Highlight of the Weekend

Last weekend I went with some of the guys from church white water rafting down in NSW somewhere near Coffs Harbour. It was awesome, I really loved spending the weekend with each and every one of them and WWR was heaps of fun. However there was one thing that stuck in my head and that I will remember for a while and that is the conversation I had with a guy named Kieran.

On the first day we went to the beach for a swim, as we finished up and we were at the showers washing off the sand and salt water and this random guy started talking to me. He asked what I was doing in Coffs and who I was with so I told him that I was here to go WWR with some people from church. His response came as a surprise because on hearing my response this guy told me that he too was a Christian and has been for about 5 years.

We shared our salvation stories and I found out that he came to know Christ when he was in rehab for drugs. He told me how grateful he was to Christ that He helped him though his rehab. He also told me that he was applying for uni to do nursing so that later he can do some missions work in another country. He even admitted that he was far from being ready to go out and still needed so much work done on his life. I looked at this guy; someone who has lived on the street, been addicted to drugs and struggles with his past, start to tick of boxes that made him the perfect candidate to be used by God. He was humble, he had a clear goal, he had the path planned out and he had a clear reminder of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

Something I heard/read somewhere came to my mind as I lay in bed pondering over my chat with Kieran and it goes like this, “If a sinner can turn into a saint, then a saint can turn a nation to God.” I believe that Kieran is going to make an impact on his world with what he does if he follows through. It was so refreshing and encouraging to hear that someone I just met was doing the same thing as we are, fighting the good fight. It blew me away that God chooses people who have such messed up pasts to change the face of the world. It humbled me to think God would die for sinners like us.

I can’t think of a suitable title…

Over the past couple of weeks at church God has been showing me the reason why we do church. It’s not been the awesome services that just makes me go ‘wow’ or the preaching of the word that cuts to the heart but it was two simple acts by to individuals.

The first one was hearing one of my logistics guys pray for the team, this guy is as shy as a mallard in a baking tray (very shy). It took a little bit to get him to pray but when he did, man I was blown away just to hear such honesty and simplicity in a prayer. It wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t well spoken, it didn’t come from years of praying prayers, it came from his heart. It was amazing, you could see that this was all he had and he just laid it out before God.

Second thing was hearing this off-key, out of tune, nails on a chalkboard sound coming from someone during worship (it was Li…jks). Maybe not that bad, definitely not that bad but it wasn’t great. Let’s just say below average (nice save). So during worship they were singing and you could hear the desperation in their voice, it was a sound that was crying out to meet God, it was a call to God saying ‘I need you, I need you more than anything in this world’. Just hearing this I could tell that they were there, all them, everything was being pouring into that worship song.

Just thinking about these two instances I was reminded of the story in Luke 21 about the widow who puts two small coins in the temple treasury. Jesus comments on her actions saying that she has given more than those who gave bucket loads of money to the temple cos she gave out of her poverty and ‘…ALL she had to live on’. The same goes for the two people I referred to earlier, they gave a simple prayer and a song of worship not out of their vast skills or talents but they gave all that they had. All he had was a simple prayer and that’s all he gave, all the singing ability in that person’s body was accumulated and given out in a song of worship. I can safely say that God was more pleased and honoured by those two ppl than someone who gave a lengthy, perfectly structured prayer or someone who was pitch perfect but they don’t give it all.

Here is the kicker, the thing that should make you think and keep you up at night. Can I say the same thing about myself?  In EVERYTHING I do, do I give out what I have or do I give all out of my lack?

Guilty

Balance Beam

This made me ask myself one question about what I am doing “Am I prepared to fall?”

Call to the ‘Mediocre/Mundane’

Here is something I heard that blew me away.

“Are we doing great things for God or are we doing things for a great God?”

In the sermon there is a story of this guy who one day got told by God to do nothing and stop all of your ministry for one year. The preacher asked the audience ‘What would you do?’ It’s sounds so easy but it would be the hardest thing for someone who has a burning passion for God to do. What if you asked Tiger Woods to stop playing golf for a year, he would struggle with it. What if you were asked not to use a computer or mobile phone for a year? I think some people would die. The guy ended up doing it (stopping ministry – he was a writer and preacher) and learnt to ‘waste’ time just in the presence of God. He reflected on the decision and found the biggest hinderance to obeying God was his ego and that it wasn’t such a waste of time it was just his ego talking.

Isn’t it ironic that when God calls us to the ‘mediocre/mundane’ we find it hardest to obey.

The ‘Awesome’ World we live in

So I was watching TV today, something I rarely do (I wish I could say I do something productive like read or study but I just watch anime on my comp) and Today Tonight was finishing and showed a preview of what will be on tomorrow nights show. Tomorrow night they would show an inspirational story about a beautiful young Australian girl going America to try and make it big, she wants to become…… a playboy bunny.

WHAT THE HECK?!?!?! seriously when I heard that I thought my ears heard wrong but they are seriously doing an interview with this girl whose goal is to take off her clothes for a magazine… on Today Tonight… primetime when families leave the TV on after the news. This got my blood boiling and asking where the heck is the world headed?

Firstly, why someone who wants to be a playboy bunny? Can’t they find someone who wants to add value to society? Not even that just some random on the street. Anyone, but someone who wants to become a pornstar. Seriously, if she does become a playboy bunny congrats you now live in a mansion with a pervy old man, you get to show off your ’skills’ to a camera, and in about 5yrs time you get throw the trash heap cos you’re too old. Great role model. You deserve an interview to show the young girls of Australia how to be successful. Successful in ruining marriages, placing men in bondage and helping an industry that does zero good to the overall society.

