deepest fear.

yesterday i watched the movie Coach Carter again (i love this movie... not sure how many times i have watched it now..)
But in the movie it has a quote from Marianne Williamson... which i love (in the movie it is edited and stuff about God is taken out of it.. unfortunately).. here is the original version of it.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

And it is so true... well i know it is for me... i often shrink back for others to shine and think who am i to be all this... but i am a child of God and because of that i should shine and be all i am created for so that others will be encouraged to shine.  

so, i also challenge you to be all you were created to be in ?Christ.... and therefore giving permission to those around you to shine...

something beautiful

Below is a song that a friend of mine wrote and sung... it is an adaption of the song "something beautiful, some thing good".  

I love it... it is so simple, and true.. and it hits my heart... i feel God's love, i feel Him melting any walls that i have put up to protect my self... so that the truth sinks in... that He calls me beautiful.. and no matter what has or is happening in my life He can make something beautiful.

our words...

last night i was reminded how much our words and actions can hurt the people around us... even when we don't intend to hurt people...
All people have had a different walk in life, and so they see things through different lenses... like even some people being asked to go somewhere, i have seen taken the wrong way... the invite was just an invite to join in on community... but the person took it the wrong way... (and not the way that most of you who are reading this think...) The person took it as if the guy inviting him was just taking the mickey of him, teasing him.... to make him jealous... but it was just a honest invite to come along and join in .... I only found this out when i actually sat down with the person who was invited, and he shared that,...
It made me think how many other times do our good intentions, invites, words and actions and non action are taken the wrong way just because people are hurt and they see things through different lenses... and we will never know what they are thinking about, or how they see things (even our words and actions) unless we get alongside people and ask them....

Blessings...

Tonight i went out to the soup run... and the volunteers that had prepared the food and were serving it under the Salvation Army, were from a small (Greek or Italian i think) ethnic church. these guys went full out to bless the guys on the street that come along to the soup van... Before coming down town they cooked pasta (instead of the hot dogs that they usually have), they also made individual Tiramisu to give to everyone... they also gave out bags with fresh fruit and homemade biscuit/cookies (depending where you come from)... they also had some toys to give away to some kids that come with parents... It was awesome to see some Aboriginal kid's eyes really light up when they were give these big teddies (the younger ones) or a snorkeling set (the older kid), it was gorgeous... These kids had such a sparkle in their eyes when they received these presents.
It was awesome to see, cause these volunteers didn't just come to "feed the poor"... but really wanted to bless them, and this is how they thought they could do it best and a number of them stopped to talk with people, .... they also had a small group singing Christmas carols during their time there.
I know that this made some of the people there feel loved and valued... which is how people are meant to feel.
There is stuff that we can do everyday, that would make people that we have contact with, feel loved and valued... Even if it is just smiling at people, or taking the time to chat with people...
go out and bless people today.... dare you....

Last Official Cell for the Year.

Last night was our last official cell for the year.... We had a bbq out the back and just chilled and hung out it was great fun...
We were blessed by one of our cell mates bringing this huge platter of meat... lamb and pork chops, chicken, sausages it was that big, that we only cooked that meat and there was still leftovers. We had a huge spread of food.. it was a feast.
it was a lot of work to prepare for the night... my house mates started preparing salads 2 hours before people were meant to rock up and didn't finish until people were rocking up... i got home form work and started setting up out side... getting chairs and a table set up out there.

Although there was a bit of work involved it was well worth it... we only had one of our regulars that didn't show, and had a total of 15 that came and hung out with us... some were only there for half the time, cause they had other stuff on before....
Our cell has been getting a regular of around 10... and at the beginning of the night it didn't look like we were going to break that, even though we had a couple of new people come... there were a few regulars that didn't make it at the beginning of the night... but as the night processed...3 of our regulars rocked up, and brought some friends...

It was a great time,
I think we should do things like this more often... at least over summer while it is warm outside....
Any way i just wanted to share and praise God for the awesome night we had last night.

I have been learning lately that it is really important to be intentional with my relationship with God.... you see, for ages i had a lot of spare time, cause there wasn't really many people around that i could/would hang out with... and it was a little easier to spend time with God.. cause i had time... plenty of it...
however, lately i have being hanging out with people nearly every night of the week... which has been awesome, and sometimes tiring.. I haven't had that sort of community for a while and missed it, even though hanging out with other Christians in community is all good, in fact we are told to hang out with others... i have noticed that i have been getting distracted from spending time with God... That i would put off or even forget to hang out with God ... and my spirit and ministry has suffered because of this... so i am re learning to be intentional about spending time with God... more than just reading my bible, but actually sitting, quieting my spirit (which is a bit hard lately, since i have had so much activity going on) and listening...
Listening and hearing what God wants to tell me, hearing who He wants me to pray for, hearing His direction for me... and the ministry i am involved in...

roadtrip adventures to and from melbourne

Normally this trip takes about 8 hours, which was the case on the way to Melbourne. We drove over night on Thursday night, it was quite fun, we stayed up and got to our destination at the right time, and safely...
However the way back was a slightly different matter.... we had passed Ballarat and was continuing along the road heading to adelaide, when we ran over something already dead on the road... It wasn't seen til the last minute, due to having high beems off, because of on coming cars. So we went over it.... a little while latter we were hearing a weird noise coming from the car... we stopped in this small little town called Beaufort. (this is a nice town during the day.... but at night everything is closed and no one is around). It was here that we had a look around the car to work out what the noise was.... and we found a cable hanging down from the car. We weren't sure what the cable was but thought it would be saver getting someone to look and fix it than to continue driving, So we rang the RAA (well the Victoria equivelant) and was told that because we hit something it is classed as an accident and that they couldn't help... so we spent quite a while ringing different people (around 1am) to get a mechanic to come out or a tow or anything... to no avail. We also txted friends that we thought would be up to pray.
We decided that we may as well settle down and sleep the night. 2 people decided to sleep on the side of the road while another 2 of us stayed in the car.. about 20 to 30 mins after this decision (about an hour or 1 and a half hours since we stopped), a truckie pulled over to see if we needed some help... I told him the situation, He climbed down from his truck to have a look, He told us that it was just the hand brake cable and that we could just tie it up and it would be fine. One small problem, we didn't have anything to tie this cable up with... so we asked the truckie if he had anything that we could use... After searching his truck he came back with a usb cable that he had cut the ends off and cut it in half... Then told us how to tie up the hand brake cable... so we went under the car to tire up the cable, Success... we were on the road again... Praise the Lord... for he answers prayers, both ours and our friends prayers on our behalf. 2 hours after we stopped.
There may be some pictures to come....

by the way we are still on the road.... 398 km to go...

Wedding

today i went to a wedding... it was fun.

the wedding was a traditional style but was very laid back... a lot of jokes and mucking around by everyone involved. (Including the officer starting to read the funeral notes, and then dedication notes, before getting to the wedding stuff).

This wedding really suited the couple, it was awesome.

I have got a pic of one of the groomsmen, and it is someone that a lot of you who read this blog know.... I've posted the pic and do you reckonise him.

young guns

Last night i went to Revolution (ingle farm salvos youth service) and it rocked... i rocked up part way through cause i was out on the street... but it was "young guns" night, which means that it wasn't just the leaders doing every thing. they had one of the young teens doing the lights and av (part of the night), they had 2 people give testimonies (one a young teen and the other was a leader), they had a teen leading worship. Another guy (with an intellectual disability) lead one song at the beginning and the end. A 13 year old lead a dance off competition, and even cut the last round of dancing short, when some of the dancing got inappropriate, (which impressed me heaps, cause i have known this kid for ages,). Then 2 of the sort of older guys who aren't official leaders shared a word from God... it was awesome... the feel to the night was great, it was awesome to see and hear how God has been working in their lives, and how they are ready just to stand up and be counted for Christ, especially knowing their backgrounds, and knowing that that most of them don't come from the best backgrounds.... This youth group is like a family... and majority of the people there don't have the best natural family background, including some of the strong Christians there....
God is certainly doing something in that place. There is so much potential in that place, it may take a while, to scrape the dirt off and polish some of those guys, but it is worth it.... And i can't wait to see the result.

just some thoughts on ministry

There are a number of people that start "doing" stuff in ministry... and after a while they end up being burnt out... And a lot of this is from "doing" "program"
The other night i was talking to some friends about ministry, about how they wanted to just organically do mission, without set programs as such... and we came to the realisation that the best ministry to be involved in is what comes naturally to you... like for me going out on the streets and just sitting, chatting (well, mainly listening) and hanging out with people is so easy and it so natural (well, once i get pass the times where i don't want to go, or not knowing who to talk to or even how to start talking and going up and chatting to someone i don't know ... i need Christ's help with all that)
You see God has created you and has given you gifts and abilities for you to use to see the kingdom grow. All of who you are God has created you and knows everything about you... He knows how you tick and what makes you tick... and He has something in line for you that is totally up your alley... i don't think that it is all meant to be a hard slog (tho sometimes it can be)...

