must experience the same God that we love and serve! They must experience God for themselves. This will give them a thirst that can only be quenched by God himself, leading them to drink for the same wells that we drink from – following in our footsteps.

For most people, if they had to go through an experience like Isaac, it would turn them against God for the rest of their life. Sometimes it can feel like your on the altar and you had no say in it at all. It can feel like you are carrying a burden to your own sacrifice – all because dad and mum are doing the “worship thing”.

I’ve heard of many tragic stories of preacher’s kids developing bitterness against God for what they had to go through as a child in a ministry family. Some walk away from God, not wanting anything to do with church. Some even walk away from their parents.
However, looking at the account of Abraham and Isaac, it strikes me is that after such a traumatic experience – Isaac went still we onto to live for God and still served God.

Think about it……
· How could Isaac go down that mountain and look at his father again?
· How could Isaac go on to re-dig his dad’s wells?
· How could Isaac go on to succeed his dad in his legacy by embracing his heritage?

Isaac equated his dad’s desperate attempts to please the Lord to his faith! He equated his desperate attempts to please the Lord to the credibility of his God, and Isaac said “I want that” and I am going to spend the rest of my life honouring my father.

The best thing you can do for your children is live a life of faith. When you do so, you are showing your children that we serve a great God. Your illogical decisions (in trusting in God) will serve to show your children that there is a power beyond “the preacher”. Your children will equate your worship to the credibility of your God. God will provide!

Your act of faith will allow your children to hear the voice of God for themselves, and they can walk off that mountain knowing that God will provide. There will be no hesitation in trusting God through the sacrificial giving of their life – in ministry.

Another Level

2011-01-13T12:33:00.002+11:00

Genesis 19:15-22
[15] And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
[16] And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
[17] And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
[18] And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
[19] Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
[20] Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
[21] And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
[22] Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
[23] The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

Judgement is centered on Sodom and Gomorrah, but mercy provides a way of escape for Lot. The Bible says that the angel of the Lord hastened Lot to get out of the city let he and his family be consumed in the iniquity of the city, but Lot lingered.

The Bible goes on to say that God put him outside of the city and told him to “escape for they life, don’t look back, don’t stay in the plain – go to the mountain – let thou be consumed”.

Grace and mercy reaches after him and pulls him and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Notice this…..the mercy of God can pull you out of destruction, but will always give you instruction. We must heed God’s instruction.

The mercy of God will always be accompanied with instruction. Think about the woman caught in the act of adultery. Mercy steps on the scene and saves her from destruction, but Jesus gives her some instructions.

Mercy meets a man possessed with demons, heals him, and puts him in his right mind. The mercy of God reaches out to Him, then Jesus gives him instruction (Mark 5:19).

If the mercy of God has pulled you out of destruction – be careful to follow the instruction of the Lord! Follow the instruction of the Lord.

God told Lot to go to the mountain (another level), but Lot compromised and wanted to stay in the same proximity – the familiar. Lot said “Oh, not so, my Lord” (Genesis 19:18), how about I go to this small place nearby (Genesis 19:20). Lot thought he had a better idea!

I’ve been in the church long enough to know the some people want to be delivered, but they aren’t ready to change their lifestyle. They prefer, like Lot, to go to a small place that is nearby. They prefer the same old same old. Lot comprises going to another level to go to this little place.

[20] Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

If the mercy of God has touched your life, make sure you follow His instructions because He will take you to another level.

That’s my five minutes!

Happy Christmas

2010-12-23T16:07:00.001+11:00

Daddy!

2010-08-12T12:19:00.002+10:00

John 14:18 – “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you”.

Jesus is speaking in John 14 and He tells us that He will not leave us comfortless. That work comfortless means “orphans” or “fatherless”. Jesus is saying “I will not leave you without a Daddy”.

Paul is speaking in Romans 8 and says “whereby we have the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father” or “Daddy Father”.

When we come to church we come to “engage” with God, to meet with God, to talk to God, to worship Him, to hear from Him.

In thinking about God as our Daddy, it helps us to understand the fundamentals of our relationship with God and the way we interact with God. Unfortunately many struggle to have a close relationship with God because of a misunderstanding of exactly who God is to us. Many people approach God with the mentality that they have to beg Him to help them or beg Him to meet with them, or beg Him to talk to them.

We feel like we have to say “Daddy, please heal me”, “Daddy, please deliver me” or “Daddy, please touch me”.

Having a child, it has helped me better understand God as my father. It has also helped me understand the dynamics of my relationship with God. Lachlan doesn’t approach me begging for something……he just walks up to me and says “Daddy, I want this”. He can trust me, as Daddy, to talk to Him, deal with him properly, love Him, to be there for Him.

Many today are weary and in the middle of a battle. Many are warn out, and yet the battle is not over. What God is saying is “I have come to pick you up. I want to put you in my lap and minister to you, comfort you – minister health, comfort and healing to you”.

In Luke 4, Jesus is saying “I am anointed to preach the deliverance to the poor”.

Psalm 23:4 – ye, though “I” walk. Not “we”. “I” will feel no evil…..for “thou” are with me. Jesus is saying “I told you – you will be alone, and although no human help would be there – I will be with you”.

We have a God who is our father, and like a Daddy that takes the hand of a child and walks them through dangerous places such as car parks, past big scary dogs, across the busy and dangerous streets – He is with us always. He is like a daddy who is there to comfort a child after they have had a bad dream. Daddy makes it all OK!

What God wants us to know is, “I am your Daddy” – you don’t have to beg me, wonder if I want to touch you, minister to you, heal you, deliver you, comfort you.

You belong to God, you are His child – you don’t have to wonder if God is going to show up!

He is not a “dead beat” dad. You don’t have to seek after Him. He said “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you”.

Daddy is coming. When you understand this, you will find “rest”.

Between "To Will" and "To Do"

2009-11-02T12:43:00.000+11:00

Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

In this scripture, Paul differentiates between God’s desire to do something in our life and the fulfilment of that desire. It is God who works in you both “to will and to do”. Paul is telling the church at Phillip that God wants to work amongst them because he wants to do His will in their life.

For those reading this short devotional – I want you to know that God wants to do His will in your life. God gets pleasure when we are in His will.

So when God works among us, it is not just to entertain us, but it is to put us into a position where He can do in our lives the things that He wants to do – “His good pleasure”.

There is comfort that comes only when you know that you are in the will of God and doing what God has called you to do. Who is it that wants to do the will of God?

But, what do you do if you don’t know God will. There will be times when you cannot honestly say that you are in the perfect will of God. There will be times when we stand between to the “to will” and the “to do”. What do you do when you find yourself in this position?

Genesis 12 tells the story about Abraham, when he was 75 years old, being called out of his country and away from his family unto a land that God would show him. God said “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. What a promise? But how was Abraham going to inherit the promise? God told him to walk! Just walk! “I’m not going to tell you where it is now Abraham. First you’ve got to walk!”

If you read the account you will find that Abraham walked for 15 years and then stopped. Abraham turns 90 years old and He gets in God’s face and says “God, I’m 90 years old now and I’ve walked 15 years from Ur. I don’t understand how I am in this position. I’ve got to know your will”. God looks at him and says “Abraham, the day that I called you I told you to walk…now get up and walk before me Abraham, my ways are still the same”.

If you are between “to will” and “to do”, and you don’t know what God’s will is at this time, just walk in God’s ways. You may not know His will, but His ways have not changed! It is His ways that will lead you into His will!

Don’t allow the confusion of what you don’t understand to push your heart away from the passion of the things you do understand. When you don’t know His will, you’ve got to remember His ways. It is His ways that will lead you into His will!

That's my five minutes!

What i learnt from a telemarketer!

2009-09-10T22:28:00.000+10:00

“And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.” (II Kings 7:3-4)

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12)

Who likes telemarketers? I think I hear a resounding…..NOT ME! I have never met a person that likes receiving a call from a telemarketer. I admit, the first thing I think about when I realise that I have answered a phone call from a telemarketer is “how can I get off this call”. I admit, I have resorted to hanging up sometimes when it seems that the person isn’t going to stop for a breath and doesn’t seem to be listening to me. Why is it that they always call in the middle of dinner?

Given Australians dislike for telemarketers, it got me thinking. Why on earth do companies persist with such marketing methods. You would think that cold-calling people would have to be the most unproductive way of drumming up business. Yet it seems we still get these calls.

Companies use telemarketers because they know that if they sit around waiting for more business, they will more than likely not get it. They have to be aggressive!

You have to admire these Samaritan lepers. They realised that they were in a “lose-lose” situation. They realised that no one was going to offer them food in the midst of a famine, and if they were going to get rid of those hunger pains, they would have to take matters into their own hands. If they maintained the unchanging status quo, then they were going to get the same results that they had been getting—no food and ultimately death. They realised that they would have to be aggressive.

Why is it that minority groups in our society seem to have such “loud” voices? One word “aggressive”. They’ve got something to fight for – something that they believe in and it is worth fighting for. They will push against mainstream society in order to have their voice heard!

Think about the gay community. They have risen to prominence via a core group who zealously promoted its cause. Within the last 20 years, homosexuality has become acceptable by most media outlets. It’s being promoted in schools as a normal lifestyle and anyone with differing viewpoints may be taken to court. Even some churches are now accepting this lifestyle in their organisation – even why the Bible calls it an abomination (something God hates). These people are aggressive about what they believe.

God wants Christians to be aggressive about His kingdom, too. That’s why Jesus said that the violent take heaven by force (Matthew 11:12). A good paraphrase would be that those wanting to make it to heaven are going to have to shove their way past anything that gets in their way.
Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Are we being aggressive about God daily, or are we satisfied with the status quo. Church attendance, occasional prayer, the odd Bible study. Has your walk with God become something you do with your spare time? Let’s get serious about this thing!

That's my five minutes!

"They HAD potential" - Something i don't want to hear!

2009-08-26T14:11:00.002+10:00

Every individual must write his or her own ending to this story!

2009-08-13T08:15:00.000+10:00

Luke 15:28-32
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The petition he heard from his father.

1. It was a petition of pleading

The father went out and “entreated” this boy to come in to the feast.
The word “entreat” means “to come alongside of another to offer aid and comfort, to beg, to console, to comfort, to encourage".
It is the same word that is translated “Comforter” in John 16:13 and is one of the names of the Holy Spirit. This father loved him.

2. It was a petition of promise

The father praised him for his efforts, and reminded him that everything was already his! In effect, this father was saying, “I value you and our relationship together more than I value your works".
This boy could have enjoyed fellowship with the father anytime he wanted, but apparently, he was too wrapped up within his own legalism and narrow-mindedness to realise it.
This boy wanted what the father had, but he did not want the father, and he did not want anyone else to have the father either.
What a tragedy!

3. It was a petition of priorities

The father tells this boy that is was “meet” that they should have this celebration. The word “meet” means “necessary”. To the father, the return of the lost son was a cause for celebration.
A lost one had been found.
One considered dead was now alive again.

You see, instead of pouting, this boy could have been partying!

Look at this chapter: everyone is happy but this boy.
The shepherd is happy. The woman is happy.
The father is happy. The lost son is happy.
The servants are happy. The only person in misery is this elder brother.

And, he is miserable because he refuses to be happy. The feast is there, all he has to do is go in and enjoy himself. But, he is standing out there pouting, because he didn’t get his way and because he is not the center of attention!

Have you ever noticed that this is an open-ended story?
Did the elder brother ever come into the feast? We don’t know.
I think Jesus left it this way for a reason.

And here is that reason: Every individual must write his or her own ending to this story!

That's my five minutes!

What's the Older Brother's problem?

2009-08-12T23:08:00.000+10:00

Luke 15:30 tells us what the older brothers problem was. “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf”. Who told him this boy had spent his money on harlots? Did someone SMS him? Did he check his brothers Facebook? Certainly not….

He hasn’t even talked to the boy or to the father. Do you know what’s wrong with him? He’s jealous! He may be at home in his body, but he is in the far country in his heart!

He is as far away from the father as was the other son when he went away. All he wants to do is live it up like the other boy did! But, He can’t, so he gets mad that one who did the very things he wants to do in his heart has been received by the father.

This is what was wrong with the Pharisees. They kept the letter of the Law outwardly, but in their hearts, they longed for sin!

You don’t have to be a drunk to be out of God’s will! You don’t have to be an adulterer to be in the far country spiritually. You can serve your church, sing in the choir, preach the Word, or anything else you want to name and still be out of God’s will!

You can sit in church (the house) mad and resentful over things that may have happened in the past or even in the church. You can look pious and righteous today, but have a heart full of malice because of what someone said or did to you. That puts you in the far country.

When you listen to this boy talk to the father, you quickly realize that he is proud, disrespectful, arrogant, defensive and angry. There is obviously something wrong with the way he is looking at what is happening here. He should be overjoyed that his brother has returned safely from the far country. He should be rejoicing that the father has received a lost son home again. But all he can do is whine, pout and complain.

Notice how this young man handled his anger. He attacked, he criticized and he blamed! This lets you know that his heart is not right!

Why? Because your outward attitudes and actions are a mirror into your heart. OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART – THE MOUTH SPEAKS! (Matthew 12:34)

To be continued…..

The Older Brother.....lost in the House!

2009-08-10T21:00:00.000+10:00

Luke 15:25-30
[25] …and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. [26] And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. [27] And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. [28] And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. [29] And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: [30] But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

We often forget the older brother in this story. Very often the focus is always on the prodigal son. But the older brother was also lost…..He was lost in the house! In reading the this story, we find that the older brother had a problem with his motives. When he hears that there is a celebration, he is angry and he refuses to go in to the party. His father comes out and gently pleads with him to come in with the others. His reply to his father is very telling of this boy’s heart.

In verse 29, he reminds the father of his faithful service and complains that he has never been given a feast for what he has done.

It is amazing how many books on church growth point out this problem. It is very common when a church begins to grow and focus on the lost that some people feel like they are missing out and become disgruntled. Those “in the house” want it to be all about them….just like the older brother.

The bottom line here is this:
1. The older brother did not care that his lost brother had come home.
2. The older brother did not care about that which pleased the father.
3. The older brother did not care about the glory of the father, he wanted the glory for what he had been doing.
4. The older brother did not even care about the father, he did what he did for what he could get out of it.
5. The older brother even saw his service to the father as “slavery”.

Watch out for the Spirit of the “older brother”. He didn’t serve his father out of love for the father, but out of a desire to help himself.

What are your motives for what we do? Paul tells us there is but one valid motive.
1 Corinthians 10:31 “…whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

To be continued……

The Sons Return

2009-08-09T23:51:00.000+10:00

It was a happy reunion.