Second thing that really ticked me off was that it was on during a timeslot when most families leave there TV on during dinner to listen to the news and current affairs. This is a program you expect on late a night. Come on should society have better standards?… you would expect so.

Ok enough ranting and sarcasm. I’m done. Its kinda sad that I feel disappointed in a world that I already knew was going down the toilet bowl.

It’s a sick, sad world. Lucky we have the hope and the solution .

9 Promises

Here is something I ripped off John Wooden this guy with way more wisdom and leadership skills than I could ever dream to have. This is the 9 Promises that he made to himself that helped him succeed in life and win his battle with himself which in turn made him a great leader.

1. To talk health, happiness and prosperity as often as possible.
2. To make all your friends know that there is something special in them and you value them.
3. To think only of the best, work only for the best and expect only the best in yourself and others.
4. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as yourself.
5. To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
6. To forget the mistakes of the past, and move on to greater achievements in the future.
7. To wear a cheerful appearance at all times, and give every person you meet a smile.
8. To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticise others.
9. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit trouble to press on you.

Time for me to try them out for myself.

Trials

Often trials and hardship come to set you up for the next season of your life.

Faith

One thing I’m learning at the moment is that true faith is tested when the circumstances in your life are going in the completely opposite direction and you start to question the things God has placed on your heart.

God help me to stand firm and be patient in the waiting room. Help me not to try for an Isaac and end up with an Ishmael. I want an Issac.

Bright Sun Shining Day

Well today was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and there was a nice cooling breeze. It was one of those days where you look outside and go ‘Its a crime to stay inside’. So since I’m not a criminal I went outside. I brought a book, some food and a bag filled with pillows and jackets to act as a pillow and laid on the grass.

While I was out there I stared at the sky for a good 20-30minutes and just enjoyed God’s Creation. As I lay there I noticed that every now and again the sun would be blocked by a cloud and the sky would darken a bit but in a few seconds the cloud would be blow away and it would be bright and sunny. Near the end I noticed a cloud block the sun it was pretty big and dark so for a while it blocked the sun out and it started to get a bit cold cos of the wind. It was like this for a bit cos the cloud wasn’t getting blown away it was just sitting, lingering there blocking the sun but in the end it eventually went and it was sunny once again. God used this and spoke to me in that moment cos just before it cleared up I was about to go inside cos it wasn’t as nice as before.

This is how our spiritual lives are many times. When it gets less than ideal we want to go inside, quit, skip town, throw in the towel, whatever you want to call it. We just want out. I learnt that the seasons in our lives are just like clouds blocking the sun. Every now and again we have a dull patches where we go from the nice sunshine to a cloud blocking the sun and we get a bit cold but more often than not we don’t quit cos we knew it was only momentary, that there are things that just come up and we know that in a few days the problem will be gone. However there  times when a big cloud comes along and blocks out the sun. It lingers there not looking like its going to move and we are getting colder and colder. This is when we want to quit the most. It is when the lingering trials come that we want out. It is during these trails that we learn about ourselves.

These are the trials that define us. These are the times that our true character is revealed, not built. Character is never built in the hard times, do you think that the walls of a fortified city are built when they are being attacked? No, the true measure of the walls are revealed in that time to see if they can withstand the attack. This is how it is with our character, when we find ourselves in the long, lingering trials, that it when we see if it has be built to last or if it was the last to be built. If we have been constantly improving our character day in, day out to last, or was our character the last thing to be built after we have show off our skills and done the things that look good.

Tangent. One phrase that gets thrown around a lot in church is ‘everything rises and falls on leadership’. I reckon that’s it is true, to an extent, but I’d like to take it one step further and say ‘everything rises and falls on character’. Leadership at the end of the day is a skill, its the ability to lead people. It’s like being able to drive a car, I know the right things to do to get it to do the things I want it to do.  To have leadership doesn’t mean you have character. Someone with a great leadership ability will come crashing down if there is no character to support it, its just a matter of time. End tangent.

Back to the clouds. I’ve noticed there is one thing that get us through those prolonged trials, that is the measure of our faith. There are many others like perseverance, standing firm, trust etc but they all hinge on faith. I’ll explain with the cloud thing.

When I was laying there watching clouds block out the sun, they never got rid of all the light from the sun, it was still there. Even though I didn’t feel the sun or see the sun, it was still there. The thing that kept me lying there waiting for the sun was cos even though the cloud was hanging there for ages, lingering, I knew that soon it would pass and once again I’d see and feel the sun. I had faith that the sun was still there. As a result from that faith, I persevered, I stood firm, I trusted. It all stemmed from that faith that the sun was still there. I never stopped believing that the sun was simply behind a cloud, not that the sun had somehow been put out by the cloud. This all sounds dumb cos we know that is crazy talk, but somehow we can’t pull the same principle to our walk.

Our faith in God needs to be strong. When trials come and we struggle to sense God, we struggle to see him we have the faith that He is still there. He is simple behind the cloud. That God at any moment is going to pop out from behind our trial and we will experience Him in His full glory and full radiance once again.

This leaves us with a few question: How strong is my character? my faith? What am I doing to improve them?