1 week into the Challenge,

Well it has been just over a week since my last post, and what God has been challenging me about.

This past week i have been spending more time with Christ, and although i haven't had a chance to get out on the street or in the community more, God has given me more opportunities to share His love with people, and also the Good News of Jesus, most of the time they have been when i least expect them and with people who i least expect. Mind you it is Jesus who gives me the words to say, (cause i am not the best with talking). And it has been Awesome and i thank Him for everything this week. Even for the fact that i lost my keys somehow on friday before the soup run, (they showed up after the soup run), cause it gave me something in which to connect with one of my friends from the soup run.

Now the reason i haven't been out on the streets or in the community more, is cause i have had a lot more work this past week, i worked 5 days and 2 nights. i usually only do 3 days and 1 night, so that i have time to be out and about.... but work were desperate, so i did a couple of extra shifts, which i have worked enough to pay for a camera to replace the one that was lost a few weeks ago... so i praise God for those shifts, cause i believe it was His way to provide for me.

Even though i have been busy working, and sleeping a little less than normal, Christ has given me the energy to go through the day, and filled me with His joy, which stays with me for my entire day.

So all i can do is praise God and thank Him for a great week, for His love, mercy, grace and joy, cause with out them i'd be dead tired and lost

Challenge

Lately i have been challenged by God to do more...

to be spending more time with Him

to be praying for the guys on the street in Adelaide more

to be praying for the people who live within in the city more,

to be praying for the council of Adelaide

to be spending more time on the streets, getting to know people

to get to know the community, both those in houses and in the street

to research more on what is actually the issues of homelessness in Adelaide.

to find out what boarding houses are around the place and visit them, and find out what they are like.

And to challenge other people to get involved.

So much of the time i have been by myself on the street, and at different times to minister to people, and that has sort of become an excuse for why i haven't done much of some of that stuff. (there is definitely room for improvement in all of it). And I AM SICK OF IT..... i am sick of the way that i fall into that trap, i am sick of feeling helpless about it all and feeling like i can't make a difference.

So i have decided that i am going to do it, i am going to be obedient and go hard .... in all of it...

I am sick and tired of going out and doing "ministry" stuff in the city by myself, and tonight i felt like i should be challenging/inviting people to come along/join with me in going out on the streets, and not care about what corps they go to or what even what church they go to.... cause it doesn't matter... we are one Church. And most of the people i chat with move on somewhere else anyway... they may even move on to suburb where a person who will come out with me is from, and then they can continue sharing Christ with that person.... if that makes sense ... to make it clearer.... if bob is from say Norwood corps, and he decides to come out with me, and we meet this guy, and the guy ends up getting a house in the norwood area, bob could very easily continue meeting with the guy, and sharing Christ with him.

So yeah this is my challenge for the coming weeks.... and i put it up here, as a part of being accountable with it...

What's God been challenging you about lately

Bless ya

This week has been cool... i have spent it working, hanging on the street with friends, and hanging with my half sister. This past week has been the most that i have spent with my half sister... ever. It has been good.

However, i have lost my camera and my wallet within a week(camera thurs, wallet tues)... which has been really annoying and made it really easy to focus on the negative situation of losing things.

I had to make a conscious decision to focus on the good part of the week, and more importantly to focus on God, my Heavenly Father.

Today after i realised i had lost my wallet, after i searched everywhere that i could, after i cancelled my cards, i turned on some music and spent some time worshipping God and spending some time with Him.

The first song was blessed be His Name by matt redman (words below). I found it true, that we can Bless the name of the Lord, in good times, in times of joy, not only that, but also in times of lost, sadness, darkeness, suffering... basically we can choose to bless the Name of the Lord no matter what is going on around us... And when we do, it all just fades away, as we focus on Christ. It is like when i am not wearing my glasses (i wear them to see long distance), when talking to people, every thing else is blurred and out of focus, and the person i am talking to is in focus, so it is easy not to get distracted by things that are going on around.

