Prophetic movement

I was at at conference on the weekend called 'Dwelling in The Spirit' in Melbourne. The conference was amazingly powerful and there was no doubting that God was present. I felt on the first night that God had even sent four angels specifically for our time there, but not sure of their specific role or purpose but God surely had His way.

As we went along, one of our main speakers, Corey went into a ministry time at the end of his sessions and many many people recieved words from God and were encouraged as it usually is when you hear from God.

One of the things I took away from the weekend is that I heard God saying to us, and when I say us I'm speaking to The Salvation Army who it was run by and attended by, we NEED to be a prophetic movement!

It's easy enough to respond to situations but to be one step ahead, or to take leadership over situations it to have a hand up; in terms of the 'evils' of this world, we NEED to be one step ahead to be relevant, or else we will loose influence and be irrelivant. One saying I love is 'prevention is better than a cure'; it pays to be prophetic, and the world we live in needs us to be.

God, His Word and His Salvation is going to be always relevant, more than relevant, a necessity for the world, so how do we bring that necessity to the world around us - by being prophetic - being relevant, two steps ahead of the enemy in whatever form he is counteracting God's work.

What does this look like and how will this happen? How it will look, I'm not completely sure, maybe a bit like the book of Acts but in modern settings, but how, just by listening to the voice of God, loving Him with all of our hearts and minds and acting on His Word when He speaks.

What is the Spirit saying to The Salvation Army today? How are we being that prophetic movement that the world so desparetly needs? Love God and love your neighbour - pray night and day for justice (Luke 18:7-8 http://www.saglobal247.org/)

I just want to leave you with a passage of scripture;

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

2 Peter 1:19

Be relevant (prophetic) to the world that is needing the relevance of God and His salvation.

General Linda Bond's first pastoral letter

June 2011

Pastoral Letter Dear Salvationists: As this is my first pastoral letter since I took office as General in April, I want to share a personal word with you and also emphasise what we hold in common. My upbringing in the New Aberdeen Corps in Nova Scotia, Canada provided me with a clear understanding of the gospel of Jesus. As a child, I was not only aware that I could accept him as my Saviour but was trained to serve him. That service ultimately led me to say yes to the Lord's clear call to be an officer. A variety of appointments over these past 42 years have proven that the Lord opens doors of opportunity and gives great fulfilment and blessing. As Lord and Saviour, he never disappoints. Obeying him, trusting him and living for him are my greatest joys. No doubt you also have had a personal encounter with the Lord that has changed the course of your life. Every experience is different but what we share in common is that we serve him together in The Salvation Army. We are blessed with a wonderful heritage and the future is as bright as the promises of God. Yet the present connects both, does it not? We build on the past and chart a course for the future by our faithfulness to his mission in the present. Surely we all desire to be part of a Spirit-filled Army of the 21st century! Much depends on our own response to the Spirit but we can never imagine what God has in store for the Army he raised up. We need to seek him, keep in step with his Spirit and make his mission our priority. Very soon you will be hearing from your territorial/command leaders about a way in which we can meet together in prayer. Commencing 1 September, we will begin to hold a weekly 30-minute international prayer meeting on Thursdays. Territories and commands have been asked to choose a half hour between 5 and 8 o'clock in the morning and will be urging Salvationists to pray for the Army and our mission priorities. Because we serve in so many different time zones, there is the possibility that for all or most of every Thursday, the Army will be at prayer. I hope you too will be joining us, in groups or individually. There will be information coming soon on the General's website. I will be joining with staff at International Headquarters at 7.30am, London time. I close this letter with one of my favourite verses of Scripture; Psalm 143:8: 'Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you'. The psalmist whispered this prayer in the midst of adverse circumstances. However, it can be prayed every day, in the best of times and the worst of times. And it will be a prayer that God will always answer. May you delight in his love, be secure in it and share it. God bless you richly, Linda Bond General

They shall come from the east, they shall come from the west

They shall come from the east, they shall come from the west,

And sit down in the Kingdom of God;

Both the rich and the poor, the despised, the distressed,

They'll sit down in the Kingdom of God.