So i encourage you to find what comes naturally for you in ministry.... If we all did that there would be less people burning out... we'd all be working together... and everything would be coved... and we'd enjoy doing it (most of the time anyway), therefore we would be doing more out of love, than a sense of duty...
Sounds good hey...

Clutter

At the moment I have so much stuff in my room cluttering of up. There are Things just everywhere, and I have no idea where to put stuff... actually I have some idea how I want the room set up... and where I want to put things, however I don't really have the money to by the storage boxes thawers that I want which would solve a number of things... Then there is this table that i have sort of inherited from living at the house and it being left behind cause of has no real owner. It is a really nice table. solid wood. and I like it
the Problem lies in that it is reasonably big... and it takes quite a bit of room, and I have no real use for it.
I have been reading 2 Kings & 2 chronicles lately, and sitting in My room at the moment looking around and seeding all the clutter around and thing like the table which is really good but I have no use for it, got me thinking about how much we keep hold of in our lives, that clutter up our emotions, our spiritual life, and our lives in general. And sometimes some of this stuff that clutters up our life actually takes the place of Christ. we spend more the many sure it "fits" into our lives than we spend with Christ to build our relationship with Him.
We don't need to hold on to any of that stuff anymore cause Christ has heal us and has set us free, from all off it... we just have to receive the healing & the freedom that Christ offers us, which means we have to Let the stuff that clutter our lives go... So that our hands are empty to receive.. the fullness of what God has for us.
I want Christ to continually be showing me the things that clutter my life. and helping me to let them go so that I can fully reduce all that He wants to gone to me, I pray that this is your prayer as well.

Faithfulness of God

This week i have been reminded of God's faithfulness, and how even tho we may not always be 100% faithful to Him, He is still faithful to the upmost.
You see this week i have been struggling... been busier than usual, and tired (like really tired), and have struggled to focus, to focus on God and reading the bible, i sit down to do it and after reading a little i have felt like i was about to fall a sleep, (sometimes i even dropped my bible cause i was falling asleep).
Friday night i wasn't even wanting to go out on the street, i wanted to curl up on the couch and watch a movie... however i did end up going out... and was blessed by God by doing so ....
I went to the soup run as normal, chatted to a few people, then the last person that i was chatting to, started to ask me where he could go to get help in changing his life... and that lead to me sharing the Gospel with him...
It reminded me that the cool stuff that is happening here in Adelaide is because God wants it to happen. And He has given people visions of seeing this city saved and promised to do great stuff here... and He has given me the priveledge of being used by Him in this, even when i haven't spent as much time with Him as what i could or would of like to

Gen1 update

Well it has been an interesting month since arriving home. i have been easily welcomed back to the neighbourhood and have been able to catch up with all my friends that I know from the street. It's been great talking with some of these friends and finding out how they are going Most of than \ are doing good. A couple of guys are going to be getting the? own place soon, which is awesome. However there are a couple of people I knar who are back living on the Streets, to different reasons. which I think sux.
At times I wish I had stacks of money, so that I could afford a big house, so that when I meet people who need a place I could write them to stay at the house, with me & other christians. However I don't and I live in apace that is only 2. bedrooms. which mind you basat stopped are from inviting than to stay, whod I have done a couple of times wit females I have met, however majority of people I know from the streets are guys.
Anyway back to Gen 1. . . there is 2 people moving in by the and of the month, which is cool, and I amfully today forward to people living in this house besides Me.
I have another friend who is hoping to move into the city within a month from now. which is very cool. He just needs somewhere to stay.
Another cool thing this week was that I met up with a cell make who hasn't been for like months, and then she came be cell, and he is hoping to bring someone the next time he comes. there is also another 2 people who here said they will come this coming week, which would bring cell up to about 9 or 10 (if they are all there at the snare time), without my friends that are moving in. so Praise the Lord, that He is growing this place.
still building relationships and network any with other ministries in this quarter of the inner city. Also, getting a lot of ideas of stuff that I either was to do or want to see happening here. I just have to listen & decern which ones are what God wants to happen & when He wants them to happen and what of them are just one thinking that it'll be good.
I still have random people sleeping out the front and/or knocking on the front door, it Seems the word has been passed on that this place is safe & you can god you need help.

ecclesiates

Today i read Ecclesiates, and vs 1 and 2 of chapter 5 jumped out to me...

1KEEP YOUR foot [give your mind to what you are doing] when you go [as Jacob
to sacred Bethel] to the house of God. For to draw near to hear and obey is
better than to give the sacrifice of fools [carelessly, irreverently] too ignorant to know that they are doing evil.(A)

2Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on
earth; therefore let your words be few

These verses just reminded me of the importance of coming near and drawing near to God, to listen and hear what He wants to say to us. We need to draw near in order to hear. This day and age, when we have busy lives... it is really easy to come to God and do all the talking and not stopping to listen (answering machine prayers). Verse 2 reminds us that God is in Heaven and we are on earth, meaning God knows what is going on... He likes us talking to Him and telling Him about it, however we don't have to go on and on about it, cause He knows.

It takes some practise to just come near to God and listen and hear what He is saying... In fact it is something that i need to do more... God keeps reminding me to do it... and when i do listen and take that time to stop and come near it Him it is awesome and i love it.

totally off that topic....

the other day i was talking to one of my old cell mates from the soup run, and he told me of an interesting fact....

On the street the Salvos who go out to the soup run to serve, are called Starvos and have been called that by the streeties for a number of years... tho none of them say that to any of the salvos that are out there.... it is a shame that the Salvos are known as that, cause the guys are calling it that cause if they are "starving" they can go to the salvos and get a feed... In some ways and places around Adelaide the Salvation Army has been reduced to just a service... a place or people who they can go to for a feed or help... I pray that God is changing that.

By the way that cell mate came along to cell this week, the first time in like 4 months... it was good fun.. mind you i sort of bribed him with lolliepops, cause he didn't know why he wasn't coming any more.

anyway this blog is long enough and i should go and visit my mum, before i head to work.

created

i went to church today.... and during worship and praising God, i got thinking that we are created in the image of God... that God intended us to be in His image, each and every one of us. However because of sin, people don't live like they are created in the image of God, some even don't know that they have been created in the image of an Almight Awesome God. Sin stops us from knowing this. Which means people don't live out who God created them to be... However there is hope... Cause God has higher intentions for us, He had a plan that allows us to come back to Him, to know and live in God's image. That plan was Jesus coming and dying and rising again, and in the process taking all sin. So once we believe that Jesus did this, and recieve it as the gift that He has offered us, we can come into the presence of God and live in His image. Therefore, becoming all we were created to be.

The small details

Today i was reading 1 kings, where it tells of Solomon building the temple for God... and it gives the details of the all the temple, including the artwork... To be honest i sometimes get bored reading the small details of this... but at one point as i got a little bored, i realised that even if i get bored of the small details ... God doesn't and He is interested in them... not only the small detail that is in the bible but, also the small detail of our ministry, our relationships, and of our lives.
So i praise God that He is interested in every detail of me, big and small.

so long since i have blogged.

it has been so ages since i lasted blogged... and so much has happened in the 2 months that have been since than.
I have spent a month visiting some of my spiritual family in Vancouver.... my time there was awesome, i love all those guys heaps... It was awesome to just hangout with people and be a part of an awesome community. It was such a refreshing time, and reminder of how important community is. Time there just went so fast... i wish i could of stayed longer... but that is always the way, no matter how long i am away for.
There is also exciting news about Gen1.... 2 people are going to be moving in with me (they will have moved in by the end of this month)... and a young adult ministry is going to be happening next door to my place... both are fully awesome. And i feel a real excitment for what God is going to do in the city of Adelaide this next coming year, like i feel as if things are going to explode... and i can't wait... and i thank God that He isn't done, and has given me the strength to keep going... He knows exactly what sort of encouragement that would push me on.
I am now back in Adelaide, and have been back for 2 weeks and 2 days.... but it seems so much longer, cause i am back doing all that i was doing before i left... and people were still sleeping out the front of my place, when i got back. However it got really messy, so i did a clean up, and tied up the shade cloth a bit highier, and people haven't been back.
I have still been building relationships with people on the street, and apparently while i was away people were asking where i was ... which when i heard that, i was a bit suprised/shocked... cause i didn't really see that coming... So i praise God that He chooses to use me on the streets of Adelaide to make and impact... cause i am nothing special, and i am not the sort of person that people are drawn to, however it is happening a bit... and it is all Christ.
I have also had some friends stay at my place for 4 days, and i loved it, it was so great just to have other people in the house... the house became a place of activity, instead of a building where i live, even though i didn't hangout with them all the time, or even see them some days til late in the day... the house just had a different feel about it and i loved it... they left today, and i will probably miss them the next night i am home (i am at work tonight, so it won't be til tomorrow)

Anyway got to get to sleep.
blessings

Respect.