Luke 15:20-24 “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

He found a father filled with love, compassion and grace who received him and loved him back into fellowship!

Now the son is back and he’s standing there in the rags of his sins. He doesn’t look like a child of this father. But, the father orders the best of his robes to be brought and to be put on the son. This robe would cover all the stains and dirt of the pig pen and make him look like the father! What a beautiful picture of Jesus our saviour….when a sinner comes home, they also receive a robe from the heavenly Father. The ring represents the priviledges, and the shoes his position (only slaves went barefoot, sons wore shoes). There was much rejoicing….the son had come home. The fatted calf was the Father's way of sharing His joy with all around.

But the elder brother just couldn’t seem to see the positive side of his younger brothers return. Sadly, this elder brother is a picture of one who is involved in the things of God, but who, sadly, has no real relationship with the father. He might be in the father’s house, but he is still lost. He is still in the “far country” in his heart!

The father loves the elder brother as well!

The elder brother held a position of privilege. As the elder brother he is entitled to two-thirds of His father’s possessions (Deut. 21:17). Since his younger brother has already received his part of the inheritance, (v. 12), everything remaining belongs to the elder brother.

The elder brother was still being productive. The text says that the elder brother was “in the fields”….he’s busy doing the father’s business while his brother is off “living it up”.

The elder brother is a picture of the Pharisees. These people were also in a place of privilege. The looked good to the people around then, but there was a problem within their hearts. The elder brother was lost!

We must be careful that even though we may consider ourselves “mature Christians” and have been serving God for many years….we can still be lost in the house! Your are a good moral person. You come to church. You don’t drink, steal or cheat. You have been baptized and are a church member. From all outward appearances, you are as good as anybody around you. But, just as Jesus could look into the heart of the Pharisee and see his lost condition, He can look within your heart and see that you are lost too.

You can be good, moral and active in the church and still be lost.

To be continued…….

The Lost Son

2009-08-07T22:00:00.000+10:00

He left home saying “Give me!”. He returns home saying “Make me!”

Luke 15 has been called God’s Lost and Found Department. In Luke 15, Jesus used four illustrations dealing with the lost and with His’ desire to see them saved and restored to fellowship with Him. He talks about the lost sheep (1 sheep out of 100, 1%), the lost coin (1 coin out of 10, 10%), and then Jesus talked about the lost son (1 son from 2, 50%).

We hear so much about the story of the prodigal son, but it is the older brother that I want to reflect on in this post.

Luke 15:11-12 “A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living”. The request of this younger son was for his share of the inheritance.

In our culture it is the ultimate in “rudeness” to ask for your inheritance! In effect, the son was saying to his father “Dad, I wish you were dead and had no more say in my life! I am tired of you and I want to be free from you and your control in my life”. For the father, it was a shocking and selfish request. The son was seriously self-centred. Even the words “Give me” in verse 12 make me cringe! His life is all wrapped up within himself and he cares for no one else, especially not the father.

The father could have refused and kicked the son out, but he doesn’t. The Bible says, “And he divided unto them his living”. The younger son wanted what the father could give him, but he did not want the father!

It was before too long that the son met a harsh reality.

Luke 15:13-16 “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him”. He crash and burned…..big time!

The son gets just what he wants, but soon finds out that “all that glitters is not gold”!

He blew the inheritance on “riotous living”, a life totally given over to sinfulness and wickedness. When the son left home, he also left behind all his moral restraints. Did he have a good time? Oh yes! There is Pleasure in Sin for a Season! (Hebrews 11:25)

Eventually his money ran out and along with the money, he also lost the friends who had helped him spend it (isn’t that always the way?). The far country, a land of “wine, women and song” had become a land of “weeping, worry and sorrow”.

This portion of scripture shows us the consequences of sin. Sin brings separation (he left the father and the provision of the family), sin brings sorrow (he wanted), sin brings shame (eating with the pigs), sin brings suffering (no home, no help and no hope), sin brings sadness (he is alone and lonely).

Luke 15:17-20 “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”

“When he came to himself” This boy’s time in the far country had been a time of insanity. He hadn’t been thinking clearly!

He makes up his mind to go home! He is tired of life in the far country. He longs for fellowship with the father. He wants to go where he can be loved, fed and cared for.

He left home saying “Give me!”.
He returns home saying “Make me!”

To be continued……

The Bitter is Sweet

2009-06-26T22:00:00.002+10:00

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Count it all joy - the trying of your faith is the thing that is perfecting you.

I want to talk about the process of perfecting. If we can really get ahold of what these writers are saying we’ll understand that there is something in this process of perfection that is not scary. That actually the bitter is sweet.

If we are to ever be successful in our calling, it will not happen unless first there is a testing. Anyone who has walked with God and had any success in their ministry will understand that there is a process of testing, a process of perfecting. You see, whatever talent, ability you have been gifted with, it must be given back to God. He hands it to us, we are inspired, there is a lot of zeal. It isn’t all about inspiration and excitement……there are testing times. Wisdom comes through the testing times.

Whoever you are and whatever you are doing for God, this time of testing may not always be pleasant. There is no-one here that is exempt from this perfection process, this testing process.

Human nature seeks the sunshine.
Human nature seeks the comfortable. But we can’t always have the sweet without the bitter.
You can’t have the sunshine and no rain.
You can’t have the sunshine and no clouds.

It is in the struggles and testing in our lives that God is perfecting us, this is growth and maturity.

There is no doubt that we are going to face some things and go through some things because God is getting ready to pour a blessing out on our life. He is going to take us through the bitter water and the hard times…but he will pour a blessing out on us. If God is going to perfect us…there has to be some battles, some hardships, some hot times.

Psalm 126:5-6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

The that sow in tears shall reap in joy. You can’t have the sweet water all the time. If you want the blessing of God, there is a testing that is going to come along side it.

Sometimes we have to taste the bitter before we taste the sweet.

Moses crossed the red sea…it happened along time before he got there. He spend 40 years in the wilderness.

Paul turned the world upside down….but before this there were beatings and hardship.

You are in good company….everyone wants sweet water…but we need to be thankful for the bitter water of perfecting. If there are no tears, there will be no laughter. If there is no bitter water, there will be no sweet.

When the bitter waters come, that is Gods place of perfecting. The bitter is what makes the sweet enjoyable.

Be encouraged!

That's my five minutes!

Because of the Times 2009

2009-06-24T16:34:00.007+10:00

On 12 November 2008, i blogged about my upcoming visit to Alexandria, Louisiana for Because of the Times.

BOTT is a conference for ministers and their families hosted by the Pentecostal of Alexandria in Louisiana USA. Thousands of ministers from numerous Apostolic organisations gather with a desire to pursue the deity and vision of Almighty God. It is a time for preachers to be fed and replenished and a time where programs, positions, and prominence are laid aside to let God unify the body and install His purpose in our hearts. BOTT follows a basic format is 13 anointed speakers with diverse delivery methods.

BOTT 2009 was life changing for me.

the ministry was life-changing (see my revised all-time Top 10 sermons from BOTT);
the worship / music was first class;
i met some fantastic people and life long friends (Chris Endsley, Sonny Warbington, Russ Cripps, Johnathan Dean, Paul Pamer, Robby Emery, Kevin Howard, Jimmy Toney);
got to hang with Wayne Francis, Chris Austin, Angel L Baez jnr and a heap of other cool church planters;
had great conversation with my travelling buddy Stanley Harvey;
the food was crazy....i put on 3 kgs in 10 days! (go the BBQ Pork Ribs with unsweet ice tea);
i got to meet all of the Manguns, Terry Shock and a pile of others who i really look up to in the ministry (i shouldn't name drop hey);
message by Mark Morgan on the following weekend at POA was unbelievable - "The Tale of Two Trees";
i went to Tioga - UPC Campground and got to see "the Tabernacle";
Alexandria is a quite place - i still can't understand why people in the streets wear hunting camo? the weather is crazy as well....i thought Melbourne was bad!
the people of the POA would have to be some of the most hospitable people that i have ever met - i now understand why they call it "southern hospitality";

Here is my revised Top 10 BOTT sermons (life changing for me). Note: I haven't heard most of the messages pre 1995 so i am probably missing some real "bell ringers" - please forgive me!

As of November 2008

This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
Addicted – Matthew Maddix

After BOTT 2009

This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
Prisoner in the Land of Fulfillment - Royce Wilson (2009)
Rediscovering Refuge - Terry Shock (2009)
We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
It's time for Aaron's Rod to Bud - Anthony Mangun (2009)
Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
The Miracle of More or Less - Wayne Huntley (2009)
There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
Addicted – Matthew Maddix

Don't Quit

2009-05-13T16:02:00.001+10:00

Jeremiah 33:3
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

Mark 11:24
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

I didn’t give you that promise…God gave it to you.

Winston Churchill….never give up! The entirety of his speech was “never give up”. It was impacting…only three words.

Hebrews 10:35-38
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet, a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

After you’ve done the will of God, you need patience. He didn’t say that after you’ve done the will of God then suddenly God will pour out the promise….he said it is going to take some patience. Even after doing the will of God, you still need patience.

Don’t lose heart and abort the plan that God has for your life! I am telling you, don’t give up and don’t give in….don’t quit!

Endurance, determination, grit, fortitude, determination, prevailing, perseverance. Don’t’ quit!

Ministry is a Must!

2009-05-02T12:27:00.002+10:00

Matthew 20:28
28: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

We need a revelation of personal ministry. A determination to minister like we’ve never ministered before. Why?

1. Ministry is how we are like Jesus.
2. Ministry is the key to personal and kingdom fulfilment.

You don’t have to have an assignment to minister. You don’t have to wait until someone gives you a ministry.

You don’t need to have an assignment to purchase a CD of a sermon for someone who could use it.

You don’t need a title to pick some groceries up for someone who is going through a hard time.

You don’t need a position to “prayer walk” your community, visit someone in hospital, visit the nursing home, make a call of encouragement.

We need to see ourselves as ministry! Jesus came to minister, not to be ministered to!

Joseph was in prison and it wasn’t even his fault. He refused to look at his problems and mistakes. When the kings men came to prison he ministered to them. Do you know what got him up there in the kingdom? It was his sensitivity to the needs of those he met in prison. That's ministry!

We all deal with failures and mistakes. But even in those times we must continue to minister. There is tremendous joy and satisfaction when we get our focus off ourselves and onto ministry.

The reason why some people can’t move into a fulfilled life is because they don’t minister! They are always focused on themselves. Satan said “I will exalt myself”. Selfishness is satanic.

There is liberating power and revelation in ministry! For some people the only thing standing between them and peace/fulfilment is a renewed desire to minister to others and take the focus off themselves.

What are the real needs in people’s lives. Salvation, redemption, the blood of Jesus. But the gateway to these real needs is through the felt needs. Focus on the felt needs and then move to the real need. It will move you into a fulfilled life! Reach out to somebody!If you want to feel like your life matters….then reach out to somebody!

That's my five minutes!

Set Apart for His Use - Doing Great things for God

2009-04-17T13:36:00.003+10:00

1 Peter 1:13
13: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

I want to start by quoting my friend Paul Glass (a quote he made on Facebook recently). "I want to be apart of something BIG, even if it's just in my head".

“Gird up the loins of your mind.”

This was a meaningful metaphor for first-century believers. In New Testament days men wore long robes that were a hindrance whenever they needed to move quickly or work. Men also wore a belt around their waist, so that when they need to do some strenuous work, they could shorten the robe by pulling it up in the belt, giving them the freedom to run, fight, or whatever they needed to do. This was called “girding your loins.” Now what does the loins have to do with the mind?

When Peter said to gird up the loins of your mind, he was telling us to prepare yourself for strenuous mental activity. Your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight, get ready for some hard work. If you are going to be great for God – you need to gird up the loins of your mind!

Two verse down, Peter is talking about holiness. He used the metaphor of “girding us the loins of your mind” as a means to explain that living a life of holiness is battle. Holiness is being “set apart for God’s use”. I can testify that trying to be “set apart for God’s use” in this world is a battle – a daily battle. Trying to be in the world but not of the world is a battle – a daily battle. But Paul told us – it begin in the mind. Being set apart of God’s use (holiness) begins in the mind!
I want to do great things for God. The Bible says “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). We can see God do things beyond our wildest dream if we would just allow the power of God (the Holy Spirit) to work through us! That can only happen if we are “set apart for His use”.

That’s my five minutes!

Our Effectiveness

2009-03-27T22:14:00.001+11:00

Knowing God’s purpose for your life is one of the best things you could ever find out. Further to that, living a life that fulfills God’s purpose is even better. Everybody in the body of Christ has the call of God upon their life. Unfortunately we often reserve this “call” just for the ministry. But God has called all of us “into the kingdom for such a time as this”. God has a unique plan and purpose for our life. When we are filled with his Spirit, we have everything we need to see God do great things through our life!

I have met a lot of people with tremendous potential. I have met people who are fulfilling their potential and I have met those who are yet to fulfil their potential. Sadly, I’ve been around long enough to have seen people who once had great potential. The ditches on the sides of the road of life are full of people with potential. It is my passion to see young people realising their God-ordained potential.

I don’t care how much potential that you’ve got, because potential alone is not enough. It is about realising our potential, it is about our potential becoming an actuality.

Jesus paid the price for our salvation – we will pay the price for our effectiveness. There are a lot of people “speaking in tongues” – but not effective, not living in the realm of their God-ordained potential. There are a lot of people that “mean well” – but they aren’t effective. The parable about the man who buried his talent is a case in point – he “meant well” – but he wasn’t effective.

We need some people to step up. We need young people to step up and show the world that Jesus can make a major difference in our life – but not just that! We need young people to step up and show the world that Jesus can make a major difference through our life. God did not make a mistake when he matched us with this day!

This may shock some people, but we must realise that we are either helping people get to heaven, or we are helping them go to hell. We must come to grips with this – this is the bottom line. There is no neutral. The worst advertisement for Christianity is a lukewarm Christian. When a non-Christian sees a lukewarm Christian they cannot help but see that it is a boring life. Sitting on the fence offers nothing except splinters!

So we have two choices – it’s easy!
Live for Jesus – an abundant life and an eternity in heaven.
Live for Satan – enjoy the pleasures of this world for a season (there is pleasure out there – but just for a season).

I’m not going to pretend that people aren’t having fun out there. They are! But in the end, they will not be happy. The “fun” is short lived – it is just for a season. When the season is over, the song by U2 rings true – “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!”