And none will ask what they have been

Provided that their robes are clean;

They shall come from the east, they shall come from the west,

And sit down in the Kingdom of God.

2.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
To be met by their Father and welcomed and blessed,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.
The black, the white, the dark, the fair,
Your color will not matter there;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.

3.
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west,
And sit down in the Kingdom of God;
Out of great tribulation to triumph and rest
They'll sit down in the Kingdom of God.
From every tribe and every race,
All men as brothers shall embrace;
They shall come from the east,
they shall come from the west.
And sit down in the Kingdom of God.

Gowans/Larson

[From The Salvation Army Musical 'Blood of The Lamb']

Oh Lord, do it again - bring the harvest - we want to see revival!!

Please Father!

"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Luke 13:29

Well represented

How is holiness like the crusades?

I suppose in a few ways, but the way I had been thinking of is that the people involved can often mis-represent God.

Doing things in the Name of God can often be bad promotion for the Body of Christ. Zeal is great, but missinformed zeal can be harmful. I know so many that are 'young' in their faith who are so alive in Christ and that is so inspirational, I love being around these people, but they quite often put their foot in it since there is so much to learn about the All Powerful.

There are even a few more mature 'Christians' that I have heard to claim to be 'holy' and therefore claiming to represent accurately the character of God - these people I have often found lacking in the Fruit of the Spirit and often causing hurt in other people's lives.

Does our lives represent God's character?

I know many people who represent the characture of God well, but I've never heard these people claim to be holy or sanctified, but they live out a life that Jesus was and just do it rather than tell everyone how holy they are.

I'd rather be integral in the way I live to accurately represent Christ rather than spray meaningless words of my achievements and my self-righteous perfection - What it all comes down to is how we are seen in God's eyes, I'd rather please Him than impress man.

God is good and wants us to be perfected in His eyes - He want's you to be holy - come to Him and He will perfect you if you allow Him to do a good work in your life

"³I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:3-6

College - We've arrived!

Today, nearly all of the Ambassadors of Holiness have arrived into the Australia Southern Territory Training College in Melbourne, Australia.

There are many tired faces, not too much emotion presently, just a friendly 'hi' here and there without the jumping around sorta excitement of teenage high school days, but still a sense of sincerity and respect.

Due to this transition, the next few days will most likely be without much blogging as Internet and orientation is all still to be sorted out in the not to distant future.

Check this space soon for more updates of the Ambassadors, training college, and things about the Kingdom of God.

Bless ya

"The LORD is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:

"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"

Psalm 118:14-15

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

Extremists - again

After my previous post, my brother told me that he had just been reading some speeches for his studies on Martin Luther King Jr and how they had been along similar lines to what I blogged and have been thinking about.

I thought I'd just add a few of his quotes in, firstly because they are along similar lines to my previous blog, and also because they are inspirational.

"Was not Jesus an extremist in love - 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.' Was not Amos an extremist for justice - 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an mighty stream.' Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ - 'I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.' Was not Martin Luther an extremist - 'Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God.' Was not John Bunyan an extremist - 'I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.' Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist - 'This nation cannot survive half slave and half free'. Was not Thomas Jefferson and extremist - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be . Will be extremist for the preservation for hate or will be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice - or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?"

What a spokes person! There are so many other brilliant quotes here from Martin Luther King Jr, but I may break it up into smaller, bite size blogs.

I'm about to go into a technological blackout until late Monday. This weekend a few of us are involved in the International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking so one of the things I will be fasting is technology. You may also like to join us in prayer and fasting as a starting point to fight against this evil so please do this weekend.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners"
Isaiah 61:1

'Extremists'

Here in Australia, we seem to have what I seem to call, the 'Tall Poppy Syndrome".

When someone either stands out or does something significant and makes some sort of impact, where other cultures would most likely congratulate them, possibly give them a medal or an acknowledgement, we here in Oz rip them down instead.

Good huh! I'm sure I'm to blame also.

Within the Salvation Army, I heard someone the other day give someone else the title as an 'extremist'. This person who received this title is someone who does amazing work and stands unwavering for what he believes and is making a huge impact on the world. He has also received an unbelievable amount of opposition from people he fights alongside, who you would think would be supporting him, since they are on the 'same side'.