Yesterday i got home to find the house smelling of smoke.... after going out the front i found out why. I have had a swatter staying and people hanging out on the porch the last few days/weeks... and when i went out i found the blanklets in front of the porch in the rain, and they were fairly burnt, and the tarp was stilling hanging up but half of it was melted away. So this was why my house smelt of smoke.
Today i had a knock on my door, and it was one of my friends that hangs out the front, he said that yesterday morning he came by, and found the blankets smouldering so he swept them off the porch... My thanks goes out to him cause if he didn't come around, i don't know if there would of been any damage to the house.
This mate of mine asked if he could stay out there for a few nights, cause he can't stay at the shelter any more... We stood and chatted for a while, and it was great to see that he has grown in this past week that i have known him.

a great quote of justice from Heroes

I was reading the Heroes graphic novel on NBC.com
It was Hana, who could pick up emails, and the internet from the air around her, telling the story... She was chasing after the "company" who, kidnapp people with a special ability and "do something" to them (at this stage we don't know what). Anyway as she was following the email/internet trail that the "company" made, she came across some one who was taking advantage of a minor, filming and broadcasting her taking off her clothes. Hana broke in and rescued the girl. Hana then thought to her self

"It's a sick sad world, we try not to think about it,
but when reality is staring you in the face, You MUST ACT"

How awesome and true is that...

different ways of ministring to others

This week has been awesome, and challenging all in one.
I have had to step out of my comfort zone, and confront a couple of people about where they are at.... I have had to ask for help... cause i am on my own at Gen1 at the moment, i am trusting God to bring someone else along to help lead Gen1. Cause i know God's not done here. I have also started a mail out of praise point and prayer requests for Gen1, which has been good, having that coverage of prayer... if you are interested in recieving these and praying for me and Gen1, just leave a comment, and email, and i will get back to you.
Awesome cause Christ has been using me to minister to different people in different ways. Here's some ways how.
We had an awesome spirit lead cell last night. On friday I was priveledged to help put up a tent in the parklands for a couple of people to stay in, then one monday i was previleged to pray with one of them. I have had the opportunity to chat with people in front of my place for about 1/2 to an hour, and share Christ with them. Got to chat with someone with an heorin addiction, but who genuinely whats to get off it, and had the previlege to share Christ with him.
I have met a number of people who are wanting to change and are doing something about it. i have met others that are wanting things to change, however they don't know where to start, and don't have any friends that are a good influence, so i got to offer friendship t them, and said that if they need to chat, just come and knock on the door, if i am home i will chat and hang out with them.
I also got to listen to someone, which made them feel worth while, cause i just sat and listened and didn't offer the advice that friends or even professionals have offered to him.... He just wanted to be heard.
Looking back over what i have typed, i have realised that there are many different ways that Christ uses us to impact the people around us. It is really cool, cause it is not me... it is Christ, if it was just me, i probably wouldn't of done half the stuff that is typed here...
So i just want to praise God for the awesome week, and that He uses me, who hasn't got everything together, but is just willing to be used.

Jesus bring on more transformation in me and in Adelaide.
Blessings.

been thinking about the spiritual atmosphere of the area and how it fully hit me last night and today.... I think it hit me so hard, partly cause i had been in an atmosphere totally opposite, and partially spiritual attack.
you see, while away, i had so many ideas from Christ, and also a number of things that i was determined to do when i got back... Things that would make the enemy quake in his boots.... Christ gave me some plans and strategies to take ground, and i was fully pumped to get into it all when i got back.
So when the atmosphere hit, it was like i just ran in to a full on tackle by some huge guy... like a heavy tackle where you think that the person isn't going to get up from. I just wasn't expecting that hard a hit as soon as i got back...
Now... i realised, i know that it is there, and that it can affect me just as much as it affects other people in the neighbourhood, especially if i am not watching.... if i am watching i can side step or spin (in illustration of tackling), to either get away or not be hit as hard. And the way i do that is in spirit, worshipping and focusing on Christ... i will spin out of the tackle, and run with Christ and gain ground.

spiritual atmosphere..

A few blogs ago i touched on this, mentioning that i had "felt" God in Adelaide, and how when i was up in the Gold Coast it was different, i felt lighter and "felt" God's presence.
Well, now i am back in Adelaide, after being away for 2 weeks, on in the Gold Coast at the basketball carnival, and the other in Melbourne at 2 different conferences. The time away was awesome, the first week fun, the second week in community more, and awesome times of worship and times of being prayed for and built up.
Last night was the first night that i stayed home... and the atmosphere hit me, i felt heavy again, also overwhelmed, defeated and broken... i have never realised the spiritual atmosphere here, so intensely, it hasn't hit me in such one big blow before... which makes sense in this area... there is so many around this area that would feel like, from the shelters, sobering up unit, and towards independance and even just on the street.
I spent some time crying out to the Lord, and worshipping him, and i was lead to a song in the SASB, number 745... Christ really encouraged me through the words of this song. Here they are;

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid rock i stand
all other ground is sinking sand

When darkness seems to veil his face
I rest on his unchanging grace
in every high an stormy gale
my anchors holds within the veil

His oath, his covenant and blood
Support me in the 'wheming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

God of healing 2

I have been at a conference earlier this week, about the spirit and poverty... Jackie Pullinger was the teacher... She taught on the gifts of the holy spirit.... she not only talked about them, but gave us opportunity to practice them... we had worship each day... and had people giving words of knowledge and prophecy as a part of the worship. Then there was a prayer ministry time... where people would pray for the people who the word of knowledge was about.
Every day i got prayed for the first by a couple of friends, we just prayed for each other, the other three nights i responded to words of knowledge that people had... and then a group of people came an prayed with me, i didn't know any of them... and i still don't... however when they were praying for me, God brought stuff up that needed to be dealt with (both times)... so they prayed through stuff with me, which allowed Christ to do some inner healing which was awesome.
I know that some behaviors/thinking patterns may not change straight away, cause they have become habits, however, i don't need to act/think in those ways cause Christ has healed me, and with His help those habits of the way i talk/act that need to change will change with practise.

I just praise Christ cause He is a God that heals... not only in the physical but more so with inner healing and forgiveness...
My God is Awesome, i love Him heaps.

Our God heals

Well it is half way through the basketball carnival that i am on... and it has been good. My team has won 4 out of 6 games in two days.... today is a rest day.
I am a little sore from the games, in fact i think i have at least a bruised coccyx (tailbone), it hurts. One of my team mates has injured her ankle, which is a blow for our team.... she has torn a ligiment.... We have been praying before our games, and praying for healing for her ankle, and at the moment it seems to be healing faster than what it should be, so i praise the Lord, because it is awesome... With the healing continuing at this rate, my friend will be able to play the finals at the end of the week... which would be awesome... not just having back on the court, but that the Lord God almighty is willing to heal. It is a great reminder that He is the God that heals... that every thing, even every part of our body is under His authority.

first post from the Gold Coast

G'day, i am in the Gold Coast for a week, during most of my time here i will be playing basketball as a part of The Salvation Army interstate carnival. It is going to be interesting how i pull up afterwards cause i haven't played that much for a couple of years.
I arrived last night and got to catch up with a friend as soon as i arrive and see how she is going... it was awesome to see her passion for God's will for her life, and it was a privledge that she also shared how she was struggling at the moment. I also had a chance to share, the time was really encouraging for both of us, i think.
Last night (well technically this morning), as i went to bed i really felt God's presence around me... and when i woke up in the morning i still felt Him, in fact so far all day i have felt Him around me... It is awesome.
You see in Adelaide i haven't felt God for a while, like i knew that He was there, and held on to the promise that He would never leave me. Looking back now, it is like the spiritual atmosphere is really heavy and negative, and it is easy to be fully surround by it, which then makes it hard to feel like Christ is there, and leaves this alone sort of feeling. Last night Christ revealed that something has to be done about this spiritual atmosphere, I asked what, the response was praying through the house on a regular basis, and also start pray walking the area intensively, focusing on one block at a time... daily prayer walking around that block, and when things start changing in that block, prayer walk a bigger area. (move the tent pegs out),
I have been here one night and i didn't have much sleep cause i was up til 1.30am and then got up around 4.30am to the mate i was chatting with last night to the airport. However it was the most refreshing sleep i have had for quite a while... it was awesome... i love it here, at my friend's place, even if there is no one here with me for the week, it is still really refreshing.

Update...

G'day, i thought i would give an update on things here in Adelaide, with me and with Gen1....
I have been somewhat busy working and hanging out on the streets. This time next week i am going to be in the Gold Coast playing basketball, in the Salvation Army interstate comp, which i am looking forward to. Then when i come back i will be in Adelaide for 1/2 a day (in which i am planning on going out on the streets for and catching up with people), before heading to Melbourne for 2 conferences... The Spirit and Poverty.... and ... Surrender... which i am fully looking forward to, as i will be able to learn some stuff from the likes of Jackie Pullenger, Dave Andrews, and also network with other salvos that are doing incarnational ministries. I can't wait.
God has been showing me more of who i am, and some of the reasons of why i have given into certian temptation in the past, and how that had affected me over the years. Christ is also challenging me to be more disciplined... which i am still struggling to be.