I want to emphasise again that there is no such thing as redemptive neutral – being in this world and effecting no-one. We are all effecting someone – it just depend on what way we are effecting them. We must stop and do a self assessment of our life. We need to take time to examine ourselves. We need to take the Bible and do a diagnosis on our Christian walk and our effectiveness. If your truly connected to the vine there will be fruit – fruit of the Spirit. Secondly, picture yourself laying at the front of the church in a wooden box!

It may sound a bit morbid, but start by writing your eulogy. Put yourself in the box and ask yourself – “What is the preacher going to be able to say with integrity!” We must live it not so that they can say it then!

That’s my five minutes!

National Day of Prayer and Fasting: 27 March 2009

2009-03-17T22:35:00.001+11:00

REGISTER AT http://www.aym.org.au/natprayer.htm

OUR GOAL: At least 500 people praying for the youth of Australia on 27 March 2009.Friday 27 March 2009 - ALL DAY

1. Pray for a mighty move of God amongst the youth of Australia in 2009.

2. Pray the youth ministry of your church, your youth leader and pastor.

3. Pray that God will use you to reach out to at least one lost person in 2009.

4. Pray for the National Youth Camp over the Easter Long Weekend 2009.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

God goes before us!

2009-03-16T22:28:00.000+11:00

Exodus 15:23-27
[23] And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
[24] And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?"
[25] And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

The newly liberated nation of Israel was on its way from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan but it was proving to be a difficult journey. The young nation of Israel began their journey in great spirits. Their archenemy, Pharaoh, was defeated, and his army was drowned in the Red Sea. The Israelites were rejoicing and praising God!

But we see Israel move very quickly from the celebration of triumph to the bitterness of disappointment. They quickly found themselves in the wilderness of “Shur”. The word Shur means “wall”. After the triumph, Israel hit the wall. Anyone ever had that feeling? They were in the desert and they had no water. No one could survive long without water in that hot climate, especially in a desert.

Had God suddenly abandoned them? One of God’s rules for the spiritual life is that testing comes before resting! Only three days journey from the point where they had crossed the Red Sea, the people encountered their first difficulty of a water shortage in the midst of a desert.

Let me divert here and encourage you in these days of economic uncertainty. When looking ahead makes you fearful, look back and remember. Uncertainty has a way of focusing us exclusively on the mystery of what lies before us that we forget what lies behind. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, God’s faithfulness to us in the past should shape our assurance and perspective about the future.

So the Israelites find themselves without water. Amazingly enough, three days of waterless wandering had created a great dilemma for them.

Then, off in the distance they see some water. There is no way to hold back the three million Israelites from stampeding the water. They run to the water, some half stumbling and sprawling into the water – only to find that the water was bitter and undrinkable.

Exodus 15:23
[23] And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

Marah brought great disappointment.

Everyone has their “Marahs”. Just when you thought you were coming out of the wilderness, just when you thought you were going to be refreshed from your wanderings in the wilderness – you find only bitter waters that are undrinkable.

But God had a remedy for Moses. He told Moses to toss a tree into the water and the act of God created sweetness out of bitterness.

Exodus 15:25
[25] And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Trees don’t grow overnight. That tree was planted in advance. Be encouraged - you will face some bitter waters in life – BUT YOUR TREE IS ALREADY PLANTED. God has gone before you making a way!

That’s my five minutes!

Lovers of Pleasures!

2009-03-14T13:28:00.000+11:00

2 Timothy 3:1-4
[1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
[6] For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
[7] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

There is no doubt that we are living in the last days. This can be confirmed but observing the happenings around the world, for there is no doubt that we are living in perilous times. Verses 2 through to 4 outline some of the signs that we can look for. I don’t know about you but I see this on a daily basis. Surely we are living in the end times.

But, it is the phrase “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” that caught my attention this week. Now, I have glossed over this scripture many times, missing the real meaning. It doesn’t say that they won’t love God, but the scripture is saying that they will love pleasures more than God. These people will have a love for God, but they will be driven by a desire for self fulfillment. The people the Bible is speaking about here will come to church when their diary is empty, when there is nothing better to do and when they need God to do something so that they can have a more pleasurable life.

These people will look Godly, but will deny the power of God. When it all “boils down”, these people don’t trust God to bring the abundant life that He promised. They will always revert back to their “life of pleasures”. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Because they reject the power of God, God cannot do exceeding, abundantly for them (Ephesians 3:20).

As a result of their miss placed priorities, these people are led away with divers lusts. Further more, they are ever learning (coming to church, home friendship groups etc) and never able to come to a knowledge of God!

Let’s make an assessment of our lives. If we want the blessing of God on your life we must have our priorities right!

That's my five minutes!

Jesus Loves You

2009-03-12T13:17:00.002+11:00

Luke 19:1-10 gives an account of Jesus passing through Jericho. Jesus went to Jericho for one lost soul. That was the soul of Zaccheus, the chief publican or as we know it today, the chief tax collector. These men were typically men of wealth, hated by the people. They were looked upon with much animosity. Nobody would have been looked upon with more distain that would a tax collector.

Jericho was a fine city with alot of activity. It was an elite town where the prestigious and rich lived. It was the type of place that people liked to frequent for holidays. I don’t find it the least bit surprising that we find Zaccheus the tax collector there.

Nevertheless, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Though Zaccheus was a renegade in the eyes of the Jews, he was a precious lost sinner in the eyes of Jesus. Jesus didn’t go to Jericho just to enjoy those things that you enjoy in a rich and prestigious city. He didn’t go to Jericho to join in the festivities of the city. He came to Jericho because he was on a mission. He came to see Zaccheus, a low-down tax collector. Out of all of the “more respectable” people in Jericho, Jesus chose the chief tax collector.

Jesus went to Jericho for Zaccheus. Jesus loves you, He went all the way to Calvary, and when He was on the cross, you were on His mind. He doesn’t love you just because you attend church. He loves you because He loves you! God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinner, Christ died for you and me (Romans 5:8).

With Jesus, it doesn’t matter what you have done, but it matters what you will do. With Jesus, it doesn’t matter what you have been, but what you will become.

If we will just make an effort to come back to Jesus, He will be there for us. Just as in the parable of the prodigal son. When the father saw his son coming down the road in the distance, the Bible says he ran to him and kissed him. The father could have made his rebellious son “serve his time”, but we read that the son experienced unconditional love. When you come back to the father’s house, you’ll experience unconditional acceptance and unconditional love.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been or what skeletons you have in your closet, Jesus loves you and He waits to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18). JESUS LOVES YOU!

Power of Choice - Victor Frankl

2009-03-10T16:31:00.000+11:00

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.

Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp.

Everything was taken away from these prisoners.

They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings.

They even took away their names and gave them numbers.

Frankl was number 119,104.

Everything was taken away except one thing. Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make everyday is your attitude.

Great Quote on Choices

2009-03-07T16:11:00.000+11:00

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true:

"One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility".

That's five minutes from Eleanor!

The Power of Choice

2009-03-06T15:54:00.005+11:00

Choice is a very powerful thing. We all like being able to make choices – in fact choice is an integral part of freedom. Can you imagine what it would be like to live your life without the ability to make a choice? Even worse – imagine not being able to have a choice as to your life partner!

At the outset of this post, let me say that the course of our life (whether good or bad) is not determined by the circumstances that we confront in life, but by the choices that we make in those circumstances.

I have seen people presented with some of the worst circumstances that life has to offer. Some people choose to maintain a good attitude, striving to overcome their circumstances. On the other hand, others accept their circumstances as their “lot in life”, eventually finding themselves imprisoned by their circumstances. It is important to realise that we cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose the attitude that we maintain in our circumstance. Ultimately, we are not victims of the situations that life puts us in, we are victims of the choices that we make within those situations. Understanding and accepting this fact is vital to living a full life!

Let’s be truthful now – usually we prefer to believe that it is anything other than our own choices that put us where we are. I think people are too quick to fall into a victim mentality! I think “victimhood” (if that is actually a word) is a chronic disease in our society. Many people these days are too lazy and irresponsible to even understand that they have a choice. People are constantly searching for someone to blame for their circumstances they find themselves in when often they are in that position because of the choices that they made!

Galatians 6:7 says “Be not deceived; god is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”. Sounds like choices to me!

For all of my life, it has been made perfectly clear that smoking damages your health, most likely resulting in an early death. Has anyone seen the pictures on the cigarette packages lately…yuck! Yet today, lawyers are getting rich by suing cigarette companies on behalf of men and women who have suffered because of smoking. Sure the tobacco companies have created an addictive product, but everyone who chooses to smoke today, knows that. Lawyers are called in to “rescue” these people from their situation which is really a result of their choice. You see, there is a consequence to our choices - life or death, success or failure, the choice is yours.

In planting weeds of irresponsibility, how can be hope to harvest an abundant crop of excellence and success! The choices we make will determine our harvest. Many Christians unfortunately sow one thing and then get a harvest they don’t like – so they ask God (like the lawyer) to change the harvest. It is a simple concept – what you sow, you will reap.
Now we must remember that God is gracious, forgiving us for the sins we have committed in ignorance. The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we are Born Again, God forgives us of our sins. But, He also tells us that we are planting the seeds today that produce tomorrow's harvest. His call to us is that we would understand the power of choice.

Acknowledging that we make the choices helps us to be more aware of the choices available to us in the future. It helps us to stand back when things seem bleak and see other options and other ways. If we feel like victims, we react without assessing our possibilities. If there is a turn – we miss it because we are not looking. The power of choice!

That's my five minutes!

There must be a generation!

2009-01-11T15:34:00.002+11:00

I recently heard a very challenging statement - Either we define our times or they define us.

Every child who has ever been to Sunday School has heard of the story of David and Goliath.
We get a great deal of inspiration from the account of David defeating Goliath. A young boy defeating the giant, the “under dog” (if you will) defeating the seemingly favourite.

But what really stands out in the account of David and Goliath is that before David arrived on the scene with his “toasted sandwiches” – Saul and Israel were allowing the Philistines to define them. But praise God there was an unexpected – David was a different kind of man – he intended to define His time. There must be a generation in the 21st Century that is sick and tired of being defined by our times.

Some may be concerned about this transitional point for the church. There is the notion that there are few young men and women that are willing to sacrifice and answer the call into the ministry as our predecessors have. A very similar feeling was prevalent in Paul's day. Paul wrote to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:11-16
11: These things command and teach. 12: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13: Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14: Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15: Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16: Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Paul admonished them to not only command, but also teach.

The next generation need teachers.
The next generation need mentors.
The next generation need elders who are willing to stand beside them – and even let them make mistakes!
If we are to have a successful transition from one generation to another it must be taught.

But we must also note that Paul asked the youth to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. The next generation cannot expect the baton to be handed off just simply because of age issues, but through disciplined actions of reading, studying and listening.

in 2009, youth we need to be enrolling in Bible School
in 2009, youth we need to be giving Bible Studies
in 2009, youth we need to be reading our Bible
in 2009, youth need to be praying and fasting!

27 March 2009 “National Day of Prayer and Fasting” – Register your name at www.aym.org.au

“THERE MUST BE A GENERATION IN THE 21st CENTURY”

Because of Christmas!

2008-12-22T11:40:00.000+11:00

Because of Christmas I have a saviour, healer, deliverer, high priest touched with the feelings of my infirmities. Christmas is more than a manger, more than a tree, more than a feast, it is more than presents – it is salvation, healing, deliverance!

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness. So God sent us a Saviour!

Passion

2008-12-05T15:46:00.002+11:00

Mark 12:30
[30] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

The creative force behind all great art, all great drama, all great music, all great architecture and all great writing is passion.

It was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) who said “Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion”. I agree – in my 31 years on this planet anything great I have seen achieved has always been achieved by passionate people. Passion is the energy of life and makes the impossible possible. Passion is that thing that gives us a reason to get up in the morning and go, "I’m going to do something with my life today”.

The Olympics are always an exhibition of passion. It is passion that drives a good athlete to become an exceptional or great athlete where they go to levels that no human being has ever been. At the 2008 Olympics we saw the talent of Michael Phelps. It takes some sort of passion to reach those heights. I don’t think I will ever see a comparable athlete in my lifetime – if I do….i hope it’s an Australian!

Passion is a powerful thing! It is passion that mobilises an army into action. It is passion that caused the explorers to boldly go where no man had ever gone before. It is passion that causes scientists to stay up all ours of the night trying to find the cure for a disease.

God created us with the emotions to have passion in our life and I believe He wants us to live a passionate life. Mark 12:30 is definitely talking about passion. In fact it commands very clearly what our passion should be. The object of our passion must be God! This entails loving Him, loving His word, obeying His word (“if you love me keep my commandments”), sharing His passion – I could go on and on – but our passion must be God!

If you wonder why it is hard to live a Christian life – then I suggest you examine what you are passionate about. Nothing is hard if you are passionate about it! It was Jesus Christ’s passion for us that led Him to the cross.

The Apostle Paul was a great example of passion. The apostle Paul wrote: “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view if the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). Oswald Chambers says of Paul, “He was recklessly abandoned, separated by God for one purpose - to proclaim the Gospel of God.”

Here’s the amazing thing. Today it is ok to be passionate about anything except God. That is not politically correct -- to be passionate about God. I can be passionate about movies. I can be passionate about sports. I can be passionate about politics. I can be passionate about fashions and clothes. I can be passionate about restaurants (and some of us really are). But I cannot be passionate about God. That’s a no-no.

Colossians 3:23 says "Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart as unto the Lord and not unto men."Help us to have a passion for God!”

Romans 12:1
[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Notice the Bible says “ye present your bodies”. It’s not automatic. Notice it is “a living sacrifice” - that is total abandonment – that’s passion!

Do you know what the worst sin is for Christians? It is not adultery. It is not murder. It is not some sort of sexual perversion. God tells us in Revelation 3. He says it’s lukewarmness. No passion. A lack of passion and love for God will cause you to do all those things!

Don't Worry! God is in control!

2008-11-20T16:25:00.003+11:00

We live in a world shot through with worry and anxiety. We worry about yesterday. We worry about today. We worry about tomorrow. We just worry! I heard two great quotes about worrying:

“Worry give small things big shadows”

“It pays to worry. Ninety percent of the things I worry about never come true”

Why do we worry? To be really simplistic, I think we have turned to material things and forgotten that God is in control! In essence, we worry because have run after other gods that are unable to save us from our miserable plight – money, fame, friendships, hobbies, holidays etc. We have turned our backs on God and forgotten the One and Only true and sovereign Lord of the universe! I think this is why we worry!