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. (Mark 3:24)

How can the Salvation Army go forward if we do not support the people in the battle alongside us. If we turn on each other - the enemy has already one.

We mostly hear the term 'extremist' in this present days talking about the 'Muslim extremists' or some other people who are doing things that are shaking the planet in negative ways. I'll tell you now, soon a day is coming when you will be wanting more of these extremists within the Salvation Army! The extremists that we have now that we are tearing down will be the ones you will be counting on, they will be the people that you will be hiding behind when all the extremists go head to head - and I believe our 'extremist/s' that we have within the Salvation Army will make us proud in this situation even if it happened today.

We need to be in the business of producing and training 'extremists' for Jesus, people/soldiers/nutcases that really, truly have a relationship with the Saviour of every soul in the universe and will stand for what they believe no matter if they are standing in a pub/club getting pressured into drinking poison or kneeling with a gun to their head being told to deny the only truth that really matters.

We need a Salvation Army extremist leading the battle training up future extremists - the battle is stirring - I want to be ready - I want to be on the winning side (that's why I'm with Jesus!) - I want to be fighting next to a legion of extremists - I want a session of extremists that will not compromise.

Maybe we are entering into this era as we speak (or as you read)... will you stand up and join us?

We need you! Which side are you fighting on?

"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22:12-14

Freedom

I've been a bit slack blogging lately, slightly busy, but mostly slack I suppose.

Anyway, the weekend in Brisbane at the Unlimited conference was awesome!! Such great worship and the speakers were amazing, God's presence was felt. The highlight would have been the final session where Unlimited youth joined the 'older' guys in Unlimited and a representative from each group apologised to the other for things we may have done or held against the other to heal hurts and to bind generations together - there was not a dry eye in the house!!! Powerful and God honouring!

Tonight, we had our youth Bible study and what a night we had there too. We spoke about taming the tongue and was based on James 3.

We ended just talking about different stuff over supper and one of our African friends started telling us about some dreams she's been having that have been alarming her, so we prayed over her and did some demon kicking - it's been a while for me but she has started clearing some of these African spirits/curses, more powerful stuff. God is good!!

Freedom in the Name of Jesus, its amazing how powerful that Name is. As we covered her in the Blood of Jesus, things changed, she shook and peace came over her in a huge sigh.

Freedom, if you don't have it, ask for it now in Jesus Name, do you need healing - physically/mentally/emotionally - ask for it now in Jesus Name!! Try it, it won't let you down.

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

John 14:13-14

What are we doing?

There is quite a lot of discussion happening on the Salvo blogs lately. There was one comment on Marney Turners blog by an 'anon' which said;

"Do you see church as something passive, that you go to observe? or something in which you participate?

Is Christianity something you do or are?

Where is "the church" Mon thru Sat?

If baptism is by water can it not be by the Living Water and by the Holy Spirit?

Can a uniform not be a statement of commitment?

Can items of clothing be a constant reminder to the person wearing them of meeting a certain standard of behaviour?

As a friend of mine once said "I wont put a "fish" on my car because then I'd have to drive like a Christian" "

Some good questions to think about. Sure the 'church' has deviated from it's purpose many times, and still in many ways today, but is it really the church or people within the church? Yes, the people within the church are the church, but then I suppose then it can go into questioning whether the 'denomination' if it is correct or not, but that's another topic all together.

There are way too many people that call themselves 'Christians' but don't even know what God requires of them. Who would become a part of, or assosiate themselves with something they have no idea about, like becoming a lion tamer or a Free Mason for example without knowing what they actually do or what it actually means.

Christianity has much to answer for, or is it really people in the church that have much to answer for!? Back before the reformation of the church, the Catholic church became an entity that was all about controlling people in the name of 'God' which really was nothing like what God requires from His people - my God is a God of justice - that means people are liberated spiritually and even physically, not so you can do what you want sinfully, but so you are free from oppression and any form of slavery, etc.