With Gen1 things are still happening... God is still working... which is awesome to see and be a part of after being here for 2 and a half years. There is a few changes that may be happening in the coming months with Gen1... there is talk about us not being an out post from ach, cause of the lack of support from them. So with the official side of Gen1 i am not sure what is happening, whether or not we will officially be an outpost from somewhere. However i know that i am meant to be in Adelaide, and do this ministry... So Gen1 is going to continue, whether it is offically or not.
Some of the more exciting and praise points about Gen1 is that doors are opening around Adelaide... there is a day centre down the road that is mainly for people who are homeless, and i have been going along there regularly and the workers really want to partner with us, they have a passion to see the people there come to know Christ, and love the fact that i come in and have lunch there just to chat with some of the people. We have 7 people coming to cell regularly, and there still people coming and joining us... praise God... it is awesome... and it is all the work of Christ. In our cell, there are people who we have noticably notice a difference in there lives and can see them growing closer to either recieving Christ or closer in their relationship with Christ. I thank God for the opportuniy that He has given me in being a part of this cell, and also thank Him for using me to speak into people's life.
I praise God... cause there is still more He is going to do here, i can't fully imagine the whole of it... however i am excited for the future here in Christ.

interesting cell/night

We had an interesting night at cell last night. There was 3 of our regulars, plus the mother (who could only stayed for 30mins) of Z (one of our cell mates) and Z's son plus me. At the begining of cell things were just all over the place... Z's mum was sharing about her father, and said that we could pray for him. In her sharing, we got into a conversation about children's homes and people who grew up in them, and the report that government did on the old children's homes... You see her Father grew up in a Childrens home, and he has always been a fairly controlling person, and distant from love... like he was scared to love. We talked about this for a while realising that people who have been abandoned often end up being scared to love, or let people close, cause they don't want to be hurt like that again, so they distant themselves.
After that we went on with our normal cell group stuff, and it was really interesting, people just decided to leave at different times, like Z's mum left cause she had a meeting to go to, someone else left cause their knee was hurting to much, then just before we finished, another guy had to go cause he was meeting a friend... so i got to talk one on one with Z and share with her, and answer her questions. Than as we we were praying, a lady (G) out the front (who had been asleep there earlier) was crying out for help... so we went out and sat with her for a bit and got her some food and soft drink (soda). Z had to go.. so that left me out the front sitting with this lady til her friend (K) came. However he had to go do some stuff, and said that he'd be back in 30 mins, so i sat with her, chatted with her.... She was depressed and thinking of killing herself, so i sat out side talking with her for approx 2 hours, and her friend hadn't come back... She decided to leave, i couldn't stop her. she was more coherrent, at that point than when i first went out. However she still wasn't well. I pray that Christ will look after her, and protect her.

alcohol and people drunk.

I was at a party the other day, and by the end of the night there was a few people drunk, which is a very common thing in Aus. There was someone who drunk that much that she was feeling sick, and spent quite a while sitting on the toilet floor with her head on the toilet. I don't see the sense in drinking to that extent.
At the end of the night one of the other people that were drunk went into the toilets to see if the first person was alright, and was saying to the first person "your a legend" and fully praised the person for drinking that much. My heart broke..
Also there was a number of people that seemed to be entertained by watching the people that were fully drunk... Which made me sad and angry, cause i could see that a few of the people who were drunk, were trying to escape/cover up their hurts, it was like some people just found it funny, and i really don't find people being drunk funny,
I don't know what the emusement of watching people that are drunk making a fool of themselves. And i hate how the Australian culture so readily accepts drunk behaviour and encourages it...
I See many people each week as i am on the street that are controlled by the alcohol, they spend so much of their money on alcohol, that they don't have anywhere to stay, they either sleep on the street or end up at the sobering up unit. I have also met people on the street who's life has been distroyed by alcohol. And basically it SUX's, it don't know how else to put it.
The government has noticed that alcohol is a problem in Australia, especially binge drinking among teenagers and young adults, and are wanting to try and discourage it. Which at the moment it is a hard job.... because the mindset of majority of australians has to be changed... for so many of australians it is a social thing to go out for a "drink", and then they end up encouraging each other to drink more.
When i see people drunk, my heart breaks, cause i also know that a lot of them are trying to escape from their problems, stress, hurts and pains. which works for a short time, how ever when they sober up, the stuff is still there.... Jesus' heart breaks, He longs to take their pain and problems... and bring healing.... He is just waiting.

lack of housing

Today i came face to face again with the issue of Adelaide not having enough emergency housing. Once again there is someone squatting out the front of my place, his a great guy, he has some issues at the moment, and i have had the opportunity to chat with him a couple of times, which has been cool. He needs some pray, so please pray for him.
Tonight i also met a couple out at the soup run, who are using all their money to stay in a hotel, they have had no fixed address for about a year, and have been in Adelaide for a couple of months. In the past she has been attacked and had her throat cut, so they don't really want to stay on the street... understandably.
Adelaide has 2 emergency shelters for adults, one for male, the other for female. There is no emergency accomodation for couples, fathers with their kids, there also isn't any accommodation for people getting out of prision.
I Hate meeting people on the street who have no where to stay, and i wish i lived in a big house (with others) in which i could just invite people to stay with us til they can get somewhere to live. I hate having a house with 3 spare beds, when i know people sleeping out side... majority of them guys.
Just down the road from me the Salvationn Army own a multi storey building which til recently was am age care facility, which is now empty, cause the age care moved... At the moment the building is not allowed to be used for anything, as it is not up to fire code, However the leaders of the Salvo in South Aus haven't even decided what to do with the place, there are so many ideas being tossed around, and nothing is being done, so at the moment nothing is being done about it getting up to fire codes standards. They aren't even sure if they want to spend the money to get it up to standard.
To me the decision is easy... the need is there for more accomodation... not just emergency, but also affordable... let's help meet it.....

quote

God doesn't want us to succeed, He only requires that you try.
Mother Teresa

love and our need for it...

Everyone needs to feel loved... So if we don't feel loved we start looking for it, and often in the wrong places and/or we fall into traps that have been set to pull us down. I know i have in the past, and still fall into them sometimes, but Thanks to God i don't fall as deep, He reveals the trap.
My love language is quality time* and i have falling into traps and have done some crap stuff and even put up with some crap in the past, God has been showing me that i fell into the crap because i felt unloved and i was looking for that love... However He is also showing me more and more, that when i feel unloved, to come to Him first, and spend time with Him. You see God knows the love language of each one of us, and He will speak to us through our love language. And it is so awesome when God speaks to you in your own love language...

If you don't know what your love language is, i would encourage you to find out what it is, and seek God, and allow Him to love you in that way.


*there are different ways (or languages) in which people recieve and give love. Gary Chapman put these in to 5 "languages".... being physical touch, quality time, gifts, words of affirmation and service. http://www.fivelovelanguages.com

God of all...

In my time with God today i was lead to song 30 of the salvation army songbook. It is a great reminder that God is God of all, not just spiritual and nature stuff, but even what us humans make.... He is above everything

God of concrete, God of steel,
God of piston and of wheel
God of pylon, God of Steam
God of girder and of beam
God of atom, God of mine
All the world of power is thine

Lord of cable, Lord of rail
Lord of motorway and mail
Lord of rocket, Lord of flight
Lord of soaring satellite
Lord of lightning's livid line
All the world of speed is thine

Lord of science, Lord of art
God of map and graph and chart
Lord of physics and research
Word of Bible, faith of Church
lord of sequence and design
All the world of truth is thine

God whose glory fills the earth
Gave the universe its birth
Loosed the Christ with Easter's might
Saves the world from evil's blight
Claims mankind by grace divine
All the world of love is thine.

(SASB 30, Richard Granville Jones)

Discipline.

Last night i went out to the soup run, and it was a great night, there was a few people that i have gotten to know, who i was able to catch up with which was great. Towards the end of the soup run things started to get a little interesting. A lady there who was fully drunk, started to yell at the soup run volunteers, she was yelling abuse and fully going off about the church... i have met this lady before and have had good chats with her, and this was the first time that i have seen her like this. Any way, i was going around chatting with people while praying for peace for her, and that her tongue would be bound, as i felt that that there was a little more going on than just her being drunk.
On my way home i was reflecting on what had happened, and Jesus reminded me of the scripture, in Mark 9:28 -29 and matt 17:21, where Jesus had just come down the mountian to his disciples and there was a man there, who's son had a evil spirit and the disciples tried to cast the spirit out, and then Jesus done it.... the disciples then ask why couldn't they cast the spirit out, and Jesus' reply was that "this kind can only come out in prayer and fasting ".
This was such a reminder that our lives have to be grounded in Christ, and in prayer with Him... Discipline has a great part of this, we need to be disciplined to spend time with Christ, not that it is a chore, but the more time we spend with Him, the better our relationship with Him is and then we will want to spend more and more time with Him.
It also reminded me that there is a place for fasting in this world, for fasting is meant to bring a person's focus onto Christ, and me aware of Him and spend time with Christ throughout the day.
I know in my own life, there is a number of different areas in which i can be more disciplined, and i want to be... I want to live a fully sold out life for Christ, and in the process i need to be disciplined, so that my Spirit with Christ is in control of my life, not my "flesh". Fasting is one area where i would like to be come more disciplined in. So Lord help me in this please...