The Bible is full of scriptures showing that God knows how to care for his people and we need not lead anxious lives. Our responsibility is to trust and obey him, confident that his grace will carry us along. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phillipians 1:6).

There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. As King of kings and Lord of lords, God has no limitations. Consider just a few of the claims the Bible makes about God:

God is above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is immortal, and He is present everywhere so that everyone can know Him (Revelation 21:6).

God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16).

God knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens (Romans 11:33).

God can do all things and accomplish all things. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He orchestrates and determines everything that is going to happen in your life, in my life, in America, and throughout the world. Whatever He wants to do in the universe, He does, for nothing is impossible with Him (Jeremiah 32:17).

God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act (Psalm 103:19).

Why is it important to know that God is in control? The Bible says that there is righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We all know that if we don’t have peace we cannot have joy. The devil likes to make us worry and become anxious because that will destroy our peace. In destroy our peace there is no way that we can have joy – and the Bible says that the “joy of the Lord is our strength”.

Have peace – God is in control. The result of peace is joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength!

Because of the Times - Alexandria Louisiana

2008-11-12T12:34:00.002+11:00

I am going to Because of the Times (BOTT) in January 2009. BOTT is a conference for ministers and their families hosted by the Pentecostal of Alexandria in Louisiana USA. Thousands of ministers from numerous Apostolic organisations gather with a desire to pursue the deity and vision of Almighty God. It is a time for preachers to be fed and replenished and a time where programs, positions, and prominence are laid aside to let God unify the body and install His purpose in our hearts. BOTT follows a basic format is 13 anointed speakers with diverse delivery methods.

For those of you who know me well, you will know that this has been a dream of mine for many years. I like to refer to it as the “Apostolic Mecca” and I’ve even heard it called the “Apostolic Promiseland”. Everyone I have talked to insists that BOTT is a life changing experience. From watching the DVDs over the last few years, I argue that this is the best preacher’s conference in the world. I have seen every message preached at BOTT since 2001, and have watched the majority of them more than once. As my friends – my most treasured multimedia items are my BOTT DVDs.

BOTT exploded into my life during a Wednesday night service in 2003 when the church watched Pastor Anthony Mangun preach the opening message of BOTT 2001 entitled “This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it”. My mum had been receiving these videos from the USA for many years. I remember her watching them as she would do the ironing. This day, mum insisted that the church must watch this particular video.

While Pastor Mangun preached, I remember seeing the walls of the POA sanctuary covered with massive pictures of the faces of lost people and world globes spread across the platform. Pastor Mangun relayed his burden of how all of these faces should haunt us. He challenged all those present that while we have the message and the truth, we must not lose our passion for a world destined for eternal damnation.

It was during this message that my spirit was quickened to the urgency of the task at hand. What was I going to do with my life? Was I going to continue to pursue a successful career in financial systems that had already enabled me to travel all over Australia and the world, promising even more in the future. Was I going to continue to pursue my career of opportunity and financial gain? The video finished and it was time to go home. It is strange when you watch a DVD or video during a service – you feel removed from the event – you don’t know whether to clap, back the preacher up – although it feels like you should. I guess it is even stranger to respond in the altar call. Well, that night I made my way to the altar and committed my days, my purpose, my passion and my life into God’s hands. If you can use anything Lord, you can use me. From that day onward God has opened doors and equipped me to fulfil my ministry in the body of Christ.

Some of my favourite messages from BOTT include:

This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
Addicted – Matthew Maddix

So in January 2009 I will visit Alexandria Louisiana for the first time. I will be making the trip with my two closest friends in the ministry and mentors of mine – Wayne Francis and Stanley Harvey. The trip is extremely costly for only 3 nights and 2 days, but God has provided the funds. There is so much more I could tell you about God’s provision for this trip – but let it be said “God provides”.

Trust God!

2008-10-24T12:08:00.003+11:00

Genesis 42:35
[35] And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
[36] And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

There is an ancient proverb that says “Worry give small things big shadows”. I read another great quote about worry: “It pays to worry. Ninety percent of the things I worry about never come true”.

I suggest you read the about the story of Jospeh in order to understand the context of the scripture above. Start reading around Genesis 37.

Jacob is worrying! Joseph is dead, Simeon is gone and now they want to take Benjamin away. “All these things are against me”. Now that’s a pretty serious statement – that means past, present, and future – everything is against him. Jacob is saying “I’ve been singled out for all the problems of the universe to hit me”.

What do you do when “all these things are against you”? I didn’t say “if” but “when”. If you’ve been around long enough – you will know the feeling.

There are going to be times when it looks like everything is against you. I’ve come across a lot of born again Christians that think because they have been born again that they are somehow immune to problems in their life. The very fact that the Holy Ghost is a comforter ought to tell us that there are times when we are going to need comforting (John 14:26).

What Jacob didn’t know was Joseph was the Prime Minister and Simeon is in the care of a loving brother Joseph. Why was he worrying about Benjamin? Jacob was going by what his eyes could see – not what his faith could discern.

It may look like it is all falling down around you – but God is still in control. We tend to think that God doesn’t understand what we are going through, but He does. We have a high priest which is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15) – He knows what it is like. Jesus knew what it feels to be “man forsaken” and “God forsaken”. “My God My God – why hast thou forsaken me”.

Jacob thought all these things were against him – but that was not true. They were actually for him. They seemed to be against him! If fact, they had never been better.

The devil would like us to get our minds on everything that is going wrong – “all these things are against me”. He seeks to destroy our peace because if you don’t have peace you cant have joy. If you don’t have joy we wont have strength – the Bible says “the joy of the Lord is our strength”.

There are times when it appear everything is against us – but that does not mean you are defeated.
1. Have faith in God!
2. Trust God!
3. God has everything under control!

That's my five minutes!

Praise Builds a Bridge

2008-09-25T09:38:00.002+10:00

Psalm 22:1-3
[1] To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? [2] O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. [3] But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Notice that the writer begins the verse in a terrible dilemma. He obviously feels God forsaken. The Psalmist feels like God is not there. The Psalmist feels like God is ignoring his prayers. He is definitely facing a dilemma!

But, what a turn around in attitude in verse 3. Note that after putting his petitions to God, the psalmist shift gears and shifts into praise.

I don’t know about you, but very often my first response is self-pity and I know that most of us tend to have that same response. So, the idea of shifting into praise in the midst of our dilemma is a significant paradigm shift for us.

So what is the scripture telling us? I believe the Psalmist is telling us that the best thing to do when you are facing a dilemma is to praise God. It is our praise that creates a door for Gods presence to come into our problem.

The Psalmist shows us that when you are in a dilemma, shift the focus off the dilemma and get to praising God.

We see this principle in the “Lord’s prayer”.

Matthew 6:9-13
[9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

In the model prayer…”our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”….this is the “praise phrase”. Then, it says “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

I believe we are seeing the creation of a bridge here! Notice the connect. Praise creates a bridge…in comes the kingdom of God. God comes into our dilemma!

Acts 16:25-26
[25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. [26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

This Bible story begins the unjust arrest of Paul and Silas. The local Philippian authorities beat them and then threw them into a jail cell. Besides the trauma of the severe beating, they were fastened in stocks which clamped their arms and legs in an immobile position…can you imagine what it would have been like. Nothing like our jails today that meet human rights standards. The atmosphere there was depressing. According to the standards of that day, a prison was more like the resemblance of a dungeon. A dark, damp, stench-ridden place, with no facility for waste or comforts of any kind.

Yet, in spite of the throbbing pain in their bodies and the disheartening atmosphere, at midnight Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing praises to God! What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners, who were used to only hearing the groans or cursings of those who had been beaten. What a paradigm shift!
Then suddenly, there was an earthquake that shook the prison! The doors flung open, and amazingly, the bonds of Paul, Silas, and every other prisoner were released! What caused this mighty discharge of power? Praise!

PRAISE BUILDS A BRIDGE! God inhabits the praise of His people.

That’s my five minutes!

A few random thoughts!

2008-09-11T16:10:00.002+10:00

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “A mind stretched by a new idea never returns to its original shape.”

I wonder what would happen to Spirit-filled Christians if they really understood and believed these scriptures?
John 4:4 - "Greater is he that in you, than he that is in the world"
John 14:12 says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.”

Jesus redefined what is and what is not possible! He said, “All things are possible”. And because we sometimes need to hear the same thing in different ways, Jesus also said, “Nothing is impossible”.

Jesus had a pretty impressive resume of miracles! It’s easy to say, “but that’s Jesus. What does that have to do with me?” The answer is everything! As the scripture says above “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these".

My son is learning alot of things, it is amazing how fast kids develop. But, if i told you that Lachlan can do algebra and calculus, you wouldn't believe me (after all he's only 15 months). You would say, "that's impossible". It is not impossible! It may be impossible at his present stage of development, but give him a few years and he should be able to do it.

Just as a young child grows up and in time they can do those things that were impossible when they were new borns or toddlers. The same is in the spiritual realm, faith is the only difference between what is impossible and what is possible. It is a developmental issue. Impossibilities disappear as we develop our faith.

Soren Kierkegaard “If I were to wish for anything I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of what can be, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never”.

Albert Einstein said, “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of eighteen.”

With the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can do "greater works" than Jesus even did! That's what the Bible says!

That's my five minutes!

Bethel

2008-08-21T09:56:00.003+10:00

One balmy evening in the South Pacific, a navy ship spied smoke coming from one of three huts on an uncharted island. Upon arriving at the shore, the crew was met by a shipwreck survivor. He said, "I'm so glad you're here. I've been alone on this island for more than five years." The captain replied, "If you're all alone, why do I see three huts?" The survivor answered, "Well, I live in one and go to church in another." "What about the third hut?" asked the captain. "That's where I used to go to church."

This little story hits on the truth about our sin nature. Our sin nature tends to push us away from a close relationship with God and not towards Him. Just like the story above, even if we were the only ones on a uncharted island by ourselves, we would probably find it difficult to worship God without finding other distractions.

I don’t want to go into the whole life of Jacob, but we see the same tendency with Jacob in the Old Testament. In chapter 28 of Genesis, we have the old deceiver Jacob making a vow to God. After his vision of the ladder and the angels, saying that "this is my God and I will follow Him all the days of my life”. (Genesis 35:1-13)

God had promised Jacob land and had promised to make his seed like the dust of the earth. God promised to keep him. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel (v16).

Afterwards he went on his way; he became rich; he forgot God and the vows he made at Bethel. The years go by and now he is coming home. He has another experience with God; he wrestles with the angel and prevails. He meets Esau, and Esau forgives and forgets. But Jacob is not yet filled with peace, for his sin is still on his heart.

Then God calls him: "Go back to Bethel. Go back where you made your vow, go back to where you first felt My presence. Go back and renew you vows and start life over again." Jacob heard God's call and went back to Bethel and rededicated his life in that holy place.

The name Bethel comes from the Hebrew “beth”, meaning house, and “el”, meaning God. Bethel means House of God. Today many of us are far away from God.

For some Bethel “or that close relationship with God” is just a fond memory.

We remember when God touched us and saved us, but the years have come and gone, and our spiritual freshness has grown colder and further apart than it was at first.

We have lost the joy of our salvation.

“Let’s go back to Bethel”.

That's my five minutes!

Growing Spiritually versus Growing Physically

2008-08-15T16:07:00.007+10:00

Jonathan Moore is a fantastic worship leader and singer and was the full-time music minister for Rex Johnson in Austin, Texas. I admire this guy because he is going out on his own to plant a church in San Antonio Texas. He has been blogging all the activities and feelings associated with such a venture!

Anyway, Jonathan Moore recently wrote something that i think was really cool - i had to share it! Also.....i just had to share a few pics of my little boy Lachlan (see below).

Maturing as a Christian is the polar opposite of maturing mentally & physically as a person. In normal life, as you grow up, you pass milestones that are directing you toward independence (i.e. learning to ride bike, learning to drive, graduating from Jr High, High School, College, getting married, etc). But, as you grow up as a Christian, instead of heading toward independence . . . we actually move toward more dependency on Christ! In fact, spiritual maturity is much more child-like in it’s nature than adult-like.

Remember, in Matt 18:3, Jesus told his followers, “Unless you change and become like little children, you’ll never enter the kingdom of Heaven.”

Thanks Jonathan......i hope you dont mind me using this!

That's someone elses five minutes!

Don't be distracted!

2008-08-07T13:16:00.005+10:00

Life is full of distractions. It doesn’t matter what you put your mind to do, there will be some sort of distraction. While common to life, distractions can end in pain, suffering, and even tragedy.

I recently heard of a tragic accident in a circus during the “big cat” show, where the lion tamers enter a cage with the dangerous big cats such as lion, tigers etc. In this case, the lion tamer was tragically injured when he was attacked by one of the lions. The day of the accident was the same as any other day - just another circus act, just another town, doing the same thing they have been doing for years. The lion tamer was well aware of dangers associated with these animals and was well experienced. But one day tragedy stuck when he became, in his own words “distracted”.

Later, while lying in a hospital bed paralysed, with little hope of ever walking again, the lion tamer told reports that he had simply become “distracted”. When questioned about what distracted him, he replied that he could not recall what it was – “I was just distracted”. It is sad enough that this man’s life was never going to be the same – but it was even more of a tragedy that this man was nothing more than the result of a distraction. The irony of the story is that something had captured his attention, only for a moment, but now he could not even recall what it was.

While distractions in the physical world can result in tragedy, the same applies to the spiritual world. Spiritual distractions are just as fatal. Distractions to our soul!

Most people that I have seen backslide into the world didn’t do it because they woke up one day and decided that they no longer loved God. In all cases, it was simply a distraction. Like the lion tamer, when you ask them what it was they usually cannot recall what it was. They can't tell you what distracted them and resulted in them walking so far from God. It was a distraction that allowed the enemy of their soul to maime them and lay them down a cripple in the presence of God.

There are so many things in this world that would try to distract us from our relationship with Jesus. We cannot let anything get between us and our relationship with Jesus! Jesus said “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched” (Mark 9:43).

This was God’s way of telling us – we may make mistakes that cause pain and suffering – but Jesus would rather us make it to heaven with a handicap than to go to hell with everything we have. We cannot afford to make a mistake with your soul. Physical distractions cause us pain and suffering for a time. But spiritual distractions have an eternal consequence.

Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back (distractions), is fit for the kingdom of God.

The most grievous errors and mistakes are the ones taking place in the heart of men and women – distractions to our souls. A distraction to men and women who love God and know God and want to live for God and somehow become distracted by the things of this world – only for a moment – but ending in disaster!