I like the part of the above statement about a uniform being a statement of commitment. Many 'Soldiers' of the Salvation Army these days don't do more than observe 'church' and it just is a passive thing - uniform to them is something they just wear to just be a part of the 'club' and not for anything outside of the four walls of the church where it's true purpose lies; its funny that these people are slowly just wearing casual civilian clothes to worship, even footy club clothing I've noticed rather than their uniform.

Why did Salvationists wear uniform in the first place - because they wanted to show they were apart of the fight, were committed and wanted to be associated with this Army God had raised up, not just for it's Soldiers to club meetings to make themselves feel good and pat each other on the back saying 'you're doing a good job' but actually get out there save the dying and clothe the naked and snatch people out of the clutches of damnation on many levels.

What happened to that?? We lost the vision of eternal damnation. I'm sure forgot to study the Word and therefore the requirements of Salvation, became comfortable thinking that sitting in 'church' occasionally would give them a free pass into 'heaven'. I've had a few small envisions of hell and that 'encourages' me strongly to actually partake in our calling to save the lost! If you've lost your passion or your enthusiasm, read the Word more, pray more, ask God for a renewed passion for the lost, and even a vision of hell yourself - but as a warning - be ready for what you ask!!!

Arise Soldiers - enough is enough! - are you giving reason for God's enemies to blaspheme His Holy Name?? If so, stop calling yourself a Christian and associating yourself with God - you are doing the most damage to the Kingdom of God.

"I can't stand your religious meetings.

I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.

I want nothing to do with your religion projects,

your pretentious slogans and goals.

I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes,

your public relations and image making.

I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.

When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?

I want justice—oceans of it.

I want fairness—rivers of it.

That's what I want. That's all I want. "

Amos 5:21-24

Focus determines your reality

I had a good conversation a couple of days ago now with a good friend about how leprosy colonies still exist today and it changed my view on the verse where Jesus says to "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons". Previously I wasn't aware of many people still in the world that had leprosy, so I wasn't sure how relevant that part of the verse was, but God keeps reminding me His word is eternal.

We got onto the healing topic that seems to keep coming up around the Salvationist circles a lot lately. I'm guilty of focusing on God's healing power more than His saving power and my good friend, a respected leader of the Army, was saying to us that the best healing God gives is the healing of hearts! How good is that! I love it. He also went onto say that if we could hear God on the healing topic is that He might say, you wouldn't worry so much about my signs and wonders if you really knew what was coming!

My Spiritual giftings are in healing, discernment etc, more the 'supernatural' gifts - everyone seems to focus on whats around them the most.

So it got me thinking about what's our primary focus as Salvationist in the Salvation Army - well we know we're not a metaphor, so I guess it's salvation!! We focus primarily on peoples souls! We want them to see, as we see, the love of God.

Then what? Secondly, then is it the physical, which to me, it looks like in the past few decades the Army has put into first place. (This covers both the feeding and clothing etc and also the healing topic). Even today I heard some Officers were unhappy with a good friend of mine, who is a leading Officer of the Army, because he is "too focused on social justice and evangelism" and here I'd like to state IS the basis of the Salvation Army - how ironic!!!

So, in my personal opinion, the Army in the past few decades, started loosing it's vision, started taking it's eyes off 'the ball', and now we're trying to get back on the of the purpose of the movement, why God raised us specifically - there will be much opposition, especially from within, from the 'not-so-right' teachings of the mediocre army, and we're seeing this opposition already! (God have your way with Your Army in Jesus Name)

Here comes some healing again I think - many people have been badly hurt from this 'army' when we started diverting from our 'mission'. Since we 'represent' God, we may have to have some healing first so these hurt by the 'organisation' can see God clearly again, not the blurred vision they see of God through the Army.

So I suppose what I'm saying in summary is, put God's saving power first - He ultimately wants us to spend eternity in His Kingdom, then worry about their physical self as a close second(!?) What's your thoughts?

If focus determines your reality - what is the reality of the Salvation Army at present? Thanks to Commissioner Knaggs for his vision - its very timely!!

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28

Catch the Fire!

Went to Catch the Fire's meeting on Thursday night with James.