Worship in the Mall

While I was out Friday night, I went wandering down the Mall, and there was a group doing a sort of open air meeting. Singing and preaching were a part of it all. I stopped and worshipped for a while. It was great, that these guys were willing to stand in the mall and worship, it was cool that they preached the Word. Even though not many people were paying attention it was great, to see that there are some parts of the Church getting out there, trying to spread the Word. At other times there have been preaching in the Mall, however these guys were different. These guys were from a church in the inner suburbs, the people that I have seen before are from a number of different churches, but come together for this. The group that I have seen before, is a group known as the Way of the Master, this group preaches, but mainly in a legalistic type of way… “you are a sinner and you are going to hell”. Where as the group that I saw tonight were more filled with joy, and was sharing about God’s love, that the way to God is through Christ alone, that Christ is the answer…
You can probably see in the way that I have written which I prefer, I know that there is a place for both, that some people will respond better to one way more than another. But I can’t help thinking that it is better sharing love and life, than convicting people of their sins…. Isn’t that suppose to be the Holy Spirit’s job…

On my way home Friday Night, I was almost punched a couple of times by someone… and also this person also threatened to kill me, if she had a knife or a glass bottle, I really think that she would of tried… I praise God, for his protection, cause she couldn’t hit me…
Even though I would have had another great story…. ;-p Don't get me wrong, i do get scared at these times. (it is the second time in 2 and a half years, that this has happened, the other time i was actually hit).. but at the same time i can see the hurt in that person... And i know i can fight. i can hold my ground (just ask some people that know me), however in times like this i have felt incapable of fighting, not that i wanted to fight. Cause i know that me fighting back, even to defend myself, it doesn't grow the kingdom...
I also know that it wasn't just this person wanting to get at me... the enemy wanted to scare me, cause i am getting out on the street more, and praying around the streets more. And the enemy thinks he can scare me so that i won't want to go out on the streets and be an influence for God on the streets of Adelaide. I declare here and now that it won't work, cause Christ wants me out on the streets, and He is my strength, my sheild and my fortress, and i praise Him for that.

Lux

A National Network....

Tonight I went down to the soup run as usual, and caught up with a few of the guys I know… I also met someone else there… and it is an indication of how small Australia is in some ways, at least how easy it is for people to get around. The person that I met, D, hasn’t been in Adelaide very long, before that she was in Sydney, and was of the Oasis program, or at least had regular contact with them.
A while back I was thinking that we need to make better contact with 614 Melbourne, cause we see a lot of people that go between here and Melbourne, and it would be good to refer people that we know heading across there, to somewhere, where they will continue to have contact with people who want to see them saved and growing. With thinking about that, I also thought it would be great having some thing similar in the Alice (Alice Springs) and Darwin, cause I also see a lot of people travel between here and there.
Meeting D, made me think that we should have a nation wide network, so that where ever people that we have been working with are moving on somewhere else, there is someone that we can refer them to, who will continue building them up.
In theory we already have this network, being the Salvation Army, we have corps all across the World, that alone Australia, so we should be able to link people in different corps when they move. However it doesn’t happen… Why…

Well yesterday in my blog, I said that I had 2 people squatting out the front of my place… I told them that they are welcome to stay there, just keep the front area tidy.
Today when I went out the front, they had tidied up that area and had their stuff packed to the side.
Later on one of them came to my door, and gave me an iron and also $20, which I tried to refuse, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. They wanted to bless me out of the little that they had, cause they were staying out the front…
Seriously, I haven’t done much… but they think so….
May God fully bless them and keep them warm as they sleep out there…
It seems that this house, when Gen1 meets is becoming a safe haven, whether it is inside the walls or just out the front.
There is so many more people that I know that are sleep rough in Adelaide, and it sucks, that I can’t help them, cause most of them are guys.
I also know a number of guys that aren’t sleeping rough, but are in boarding houses/hostels, that are looking for work, however they are not able to get much, or people won’t give them a chance, cause they have been in prison, some even get rejected cause they are on the street…. We need Salvo people (even just Christians) to rise up that either already own companies or to start a business to give these guys a second chance… If we as Christians don’t who will… And it would be an awesome chance to mentor these people when they are released from jail.
So if you know a Christian who owns their own business, challenge them to that idea… if they are interested and are in Adelaide, I can find people that will work…
If you challenged by God to start your own business, seriously think about it… I will find you workers…

Lux

Revolution camp and more

Well this week I have been on Camp…. Revolution youth councils Camp (South Australia Division). It was a great time the majority of the time. A number of things went wrong that the leaders had to deal with, RC and SB with the assistance of the other leaders did an awesome job. We saw God’s provision when these problems were fixed, including 2 industrial heaters for free, and new blankets $10ea.
The camp was really good. There was a number of youth that gave up, on again off again relationship with God, came to know Jesus for the first time, showed interest in becoming junior/senior soldiers and officers, and on Wednesday night there were a number delivered and healed by Christ. I praise God for the work that He has done throughout the whole camp... God is Good
Thursday was suppose to be the 2nd last of camp, however it became the last day when camp had to be cancelled with a 5th of the camp becoming unwell with a gastro bug... over 21 people had the bug before they left the camp, and I have heard of a few more getting sick since then… The team of “healthy leaders” pulled together and worked well together in this crisis… and things ran fairly smoothly considering the circumstances. The campers had been quarantined into three different groups… the guest speakers split up and took a group each then went from one group to the next preaching up a storm, as a result a few more were saved. Hallelujah.
I have had someone from the street staying with me since last Friday, she was at the house by herself during the week, so when I got home I caught up with her.
Also I found out today, I have a couple of new squatters living out the front of my place, a couple of indigenous people… One I have know for 2 years.
So things here are interesting…. Please continue to pray for Gen1.
Blessings

Lux

great book....

Also i have finished reading a great book about God's movement through the aboriginal people of Australia from the late 70's to the mid 80's mainly.... then a little from the 90's to early 2000's. it was awesome to read the stories of how God touched them and started a revial through north and central australia, starting with one tribe and then flowing out to other tribes who used to be enemies.... Telling of stories of nearly whole towns coming to Christ, and the crime/sickness/injuries in the towns dropping dracistically, so much so the police station some of the towns were thinking of closing their doors. This guys lived out the Great commission of going and preaching the word of God, and Mark 16:17 and 18 was real for them.

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my
name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they
will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will
not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will
get well

.... It was like reading Acts from the bible, but it was here in Australia, in the Outback.
I don't have the book with me, and i can't remember the name of it. it is something like "revial in the outback", i'll check and blog the name properly when i get a chance.

update....

Well, this week has been a good week... we had another new person at cell which was awesome... there was four there on Tuesday. However we were also missing a few people, if everyone came we would have had about 9 people there, which is very cool.
One of the regulars from cell hasn't been there the last couple of weeks, so i went out looking for him... i found him, he is doing ok, just busy. So i am praying that he will come this Tuesday.
On Friday i met a lady a little older then my self and didn't have anywhere to stay, and looked scared and out of place on the street. So i invited her to stay at my place. Which has been interesting living with a person i don't know for a weekend. She has been ok so far.
Tomorrow i head to Camp... I am excited about it. Aaron W and Stephen C are two of the guest speakers, also one of the guys that i met on the street last week is coming along, which i think is awesome, and it is really awesome that this guy is really excited about going to camp, even tho the only person he knows that will be there is me... I am excited about what God is going to do at this camp... i can't wait for the nights of not much sleep followed by a day of worshipping God, teaching and fun and it all to repeat for 4 days.... I will blog after camp as well.
But for now i should go, and get a good nights sleep before the nights of not much sleep start.

Blessings
Lux

great weekend, so far.