That's my five minutes!

Intercessory Prayer, We Miss You!

2008-07-18T09:13:00.004+10:00

I recently received this stirring article about intercessory prayer - i had to share it. We can't have revival without prayer!

This is just a line to let you know how things are since you’ve gone. It’s not the same without you, nor will it ever be. Although our lives seem shallow and empty when you’re not here, we’ve learned to make up for you in other ways. We’ve learned to live without you.

We now run the aisles, leap for joy, jig to the music, sing catchy choruses, and tap our feet in time to the rhythm of the drums. We use sticks, banners, black lights, and our sign teams do a tremendous job acting out recorded music. We’ve learned to worship without you.

The prayer rooms are mostly silent now. Those that do go there, for the most part, come away dry-eyed. A lot of praying now is chanting and singsong style. That’s how we know we’re in the groove. We pray memorized phrases that come automatically. We love what we call Prayer Walks. Most of us don’t even close our eyes anymore during prayer. We just walk and pray while we look around. We pray because it is required. No one prays till they break through anymore. We just pray till our 10 minutes are up.

Too, Too Busy
Family altars are almost unheard of now. You can’t imagine how busy we are and how hectic our schedules have been. It’s unbelievable. We get up in the morning and never stop till we go to bed at night. We do try to make it to church most services and get some praying in there during the service, but prayer at home is kind of out of the question. That may be another reason you haven’t heard much from us.

Oh sure, we still believe in prayer, as such. But not very many of us are anxious for you to come back. (You were always the polite type, you know, never forcing yourself on anyone. You never came uninvited. You only left because you were ignored.)

The sad truth is you’re not really needed anymore. You see, most of us have hospitalization insurance now. (It sure takes away that old desperate feeling we used to have.) So now, there’s no need to pray more than the few minutes it takes to drive to the Emergency Room. Also, we don’t have to ask for our daily bread like we used to. We now have better jobs with good benefits and government programs to fall back on.

If we lose our jobs, there is always unemployment or welfare. If we retire or become disabled, Social Security now supplies our needs. So, you can see, we’re doing okay. Other things have filled the void in your absence. Sure we miss you. But we’re getting over it somehow. Actually, we’re too busy to entertain you right now, even if you tried to come back. I hope you understand.

Easy Revivals
We are having revivals now without you. It’s not hard. The pastor fasts and prays, along with a couple others. The evangelist preaches mostly just to sinners now. Most of us try to get to church in time for the first song or two. We justify the fact that the number of new converts is down. Yes, there seems to be diminished conviction, less lasting victory, fewer miracles, and many young people are backsliding. We agree, however, that it’s not us that are at fault here; it’s just the times we’re living in. It’s like this everywhere.

As your friend, I’m writing this to you, knowing how much it must hurt you to have folks say they miss you . . . and yet in their material and intellectual progress, they’ve weaned themselves away from the haunting memory of you.

What hurts, I know, is that we were children you personally raised. You were always there when we needed you. (But now we don’t.) You taught us about faith. You taught us about miracles. You taught us about a move of God. You taught us about revival. You taught us about how to touch God. Thank you for that, but you see, this is a new day and we are trying to go to the next level. Our services are structured differently now.

Can you believe that now when you are ever mentioned in church, everyone gets real quiet? (They all feel guilty I’m sure.) It’s like they experience a momentary twinge of guilt while they consider their part in your disappearance. Once in a while some even get misty eyed when we talk about the old times you shared with us. Yet all that feeling vanishes along with the pizza right after church.

Happy Memories
By the way, do you remember all the folks of yesteryear coming into the sanctuary with red-rimmed eyes? Remember the baggy looking knees in mens’ suits? Remember all night prayer meetings? Remember the depth that was in worship? Remember when sinners couldn’t sit in their pews any longer, and would run to the altar? Remember when you could feel unity and brotherly love? When folks helped bear one another’s burdens? When the saints didn’t watch the clock? When they could hardly wait to enjoy the after service atmosphere, praying around the altar until the wee hours of the morning? Boy, those were to good old days. We call that “Old School.”

Well, it’s pretty much all gone now. But you ought to see our new Hammond C-3, our new drum set with a cage and everything. Electric bass guitars are just awesome and the electric guitars, too. We use praise singers to help cover up the fact that our congregations don’t sing like they should or used to. We let them do most of our worship for us. Our choirs just do terrific on the new style songs. Old saints don’t like the new songs much, but the younger crowd seems to like them. Many music directors don’t even know some of your old favorite songs, so they don’t get played much anywhere.

You would be proud of our church buildings. Carpet on the floors, there are pews now instead of benches and they are padded besides. The arched beams are beautiful; we also have the loveliest of imported chandeliers. Our pastor has polish too. He doesn’t preach long. We are more concerned about sermon length now, than content. Our pastor spices up his sermons with cute sayings but I guess that’s progress for you. “Win some, lose some.”

Speaking of “lose some,” we’re losing a surprising percentage of our young people. An unbelievable number of marriages have gone on the rocks. Many lives have been in jeopardy. But that’s to be expected, I guess. Teenagers seem to be at war with their parents and want to dress more and more like the kids at the public school. Our youth meetings may not have much in the way of prayer, but we have great icebreakers, skits and games.

No Offense Intended
I hope you’re not offended. I don’t mean for you to be. You’ll always have a special place in my memory. You were kind and generous to me. You sure got me out of some hard times. I can’t thank you enough! Still, this is a generation now that doesn’t know you at all. Your coming would probably scare them.

Remember the night when my mother sat at the piano bench and you joined her there?

Remember how she wept and groaned in the Spirit and slumped to the floor during the revival service and how some tried to call the ambulance because they thought she was sick? They never knew you and her were talking.

That’s what I mean. A good many never got to know you well. And most never knew you at all. Those that knew you personally have waited so long to talk to you that they are now, to say the least, embarrassed.

So while we are trying to work out our feelings about you, and see where you might fit into our plans in the future, you might try your luck someplace else. Try Brazil, Ethiopia, or how about the Philippines? You might have better luck in Third World Countries, or behind the Iron Curtain. You might even luck out and find someone to talk to you in some little storefront on the other side of the tracks. Surely someone somewhere needs you.

We’re terribly sorry, Intercessory Prayer, we miss you, but we really don’t need you . . . right now!

© 2008, Martyn Ballestero Sr.

When the Power Breaks Forth

2008-07-11T09:46:00.002+10:00

God wants Spirit-filled Christians to have an impact on the world around us and He has equipped us with everything we need – that is the power of the Holy Spirit. We must recognise that before God can use us in the way that He plans, there must be a breaking of the outward man so that the inward man can come forth. Our ineffectiveness as Spirit-fill Christians is not the fault of someone else, but it is our fault. Our Spirit seems to he wrapped in a covering so that it cannot easily break forth.

Nature has its way of breaking. Jesus said "Except the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit" (John 12). I remember watching seeds grow when I was at school. The outer shell of the seed had to be broken before the life could come forth. In John 12, Jesus is clearly saying that unless we are broken we are of no use.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). So the treasure is in the earthen vessel, but if the earthen vessel is not broken, who can see the treasure within?

What is the final objective of the Lord's working in our lives? It is to break this earthen vessel, to break our alabaster box, to crack open our shell so that the Power can break forth. It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing (John 6:63).

That’s my five minutes!

Releasing the Spirit

2008-07-08T12:46:00.005+10:00

The greatest hindrance to the release of the Spirit in our lives is the flesh! That is, to reach out potential as Spirit-filled Christians we must die to the grasp of the flesh.

In studying the topic of “brokenness” I came across a very interesting story and an ancient temple in Asia. Anthropologists found an altar area that was literally buried under shards of smashed pottery. Further research revealed that the people in that region were pottery makers who regularly sacrificed the fruit of their craft to their god. Having created their masterpieces, that work which stood to gain them the most fame and profit, the craftsmen would take the vessels into the temple and smash them to pieces before their stone god. The broken fragments were mute testimony that, in sacrificial worship, the craftsmen had given up all hope of gain from the vessels.

What a perfect picture of what God calls us to be as Spirit-filled Christians. Hudson Taylor called it the “exchanged life” – the life that is indeed “no longer I, but Christ that livetth in me”. Only when we are broken on the altar of the Living God can we know the power of His life in and through us! Acts 1:8 says that we receive power when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The scriptures go further to say that we have that power to be witnesses. That is, we are filled with the Holy Spirit to show forth – to witness. God expects there to be a release of the Spirit that testifies and witnesses to others!

What stops this release of the Spirit – it is the flesh! It is because of the flesh that many are not where God wants them to be, not reaching their God-ordained destiny or purpose and not serving God as they have been called – a recipe for frustration.

I am not saying that if you aren’t filled with the Holy Spirit and I am not saying that you aren’t saved. I am simply saying that you aren’t where God wants you to be, you aren’t what God wants you to be and you aren’t doing what God wants you to do.

There is just one basic thing that will enable man to be useful before God: brokenness. We’ll explore “brokenness” further, but for the meantime…..

That’s my five minutes!

Shut up you fool - you'll get us both fired

2008-07-04T12:14:00.003+10:00

Desperate for employment, a depression-era farmer applied at a passing circus. At the circus office door he made an impassioned plea. "I'll do anything," he begged.
At this, the manager's eyes lit up. "You're hired, I need a new gorilla. The old one has died, and we cannot afford to import one. We have skinned old Kong out, and I need someone to wear the suit and do the gorilla act”.

The farmer's reluctance dissolved at the mention of a sizable salary. Pride gave way to necessity, and his new career was launched – a circus gorilla.

As it turned out, the farmer enjoyed it. His act was dramatic and crowd-pleasing. He would swing out over the lion's cage on a rope and chatter excitedly at the enraged beast below. The rope was carefully measured to ensure the risk of being eaten alive by the lion was minimal.
But during a matinee one day, miscalculation brought catastrophe and the gorilla tumbled into the lion's cage. The lion leapt upon him immediately and, placing a massive paw on either of the gorilla's shoulders, began to roar in his face.

"Help", screamed the man in the gorilla costume. "Help me! Someone please save me!"
"Shut up, you fool!" the lion whispered in his ear. "You'll get us both fired."

Unfortunately, a great deal of what passes for true Christianity is nothing more than just “monkey suit” religion. We need to stop and consider our Christianity and ensure that we aren’t just playing church and religion and pretending that we have some sort of relationship with God. We must be very careful that our Christian walk doesn’t decline to the level where holiness has become more about obeying rules (and wearing the costume) than it is about becoming more like Jesus. It is my belief that many that profess to be Christian have simply mastered the act of looking like a Christian. Many are simply wearing a Christian costume and just hoping that they don’t get found out!

Christianity is not so much about the outer “costume” that we design, but it is about an inner change that results in an outer change. That inner change is the infilling of the Holy Spirit. As the old song says, “Jesus on the inside, working on the outside”.

The Bible says that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit that are filled with power (Acts 1:8). So, over the next few posts I want to explore why it is that there are so many Spirit-filled Christians that are not exhibiting this power! What is it that is stopping the “power” breaking forth?The greatest hindrance to the release of the Spirit in our lives is the outward man, the flesh, the carnal man – the costumes of Christianity that we wear as a substitute for the real thing! “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63).

That's my five minutes!

Worship: My Life on the Altar of Sacrifice

2008-06-27T10:23:00.005+10:00

To worship God is to recognise His worth or worthiness. The Bible often calls this "glorifying God" or "giving glory to God” and it is very clear that it is the whole duty of man. To worship God! Paul said to the Corinthians, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Unfortunately, many have diminished worship to something that is done in church on Sundays, usually through a song. While that is one way to worship God, worshipping God requires much more than that.

Paul said that we need to present ourselves as a sacrifice to God and that it is worship. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

What is the meaning of these words “reasonable service”? If you study, you will find that the words “reasonable service” mean “spiritual worship”.

Now the whole idea of presenting ourselves as sacrifices in worship as presented by Paul in Romans 12 is not a new concept. This is the language of worship from the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, a worshipper brought a sheep or a bull or a pigeon and sacrificed it on the altar as an offering to God. At the heart of this act was that sin demanded punishment, and the slain animal represented God's willingness to accept a substitute so that the worshipper might live and have an ongoing relationship of forgiveness and joy with God.

But all the Old Testament believers knew that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). They pointed beyond themselves to Christ, who was the final sacrifice for sin (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:12). His death cannot be improved on!

I’m glad this is the case, because when Paul says that our worship is to present our bodies as a sacrifice he does not mean that we die and atone for our sins. Paul was saying that we show the worth of Jesus Christ by the way we use our life – how we spent our time, talent and treasure. Paul made this clear later when he penned his desire for Jesus Christ will be honoured in his body (Philippians 1:20). Further, Paul exhorted others saying “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

God is calling us to “whole of life” worship. He no longer looks for physical altars with physical sacrifices placed and burned upon them for His pleasure. Instead, He asks for a much more significant offering: our life, placed and lived upon the altar of our surroundings for His glory.

I’m challenged when I think about this. God wants me to build a platform out of my job, my talents, my home, my finances…and upon it place my life in dedication to Jesus Christ.
THAT’S MY REASONABLE SERVICE. THAT'S MY SPIRITUAL WORSHIP!

That's my five minutes!

I want to please God!

2008-06-24T11:05:00.004+10:00

“Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Hebrews 11:6 is an important scripture for all Christians. After all, the Christian walk is about pleasing God. Therefore, when we read that “without faith it is impossible to please God”, we ought to be immediately assessing our life as to whether or not we have faith. Personally I find that my level of faith tends to vary. I can go through times where I have great faith, but I can also go through times where my faith is diminished - i'm just being honest.

Faith does not have a physical form – we can’t see it, we can’t feel it, we can’t touch it. In that regard, we find faith is often something we struggle to define. What exactly is faith? How do I know I’ve got faith? What does a person of faith look like?

I’ve been in the church long enough to know the standard answer to the faith question. In answering the question “what is faith”, I have previously just recited the scripture in Hebrews 11:1. But, it wasn’t until recently when I was studying faith that I realised what that scripture really meant. I found the writing of Pastor Mark Johnson very good on this and as usual he got my mind ticking.

The companion to faith is desire, although faith is much more than desire. No one has faith for something that they don’t desire. Maybe that is why Hebrews 11:6 says that “God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” – that speaks of desire to me. To desire something is to reach for something that you don’t have. In essence, desire is here, the object of desire is over there. However, just desiring something is not faith!