If you haven't heard - God has arrived in Melbourne! Yes God is omnipresent (He is everywhere!), but His blessings are raining down more than I've ever seen before here in Melboune.

How awesome is God! Just standing there, God's presence was so strong. As I stood there worshipping God, the Spirit just fell upon us and the feeling of love that came over me was so powerful. I almost fell like I couldn't stand in His presence, I found myself bowing on the ground just soaking up God's presence.

Opportunities arose where anyone could go forward to receive prayer, it was like everyone just wanted to go down to be prayed for, why wouldn't you?! There was a time for breaking addictions and healing etc. These guys at Catch the Fire, just worship God and are continually in prayer with Him, and God is there as a result of there devotion to Him. Pastor Danny (now known as the controversial Pastor! lol) spoke with such authority through the Spirit with words of prophecy and also with healing. [Please remember - Jesus is the healer - no one here claims to heal themselves, but only through the authority of Jesus]

There was a huge crowd wanting to receive healing from God, it started with a deaf mans ears opened, then continued with what started out as a simple pain in a shoulder turned into deliverance of 8 demons, then a lady in a wheel chair who previously couldn't walk due to cancer walking around the hall, to a lady released from depression, to a 14 year old girl less than a meter away from me healed from deafness since birth in her left ear (and limited hearing in her right ear). God can do all things. Hallelujah!!

Revival is on it's way to Melbourne. I don't really like the world revival since in the past it has been waved around loosely by people every time something good happened, but when God's revival comes it will be world wide! Praise God!! The ocean is coming, not just a trickle or river, but an ocean.

Pastor Danny realised that there was a significant amount of deaf ears opened and so he prayed about it and God responded that it is representational of His people not listening to His word but now God is opening their ears - the deaf to hear.

In the 'cousin revival' that's occuring in Florida there have been more progressions, it started off big, now is exploding, people are not even staying dead!! As many of you know, I've been praying that I'll see the dead raised here in Melbourne by the end of this year so God can be glorified and for all those need proof that God is sovereign will be without doubt - now God is doing His 'thing' here in Melbourne, so I think I know what is coming.... (Matt 10:8 fulfilment!! Bring it on God!!)

Check out the reports at http://catchthefire.com.au/blog/ for daily reports. If you're anywhere near Melbourne, you need to drop in every night except for Wednesday nights - weeknights @ 7:30 and weekends at 6:30 - 30 Star Crescent Hallam

Are you ready for God?

Outreach

Today I'm taking my Corps out into the community to the new 'Salvo's Store' in Glenroy, around the corner from where my Corps is.

We're aiming to be a very visible & audible presence there with a few band members to be heard, we have face painting there and also some CD music for a bit of variety.

We're there to support the rest of the Salvation Army's work, but also to let people know that just around the corner is the 'church' side of things too, where you can come and be fed the living word and fulfil your destiny by joining us in living out our part in the Body of Christ.

Please pray that people will hear the most important message that resounds in this world as we speak to them today - Jesus wants to give you life through his death - but He is alive!! Confusing, no, awesome!

Come on, let's change the world, make it a world where everyone can live a happy and free life, free from fear and bondage.

Live as if it depends on you, and use the unlimited power of Jesus to do it!!

"He upholds the cause of the oppressed

and gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets prisoners free"

Psalm 146:7

Movers and shakers

Note the words of Acts 4:31: "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembles together was shaken."

There are many churches where they never pray the kind of prayer that you read of here. A church that does not know how to pray and to shout will never be shaken. If you live in a place like that you might as well write over the threshold; "Ichabod" - "The glory has departed from Israel!" (1 Sam. 4:21)

It is only when men have learned the secret of prayer, power, and praise that God comes forth. Some people say, "Well I praise God inwardly," but if your heart is full of praise, you will have to let the praise come out.

"As in water face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man"

Proverbs 27:19

Dialogue

You say;

"Sometimes I'd like to ask God why He allows poverty famine and injustice when He could do something about it."

"What's stopping you?" asks a friend

You reply;

"I'm afraid God might ask me the same question"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

It's easy to blame God for all the problems in the world, isn't it. Take responsibility for your own actions, and why not work with God?

