On Fire!

This is a new thing 4 me, blogging from my mobile phone!

Today marks the start of Commissioning 2008 which is being called On Fire. I have a few great mates preparing 2 b sent out 2 their 1st appointments tomorrow & I know have been waiting 4 this day a long time!! Bless u guys.

From 3pm today there will actually b a segment on blogging which I'll a part of the panel so come along 4 a time of discussion, not like what we have here on the actual blogs! Lol

Its going 2 b a great time this weekend, so come along 2 the John Batman theatre 4 some great fellowship, discussions & worship.

Cost of following Jesus

18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.

19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said,

"Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

21Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

22But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Mathew 8:18-22

Go for souls, and Generation final - my weekend

We'll haven't blogged for a few days and so much to blog about!!

Starting with the weekend - 'Go for Souls' went off as I knew it would, there was so much spiritual stuff around it trying to get us sick or unable to attend. James and I lost our voices - strange - our weapons, and a few others got sick in the lead up also.

Anyway, we pushed through had some amazing worship times, even being a part of the band I really found myself in the Throne room of God! Was awesome!

Outreach on the Saturday was fun, my group of kicked out of the shopping center, the group on the trains were threatened with bottles and rocks and the other guys, I don't' know, they probably just went well! lol

All up I heard 13 souls were saved and became a part of the Kingdom of Heaven - I pray God will reveal Himself to many more that were engaged with also that came so close.

Sunday night, I had my final Generation meeting at Glenroy so I had my 'Famous Last Words' sorta approach to the night. Was a sad event but I'll survive ;)

After the meeting, we had some prayer for healing in a friend, but God had other plans for the first steps to holiness and had some deliverance from a demonic stronghold instead - the rest to come later still, but God is awesome and always wins the battle.

Commissioning this weekend - also looking forward to that, and also my friend and session mate, Kathleen is flying in tomorrow for the weekend, so should be awesome to have quite a few of our future session mates at the same place at the same time before college.

Blessings to you all

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:23

Overcomers

The other night I was at a practice for an upcoming event and there was a whole heap of spiritual warfare around the place. God showed me what was going on and so I started praying against it.

It was fairly strong stuff, but I know God is bigger and His power is limitless so I prayed through it with God on my side and had a few others praying outside on the land and we broke through and claimed the land back for God.

I got a bit sick the next couple of days due to it but God still has the victory and if you are in Melbourne this weekend you might want to come to Go for Souls conference at Plenty Valley Salvation Army from Friday night till Saturday night cos God is going to turn up and bless the conference. We need passion to save the lost, to come along to learn how to reach out and go for souls!!

Check it out @ http://goforsouls.blogspot.com/

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Luke 10:19

Prayer - Noosa Youth

On the weekend I was invited up to the youth camp of the Noosa Corps in Queensland to do a bit of teaching on prayer

What a privilege to talk about prayer - talking to our creator.

Firstly, I got to preach with no shoes on, that was cool!

Secondly, talked about our relationship with God and the power of prayer and what actually happens in the spiritual realm - we really have no idea of all that actually happens. During the second session, I got us to think back to the worship time we just had and we all remember hearing more people than were actually there - there was only around 25 of us, but we all remember hearing a huge army worshipping God!! Were we surrounded by angels? Over the weekend, our eyes were opened to many new things. (have a look at 2 Kings 6:15-18)

During the last session we had some practical teaching on prayer and we had been praying for the Holy Spirit to be free to do His work and for the guys to actually experience God. Many of the youngsters had never really experienced God in a tangible way, and by the end of this last session all the kids were prophesying over each other - hearing accurate messages and visions from God while praying for each other!!! How awesome is God!! It knocked my socks off (yeah I know I didn't have shoes on, but metaphorically speaking [Jordan!! lol])

It didn't just stop there, that night, Sunday night, we went back to Noosa for their youth meeting - Undefeated - also very cool. This night was also, unplanned, was on being undefeated through prayer. This meeting went for 3 hours, we ended up breaking up into groups for more prayer (couldn't get enough) and more ministry was seen, prophecies, salvation, deliverance etc. One of the guys said at the end, 'What we learned this afternoon was exactly what we needed for tonight'. God is good, He knows exactly what we need and when - God's timing is perfect.

I think we all had one of the best weekends of our lives. They are some of the best guys/girls I have ever met, love them so much and am surprisingly missing them a heap too.

For the next 30 days (28 now) we also committed to praying for revival in Noosa, so you might like to join us in that!! Bring it on God - they're ready for You

"'Father,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation."

Luke 11:2-4

TACO Trivia

I'm about to head up to Brisbane for the weekend for a youth camp with Noosa Corps, so if you have a second, could you just pray for us that God will really turn up and change lives!!

