In a world that is trying to oppress and tyrannize Christians who believe in any absolutes – especially those based on the Bible – there are few willing to stand up and be counted. I came across (which in turn came from here) one such young girl this evening, and I’m both praising God and challenged myself from her example.

Here’s the direct link to YouTube.

A quote I came across last week is ringing in my head, “If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.“ - Leonard Ravenhill. For far too long we’ve been too concerned about what the world thinks about us as Christians. And this has led to only one thing – the church conforming to the world…not the other way around. If Jesus is to return in our lifetime this has to change. We have a message to give a world – and it’s not popular, it’s not going to win many friends and it may even get us killed. This quote from Spurgeon hits the nail on the head to use a cliché:

“After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, ‘Lord grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.’ If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6). That is the only difference! Lord, clear the church of all the rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods.” – C.H. Spurgeon, “Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?”

“God’s work of refining and purifying must go on until His servants are so humbled, so dead to self, that, when called into active service, their eye will be single to His glory. He will then accept their efforts; they will not move rashly, from impulse; they will not rush on and imperil the Lord’s cause, being slaves to temptations and passions and followers of their own carnal minds set on fire by Satan. Oh, how fearfully is the cause of God marred by man’s perverse will and unsubdued temper! How much suffering he brings upon himself by following his own headstrong passions! God brings men over the ground again and again, increasing the pressure until perfect humility and a transformation of character bring them into harmony with Christ and the spirit of heaven, and they are victors over themselves. ” – Ellen White

So, it’s back to the ministry design deadlines I go. But with a renewed awe and wonder at God for Him seeing something of worth in me and I’m praising Him for what He’s allowing to happen to refine and purify me so that I can have an eye single to His glory not mine!

OK, I don’t believe any of the stuff I just wrote! And anyone who has had any real experience in relationships (either close friendship or romantic…of which the later should be a extension of the former – but that’s digressing…I’m not going to chase that rabbit just now!!) knows that true and strong relationships take effort. You make an effort at communication – firstly you listen (the most important part of communication – but that’s another rabbit!), you find things that connect with the other person and you seek to have deep discussions, and very importantly you don’t assume that you’re always right (because none of us are – sorry to burst your bubble :p)…I could go on and on on the topic of communication – it’s fundamental…but what are some other things that build strong relationships? How about spending QUALITY time together? No distractions period. How about seeking to do memorable things together – imaginative instead of run-of-the-mill? Things that will bring you closer to the person you’re seeking to build a relationship with and that you’ll both remember forever…and when you do you’ll always remember that person. I could go on with points to build strong relationships…but what I’m putting down and hoping you’ll pick up isn’t about people…

As Christians we have a relationship that transcends any human relationship we could ever have. Revelation 3:20 describes it this way, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Jesus is here describing what He desires…a personal relationship with each one of us. And just like human relationships we need to invest in our relationship with Christ. Paul writing to the Philippians says in chapter 3:8 (from the Amplified Bible), “Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]…” Does that sound like a haphazard or aimless attempt on Paul’s part to become closer to Christ? I don’t think so! He has his priorities right – he counts everything as loss that stops him from, “progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him!”

What do you think that looks like in our lives? Well, I’m not going to totally answer that as it may look different for each one of us. However, I’m going to share an experience I had today that prompted this post.

It was a long day at work today, I got home and was rather exhausted – I felt like vegetating in the hammock and taking it easy. Waiting for me were some emails that needed replies plus some GYC design work that is due in the next few days…I came in and started addressing the to do list, when I had the impression I needed to get out and spend some time with God – one-on-one. Sure I’d had my devotions at the beginning of the day, but this was something different. God and I needed to spend QUALITY time together – something imaginative instead of run-of-the-mill. Mount Cooroora was the destination. And the date was with God. And you know we had a total blast! I got up the top of the 458 meter mountain and watched the sun set as I read my Bible and talked to God – the birds sang their songs of praise, the wind whispered in the gum trees – everything was peaceful. The moon came out and I watched the clouds drift by as I reflected on my walk with Christ and talked to my Father in Heaven about life – my dreams, wishes and plans. And there in the stillness I recommitted my life afresh to the best friend I’ve ever had. I felt like I was walking on air (except for the near vertical decent over rocks lol) as I came down off that mountain in the dark…those few hours I’d spent had become the highlight of the week! And now every time I think of Mount Cooroora I’ll remember an evening on October 9 in the year 2008.