Faith begins with desire, but must then be accompanied by a level of expectation. Expectation goes beyond desire. In fact, desire with a level of expectation is actually “hope”. Desire wants something, expectation looks for something, but hope wants and looks for something. Hope is part of faith, but it is not faith!

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for” – true faith is not just hoping for something, but it is living as if you have it (the substance) in your hands.

“The evidence of things not seen” – faith is living as if you’ve got the evidence in your hands.

Hope is anticipation; faith is participation. Faith requires participation – living as if you’ve got the thing your hoping for (the substance, the evidence) in your hand now.

I think that is why Peter and John asked the man at the gate Beautiful to “take up his bed and walk”. He could have said “I believe I’m healed” and then just continued to sit there – but that would have just been “hope”. When he participated in the healing by taking up his bed, standing to his feet and walking – that was true faith. Faith is participation. It is living like you’ve got the healing.

Faith envisions, faith encompasses, and faith enjoys (even before it becomes a reality).

That's my five minutes! (inspired by Mark Johnson)

I need some stability!

2008-06-18T18:29:00.003+10:00

How many times have to heard people say “I just need some stability in my life”.

Spurgeon said, “Perfect stability ceased from the world when Adam fell”.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden they enjoyed stability “TO THE MAX” because God created it that way. It was man that messed the whole thing up – as so often we tend to do. James 1:17 says that good and perfect things like stability come from God “who does not change like shifting shadows” or “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning”.

Adam and Eve enjoyed stability while they were obedient to God’s will. Things started to become instable when they broke God’s commandment. When Adam and Eve at the fruit their world was shaken – things we’re messed up and they began to experience the much dreaded “instability”

Stability of mind is one of the most important aspects of human life. Personally, I don’t handle instability very well. I like an environment that is stable – home and work.

I’ve been in the same job for over six (6) years (that’s a long time these days)
Attended the same church for 23 years
Played the same instrument for 26 years
Followed the same footy team for 23 years (carn’ the Raiders); and
I have been married to the same woman for almost eight years…..eight blessed years at that - thankyou Jesus!

I look up to people that are stable, being firm and consistent. I look up to them because they are firm and consistent. I admire people who stand for something.

Genesis 49:4
[4] Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

The same is with the spiritual. Instability in our spiritual walk is not desired. If we are going to excel spiritually we must develop a walk of stability and consistency. The Bible says that if you are “unstable as water, thou shalt not excel”.

Many of us have strayed from the path and could be called “unstable as water”.

One day we are on the mountain viewing the world with the eye of faith. Another day we are in the valley, the dungeon of despair with no hope.
One day at the banqueting table, the next day we are saying “if only I knew were I could find Him”.
One day our cry is “I will not let you go until you bless me”, the next day we give up!

In order to have stability in our Christian walk, we must be “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving”. (Colossians 2:7)

When we hold on to the promises of God, we are depending on Him for our strength and stability in the face of the storms of life (and be sure the storms will come). But, just like a tree whose roots allow it to weather any storm – we must be rooted in Christ!

Better is One Day

2008-06-04T09:56:00.004+10:00

Psalm 84:1-12
[1] How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
[2] My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
[3] Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
[4] Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
[5] Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
[6] Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
[7] They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
[8] O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
[9] Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
[10] For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
[11] For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
[12] O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

A day in the presence of God is better than 1000 years anywhere else! We have a wealth in Christ Jesus that is great than anything else in this world. The world can’t compare to Jesus Christ!

We can have bad days, bad weeks, bad years maybe even bad decades. But, the Psalmist is telling us that even one day in the church, one day in the courts of the Lord, one day in the house of God is better than the best day in the world (the tents of wickedness).

The worst day on the ark - it would have been pretty smelling on the ark. It would have been difficult to live on that ark for all that time. However, one bad day on the ark was better than the best day outside the ark.

The pleasures of this world are for a season.

Hebrews 11:25
[25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
[26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Go After the Presence of God

2008-05-28T09:23:00.003+10:00

Joshua 3:1-5
[1] And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
[2] And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
[3] And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
[4] Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
[5] And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

There can be no doubt that we are living in the last days. This surely is the midnight hour. The times we live in are posing some big questions. As a nation and as individuals we are less certain about the times and it seems that there are so many unknowns that are just around the corner.

I proclaim, just as Joshua did, that “we have not passed this way before”.

The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred object in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and a focal point for Jewish worship. The ark, to the Israelites represented “God with us” and the dwelling place of God among men. The ark represented God’s presence.

Joshua 3:3
[3] And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.

We need to go after the presence of God. We need to be in the presence of God whenever we can, “for we have not passed this way before”. Prayer, worship, personal devotion, being in church and fellowship are so important. We need to be in the presence of God as much as we possibly can. We have not been this way before! So, go after the presence of God! Spend some time in praise and worship, get along to church at every opportunity…..for God inhabits the praises of His people.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 7:25)

That's my five minutes!

All things are become new! A SKIT

2008-05-23T09:55:00.009+10:00

Four students stand on the stage with their backs to the audience. A student in a black shirt turns each student to face the audience one at a time. They say their lines, and the black-shirt student turns them back around. After the four say heir lines, a student in a white shirt repeats the act for the identity reclaimed.

(WHITE SHIRT WITH DISABILITY LOGO)
Disability: I can’t do anything. I hate my life. All of my friends are perfect. They can wear whatever they want. I’m fat and nothing looks right on me. I have one leg shorter so I have to wear these stupid shoes. I look like a freak.

(RED SHIRT)
Rage: I could kill her. I would like nothing better than to take her head in my hands and squeeze it until…..Who does she think she is telling everyone what I said about her? Did she think it wouldn’t get back to me? Did she think I’d let it go?

(YELLOW)
Guilt: I don’t know why I even try. I’m always messing up. I try to live right. I want to, but every time I’m on the right track, something pops up and I fall for it: the wrong girl, the wrong friend, the wrong job. If there’s a chance of going wrong, I’m gonna take it. I give up.

(GREEN) Boredom: There is nothing to do in this town. I’m sick of living here. My youth group never does anything fun. All I do is sit at home and do homework, even more boring. MySpace is boring. I mean, how many pictures can I put up when I never do anything?

Disability: My body and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart. He is mine forever (Psalm 73:26).

Rage: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger (Proverbs 15:1).

Guilt: I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more (John 8:11).

Boredom: I have come that you might have life in all its fullness (John 10:10).

Key Text: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (II Corinthians 5:17).

That's not my five minutes - it someone elses.....but i like it anyway.

That I may know you more!

2008-05-01T09:30:00.002+10:00

A man named Dennis Wise was a fan of Elvis Presley. Not long after Presley died in 1977, Wise had a plastic surgeon reshape his face and his hairline so that he looked like Elvis. He went around impersonating the singer, picking up a few dollars here and there on the club circuit.

When he was asked what motivated him to shape his life around that of Elvis Presley, he said that Elvis had been his idol since he was five years old..

Here are Dennis Wise's own words about pursuing being like Elvis, as reported in the Boston Globe:
" I have every record he ever made, twice over and thousands of pictures. I have books, magazines, pillows, even a couple of books in Chinese and Japanese about him. I even have tree leaves from the front of his house. While I never met Elvis personally, I saw him on stage in the movies four times.

Once I stood up on the wall of the Presley mansion and tried to see him. For twelve hours I waited, trying to get a glimpse of him, but he had so many people around him that you would never get close".

In reading this account, it is tragic to realise that Dennis Wise spent his whole life following Elvis, wanting to be like him, wanting to know him – in fact I would say Dennis Wise worshipped Elvis! But, there was just one thing lacking, he never met the object of his worship!

Dennis Wise knew a lot about Elvis, but he didn't know the singer himself.
Knowing all the hit songs, all the movie titles, all the concert appearances, his preferences for food clothes, cars...none of that is the same as knowing the singer himself.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
[23] Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
[24] But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

God says that the source of our joy and sense of importance ought to come not from our own wisdom or abilities or possessions, but from the fact that we know Him.

At what level do I know God? Do I just know a lot about Him?

Jeremiah 29:13-14
[13] And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

WE HAVE TO PURPOSE IN OUR HEARTS – WE HAVE TO KNOW HIM MORE!

That's my five minutes!

Rediscovering the Word

2008-04-17T16:52:00.003+10:00

The greatest book ever printed on this earth by all odds, bar none, has been the King James 1611 Authorized Version Holy Bible!

This amazing book of 1611 has gone into over ONE BILLION copies. With about 60,000 books written about it's text; It has been translated into over 800 languages. This book has been printed at a rate of as much as 8 million copies per year.

Before I write anything, I want to establish one important thing. The Bible is the inspired truth without error, even to the very words, and that it is therefore the inspired word of God.

I love the Word! The Bible is a central part of my life. Jesus said that “heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). The grass may with and the flower may fade, but the word of God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8)….God’s word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89). In this “topsy turvy” world we need something stable – the word of God is my stability in this forever changing and unstable world!

I like what Jeremiah said “Thy words were found, and I did eat them” (Jeremiah 15:16). Upon reading this scripture I noticed two things:

Jeremiah found the word – He was searching, looking, seeking until he discovered the word. Discovery is more than looking at something, it’s digging deep into it and really looking through, or finding out. It takes time and commitment.

Jeremiah ate the word - When we eat food it travels into our stomach and then the acids there melt down the food and it converted into nutrients that benefit our whole body. The same way when we take in God’s word and read, study, memorise. We take it into our minds and then it goes into our hearts; and out of the heart come the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23.

This may all sound a bit “full on” for someone who just reads the Bible every now and then. It may seem a bit “full on” for someone who just ticks the “I read God’s word today” checkbox. However, if you would just take the time to search the scriptures, dig for the nuggets – you will not be disappointed. The word of God is an endless unfolding of the greatness of Jesus Christ! It is an endless gold mine of wealth for life!

Ecclesiastes 8:4 says “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

Where the word of a king is, there is power

Pharoah spoke and Joseph was elevated
Saul spoke and Ahimelech was slain
David spoke and Uriah was killed
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and 3 Hebrews went to the fire
Belshazzar spoke and Daniel went to the lions.

Our King spoke and there was creation, there was a incarnation, our King spoke and there was salvation! There is power in the word!

If we get the word of the king in our heart, we have power because where the word of a king is there is power!

When those priests settled the ark into its place in Solomons temple, 1 Kings 8 reminds us that the sacred symbol had been pillaged by heathen hands.

1 Kings 8:9-10
[9] There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
[10] And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
[11] So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

Manna gone, Aarons rod gone…only thing left behind was he tables of stone. Seemingly worthless rocks with writing on them. The word was still there!

The word was enough without the manna and the rod. Why don’t you get into the word!

Why wait until we are older?

2008-04-11T08:57:00.001+10:00

While I love the King James Version (KJV) I have to say that I think the intent of this scripture is best captured in the Contemporary English Version (CEV) of the Bible. The CEV read as follows:

Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
[1] Keep your Creator in mind while you are young! In years to come, you will be burdened down with troubles and say, "I don't enjoy life anymore."
[2] Someday the light of the sun and the moon and the stars will all seem dim to you. Rain clouds will remain over your head.
[3] Your body will grow feeble, your teeth will decay, and your eyesight fail.
[4] The noisy grinding of grain will be shut out by your deaf ears, but even the song of a bird will keep you awake.
[5] You will be afraid to climb up a hill or walk down a road. Your hair will turn as white as almond blossoms. You will feel lifeless and drag along like an old grasshopper. We each go to our eternal home, and the streets are filled with those who mourn.
[6] The silver cord snaps, the golden bowl breaks; the water pitcher is smashed, and the pulley at the well is shattered.
[7] So our bodies return to the earth, and the life-giving breath returns to God.

If you want to be rich – invent or find a way to stop the ageing process. In fact, if you could somehow find a way to keep people young, I think you would be the richest person in the world.

There is a level of energy and enthusiasm, and ability that presents itself in the “days of our youth” and unfortunately there is no way to regain our youth again.

It is as youth that we need to get busy about impacting the kingdom of God. Why wait until we are older?

In the days of thy youth!

2008-04-01T15:22:00.002+11:00

Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth".

What a great portion of scripture, full of such depth and wisdom. What troubles we could save ourselves if we would honour and remember the Creator in the days of our youth.

As youth, we make decisions that will affect our future. It almost seems unfair that we have to make these decisions while we are young and unwise. The key to making good decisions lies in this verse of scripture in Ecclesiastes. We must remember the Creator in the days of our youth.

Another familiar scripture is "thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path". Notice the use of feet and path. God's word is a lamp unto our foot steps (the decisions we make for the short term) and a light unto our path (the decisions we make for the long term). Remember the Creator in the days of they youth!

Ecclesiastes 12 makes it clear that as young people we must rely on God. It is hard to make wise or good decisions without God, afterall we have had limited life experiences and knowledde. If left up to our own devices we usually find ourselves faltering and making mistakes. I know we dont like to admit it - but hey...it's true.

How often we forget God in the whole decision making process and try and do it on our own. I’ve known many people who have had to carry “baggage” through their whole life as a result of one bad decision when they were young. Regrets, shame, baggage, burdens, guilt etc. We must remember the Creator in the days of our youth!

God is the master craftsman, the potter, the designer, the Creator. He knows us, His plans for us are perfect. It is only when we are walking in the bounds of His will that we can experience life to the fullest – the abundant, fulfilling life that we read about in John 10:10.

Power to Become

2008-01-09T12:54:00.000+11:00

It is not unusual for a new generation to be viewed by the previous one with suspicion and unease. They said it about my generation, they say it about this generation, they said it about my parent’s generation and my grand parent’s generation.

I found these words of Socrates written in the 5th century BC.

“Youth today love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, no respect for older people and talk nonsense when they should work. Young people do not stand up any longer when adults enter the room. They contradict their parents, talk too much in company, guzzle their food, lay their legs on the table and tyrannise their elders".

I'm sorry, but not all youth can be written off so easily, for I do see hope resting on the shoulders of the youth of today. I see such potential!

I was thinking about the influence that young people have on society and more importantly the role of youth in initiating change in society. While we don’t really see a powerful youth movement in Australia, all around the world young people are leading revolutions and change. This caused me to do a little research on some of the impacts of young people around the world and I came across the following information. I am in no way supportive of these movements, but they serve to illustrate the potential of youth to influence change.