There you just had a second - hope you prayed!! ;)

I want to mention that I've just added a link on the side bar under 'other sites of interest' a link to TACO Trivia - please check it out. We need to be supporting people overseas, especially the ones who are being obedient to God's call on their lives and in turn impacting the world.

Check it out and see what you can do to help those less fortunate than us in this way.

Praise God, He deserves all our praise!

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Mark 8:34-35

Abortion or 'choice'

For you created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in Your book

before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

General's Pastoral Letter - Number Ten - Kindness

PASTORAL LETTER TEN

KINDNESS

Dear Fellow-Salvationists,

Greetings in the name of Jesus!

The Army is filled with kind people. I meet them in person everywhere I go. I receive a steady stream of letters and cards from them. Kindness is a wonderful thing. It blesses the recipient in simple but profound ways, and it pleases the Lord who smiles upon the kindness of the giver.

So this Pastoral Letter is a small but heartfelt celebration of kindness and of kind Salvation Army folk right around the world.

God is closely interested in kindness. We know this because the Bible tells us that kindness is a fruit that grows when the Holy Spirit implants it into our personalities. Galatians 5:22, 23 lists nine fruits of the Spirit, with kindness named as the fifth in this list. It comes in the middle of the list, as though it is the hinge on which the other eight balance.

However, even though kindness is central to the list, it cannot outshine the fruit of love which is mentioned first before all the other fruits. Love (the love shown to us by Christ and gifted to us by him) is the fertile soil from which all the other fruits grow. In 1 Corinthians 13:4 we read that love is kind. Love and kindness are inextricably linked in the teaching of the Scriptures. One Christian writer, the great Dr Sangster, has said that Christian kindness is 'love in its smaller manifestations'.

Pause to think of the small but effective acts of kindness that have come your way recently. Think of the people who have performed these actions and take time to thank God for each person, perhaps adding a prayer that you also will receive the grace to go on being a kind person too.

Kindness is not about indulging other folk and giving them all they want. Rather it is an attitude that leads to practical actions that meet another's needs. It is often a hidden thing, done in secret and not f or self-glorification. God sees it all and that is sufficient.

The Bible is full of statements about the kindness found in the heart of God. Let me list some of the references and encourage you to look them up for yourself: Luke 6:35 ('he is kind'); Nehemiah 9:17, Joel 2:13, and Jonah 4:2 (all King James Version: 'slow to anger, and of great kindness'); Psalm 117:2 (KJV: 'merciful kindness'). This divine kindness is seen at its fullest in the nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was full of love and this often expressed itself in acts and words of kindness. The same happens when we too are filled more and more with the love of Jesus.Because God is kind, the Bible exhorts us also to be kind. Romans 12:10 speaks about being devoted to one another and about brotherly love. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to be 'kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.' Actions and words of forgiveness a re a very great kindness. In his letter to the Colossian Christians (3:12) Paul reminds them that they are 'God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved' and therefore they should 'clothe' themselves with kindness. This image of being dressed all over in kindness is a very powerful one. Paul here also links kindness with its close cousins - compassion, humility, gentleness and patience. I know many Salvationists, and those beyond our ranks too, who exemplify these qualities. They are foundational to the holy life and result from the blessing of a clean heart.

Finally, we note that in 2 Peter 1:7 the Bible sees a close intimacy between godliness, kindness and love. True godliness results in kindness, and this draws upon divine love for its very survival as an attribute in our redeemed personalities.

Because of all this I rejoice and celebrate with each of you God's pouring out upon us of a measure of the Holy Spirit fruit of kindness. May this blossom, bud and grow into ripe and mature fruit in each of our lives.

I thank God for you all, keeping you daily in my prayers, as does Commissioner Helen Clifton. Thank you for the kindness of your hearts and the kindness of your actions day by day. Let the whole Army flow over and over with holy, Christlike kindness.

I commit you to the perfect love of Christ.

Shaw CliftonGeneral

Islamic Leaders son finds Jesus

The son of a very influential Islamic leader has found Jesus and has left Islam. He has run to the USA for his safety and is trying to point the rest of Islam including his family to the truth about Jesus.

The son has been very vocal on telling those who are still followers of Islam the truth about God and their wrong teachings. Jesus is the way to eternal life, without Jesus hell will be your destination.

You might like to read about it further;

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080804/top-hamas-leader-s-son-converts-to-christianity.htm

God is good, if you search for the truth, He will not hide it from you! Hallelujah.

We can lead people to Jesus, but only He can save them!!

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Luke 19:10

It's Jesus or Hell - your choice