Friends having Jesus as our Saviour (Savior for you folks in the USA!) is about a relationship with the God of the universe. And like any relationship we need to invest in it. Why don’t you think about creative ways you can spend QUALITY time with Christ in your life…not that God doesn’t already love you more than you can imagine, it’s us that benefit from these experiences – they draw us closer to Him and help cement our relationship. Words can’t begin to express what an awesome time I had this evening…and like with a human relationship I want to have these special times as often as I can – don’t you?!

Saturday night my mother and I are driving back to the Sunshine Coast in my Defender. 21:45 and making good time with only twenty minutes to go I get a flat tyre on a back road. No problem, just a simple tyre change and we’ll be on the road again…if only! I take the spare off, and loosen the nuts on the flat, hand brake on and in gear…get the jack out and almost about to take the tyre off when the jack fails, slamming into the back of the 110 putting a dent in the back.

OK, slight problem! This jack is not going to be changing another tyre in it’s life again! No reception with the mobile…so the only thing to do is drive on the flat. Get about 3km down the road and a 4wd is coming along the road…wave them over and explain the problem – ah, no worries mate we’ve got a jack. They get their jack out, and I unload the spare…only to find that their jack doesn’t work either! They head on their way, and I try and figure out what to do (still no reception) – only option is keep driving as I have to be at work the next day. Drive 5km more at 10km/h and the tyre is smoking, pull over and wait for it to cool, both the tyre and the wheel are had it. This is not good.

I had taken my sermon on how we should respond to trials, disappointments and heartache in a way that glorifies God and draws us closer to Him. How ironic! All my idealistic sermon propositions of the morning were now staring me right in the face. I was tired, it was getting close to midnight and I just didn’t feel like thanking God for allowing me to experience this – I was getting closer to kicking the wheel in anger and letting God know that I didn’t like the joke. Then my mind went to the core of the sermon – David’s response to God when he was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom recorded in Psalm 63. “O God, thou art my God…Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name…Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.” Do you think that David’s natural response to the situation he found himself in was to praise God? I doubt it. However, he knew the fact that as one of my favourite Bible commentators Ellen White puts it, “Through trial and persecution the glory–the character–of God is revealed in His chosen ones.” she writes in another place, “If more praising of God were engaged in now, hope and courage and faith would steadily increase.” This is just what David was doing…and I had the choice too. I could choose to praise God and not become frustrated by what was happening or I could have a pity party and feel even worse. 

There is really only one option! I started praising God and thanking Him for the blessings He’d given me that day – you know it could’ve been worse! Sure it didn’t fix the problem, I was still stuck with a now wrecked tyre, wheel and jack…but it didn’t matter, I was rejoicing in God! This was not something worth loosing my experience with Christ over.

I checked my mobile and we now had reception. My mum suggested we call friends who live close by…give them a call explain to them where we are and he says he’ll be out soon. Over an hour later he calls saying where are you?! He’d turned around before getting to us as I’d underestimated how far I was (should’ve looked at the map Samuel!)…so half an hour later he gets there, and drops us home. We take the Freelander and I finally get the tyre changed! Get home at 02:30, into bed at 02:45 and I’m at work by 09:00!

And you know now looking back on it, I’d class it as an adventure rather than a trial. An experience that drew me closer to Jesus and concreted in my mind again the reality that all things do work together for good to them that love God, everything that happens to us can be turned into a blessing if we let it.

How do I condense seven months without writing 10,000+ words? I’ll try, cause I doubt that any of you want to read that much about what I’ve been up to, and I don’t have the time to write that much anyway.

So, in brief synopsis form: I’m no longer in the US of A. After GYC 07 my health kinda took a nose dive, not getting enough sleep and studying/working full time took it’s toll and to cut a long story short, God has led me back to Australia with a burden to work here in ministry – God willing combining Christian media and ministry – my plan is to finish my theology degree with Griggs while I’m working. Currently I’m working at Living Valley Springs Health Retreat – while I really enjoy working there, it’s only until God opens the door for active ministry, as that’s where I feel called. I’m also the designer for GYC this year and a few other ministry related design jobs. OK, so that’s a really quick catchup on my life the last seven months…there’s a lot more that has happened, and it’s been a very hard time with some things that have happened in my family that I can’t go into detail about.