Well, i still have a squatter (G)out the front, he is really nice. G has completely cleaned up the front area, cut back the vines so that they are not just fully over grown and swept, one of G's friends helped him and they are going to fix the fence as well. G has also offered to fix the puncher in my bike tire. I had a great chat with him today, he told me that he has had in interview for a 3 month lease in one of the Westcare houses and is just waiting to hear.... so pray that he gets it, cause he doesn't want to stay on the street.
Last night i went to the soup run, yet again, and got to catch up with a couple of the guys that i know, and then the first person after that i went to talk with, we got talking about what i do, and about Gen1, and he said that he was interested in coming... so i gave him a card, and invited him, he is planning on coming.
Today after i had a chat with G, i went down to ACH (Adelaide Congress Hall) to try and catch up with some other street friends. ACH put on a lunch for street guys and people not to well off, once every 3 or 4 months, and today was that day. So i got there early and sat around chatting with some of the guys, before the doors were opened... Once they were opened and everyone had sat down, i went around to the guys that i knew chating up with them and seeing how they were going... I sat down with one of the guys and had a meal... coudos to the cooks, it was awesome.... chicken, baked potatoes and punkin, with boiled peas, corn and carrot. Apple pie with custard and icecream for dessert. We were served by people from the Corps, which included some of the youth, and then they came and joined a table to eat and chat with people.
It was a great time of meeting people and getting to know people and seeing these guys fully enjoy the community.
Walking down the street (well actually in Target), i saw another friend... this one i didn't expect to see wandering the shops of adelaide, as the last time i heard about her, she was in Canada as an officer, so i got to catch up with her as well, she's on furlough and visiting relatives.
Now i am off home (i am sitting in the mall), after spending the day wandering the city.

Squatter

For over a week I have had a guy squatting out the front of my place… I had never met or even seen him til today.
It has been raining today, and it was pouring down this morning, praise the Lord, we needed the rain, and it was awesome waking up to the sound of rain on the tin roof. Since it was raining so much, the squatter hadn’t left as early as he usually does, and I had a day off, and was going out the front to check the mail, and I got to met him, and talk to him for a bit, it was awesome.
This guy is a friend with one of the guys that came along to our cell 2 years ago before he went to Qld to rebuild his relationships with his family. They were in Towards Independence (a rehab type program) together. The Squatter knew that his friend used to come here for a meal and cell, and thought it was a safe place to squat.

It is really cool, that the connections and impact that we made 2 years ago is evident today. A lot of the time we don’t see the impact and the results of us living here, and talking to people.
Throughout the last couple of years we have seen our cell group grow, and then go back to 3 a few times, when this happens, it becomes discouraging, and it is easy to wonder whether we are meant to still be here.
However, God is still working here, and working through us, even though we don’t always see the work, this squatter is a reminder of that.
Also at the moment it is growing again, we had 5 at cell last night. Which was awesome, Praise the Lord.

Good Friday

Last night i joined in on a prayer vigil in the middle of Victoria Square. There was a small group of people that came and went at different times.... the max amount of people that were there at one time was approx 20. It was a great time of praying and worshipping together, although it got a little cold.... (it wasn't really that cold, it was like 14C when it finished at midnight, but it feels cold when a week ago it was 30C at that time of night, and i had shorts on...) But anyway... it was great just to pray with other people who are passionate about seeing this city saved.
While we were there, a guy walked up carrying a cross (it has a wheel on the bottom, so he isn't carrying the whole weight), he walked there from Noarlunga (20-30 min drive away to the south), he started off in the morning. He is continuing his walk now, and heading up to Elizabeth (30min drive north). He is prayer walking as he goes.... praying that God's power will fall on this city, that people will experience the Power of Christ. That we will see healings, deliverance, and see people coming to Christ in the thousands. He is also sharing the gospel with the people who stop to speak with him.... It's awesome. As he was walking the cross broke, the wheel came off, he got picked up and he went home, he was going to give up.... however he went back, fixed the wheel and continued on....
He used this as an analogy. in that we all have a God given calling (our cross) and as we walk out in it, things don't go well or don't turn out as we expected and our cross breaks... we can then choose to stop and give up, or to press on with Christ in what He has called us to do...
When we press on we will see God's grace and mercy in our lives and we see His blessings and support.

the impact of being let down

Tonight i have been thinking about the impact people have on others when they let other people down. If a person has been consistantly let down over the years, they tend to put up a safety zone around them, allowing people in to a certain point however not fully trusting them, so that they won't get hurt when they are let down. These people may not show how much they have been hurt by someone letting them down that day, but they are hurt... and if that person has a low self esteem, it feeds into to the negetive view point which they have of themselves.
I have seen the effects of being let down on both sides... through out my life i have been let down numberous times, now most of the time i can understand why and see the real reason. However, that doesn't stop the enemy poking around and linking the current issue with the hurts from the past in this area... It sucks.... I hate it..... I hate him.... But Jesus is the mighty comforter, and He shows us the truth... He tells us who we are if we stop and listen...
Sometimes we need to tell others what Christ thinks of them, especially if we know people who are struggling in their faith, and also with low self esteem, cause they may not be listening to God telling them who they are.

The heat wave is over PTL

Well it is official, Adelaide's heat wave is now over, after 15 days over 35C, Today it was only 28, and that was in the morning.... the welcomed cool change came through about midday, by 4pm it was like 24C and now it is 19C, it is awesome, i am enjoying it heaps. My life may get back to normal now (well normal for me, anyway)
On a sadder note, we had cell tonight and there was only me and Fleur.... i missed the other 2 and was sad that the guys that i invited last week didn't turn up again.... I'm not sure why... I'll find out tho, and continue to build relationships with them.
However it was fun to just hang out with Fleur one on one for a while, it's something that we haven't done for a while, and i have missed catching up with her.
Catching up with people can be hard, with others having a different timetable to you, and if you are not carefull you can go for a long time with out talking and catching up with people. Which can bring a saddness in your heart when you realised that you haven't caught up with people that you used to be close with. I know that is how i feel, and if there is anyone who i haven't caught up with for a while, I'm sorry for my slackness... if you want to catch up contact me and we'll see what we can do.
However when you catch up with those people that you haven't seen for ages, to me it is awesome and brings stacks of joy. This would be how the Lord feels when we make time to catch up with Him and He would feel sad when we don't make time for Him. Are you making time to catch up with the Lord in your daily life.
We are made for relationships, both relationships with others and relationship with God. And relationships take effort to build and keep in contact. We impact lives of the people that we have a relationship with. We leave footprints and memories. Some good, some not so good, but we can choose what sort of impact/mark we can leave in someones life.
So i want to encourage you today, to build into the relationships that you have with the people around you, make an impact in their lives for Christ and also with your relationship with Christ. Leave an impact that is good.....

lux

Last night

Last night at the soup run, i meet a guy who used to be in jail, he has been out for a while, however he is finding it very difficult to get a job... No one wants to hire an ex-con, no matter what he done. He wants to work and is willing to work, he may have a job next week, but he will have to travel to and from murray bridge (at least 100km from adelaide). He used to be qualified as a Security Guard (which he can't do now), and he has a qualification as a mechanic, however it was before cars had computerised systems, so it doesn't really count. This guy wants to get his life together, however he can't because of this, it sucks... i told him that i'll ask around the salvos here to see if we can help him out... surely this part of what the salvos are meant to be doing. And serisiously if a salvo gave him a job, and fully got a long side him, imgine the mentorship sort of relationship they could build, and see him come to Christ in a huge way..

I also met this lady, she to had been to prison in the past, and has been on drugs, she has 3 kids, the 2 older ones are teenagers. She has had the youngest one taken off her, the older 2 were hanging around the wrong people in Adelaide and were getting in to trouble, so she sent them up to the riverland, to stay with her uncle and she is going to move up there, she has already ot a house there. She is also fighting to regain her youngest child. She has to go to AA meetings. apparently there is only a couple up that way and the closest one is 30mins away, and she has no trouble... So i said that i will get in contact with the salvos up there, and see, if there is anyway that they can help, whether someone picks her up or a a few people taking it in turns.. Imagine the impact that sort of contact with someone could make, and allowing God to work through you.

Sometime the biggest impact that we can have on someone for Christ is to help them practically with their needs, cause people nearly always ask, why, why are you doing this for me... and it leaves the door wide open to share the gospel with them.

a great time at Westcare

Well it is day 10 of our heat wave here in Adelaide. I am sitting outside in 37C heat... I'm in the shade which is good..

Anyway, today i went to Westcare (a day centre, for homeless and loney people) at lunch time to chat with some people while they had lunch. The first person i saw was my friend, K, who i invited to cell, but they didn't turn up... K, forgot my address, so now he has my address and phone number, so we should see him next Tuesday. I also had a good chat with him.
Then i saw another friend P, i chatted with him for a while. P told me that he was still a bit drunk from last night, he was still at a pub at 6am this morning. P than left to go get some much needed sleep, saying that he'll see me on Friday.
Next i met C, He is an older guy that lives in the city, C told me that he stopped drinking about a year ago. Which is awesome.
I also met B, a young guy, who i found out was a Christian, and he has been a Christian for 4 years... He was saved through Teen Challenge and volunteered with them for a while, now he only sometimes goes to church. I invited P to cell, and he said he'll probably come along.
I also talked to yogie, one of the volunteers on the way out, and had a great chat with him.
So all up i had a lot of fun while at Westcare today, Christ was there leading me and the conversations.
God is good. I just pray that Christ will continue to speak into these guys lives and draw them closer to Himself.

Sometimes i think it would be great to have a strong Christian guy here at Gen1, to get along these guys and mentor them... However God can and does use us to speak to them and draw them closer to him. Praise the Lord.