Youth and students have played a vital role in revolutionary struggles in the past and continue to today. In Latin America, young people are energetic leaders and participants in the social movements, and in Venezuela, view themselves as being the “foot soldiers of revolution”. In France last year, we saw youth, in particular university students, respond to an attack on the rights of young workers and prompt a general strike of workers that mobilised millions in an expression of the popular dissent against neoliberal policies, and the determined leadership of the youth meant the movement was successful. In the past year we’ve also seen the massive student strike in Chile, the Los Angeles school walkouts for immigrants' rights, and the student strike in Auckland for young workers' rights.

More recently, in Indonesia in 1998, from March to May, student protest played a key role in turning discontent over the economic collapse and lack of democratic rights into a full-scale political crisis. The universities in Indonesia played a vital role as the point where the middle class grew and consolidated as a group, and this consolidation was severely threatened by the economic crisis. A movement for reform had grown in the 1980s and 90s on the campuses, and during that period many students turned away from the traditional elitism of the old student movement, and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to form an alliance with the workers and peasantry and urban poor to transform society, a political strand that was of course influential in 1998.

These examples along with many others around the world go to show that youth and students can have a social significance much greater than their numbers and are often moved to action faster than other sections of society.

This year the theme of the United Pentecostal Church of Australia National Youth Department is “Power to Become”. The year 2008 will be a year of youth realising their potential and becoming what God intended us to become.

I read in my Bible that Jesus said “and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). Furthermore, Jesus said “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”. (John 15:7)

What is this power that enables us to do these things – it is the power of the Holy Ghost!

My desire as the National Youth President is that the youth of the United Pentecostal Church of Australia would realises that being filled with the Holy Ghost is more than just speaking in tongues and it is more that just getting saved and going into maintenance mode until Jesus returns. But when we are filled with the Holy Ghost we have the power of God inside of us and we can do great things!

John 15:16
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit (potential), and that your fruit should remain (good potential): that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

That's my five minutes!

Happy Christmas from the Downs Family

2007-12-24T12:16:00.001+11:00

When will Jesus be King?

2007-12-17T07:27:00.000+11:00

Matthew 2:1-2
[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
[2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

A little phrase that was uttered by the wise men, they asked the question: “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?”

All through the life of Jesus we find Him referred to as a king. It is a phrase we find throughout scripture. When Philip had brought Nathaniel to Jesus, Jesus began to tell Nathaniel where he had been and how he knew him. Nathaniel was so impressed by the Christ that he said “thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:49).

Herod couldn’t live with the fact that there was another king being born. He wanted to kill Jesus. But if Herod could have just understood that Jesus didn’t come to set up an earthly kingdom, He came to build a heavenly kingdom.

We see it here at the sea of Galilee when Jesus multiplied the lunch of a lad. When it was all over, they were so impressed by what they saw, that they desired to take Him and make Him their king. But Jesus departed again into the mountain to be by himself (John 6:15).

Jesus was hanging on the cross and the crowd around him were mocking and scoffing and said “He saved others and He cant save himself”. And they said “If you are King come down from the cross and then we will believe”.

But Jesus didn’t come down from the cross, because He was going to become king by staying up on the cross. He didn’t come to be king in this earth, He came to be king in the hearts of men. If Jesus came down from the cross, we couldn’t be washed by His wonderful blood.

I’m so glad He stayed there….because He stayed there He is king!

When does Jesus become King? When we give Him all authority over our life to Him! When we surrender! When we say it is not about me, it is about you Jesus. When we love Him with all our heart, soul and mind.

Is there anyone who wants to make Jesus the king and ask Him to sit on the throne of your life?

That's my five minutes!

My Friend Wayne

2007-11-23T16:40:00.000+11:00

Hey! For all you that know Wayne Francis....you'll love this.

Wayne Francis would have to be one of the most inspirational people that i've ever met. Furthermore, one of the greatest preachers I've ever heard. We love him here in Australia. Look out youth of Australia.....Wayne Francis is our speaker for National Youth Camp 2009! DONT MISS OUT!

Me, Wayne and Lachlan!

Can I make a difference?

2007-11-23T13:47:00.000+11:00

I ponder today, Can I make a difference? Can you make a difference?

It is a fact, although my passion is for the work of the Lord, it just doesn’t seem like I am making a big difference on a daily basis. I am working a full-time job, have family commitments and am busy about the work of the Lord in my local church. However, while I find myself busy about the things of God, it really doesn’t feel like I am making a very big difference. I am sure many readers have had the same feeling at sometime.
While reading the Word the other day I was reminded of the scripture in Jude verse 22-23 “And of some have compassion, making a difference. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire”. While it may not be physically or financially possible for me to be on the foreign mission field, my compassion can make a difference to the extent of “pulling them out of the fire”.

One of the first questions asked in the Bible can be found in Genesis 4:9 “Am I my brother's keeper?” A question asked by a man that was running from God. Perhaps many people today are still asking this question. What about another question asked in Luke 10, “who is my neighbour?” A question that was asked by a man seeking to justify himself. The fact that we cannot be there physically must not be an excuse for not getting involved. Missions matters!
Many of us may never find ourselves on the missions field. We’ve seen the photos and films from the field and we’ve felt the burden for lost souls and rejoiced as people find Jesus. But far too often we retreat, thinking that there is nothing we can do and leave it up to small number of people to reach the masses. That is a lie from the devil! We can do something.

I looked up the word “compassion” in the dictionary and here is the definition: “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering”.

Compassion isn’t just a feeling, but it is “accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering”. This is why the Bible says that we can make a difference if we have compassion. So don’t just be moved, but let compassion move you to a place of doing something. Our compassion makes a difference and by it many can be pulled from the fire.
There is so much that you can do for the kingdom back here on “home soil”.

Here are just a few things.
1. Giving financially
2. Prayer
3. Writing an encouraging our missionaries

If not you, then who? If not here, then where?If not now, then when? The Kingdom is waiting for you!

Let me make a bold statement - Missions must be part of your program or your program is not of God! Missions matters.

I can make a difference! You can make a difference!
That's my five minutes!

Overseas Missions

2007-10-23T11:55:00.000+10:00

“The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” Henry Martyn

Though the phrase “Overseas Missions” never appears in Scripture, the concept of taking the gospel to every creature and culture in the world is one of the most important themes of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, Overseas Missions is at the heart of God’s purpose on earth.

In reading about God’s judgement at Babel, which ended up in the division of the human race into many nations, culture and languages, we read that God used Abraham and his descendants as His special people. We read in the Word that God told Abraham to leave his country and family and go to a land that the Lord would show him. However, as is consistent with the Word, with every instruction and commandment God makes a promise. The Lord told Abraham that if he would obey the commandment He would make of Him a great nation and bless him (Genesis 12:1-2).

In reading about God’s promise to Abraham I believe that the Lord was making His “Overseas Missions” and multicultural intentions obvious. It was God’s design that through the nation of Israel He might reach a lost and dying world. The spirit-filled church today is the spiritual Israel and our “great commission” remains “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”.

Missions is the heart beat of God, and our responsibility, in fulfilling our purpose on this earth , is to get involved in reaching the lost in our suburbs, cities, countries and the world! Jesus emphasised the Great Commission five times in the New Testament (Matthew. 28:18-20; Mark. 16:15; Luke. 24:44-48; John. 20:21; Acts 1:8).

Every church has a responsibility to fulfilling the “Great Commission”. For all our programs and fellowship, one thing for certain must be part of the churches agenda……MISSIONS! Missions in our homes, communities, towns, cities, country and the world. A church cannot experience what God would have for them if we are not obedient to our call to reach this world.

Remember the promise, “Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

God will bless our churches in direct proportion to our giving.

That's my five minutes!

The Passing of a Special Friend

2007-09-17T15:32:00.000+10:00

On 12 September 2007, Melanie and I lost a special friend of ours. Lalduhkimi was a beautiful girl who died suddenly of a cardiac arrest at the Audrene Scism Children's Home in North-East India. We loved her like she was our own and we will really miss her. She is now with Jesus.

From Burden to Blessing: The Challenge of Change

2007-07-20T14:47:00.000+10:00

Genesis 32:24-32
24: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25: And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26: And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27: And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob (which means deceiver), but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29: And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30: And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31: And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32: Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

While camped one night, a strange man attacks Jacob. It is a physical fight, no dream, and the two struggle as to the death. Hour after hour passes, their strength wanes but neither can overpower the other. It becomes plain to Jacob that this is no ordinary mortal, but a special manifestation of God. In the struggle Jacob’s thigh is dislocated, but this mysterious enemy does not defeat him. Jacob, the one who has always resorted to deceit rather than to face a challenge head-on here is forced by God to fight. Suspecting the divine nature of this attacker, Jacob pleads for a blessing. God’s blessing is not given without asking him to say his name. In making Jacob pronounce his name, God is getting Jacob to confess his character.

Jacob encountered God and was wounded in body. Jacob confesses his name and his character and God changes his name from Jacob to Israel. All through the Bible, a name change means marks a new beginning, a transformed character.

What a wonderful irony, that in being attacked by God, Jacob could find the revelation of a respectable self; that in being honest about his past, he found a new future. In being crippled, Jacob, found a new freedom.

A Few Quotes

Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change. (Jesse Jackson)
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. him to change clothes to meet the German Ambassador: they want to see me, here I am. If they want to see my clothes, open my closet and show them my suits. (Albert Einstein)
Change does not change tradition. It strengthens it. Change is a challenge and an opportunity; not a threat. (Prince Phillip of England)
If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. (Unknown)
Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. (Robert C. Gallagher)

That's my five minutes!

What Motivates You?

2007-06-29T16:36:00.000+10:00

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
[14] For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: [15] And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

ANZAC Day in Australia is a day for Australians to reflect on the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand who gave their lives on the battlefield for our freedom. Living in Canberra I have visited the Australian War Memorial numerous times and can say that there is no place in Australia that fires up my patriotism than the Australian War Memorial. Before I die, I would love to visit Gallipoli in Turkey and be able participate in the ANZAC day dawn service at that location.

I am greatly moved when we think about John Simpson Kirkpatrick and the donkey. An unlikely national hero, Simpson enlisted in the army, expecting this would give him the chance to get back to England; instead, Private Simpson found himself at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915, and was killed less than four weeks later. Simpson was instructed to recover and help the wounded and he undertook this work enthusiastically. Famously, he used a small donkey to carry men down from the front line, often exposing himself to fire. The bravery of this "man with the donkey" soon became the most prominent symbol of Australian courage and tenacity.

The blood of Australians was spilled on countless battlefronts around the world. The memory constrains me to be a better Australian and a more loyal Australian.

In the spiritual realm there is a parallel. In the text above, the apostle Paul said that he was constrained, he was compelled to do what he did because of the love of Christ. Love that caused Jesus to give his very life for me! Paul said, "how can I live for my own pleasures when Christ lived His life to bring about my redemption”. The price that Jesus paid requires more than an ordinary response! The price that Jesus paid requires more than a simple hallelujah, amen or thankyou Jesus.

Does the reminder of Calvary constrain you? The cross should remind us that we were purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ!

Our passion should not be based on what we can get from him, but for what he has done for us. Our love should not be based on healings or monetary blessing, He should not have to give us anything else. He doesn’t have to do anything else to prove to me that He loves me.
That's my five minutes!

Get Off the Treadmill

2007-06-25T20:54:00.000+10:00

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
[24] Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. [25] And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. [26] I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

Treadmills are popular these days. I recently walked past a gym with a fine array of treadmills lined up in the window and each of them was occupied by a person either walking or jogging. One thought came to mind, “if jogging is so good, why aren’t they smiling”, and secondly “all that energy, all that exertion…and getting no where”.

A treadmill is an exercise device consisting of an endless belt on which a person can walk or jog without changing place. Just like the classic Disney movie theme song, The Lion King, many are on the “circle of life”. We tend to get on the treadmill of this earthly “life”, and can never seem to get off it. If we aren’t careful we find ourselves driven by the treadmill of this earthly life….and will never experience the pleasures of eternal life.

One writer described our modern life styles as “compulsive” - there is too much to do, all the time. Once on the treadmill, we can’t seem to get off. Or, put another way, the rats are winning the rat race. Anyone ever felt like that?
In the Spiritual, it is a trick of the devil to get us on a spiritual treadmill, walking the Christian walk but never getting anywhere. Just like the literal treadmill, the Spiritual treadmill is gaining popularity these days as Christians attend churches week after week while never developing a relationship with Jesus Christ.

One such “Spiritual Treadmill” is “works righteousness”. You can almost see the spiritual exhaustion in some people’s faces. They constantly worry about going to hell. "Have I done enough?" "Will I have time for one last prayer before I die?" "Where do I stand on the curve?" And even at the height of physical exhaustion, they dare not slow down or get off. So instead they seek to pay God off-through church attendance, through good deeds, and through non-stop working. Every sermon they hear on commitment only turns up the speed of the machine, makes the course steeper, and makes them think they’ll collapse any second. They never feel restful in their relationship with God.

Our pursuit needs to focus on developing a relationship with Jesus Christ and knowing Him more! His mercies are new every morning and in knowing Jesus you'll know the peace that passes all understanding. You can run with a smile on your face. That’s my five minutes!

Self Assessment

2007-06-11T20:20:00.000+10:00

Recently Pastor Downs preached about “self assessment” and the importance of assessing our walk with God against the Word of God, and no others. I was challenged to assess in my life and asked my self the following question. What do I do that makes me a Christian? Very often we tend to define our Christian walk by what we don't do. This involves no progress whatsoever. If fact we will find ourselves getting into "maintenance mode", just waiting for Jesus Christ to come back. I am not happy being AVERAGE!

There are associated dangers for Christians who stand for righteousness and want to be different from the world. There is an inherent danger when a Christian decides that they want to make a difference. When you have given up on being just a “run of the mill person” and you are not like everybody else around you, you become a target for the enemy.

I was reading a book review on an Apostolic Youth Site and they were reviewing a book called “An Enemy Called Average”. In this book the author John Mason says that the greatest enemy that people fight today is the enemy called average He was talking from a secular perspective. Although not a Christian author, this point can be applied to all Christians today. One of the greatest enemies facing the church is this age is the idea of mediocrity or being average. The idea that we are doing good enough just getting by. Just doing enough to make it to heaven, living as close to the world as possible.

Those that are satisfied with being average will very often examine themselves via a comparison with others. Very often, they will pick the weakest person in the church, the person who randomly comes to church, and we say “yeah, I’m doing OK compared to so and so”. To often we eagerly view our own accomplishments in the mirrors of our own design and ideas instead of the mirror of God’s word and His perfect plan for our life.