To be honest I’m trying to understand exactly why God has me where I am just now, but that’s what faith is for! And going by past experience I know that God has everything in control, in fact where I am now is part of His plan for my life! And not only that, it in some way is preparing me for where He wants me next!! So based on that I can’t wait to see where He is going to lead in the next step!

A few weeks ago it really came to a head, I was questioning why God was allowing certain things to happen in my life…from what I thought were really close friends not wanting to have anything to do with me, to my Dad leaving my Mother after 25 years of marriage – I mean this doesn’t happen to people that have been missionaries and from a man I thought was a Christian does it? (I’m still praying that God will work a miracle and restore things). Life hasn’t been going according to how I wanted it to go…

However after lots of prayer, lots of tears, heartache and a fair bit of questioning God’s wisdom, He has been patiently showing me that despite everything, He is leading in my life. The trials that I’m going through at the moment are part of His master plan for my life, and He wants me to trust Him with it. God writing through His prophet Jeremiah says, “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11). There are some things that God hasn’t given me answers on yet, but looking back at my life I can clearly see His direction – and that gives me courage to trust Him and commit my future direction to Him, because He so far has never made a mistake!

I’m excited to say that I’m content with God’s plan for my life – and even though I can’t see all of it, I know that it will be good…because He is good! I feel that I’m starting to understand what Paul meant writing to Timothy when he said that, “godliness with contentment is great gain” because the joy that comes in total surrender to God’s leading in everything is wonderful – and that is great gain! It really struck home yesterday (Sabbath), when a group of us were singing some older songs – from hymn books like Christ in Song. We sang a song called “Beautiful Flowers” – it’s a great song…though like a lot of older songs goes quite high, and while singing the second last verse I hit a high note and cracked up laughing – I was laughing so hard the tears came and I felt such joy in my heart! Then I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me and say, “you’re content aren’t you?”. And I realized that I’ve let go, all the plans I had made back in Australia before I left I’ve given to God, I’m trusting Him with all of my life, not just the parts I want to give to Him…and man alive, it feels good!

I can’t believe how fast this last year’s gone. It seemed like only a few months ago that I was 20 – I hope that this is not a trend as I get older. But at the same time so much has happened it could’ve been two years!

I’m over in America, and technically, my birthday is on the 27th, even though I was born on the 28th…as Australia is a day ahead – but I kinda spread it over two days…time zones are great aren’t they?!

On Monday (the 27th here, but Tuesday the 28th in Australia) I was having a normal day with just work and the like. I had Keith (he’s a student here at Weimar – a friend of Philip’s, and now me) surprise me with getting people to sing happy birthday to me at lunch and then he took me out to a juice bar after lunch. Then I came back to work and left the office at about 6pm – after talking to my mother before I left. I was reflecting on how different this birthday had been from the last few I’ve had as I was walking down to my room. I noticed that a black car had turned around had pulled up ahead of me, Keith got out and wanted to talk to me about something…and the next thing I knew I was blindfolded and thrown into the car! What followed was one of the craziest things I’ve had done to me – it was almost a realistic kidnapping (hats off to everyone involved lol). After driving around all over the place and becoming totally disorientated I eventually found the car slowing down and I was escorted from the car and into a building; where I was told to could take off the blindfold – and then almost died of shock as people shouted surprise. I had been taken to Jumba Juice and there was about 10-15 friends from Weimar there. It was a cool surprise!

I’m really looking forward to the next year of my life, I know that it’s going to be great! Just where I’ll be in a year I’m not exactly sure…there are lots of exciting possibilities, I’ll just have to see where God opens the door – so in other words, it’s going to be a year of “holding on for the ride” and letting God lead…and that makes for the most exciting life ever – period, full-stop, whatever it is!