It's awesome

Blessed be Your name In the land that is plentiful Where Your streams of abundance flow Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name When I'm found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be your name		Chorus Every blessing You pour out I'll Turn back to praise And when the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name When the sun's shining down on me When the world's "all as it should be" Blessed be You name And blessed be Your name On the road marked with suffering Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name		Chorus
You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name I will bless Your name		Chorus
Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name		You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name *Repeat*

Famous Last Words

just been watching a live stream of a preach by Commissioner Earle Maxwell... at Famous Last Words, melbourne training college. At Famous last words, the college invite a retired Salvation Army Officers to come and than share what their last words would be to the Soldiers of the Salvation Army.

It was great,

he spoke to young salvationists, adult salvationist and senior salvationists.

the key words to each age group were

For the Salvationist Youth - To be committed to God

For the Adult Salvationist - To be consistant for God, by the Grace of God. Consistan year in, year out, no stepping aside.

For Senior Salvationist - To confident in God. There is no retirement in the Lord's work.

He closed with an awesome prayer from a 17th century nun....

and i will share it here..

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself, that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

AMEN

a classic quote from the Commissioner in question time....

rising early in the morning is a issue of mind over mattress.

basketball carnival.

Well i am 2 days into a basketball carnival... most of the games have been good, tho some were a bit rough... just for interest sake we have won 3, lost 2, and had 1 draw so far.

I am finding the carnival really good, not just in the games, but also in the relationships, with other team members, state members, opposition, and supporters.... just catching up with people i know from other years at the carnival and see where their at and what God is doing in there life...

But then there is also meeting new people... and having a chance to chat with them. Today i had the chance to do both... meet to knew people and talking with friends i haven't seen for a while.

It is always encouraging when we get to hear where friends are at... and what God is doing in their lives, it spurs us on. So the last couple of days i have fun doing that.

Today i also met some other people, and i got to talk to one of them about God, she wasn't a christian and is looking at different religion searching for something... This carnival has allowed her to ask questions about what christianity is about. It was awesome.

Also got to talk to a team mate, who has a bit of a rough trott the year, so that was great to be there for her, for her to talk to and be open... and me being open with her.

So today has been great... i am fairly sore but it is worth being here....

Cause the only thing i have in common with some of these friends is basketball... so what better place to share Christ with them... what ever that looks like at the time.

family (5th blog in 24 hours)

Today i visited my dad and his family... which was a bit of fun... and nerve racking at the same time.

You see my parents divorced when i was a kid, (8), and from the age of about 14 i can count the times i have seen my dad on one hand, til today...

So when ever i know i am going to see him, i am nervous, i never know what to say, so as i was driving there today i asked God that He'd guide me, and give me words to say, comfort me and keep me calm. Cause it is like i am visiting a stranger... cause i don't get to talk to him much.

However this time i also had a sense of excitement about going there, cause, i have been talking to one of my half sisters, and i have a bit in common with her, and really feel like i am meant to encourage her, both in her faith and in life.

And now that i have arrived back to where i am staying the night, i got thinking about family.

God created us to be a part of a family, a member of a loving, nurturing group of people known as a family.... however these days there is so many broken relationships in the "natural family", that they aren't loving, nurturing or even caring. So there are millions of people that are growing up not knowing that sort of love, community and family, and it breaks my heart... I imagine it breaks God's heart more.

However God offers us another family - His family... full of people who love God and others, who want to obey God and build up their brothers and sisters in Christ. Who nurture and care for each other.

We don't get to choose who we are related to in the flesh. But we can choose to be a part of God's family, a part of Jesus' family, the family full of love, no matter what, and it is the best thing ever,

4th blog for the road trip.

well it is now daylight, and we are close to sydney maybe an hour left.

As i was driving earlier today, i was watching the sunrise, and it was awesome.

And it made me think about break free/freedom...

it reminded me of how beautiful it is when we break free from all the darkness, sin, and hurt in our lives.... which is only possible through Jesus Christ.