Remember: You + God is a majority!

"If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?"

Job 31:13-14

Albertine

ALBERTINE
(Brooke Fraiser)

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
Her mothers voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent
And on a thousandth hill, I think of Albertine
There in her eyes what I don't see with my own
Rwanda

[CHORUS]
Now that I have seen, I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you in my own arms, I cannot let go till you are

I am on a plane across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
and the dust on, the dust on, the dust on my feet
Rwanda

[CHORUS]

[BRIGDE]
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them Albertine

[CHORUS]

I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

Leadership qualities

I've been doing a lot of reading on leadership the past few weeks.

We had an interesting conversation with a 'leader' of the Salvation Army on Sunday after one of our Anzac day ceremonies, where this person was very discouraging and was pulling down all the hard work that we have been putting in to building up the organisation.

In my reading, (s)he was the perfect example of what not to be like! It's quite humorous how perfect examples come along at the right time. These examples really show you what you don't want to become.

So, some of the good points I picked up in my reading were;

• you need to maintain a good relationship with God (number 1)!
• you need to maximise your human relationships
• spend time with people you love
• understand that everyone has value!
• be a servant of Jesus
• inspire, encourage, pray for and enable others to become high achievers themselves
• build up others, and build up new leaders, ie empower others!
• unify the people you are leading
• be committed - something that is really lacking in the world currently
• persevere - never give up, no matter what

That's enough for now, there are plenty of principles that good leaders must develop.

Are you a leader, what areas can you improve upon? If you're not developing your leadership qualities, then you're not being a very good leader, we all can improve something. If we want to be good leaders, we need to always be expanding ourselves for the benefit of the people we're leading! How can you lead someone who has passed you in knowledge, wisdom, ability or even their own leadership!

"if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Romans 12:8

Power in the Holy Spirit

Smith Wigglesworth's daughter asked some African boy's one day to tell her the difference between being saved and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

"Ah," they said, "when we were saved, it was very good; but when we received the Holy Spirit, it was more so." Many of you have never received the "more so".

After the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will have power. God will mightily move within your life' the power of the Holy Spirit will over shadow you, inwardly move in you until you know there is a divine plan different from anything that you have had in your life before.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them,
"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"

They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"

"John's baptism," they replied.
Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Acts 19:1-6

Freedom Day!

If you're in Melbourne today, drop in to Box Hill gardens across from the Box Hill Salvation Army today from around 2pm

We're celebrating 201 years since Wilberforce's victory against slavery - unfortunatly it still exsists today - come along for awareness and what we can be doing about it today

Hope to see you there

Details;
Saturday 29 March2-5pm,
Box Hill Gardens, Nelson Rd
March for Freedom at 4pm

Including Jumping Castle, Sausage Sizzle, Facepainting, Games.
PLUS WIN A NINTENDO DS (if that appeals to you!)

Lag or Log phase?

In microbiology there is things that are called log and lag phases in growth rates.

The log phase is when the growth of a microorganism is optimal in it's surroundings and they multiply very rapidly. The lag phase is when the resources are running out and the numbers reach their peak before they start dying off.

Many churches seem to have moved into a lag phase, figuratively speaking, where we have grown in the past, used up all our resources without replenishing them (ie soldiers who don't tithe) and the church is growing tired because there are only a few that do all the work while the others seem to just sit around and watch.

Last night we had our youth Bible study where we are looking at what we can do to grow the church, take responsibility of it and grow disciples. If we all did what we are called to do, we will work perfectly together as a body works - hence be the body of Christ. Parts of the body don't use all the resources, but they must work together since if one part of the body suffers, all suffer together.

If we all saved 2 people every year, in 20 years, half the number of the present population will be saved!!

Unity, is the key for the church to thrive. Ideally, if everyone had the attitude of putting in and not just taking and using all the resources that the church has to offer, but rather thought what can we offer to resource the church, it would all run itself, smoothly.

Let's put the church back into the 'log' growth phase again, growing and healthy. Surround the church with health and nutrients, prayer and service.

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

Acts 2:41