Lux

longest heat wave

ok it is official, Adelaide is in it's longest heat wave EVER....


Heat wave is anything above 35C, so it is hot... (for those that use Fahenheit instead, it is 95F)



today marks day 9....



On another point... one of the guys that i invited to cell last week came, tonight. PTL. I'm not sure what happened with the other guy, i'll follow him up, and find out next time that i see him.



Also last night after i blogged... as i walked home, i saw a young lady, says that she was in her 20's looked a lot younger, anyway she was sitting on the footpath in front of the salvo store down the road from my place. So i stoppedn and chatted with her, she was waiting to be breathalised, she had been drinking, and was meant to be staying at one of the shelters, but since the workers could smell alcohol on her she had to go to the sobering up unit, and could go back to the shelter til she blew 0.00. So i got to sit and chat with her, and then i walked with her to the shelter. I pray i get another chance to talk to her.



And i had a suprise phone call today while i was at work.... it was anexpected, but it was really cool to talk to this person, so if you read this blog, i am glad you rang... it was a great suprise



Anyway, I pray that the Lord will bless each one of you today, and that your day is full of suprises from God. And that you will grow closer to Him today and everyday.

Lux

Sorry that last post is a fairly long one....

Soup run

Tonight i went out to the soup run as usual.
As i arrived a cop car was arriving, this means that there has already been a bit of trouble there. It had quietened down before they got there. However not long afterward a bit of a fight broke out again.... This is the first time that i have seen this much trouble for ages (if ever).
There were a number of new faces there, and a large group of aboriginals... the fight was among the aboriginals, from what i can gather it seemed if one group didn't approve of a guy that one of the girls were hanging out with, she told them to leave him along, and they then turned on her.
I have been reading a bit about the aboriginal culture here. They are known as not being aggressive (unless drunk), but in my reading this isn't true. There traditional culture is simular to Old Testimony culture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, so if someone offends them they fight. If a woman cheats on her man, she can be bashed. Also a man could have many wives.
This volience comes out more when they are drunk, just like whites.
Now don't get me wrong i know a lot of great Aboriginal people, i used to climb the back fence as a kid when mum wasn't home, to go and hangout with an aboriginal family. (The father taught me the basics of how to box). So i have a soft spot for theses people, and so does God.
The book i am reading tells of a spiritual revial that happened in the north of Aus, within the Aboriginal people. The stories of what God did are amazing, people talking in tounges and people understanding, many healings, deliverance, it's awesome to read, many were being saved and experiencing Christ, both aboriginals and whites... There are also stories of how God was working in the aboriginal people before white man came, how they saw a man shining in light who raised a dead man, (can't remember the other stories, i might blog some later, when i have the book with me). God has a plan for these people, there have even been prophecies of world wide revial starting with them.
After reading this sort of stuff, it isn't suprising that the aboriginals are some of the most bound and afflicted by the enemy people in Australian, and so many whites think that they are beyond help, or they are just trouble.
So please pray for the aboriginals here, pray that they will once again experience God's love and power, (some for the first time others for a second or third time)
If these people came to Christ and get freedom from addictions, and fully change in Christ, the rest of Australia would notice and will be questioning what has made them change, and will not be able to deny the power and love of Christ. Cause the only reports people hear of Aboriginal people are bad, beside the odd one or two of sporting achievements.

On another note, i was talking with one of my friends from the soup run, and it ended up saying with him saying that he wanted to start going to church, so i got to invite someone esle to cell, so i pray that he remembers and comes.
And on the way home i got to talk to another guy briefly about Christ. He was fairly drunk, however God can still speak to him and impact him.
So i pray that Christ will do His work. and i praise him for using me for some of it.

Heat wave.

Well it has been another hot day. We have been in a heat wave for 8 days now, which equals the record for adelaide. The last time we had a heat wave this long was in the 1930's (can't remember the exact year). If tomorrow ends up being over 35C, it will be the longest heat wave ever in Adelaide. Not only that it has be 46 days without significant rain here.
Now, you get used to it not raining, but 46 days without rain, is insane (i think anyway), and it also makes me miss rain, and get excited when there is a little rain (like less than 5 mins of rain).
I want rain... it makes me think about the times where i haven't spent much time with others, i longed time to spend with other people, and also when i haven't spent much time with God, i have longed to spend time with Him, and feel surrounded by His presence.
Now with it not raining i can't do anything but pray for rain...
However if i haven't spent time with people or others, i can do a lot more. I can make the time to see and hang out with people and also with God. Sometimes the people i want to hang out with to see how they are are busy, so we can't catch up straight away. That is not so with Christ, Christ longs for me to hang out with Him more then i long to hang out with Him.
Just like i sometimes wait til, friends are free to hang out, He just waits til i am ready to come and hang with Him. And He gives me reminders that He is there and still loves me, and is waiting for me to have time with Him.
This is the same for each of you.

The last blog in note form.

I realised the last blog was very long so here it is in note form.

- Found 2 people sleeping out the front of my place, left water and food for them before I left for work
- Found that they left there sleeping gear folded in a corner out the front, think they will be back tonight.
- Searched for a hotspot for internet, took ages. Then couldn’t get on hotmail and facebook took to long to load.
- Went to soup run, had tea, talked to a few people, 1 invited to cell, might come with a friend.
- Library closed, so wandered mall.
- Saw a street preacher and team in the mall, team members were debating more than talking… Unfortunately some of the convo’s seemed like they were doing more damage then good.
- Went to Macca’s to get a drink, felt lead to buy a meal and that I would find someone to give it to.Found that someone, he walked with me down the street talking. His first question was “are you a Christian”, then apologised about asking it before I answered.

interesting day

Sorry it is a long blog.
Well a lot of today has been interesting. It started off by me finding 2 people sleeping on the porch out the front of my place… I saw them when I was about to close the windows so that the hot air wouldn’t get in, so that hopefully my place stays cooler for a bit longer (since there is a whole week of high temp, like nothing under 34C). So since it was going to be a hot day, I filled up a water bottle for them, and put it outside near their stuff, with some food… Then left for work.
When I got home, I went out the front to check the mail, and discovered that the 2 people who were sleeping on my porch, left their sleeping gear, nicely folded up in one corner… So I think they may be back tonight to sleep again…
I went for a walk to get on the internet, I thought not having internet at home would cause a little hassle, meaning that I just had to walk down the road to where there was a hotspot… I didn’t know how much a hassle it could be… it took me a while to find a hotspot (I went to a different place, cause the places where I have gone before where in busy parts of town for a Friday afternoon). Then once I found a hotspot, it would let me on Hotmail, and Facebook was taking ages to load (I ended up running out of time to get on Facebook, battery went flat).
It was time for the soup run, so I went there and had tea and talked to a few people, invited one guy to cell, and he said that he’d come, and asked if he could bring a friend. It was a lot of fun, there tonight and it was very relaxed…. (I think Friday’s are a better time to go then Mondays).
I thought I would go to the library to get on line, however when I got there I found out that they close earlier then what I remembered. So I wandered around the Mall… And I saw a street preacher… I stopped to observe what was happening and people’s reactions… As I watched, there were people that were with the street preach talking with some people, however some of the chats were more like debates, sometimes not even listening to each other. And there was one lady, who had a lot of hurts. As I was watching, I started to pray, I felt like some of these convos, were doing more damage than good… they were approaching people in the same way, the same arguments, and I could see that sometimes using one approach for everyone doesn’t work. And that each person is different and has different needs, and we should share the gospel in a way that it would meet their needs, like what is the Good News for them. Which I learnt from MC. Someone came up to talk to me, and it felt like at times they weren’t really listening to me.
Later on I bought a cheeseburger meal, not cause I was hungry, but cause I was thirsty, as I walked in I felt like I should buy a meal and that I would find someone to give the burger and fries to. Less than a minute walk down the street, I saw a guy sitting on a step, who was a bit out of it. So I gave it to him, and he walked down the street with me a bit and chatted… sometimes I think that sort of thing leaves more of an impact in someone’s life than just debating with them.
So I praise God for a great day, (besides it being hot) and also for a great night. God is Awesome.

Me..... an unusual site

Lately i must have been an unusaul site for a lot of people....
You see, i have had the internet and home phone cut off, So to use the internet i have been sitting on the side of the road somewhere, where i can pick up free internet... and some of these places are the most random places. Whether being outside a cafe that has closed, or outside a parking lot in Chinatown (our extremely small Chinatown), to just randomly on morphett street (my street) half a block from whitmore Sq (which is where i am at the moment). i have been out here for a little while and had a few people walk pass.
One of them actually made a comment about me sitting here, saying that it was unusual and that i should be careful, cause it is an unsafe area.... what that person doesn't know is that i know the area, and i know a lot of people in the area, some of these people i know are the ones that make people think this is an unsafe neighbourhood... And i go for a walk around here whenever i feel like it.... the lastest being at 2am. (Mind you, i wouldn't let another female walk around here by herself).
I think it is going to be good doing this... it means that when ever i want to get on the internet i have to go outside somewhere, and i may meet more people while sitting on the street. I am sure people will wonder why.... and i can tell them, and maybe even tell them about Christ.
I pray for those opportunies.... and for Souls....