I believe God has a plan and a purpose for every single life. God has a desire to move us from ordinary to extraordinary. He wants to take our “natural” and make it “supernatural”. We need to make ourselves available to God, humbling ourselves and saying, “God, do your perfect work in my life”.

When God saves you, He doesn’t save you to be a “pew warmer”. God saved you for a reason and He has a plan and purpose for your life. Many people these days are sitting in churches waiting for God to come and knock them off their pew and give them something to do. Dare I say it….God isn’t going to do that. But every now and then, when the word of God comes forth and you feel the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart, when you feel challenged to do something for the Kingdom, this is God saying “Come on, do something for me. Stop being complacent”.

God has things in store for you because you have the ability to do what nobody else can do. God design a plan and that plan is specifically for you. God has given you special gifts.
That’s my five minutes!

Praise fixes up the dry times!

2007-06-05T16:26:00.000+10:00

Dry times come to all believers. God knew that even spirit filled Christian would have to endure dry times. If fact we are told to “think it not strange the fiery trials” (1 Peter 4:12), furthermore we are told to “count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations because the trying of our faith worketh patience and in turn serves in perfecting” (James 1:2-4).

Numbers 21:16-17
[16] And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.[17] Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:

As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, they came to a time and place where, in the dry desert land, they were thirsty. They were experiencing a “dry spell”.

The first thing we notice when reading this portion in Numbers is that the children of Israel journeyed to a well as God had directed them. As established Christians it is more than likely that we all know where the well of the Lord is in our lives, after all we’ve been to that place before, that place of refreshing. Secondly, this well had been dug out by their leaders sometime before. Something important to note is that the well had been bug with the scepter and with their staffs. We see from Genesis 49:10 that the scepter is a symbol of praise. The scepter and the ruler's staff are established in Judah which means praise.

When the children of Israel arrived at this well it would have been evident to them that it hadn’t been used in some time. For it seems from reading the scripture that the water was not readily seen or evident.

Does it seem as though your well has dried up from neglect or lack of use? Then sing to it! Call it forth, as the children of Israel did to this ancient well. They sang this song: "Spring up, O well!
God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), and as their song went forth it brought forth His sweet presence to water their thirsty souls.

We need to dig the soil of our hearts and bring forth the well spring of the sweet and refreshing presence of the most high God to water the ground of our soul! If your dry and parched then begin to offer up a praise.

There is an old chorus that most of us know. “Spring up O well, within my soul. Spring up O well, and make me whole. Spring up O well, and give to me, that life abundantly!”If you are experiencing a dry place, bring forth your scepter of praise today and dig a well in the soil of your life! Sing to your well to “spring up”. You will be refreshed!
That's my five minutes!

He Restores My Soul

2007-05-28T16:22:00.000+10:00

Psalm 23:1
[1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

[2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

[3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

A long time ago I learned that life isn’t fair. I remember as a child my Dad would remind me that life wasn’t meant to be fair and that life wasn’t meant to be easy. That was an important lesson in my life because if I hadn’t known that I could be quite disillusioned with life. The circumstances we face in life have a way of subtracting from our love for life.

For those who have lived a few years (or many years), they will know that there is a lot of stress in life. There are definitely going to be seasons of hardship in our life. If you are young maybe you don’t know about this yet, but the older you are it is more likely that you can relate to what I am talking about. Life can be stressful at times, possibly even depleting and distressing.

Through life there are a lot of things that happen to us that are not always our own doing. Some of these include sickness, job problems, relationship problems and even death. These things come along and invade our life, attempting to try and steal the joy of our life. On the other hand though, we can often bring on the bad in our life through our own bad choices, wrong relationships and even sin. We find ourselves feeling flat and even “down and out”. But don’t give up! As we studied this week in our HFG Bible Studies “the thief cometh to steal, kill and to destroy, but Jesus came that we might have an abundant life” (John 10:10). Jesus is the soul restorer! Jesus is interested in leading the lost back home!

From the word of God we know that the Lord is in the business of restoring the broken and bring home the wayward! Jesus Christ is a God who restores and revives! He restores my soul!

David penned this Psalm as the king of Israel, but he was once a shepherd so he knew about being a shepherd. But furthermore, David also knew about his relationship with God, and that he was the sheep and God the shepherd.

Jesus is our restorer! Jesus will leave the 99 and go out and look for lost sheep! Jesus is all about restoring the souls of men, women and children who have lost their way. No matter how far you may have strayed, the distance back to God is not nearly as far as the journey has been away from God. You may have wandered far from God, but when you cry out to God He instantly hears your voice and responds. He wants to restore your soul!

The Lord is our shepherd and He restores our soul! Won’t you just put your life back in the hands of the Good Shepherd! That's my five minutes!

Bend the Church and Save the World – Turn from sin

2007-05-22T16:19:00.000+10:00

2 Chronicles 7:14
[14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Our attitude needs to be as David’s was in Psalm 51. This whole Psalm is brought about by an experience in 2 Samuel 12. David’s sin was adultery and he attempted to cover up the sin. In David’s sin there was a murder, lies, deception.

There is no doubt that God loved David. In Psalm 51, we get a glimpse as to the reason why God loved David. It wasn’t about his pedigree! It was not because he was flawless. David’s response sin (as pointed out by the prophet Nathan) is the thing that God gravitated to in David’s life. His willingness to confess his sin!

Sometimes we rationalise our sin and try to make it right. The dictionary tells us that rationalisation is “The justification of behaviour to make it appear rational or socially acceptable by (subconsciously) ignoring, concealing, or glossing its real motive; an act of making such a justification”.

Job 1:1 is a scripture we need to take notice of because it is here that we read about someone being referred to as “perfect and upright”. Two things in this scripture help us understand why Job was a perfect and upright man. He “feared God and eschewed evil”.

The word "eschew" means – “to avoid”, to shun evil. This simply means that he turned aside from evil, he departed from evil. He didn’t allow himself to be associated with evil.

We need to turn from sin! 1 Thessalonians 5:22 encourages us to shun even the appearance of evil. This means that the Christian lifestyle should have nothing in it that even appears evil.

That's my five minutes!

Bend the Church and Save the World – Prayer

2007-05-21T08:44:00.000+10:00

2 Chronicles 7:14
[14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Prayerlessness is a sin! Samuel said “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you”. The Holy Spirit put it in Samuel’s heart to say this. The same Holy Spirit had it recorded in the Bible for us to read in the year 2007.

Luke 11:1
[1] And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

We need to be like the disciples and say, “Lord, teach us to pray”, “Lord help me not to sin in ceasing to pray”.

Edwin Orr a leading scholar on world revivals says that one sure sign that revival is on the way is when people get to praying! Prayer has always preceded the world revivals. Another indicator that revival is on the way (based on history), is that women began to meet in small groups and pray.

One writer once said if you cease to pray then “you are a stranger to the great privilege that is offered to human beings”. Some of the greatest blessings that people enjoy come from prayer. In earnest prayer, you think as the Lord directs, and lose yourself in him.

That's my five minutes!

Humility - The Key to being a Revival Vessel

2007-05-17T12:47:00.000+10:00

2 Chronicles 7:14
[14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

I do not think it is too much to expect that if we would obey God, He will come through for us. God is not slack concerning His promises. I believe, if we obey 2 Chronicles 7:14 (the inspired word of God), that God would fulfil his promise. Although we look around and see this city of Canberra as being “sin sick,” the Bible promises us that if we obey some simple guidelines, God will heal our land. Another promise in the Bible says “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

There is no greater mission field than this city of Canberra. Why can’t we have Canberra for Jesus!

In the scripture and the history of the Church, God rarely bestowed spiritual blessing or increase to anyone until He first found them on their knees, or until God brought them there, in humility and submission to His will. The cry of Evan Roberts exhibits this kind of humility and submission. Sometimes we become so “stiff” and “rigid” and “set in our ways” that we become no use to God. Bend us Lord! In humbling ourselves we become a Revival Vessel that God can use. That's my 5 minutes!
Suggested Reading: Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill - This book will get you motivated as it clearly describes the hinderances to revival!

A Revival Vessel – Evan Roberts

2007-05-14T12:21:00.000+10:00

The Welsh revival started when a man named Evan Roberts knelt with his arms over the seat in front, bathed in perspiration, and prayed aloud "Bend me! Bend me! Bend us”.

About two years ago I heard Vesta Mangun preaching at a conference. Very briefly, Vesta Mangun talked about this man Evan Roberts, someone I had never heard of at the time. She quoted his passionate cry “Bend me”. I had to find out more! I began to research the Welsh revival, hoping to find the “spark” that started this revival that eventually spread to the four corners of the world.

1904 Revival historian Edwin Orr writes:

Touches of revival had stirred New Quay, Cardiganshire, on the west coast of Wales where Joseph Jenkins was minister of a church in which he led teams of revived young people in conducting testimony meetings throughout the area. Seth Joshua then held meetings there, then at Newcastle Emlyn and at Blaenannerch, at which students from the Methodist Academy attended including Evan Roberts.

At Blanannerch on Thursday 29 September, Seth Joshua closed the 7am meeting before breakfast crying out in Welsh, “Lord ... bend us”. Evan Roberts recalled that it was the Spirit that put the emphasis on “Bend us”.

Roberts said that the Spirit told him "That is what you need". He left the meeting praying “O Lord, bend me”.
During the 9 am meeting, Evan Roberts eventually prayed aloud after others had prayed. He knelt with his arms over the seat in front, bathed in perspiration as he agonised. “I cried out, Bend me! Bend me! Bend us! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"

Evan Roberts spoke after the usual Monday night meeting to 17 people. The Holy Spirit moved on them all. He then spoke every night to increasing crowds. By the weekend the church was packed and invitations came for him to speak in other churches and chapels. He usually took a small team with him to pray, witness and sing. November 1904 saw the fires of revival spread throughout Wales. By January 1905 the papers had reported 70,000 converted in less than three months.

Evan Roberts in his twenties was one of God's agents in that national revival.

For the next few weeks, I want to share with you some aspects of a message I preached in 2005 titled “Bend the Church and Save the World”. Keep your eye out for further posts. That’s my five minutes!

Penetrating this World with the Hope of Jesus Christ!

2007-05-11T18:54:00.000+10:00

This year Pastor Downs has commissioned the members of Calvary Chapel to reach one soul for the sake of the kingdom of God. Our mission is "Each One, Reach One"! There is no doubt that the word "reach" is a active verb. When I was at school they called these words "doing words". Looking at the dictionary, the word "reach" means to "strech out or put forth". So in order to reach our goal of "Each One, Reach One" it is going to take some action on our part.

A church that "sits" will birth situations and usually they aren't very pleasant. A "sitting" church is not "doing" and eventually becomes inward focused and consumed with internal matters. This is one way that the devil can shift our focus off the great commission that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us in reaching the lost.

The Bible calls true Christians to be three great things:
1. Salt (Matthew 5:13);
2. Light (Matthew 5:16); and
3. Leaven (Matthew 13:33).

If you look at each of these three things you will realise that they achieve one thing…..they all penetrate. Light penetrates darkness, Salt penetrates meat (flavouring and preserving) and leaven penetrates the lump of dough and raises it up.

I heard Rev. Jeff Arnold preach once that we have been saved and commissioned to:

PENETRATE this world with the gospel
PENETRATE this city of Canberra with the gospel
PENETRATE our families with the Gospel
PENETRATE our workplace and school with the gospel.

If we fail to tell people about Jesus Christ we are like leaven which is ineffective. By being ineffective salt, light and leaven we fail to penetrate the world for the cause of Christ, failing to build up the Kingdom of God as commissioned.

I heard a saying one day….. “You never know how far you can go until you try”. Now that is a tremendous step of faith. We should all understand that none of us as individuals or as a church can know how many souls we can reach, or what we can accomplish for the kingdom, until we try. Until we step out by faith! Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do works far beyond our imagination…you never know until you put your trust in God.

My family (on my mums side) were bee keepers. I heard someone speaking once about bees and they were saying that when the bees leave the hive they have no idea where the necter is. They don’t have some inbuilt guidance system that takes them to the necter. But they just form team and go out until they find the flowers and the necter. They go out by faith and they always find necter. Let us go out in faith! That's my 5 minutes!

Indentity

2007-05-11T16:01:00.000+10:00

I saw a quote by Stephen Covey:
"Security represents your sense of worth, your identity, your emotional anchorage, your self-esteem, your basic personal strength or lack of it".

Security seems to be the one thing everyone strives for. Financial, emotion, relational etc. In reading this quote by Stephen Covey i realised that a key to being "secure" is realising our identity.

All over the world people are longing for a realisation of their identity. Through the years I’ve heard some many people ask these three simple questions. Who am I? What am I doing? Where do I come from? This is not something unique to our society but it is a question being asked of people all over the world as humanity struggles to find their identity and purpose.

At the outset I want to say that you will never find your identity and purpose outside of Jesus Christ. And here’s the good news….Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to save those who are struggling to find their identity and their purpose.

Jonah chapter one describes a storm a situation where a bunch of mariners where on a ship. During their trip they experienced a great storm. The Bible account tell use that all on the boat where very fearful and all of them cried out to their own god. The storm was so bad that the ship they were travelling on was about to break. They began throwing all their gear and wares overboard in order to save the ship and themselves. But, in the midst of this raging storm, a question of identity was raised.

Jonah 1:8
8: Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Jonah, who are you? Where are you from? What is your occupation?

In the swirl of a fierce storm of carnality, wickedness, and false doctrine, these questions are still asked of us today. Who are we and what is our mission in this world?

Our identity, origin, and purpose are being put to the test. It is the privilege and responsibility of every new generation to continue this great work of ministering the gospel tp every creature. We cannot simply do this by imitating our forefathers. Rather, we must have the same thing they had!

As a church, our job is to point mankind to Jesus Christ. We need to unite around the common cause of changing and influencing the direction of individuals and society. We must not allow a culture or way of thinking to creep in that says “let’s follow the path of least resistance”. We need to get a realisation of the urgency! There is a urgent need for us Pentecostals, Oneness believing, baptised in Jesus Name, Holy Ghost filled people to influence the thinking of the day in an attempt to turn it onto a new path.

The early church (and you can read this in the book of Acts) followed the command of Jesus Christ to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. Everywhere they went, they baptised and taught in the name of Jesus. In Acts 17:6, we see the dramatic effect that they had on cultural direction; “These that have turned the world upside down!”

The torch has been passed to the new generation. Will we influence our world as the Apostles, or like Jonah, will the storm confuse us and drive fear into our hearts?

I have purposed in MY heart, by God’s grace, to be strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to stand for righteousness and holiness.

That's my Five Minutes!