And this freedom is so beautiful, and magnicent, and awesome, that it just causes people to praise God.

3rd blog for the night

well we have made it to wagga wagga, which is 11 hours into our trip. this last leg of the trip had a little bit of excitement.... we were driving along and saw a fire just off the road in a paddock... so we u-turned and went back and tried to put it out with what water we had... but alas, it wasn't enough so we rang for cfs to come out and put it out properly. And there was really good chats.

2nd post for the night

i was just reading through Ephesians 4,

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—

5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

This is a great passage...

Do you live up to what you have been called to... i know that i don't always... and it is a great challenge.

Also it goes on to some of the things that we are called to ... to be humble and gentle, patient, live in unity and peace

Sometimes that is a hard call to follow... and by ourselves we fail... i know i always do if i try to do it myself...

but we don't have to do it by our selves... thankfully, the Spirit which is in each one of us units us, gives us something in common,

and also allows the love of Christ to flow through us.

this passage, urges us to get pass all the little differences that we may have in the way we do things, and focus on the one Awesome thing we have in common.,.,

Christ.

I love it how God calls us to something than provides us everything thing that we need to accoimplish it, (if we are open to recieving it from Christ).

I also think this is a good passage for this week, as i am going to be at a basketball carnival, and i will be living, playing and hanging out with my team...

So basically with the same people 24/7, and not all are Christians yet... which means there is awesome opportunity to show God's love and community to them and invite them into it.

Well, I am on my way to sydney... a 17 hour drive plus stops. At the moment we are about 5 hours into the drive. So there might be a few blogs within that time.

At the moment I am reflecting on my week, it was a busy week but it was good.

And I thought I would share one of the highlights from my week. Tuesday afternoon I just finished work and I was hanging out a little at the house where I dropped off some participatnts from the group I worked with dthat day, and I was talking to the staff at the house. I was saying I should head off and get things prepared for cell/bible study a my place, and one of the staff started to ask me stacks of questions about the bible, which lead into an awesome time of sharing. Sharing about the bible and also about Jesus, and I thank God for giving me the answers and the opportunity to share... and I claim the promise that none of His words return to Him void... So I trust Him to continue His work in both the house staff that were there for that conversation.

just finished work and I was hanging out a little at the house where I dropped off some participatnts from the group I worked with that day, and I was talking to the staff at the house. I was saying I should head off and get things prepared for cell/bible study a my place, and one of the staff started to ask me stacks of questions about the bible, which lead into an awesome time of sharing.

Sharing about the bible and also about Jesus, and I thank God for giving me the answers and the opportunity to share... and I claim the promise that none of His words return to Him void... So I trust Him to continue His work in both the house staff that were there for that conversation.

Isaiah 51

Last night, i was reading Isaiah 51, and vs 2 really stood out to me

¹ “Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
² Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.
Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”

I found these verses really encouraging, especially verse 2.
For often I feel alone in what God has called me to, and i a lot of the time i am doing the things He has called to me alone (well besides God). But Abraham didn't stay alone, when God blessed Him after calling Abraham, God made him into a great nation.
You see, I believe that there is something really great that God wants to do in Adelaide, a revial, a transformation , i don't know fully what it is or what it will look like, but it is big. And i am full of excitement and wonder about what God is wanting to do.
I think this is what Abraham would of been feeling like when God told him that he was going to become a great nation.
At times Abraham would be able to "see" it, or "sense" it, but he never actually saw it with his own physical eyes, he would just have this indescribable hope, and sense of excitement within him, which was from God.
Just like Abraham not being around to see the fulfillment of God's promise to make him into a nation... sometimes i think/feel as if i am not going to see the fullness of what God wants to do here, what He has been planning. Like at the moment i get glimpses of it at times. Then there are times where i see nothing and wonder if it is going to happen or if it was just my imagination. I think Abraham would of felt like that as well, but Abraham held on to the promise that God had given him, he made mistakes, but he still came back to God with a repentant heart, and stepped back into the promise God had given him.
I pray that i can be as faithful to God as what Abraham was.

Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53

Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?

^2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.

^7-9He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he'd never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn't true.

¹⁰Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.

^11-12Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many "righteous ones,"
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

Each time i read Isaiah 53, i am over whelmed by the love of Christ and reminded what He actually went through. The other day i was reading the passage in the message, and it hit home again... in a different way.I thought i would share it with you. In reading this passage in the Message, it got me thinking, if Jesus came now... would we recognise Him... the people of the first century didn't, would we... or would we just pass Him by... like so many people pass by people sitting on the street, and don't even smile, don't even seem to see them, or pretend like they didn't see them... would we see Jesus if He came... Hopefully each one of you would see Him. Jesus has told us in the Scripture that He is with the people sitting on the street, with the hungry or thristy, with those in prison, or nowhere to live... He told us that what we do for people in those sorts of situations, we do it to Him... so do you take notice of the people sitting on the street and at least acknowlege them, do you help people who you see that are hungry or thristy.

healings

Last night i was sitting out on the street with some aboriginals while they were waiting for the map bus to come and pick them up. We were sharing "stories". One of the girls, my age, was telling why she came down to adelaide from the small community where she lived near Alice Springs. She came down here cause her partner was in intensive care in a coma after being hit over the head with a iron bar.... and had a huge amount of stitches in his head... the doctors didn't know if he would come out of the coma with out brain injuries. The girl was actually saying that he was gone, he was dead like. She continued her story... she prayed for partner and the next day he was wake and eating ice chips... fully conherant.

She also shared another story of when she was still up near Alice Springs, living in her community, she got bronchitis, and was really sick with it, and got sent to Alice Springs hospital, and she prayed and got better.

Then her mother inlaw also shared stories of how she was healed back when she was younger.

I Praise the Jesus for the healing that these guys experienced. So do they... their eyes lit up when they were sharing their stories...

It was just so encouraging to hear them... so i thought i would share

It was awesome to hear their stories, and share with them. I pray that they will continue to follow Christ.

change

It seems every year in the second half of the year i go through some sort of change in my circumstances... and this year looks like it is not going to be any different.  It looks like things in Adelaide are going to change... there is a high possibility of if at any rate.

In some ways i am so sick of change, and i am starting to hate having to nearly start again, it is to point that sometimes i want to throw my hands up and give in.

Ministry here, has been a process of get to know people and share with people, and then it all changes and the process starts again.... I have seen so many people come and go, both workers (each year different people helping out) and also guys on the street (there are only about 3 or 4 people that i know out at the soup run that have been going there since i started going there).

So with the changes that might be happening, i don't really know what i am meant to be doing, whether, i still stay or whether i am to move on too... I am praying that the Lord shows me... and just trusting Him, that He'll guide me, cause i just don't know.  I would love your prayers to.

At the moment i just feel lost with it all, as i only found out tonight of the possible changes, and nothing is certain at the moment... so there is a chance that things might stay the same.

As you can probably tell, this is all pretty fresh in my head... so sorry if it is all over the place.

V-blog.

i thought i would do this for something different... and i was having fun playing around on my computer doing it. ...

 