Where did 2006 go? It almost seems like 2006 only just got started and it was over! Looking back over the past year I can’t help but rejoice in God’s goodness, His mercy and steadfast love – from the happy times (of which there was many) to the I’m-feeling-like-my-heart’s-going-to-break-from-pain times (of which unfortunately there was a few), He has gotten me through! Looking forward into 2007 (hey, I can only see the outline!) it’s going to be a big year for me, with lots of changes, lots of challenges and I hope lots of happy memories. But one thing I know, that with Jesus whatever comes I’ll be able to face!

I hope that all of you (that’s whoever’s reading this) have a great year, and if you know Jesus that you’ll come closer to Him – and if you don’t that you’ll give Him the chance to change your life, for after you’ve experienced His love in your life it’s never the same!

And if you happen to be on my short list of lucky people (better know as family and friends of both myself and my parents) you’ll be getting the above limited edition Samuel Clarke designed card soon (if you haven’t already got it). And if you don’t, then feel free to drop me a line and tell me why I should have sent you one!!

1. I accepted Jesus as my Lord when I was around 10 years old. But I was baptised six months ago – at 19 years old. Even though I had accepted Jesus as my Saviour at 10, I feel that baptism is something very serious, a commitment to a life of service to the Master and seeking holiness in my life (only through God’s grace!). To me (from my study of the Bible) God says to count the cost, just as no one would marry at 10, so baptism is a life decision similar to marriage – and it’s a vow I never (with the power of an indwelling Christ) will break!

2. The Bible teaches baptism by immersion, Jesus was our example in this – and also there is no record of the disciples doing otherwise. I was baptised by immersion; which symbolises death to the old life with being fully submerged, and then a new life – as a Christian – when raised from the water. Baptism is a joyous time (just as a marriage is), I was baptised in a lake, with many people there to witness my commitment, and share in my joy – and boy, was there joy! After I came up from the water I felt the Holy Spirit’s presence, and such total peace – I was crying for joy at God’s goodness and His matchless love for me! Before my baptism I spent a few months studying the Bible and cementing my understanding of key Biblical truths. So, when I was baptised, I understood what I believed was true – not because I had been told it, but because I had studied it – and the commitment to following God that I was making.

3. We celebrate the Lord’s supper once a quarter. Starting with the ordnance of humility, where we wash one another’s feet (brothers with brothers, and sisters with sisters). It starts with us forming pairs, then praying together – for unity in Christ, strength in our lives, and a spirit of humility and service to one another. We then wash each other’s feet. After everyone is done we sing a hymn of consecration and praise, then all shake hands (or embrace, it depends on how the Spirit leads). Foot washing is done outside the sanctuary (either in the hall, or outside). We then go inside and partake of the Lords Supper – bread first, then the wine (and it’s non-alcoholic grape juice!). This is done with the one leading out reading from the Bible the record of the Lord’s Supper. Then the bread (flat bread with no yeast, as that represents sin) is passed out, prayed over and eaten quietly with everyone reflecting on the sacrifice made on the cross, and recommitting their lives to God. This is repeated for the grape juice – and I know for me as I drink I am overwhelmed with the realisation of the infinite sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and thank Him for His blood shed on the cross that has washed away my sins (thank you Lord!). I think I should add that the bread and wine (grape juice) are understood from the Bible to be symbols of the flesh and blood of our Saviour, NOT the actual flesh and blood!

4. Soul searching leading up to the service is very important. If I have anything between myself and God – or between myself and a brother/sister – I make it right. Not that this shouldn’t be done all the time, it’s just that preparation for the Lord’s Supper gets me thinking and searching my soul! I believe that celebrating communion is an opportunity for me to be refreshed (as Jesus said to Peter when he was washing the disciples feet, “he who is has been fully washed needs only to be partially washed”), to recommit my life into God’s hands, to reflect on the infinite price Jesus paid on the cross for MY SINS, and also to recommit to unity among the body of Christ – and specifically our church family.

In conclusion, for me the Lord’s Supper is an essential for growth in grace and unity. As Jesus said in Luke 22:19, ” This do in remembrance of me” The centre of the Lord’s Supper must be Jesus Christ, the only one who was able to pay the price of God’s wrath for sin – the result of breaking His Holy Law. The only one in whom is Salvation is found – full, free, and unmerited on our part – oh, what matchless love! What a Saviour we have!