Lux

cell tonight

Today was the last cell that our new christian Jewish friend would be at... He is going to a different city. During cell he thanked us for sharing with him, and said that last year when he first met me he didn't know what to think of me and the rest of us, that we were weird. He also thanked me for sharing the gospel with him "that first time" (which was last year after cell).
It shows that we never know what sort of impact we have had on people for Christ, but Christ uses us if we are willing.

Also His departing words to me were, that he could see Christ in me, that he could see that i longed to follow Christ. This guy then said something like this, "go out there and show them what your made of, you know the scriptures, preach the gospel, kick them up the bum, and bring them to Christ, show them what your made of, I know Christ will be with you in all you do".
Wow... That was so straight forward... It is also one thing that i stuggle big time with, going out and sharing the gospel.... i know it is something that we are all called to do, for some reason i struggle when it comes to actually speaking. I can go out on the streets and just have a general conversation with people (if they want to talk, if they are a quiet person i struggle as well, cause i don't know what to talk about), and i find it easy to just generally hang out with people, and show people God's love and stuff is easy for me.... Me telling people that God loves them and is able to meet their needs.... i struggle with, yes i do know the gospel, however a lot of people i speak to have "heard it all before", and switch off... I need Christ to give me the words that would pierce the heart of someone that i meet. I need to be in a close relationship with Christ so that i hear those words and know that they are from Him.
Basically I need Christ to be able to do it.... without Him i am nothing, i have no power, no influence.

Christ i need you so much, each and every day.

Op 58

On Friday night, Salvo youth from a few different corps in South Australia, came together for Op 58. I have blogged about Op 58 before, but for those who don’t know. The youth come together and worship, and the meeting is justice focused. They are also challenged to give up something for a term, and put the money that they would normally spend on that thing in their pigs (blue piggy banks) and then bring the money back to the next Op 58. So far the youth have raised enough money for a dormitory to be built (and it is now being built). However it doesn’t stop there, they are raising more money, which will go towards building a kitchen, dining hall and other buildings for this childrens home… This children’s home is on the board of Cambodia, where a lot of kids cross the board to look for work and end up in slave labour places, (like cocoa and coffee farms, sweat shops) or as sex slaves. A lot of the kids who are and will be brought in to the home are these kids… they have already rescued some kids from prostitution.
On Friday, the youth was challenged to do more, to act out for Justice… to sit down and make a plan of action and follow through on it, and be willing to become the unpopular person, to be the person who makes things uncomfortable… and example was give, if asked if you wanted to go for coffee, to reply with “if it is fair-trade, cause if it isn’t kids were used to harvest the coffee and not paid” or with chocolate the same sort of thing, bring reality to the situation on how chocolate or coffee was made.
I was asked to be a witness to the covenment of one of my cell mates (it was his first time at Op 58)… and it was a modern day example of when a widow gave one coin and Jesus said that she had given more than the Pharisees, cause they only gave a small part of what they had, where as the widow gave more in percentage of what she had.
It was awesome to witness….
I pray that everyone will be faithful to their covenment with God that they made on Friday.

The Kingdom (the movie)

I just watched a movie called "the kingdom",
My spirit was grieved by it....
The film is a good example why Volience is not an answer to volience, but only causes more volience, no matter what the cause.
At the end of the film it makes this clear, they reveal the words that the FBI team leader said to one of his team to get her to stop crying during a briefing in which it was announced that one of their colleoges and friends died.
These same words were spoken by an old Arabic man to his grandson....
And what were these words....

We will kill them all.

If that is everyone's response to volience, we are no better than each other, and the volience will continue. How many people do you know that repay volience for volience. That was the old covernment... and it doesn't work.
Jesus gave us a better way to over come volience.... and that is love and forgiveness. He tells us to bless those that perscute us, those that cause us harm... and also to forgive, love and pray for them. Jesus not only told us to do this, He also lived it... as He died on the cross, He prayed that God would forgive the people crucifying Him.
I have also seenm, in my own life, how powerful love, compassion, and forgiveness is, and that it is more powerful than volience, that love, compassion and forgiveness over come volience...

More good news

g'day
I have some more good news about my friend who i told you last week came to know Christ.
He has been doing well this week, studying the Word. On Sunday, he is getting baptised at his friends church.
This is the 2nd last week that we will see him tho... He is planning on going up to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, in a couple of weeks. However he is planning to get hooked up with a church up that way, and get involved in Outreach, telling people about Christ.
One thing that he said tonight was that if there are any Jews living in the Gold Coast, they will come to know who Jesus is..
I praise God for the work that He has done in this man's life, and pray that He will continue to reveal Himself and teach this friend of mine, and will speak through this friend to reach others.

Lux

A great night

Tonight was great.
I walked to the soup run, singing (this is holy ground)
At the soup run saw a couple of people i knew, so talked to them for a while, one friend i haven't talked to for ages. It was good to see that this friend was doing better than the last time i talked to him... he was drunk as usual, however this time it was on cheap wine and not metho, which means that he made a bit more sense. I praise God that he hasn't been drinking metho.
Then when pretty much all the food ran out, i saw another friend who i hadn't seen for ages, like about a year. I first met her nearly 2 years ago, in not really a nice way to met someone (she was the person involved in my most interesting soup run experience 2 nights before leaving for canada in 2006), the next time i saw her was a few weeks after i got back from Canada, and the first thing she did was come across and apologise for the incident. That was the last time i saw her til tonight. There was no food left at the soup run for her cause they arrived late (her and her partner). When i left i saw them in one of the squares, i went and got some food and gave it to them. I ended up sitting with them for about an hour, just talking, the conversation went around in circles, talk a little about Jesus which was cool. Any way this lady is an aboriginal, and she calls me her sister (which is an honour), part way through the night, she said that she wanted to give me her skin colour name.
So i am now Nabanangka.
Nabanangka is our skin colour.
As i sit with her and her partner, i felt God's love for her, i heard a little part of her story, some of it sad, some of it joyful. She said that she needed me, to get off booze, and i said Jesus can help her with that, she was like i know, but i need support.
Which has got me thinking a little....
She also said that she wanted to take me to her country (the outback), and take me camping, and hunting, and also wanted me to meet her Godmother, a white Christian lady in Darwin.... these things also got me thinking... Cause i have never been either of those parts of this country, and i have wanted to go to the Aboriginal communities in the outback... and i have a love for aboriginals... and the communities up there need so much help....
I think i need to do more praying about it....

Lux

Jesus is good,

last week, i told you about an old friend who turned up at our cell group, after not seeing for ages. Well he came back tonight, this time he was here for the whole of cell, fully participating. A part of cell is telling our highs and lows, now, all he said for his high was that he had a very good week, a great week.
After cell, when the others weren't around, he told me: That on Sunday he had found Christ.
Praise Jesus...
He is good,
At the end of last week, there was nothing left for us to say, no more we could do.
Thanks to Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit through out the week, answered pray. There is a new Child in the family.

Praise the Lord, for He is worthy of all Praise.


Lux

Isaiah 58

I was reading Isaiah 58 yesterday. In the first 3 verses, it tells us of the Israelites, how they seem interested in hearing the Word of the Lord, as they go to meetings/church services, and fasting. The verses even say that people would think that they are a righteous nation, by what they saw. How ever they come to God and asked why aren’t you impressed or happy with us….
The Lord’s response, was you are living for yourselves as you fast…. You continue to quarrel with each other when you fast, you just go through the motions…

As I was reading those 3 verses, I realised that the Australia is a bit like that. So many people say that they are Christians, and they don’t live it, they still live for themselves. There are people in the Church in Australia who “just go through the motions” and think that is enough; I have been guilty of that in the past.
However Christ wants more…. He wants us to have a relationship with Him, this means finding out what He feels about the things going on in our town/city, country, and world. To know what breaks His heart, and what makes Him happy.
Isaiah 58 continues, telling us some of the things that God cares about, things that break His heart. These are things like people being oppressed, treated unfairly, the poor, the homeless, and the hungry.
Isaiah 58 also says that when these things are addressed, when we right injustices, help the poor, give food to the hungry and stuff… the nation will be healthy…
To be exact the verses say
Then your light will shine out form the darkness and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy too. You will be like a well-watered garden like an ever-flowing spring. Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities.
Isaiah 58 : 9 – 12

I was thinking Australia has been in a state of drought throughout the country for several years…. The drought has only just started to be broken in a lot of Australia.
And at the start of the drought breaking rain, was prayer for rain, and also a promise from the Labor party during election campaign to apologise to the indigenous people of Australia, which the previous government declined to make, saying that it was unnecessary for 10 years. And also promise to address some of the injustices in Australia.
In the light of this chapter it makes sense…. What do you think….