Wolferine

Tonight i went to see "x-men origins: Wolverine", which was a lot of fun.
I love the whole x-men story, and i have always loved the character of Wolverine, I've never really known why. But i was thinking about it tonight after seeing the movie, and i think i like the wolverine character, because he has been through a lot, he has lost so many people that he loved, been betrayed, been rejected, before he lost his memory. And through all that (though at times he did give in to revenge), there was a genuine love in him, he knew who he was, and who he didn't want to become.
Then after he lost his memories, he became lost... and began searching to find who he is... to find his purpose... and in the process becomes known as a killer....
If you continue to read in some of the x-men comics (can't remember which series exactly, either the new x-men or the uncanny x-men), you find that Logan (wolverine) becomes the leader of the x-men, tho he doesn't think that he is capable of leading the x-men, Professor X could see the bigger story, and has faith in Logan. and encourages him.
As i was thinking about the story of Logan/Wolverine, i realised it was a story of redemption.... and it reminded me of the story that we are a part of, a story of redemption, through Jesus.
See, we were lost, confused, and unsure of our purpose.... we have all made mistakes, both big and small, we have given in to rage, revenge, hate at some point or another... but that is not the end of our story... our story continues... just like there was someone that believed in Logan, believed that there was a bigger story that Logan was a part of. We to are involved in a bigger story, and we too have someone that sees the whole story and encourages us to play the part that we are meant to play, and restores us, redeems us from our past hurts and mistakes, so that we can play that part. Jesus is that person for us... he sees the big picture, He encourages us when we feel like giving up, or thinking that we can't do it, and He guides us along the way... He can tell us the direction and the steps to take, to be able to be all we are meant to be... All we have to do is listen .... and then obey.

great story

i had a great night tonight, before i went out to basketball.  I went to the soup run, and it was awesome.  I didn't trust my self to remember fully what happened, so i recorded a message, on my phone while i was driving. 

so i am just going to up load it, and you can have a listen. 

Authority of Jesus

Last night i had a dream...

i was spending time with some other people in the country, and as we were driving back, i saw this fight going on in a valley... the fight got worse, we pulled over... i went over to the edge (the side of the valley was steep... like a cliff), and there is steel steps, like those at a factory... i walked down the steps to the first landing thing... the fight was getting serious... baseball bats were coming out and being used... i yelled out "stop it in Jesus' Name". And immediately two of the biggest guys started walking towards me, up the stairs. When they got to me, they handed me their baseball bats, and continued up the stairs and out. The police rocked up, and we went to the car and went to drive away but we got stopped.

During the day i was thinking about the dream... and God reminded me, For all things in Heaven and earth are under the authority of Jesus, Matthew 28:17-19

Also that we have been given authority through Jesus, authority over evil spirits, and how powerful that authority is. Luke 9:1-3. The enemy has to listen to us... Praise the Lord.

i hate the enemy.

I really hate the enemy (satan).   i hate it how he attacks christians and try and bring christians down.  And if that doesn't work, he'll attack family or even friends to get at christians and to try and stop them from being all that God wants them to be...

Lately I have been reminded how important it is to pray for our fellow christian family, but also for their wider family, that you personally don't know real well.

So pray for your fellow christians, for protection, that they will be able to stand firm in God's mighty wonderful love.  But not only prayer for you friends but also for their whole family, in the same way... satan will look for any little hole that he can get a foot hold in.  

Matt 1

As I was reading Matt I, I started to think that Jesus knew where he came from, not only spiritually (from the father) but also with his earthly heritage. It Went Just Jesus who knew His heritage in those days, but every Jew knew. they Would know stories about there great ancestors.

As they grew up they would have some sense of who they are and k now that they are a part of a bigger picture, a bigger story.

We In the Western World don't grow up with that sort of history/ story surrounding us , being told the stories from day one

the exciting thing is that we have been invited to Join in the story, to be part of this bigger story-Jesus invites us into His family therefore we don't merely have to hear the great stories of Faith, from the past or our generations or from the bible they become our heritage, as we are now related to those heroes of the faith

We have a strong heritage to live in & be encouraged By.

Isaiah 51:1 says

listen to me year who pursues righteousness & who seek the Lord.know the rock from which you were cut, the quarry an which you were hewn.

I always thought that this Vs Just meant look to God, know God, he is the one who created You. But today to was reminded of this vs by the Spirit as I mediated on Matt 1. that of does point to God, who made us, but also to our heritage. that there is some value in knowing our spiritual Ancestors & heritage. We can learn from their mistakes & take courage when they got it right.

So let us encourage each otherwith our own stories of fearful,of stories of how God usedus for something.