Dangerous stories!!

Some of the youth leaders have just attended a conference on the weekend which was in the theme of Dangerous Stories. There were a few big named speakers which didn't all agree with each other, which made it very interesting.

A few quick questions for you to think about, does the Jesus you know reflect the position you are in - ie, a Empire Jesus - authoritive and after domination becase you are in a position of power, or a vicitm Jesus - cos you are being suppressed.... the point is our perception of Jesus is often affected by the way we live - "show me your life and I'll show you who Jesus is"! Get back to the gospels!!

God made us in His image, lets return the favour! Get back to being like Him. (Holy/pure...)

Six obsticles in living a life for God and telling the world are 1. our perception of who Jesus is, 2.who we feel we are, 3. not seeing the world and how it actually is around us (seeing the need for Him), 4. Money (consumerism), 5. Non-biblical concept of family and 6. addiction to the Holywood notions of love (ie, romance, sentimental love, etc, and not seeing how God loves the world - self sacrificial love for the world)

How much spiritual muscle do you have - how easily are you defeated by temptation and other distractions away from God? A though - Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness fasting to prepare Him for only 3 years of ministry - how much preparation do we put in for our entire life of ministry?? We need to focus ourselves on self-denial, submission and the worship of God alone!

We sanitise the gospel to make it more confortable for ourselves - ie, a nice clean nativity scene, with no bad smells, a nice comfortable manger, a happy Mary and no noisy animals, a painless birth etc. Really? A nice crucifiction for Jesus with a piece of cloth giving Him some dignity, really, no not likely, He would have been totally humiliated and humbled!! We need to connect with the real Jesus, who got in there and got Himself dirty, did things and wasn't afraid to be persicuted and threatened to the point of death. We rather keep ourselves safe and clean and God isn't going to get any glory from that - is He?

"Sure those 'christians' are nice people, but really are a bunch of girls!"

We have way too much pride, if we follow the example of Hannah in 1 Samuel and repent with tears and humble ourselves, pray without cease, and really cry out to God, He will hear our cry. REPENT - TO RE-THINK EVERYTHING - how many of us (if at all) repent, but actually RE-THINK EVERYTHING??? Not just shoot a quick prayer Heaven-wards asking God for forgivness, but actually change the way we do things??

Expect the unexpected - Expect God to do amazing, miraculous things - God Himself is doing unthinkable things presently - thousands of Muslims are converting to Christianity through dreams God is giving them!! I wondered how they were going to see the light!! But beware - they are totally sold out to God, they put almost all of us 'Christians' to shame. Things of man multiply, but things of God - explode!

Is your life a dangerous story?? - at least every morning make sure Hell has a crisis meeting knowing that you've just woken up!!

Praise God!!

N.B. - HOLY SPIRIT = EMPOWEMENT 4 MISSION

Jesus is Lord!

VERSE: For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers orrulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. -- Colossians 1:16 http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+1:16

THOUGHT: "Jesus is Lord!" That doesn't just mean that we have yielded our lives to his will and trusted in his grace. "Jesus is Lord!" This means that everything that is created is his. All angels, demons,and spirits are below him and their purpose is to honor and serve him. Even though demons have chosen not to honor and serve him,that decision does not change what their purpose should be or the fact that Jesus showed his superiority over them in his crucifixion and resurrection. It means the universe, with its vast expanse and glory, was made by him and made to declare his glory. As God's image to us, God's presence for us to know and see, he is our King, Lord, and Savior. If our life is in his hands and our hearts are yielded to his will, then no one and nothing can prevent his ultimate victory for us and in us.

Doctrines - do we know what we believe?

As a part of our worship time at Glenroy, I've been taking us breifly through the Salvation Army doctrines since our worship isn't just about singing songs, but is living out our lives by living out what we believe and how we stand in our relationship with Jesus. So today we were upto the third doctrine which states;

"We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory "

Last week was obviously doctrine number two (we're going through in order!) which states;

"We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship"

Thats fine, that spells it out exactly as I believe the Scripture clearly states it. Ok, now it gets interesting. Tonight we had our family video night at church - we watched 'Left Behind' which is about the end times and goes through the story basically how it is in the book of Revelation, but at the end, one of the older ladies who has been attending our church for ever really, said to my Mum, I don't really like those spy stories. Mum replied along the lines of 'excuse me?! Didn't you realise that was about Revelations'. The lady didn't really follow, well Mum doesn't think so anyway! Quite sad I feel, always attending, but never hearing - I hope she just knows that Jesus is the Son of God and accepts that as truth.

Well, it does get worse though - this lady is my Mum's sister (who recently died) her mother in law. She said also to my Mother tonight, that she had been praying for Wendy (Mum's sister) but continued saying 'just incase our 'god' couldn't help, I've asked my Muslim next door neighbour to pray to their 'god' to help her'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What to say!!?? My goodness!!! Ahhhhhhhhh! [pulling out some hair atm]

Lucky I didn't hear this first hand - I would have had a heart attack. A senior of our church - well obviously only in years of attendance! We had just gone through the second doctrine at the start of the week before she had gone off to do this, maybe we have to talk as if we are talking to 3 year olds when we're teaching God's truths - how many others in our church are so far off the track (we do have childrens stories - maybe we need more of them?!). It's funny though, these are the people that refuse to come to Bible studies and night meetings, well anything that has any depth, because they say they don't need to.........(!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I really don't know how to conclude this blog, what else to say!

"And you shall seek me, and find me, when you seach for me with all your heart"

Jeremiah 29:13

Church - be searching!

Scattered flock - Where is the Shepherd?

Last night we had a forum with anyone who wanted to come to discuss Army issues related to mission, officership etc. We had a few turn up and it was lead by Major Raymond Finger. As the disscussions started it all just sounded like a clanging sound - there was no real content behind what anyone was saying. People were just giving the 'correct' taught answers which we hear over and over, word by word. Stupid sayings we've worn out, like we're out to save souls, but everyone just says it to impress the 'important' ranked officers and others there - it made me quite embarrassed actually.

When some serious questions arose, the people who were best to answer were pushed back in line by people who just wanted to hear their own voice and I kept hearing people saying 'I think...' and the people who 'knew' didn't even get to say a word all night!

The worst thing about the night was that no one really agreed on anything, we all are our own boss. If I want to believe everyone meant what they said, then we're an army of individual 'armies' fighting for whatever we want to fight for - where did the Bible and Jesus come into any of it. Not much at all really.

God kept reminding me of the early church in Acts where it was know as 'the way' where we were showing the world the way to life - the way to Jesus. We are all scattered sheep lost to 'the way' - so are people not finding Jesus through the Army because we're lost ourselves?

I thank God for people like Marney and Len Turner who are totally surrendered to Jesus and don't exist for themselves, it's so encouraging knowing I can go to them for real food and Spirit fed resources. I know God is blessing them and I encourage everyone to pray for them constantly as I do!

Another thing that's been bugging me is that the Salvation Army's community support programs are being 'combined' with other programmes like Westcare and we're starting to let ourselves be taken over by them. The very thing God raised us up for is now being dominated by other churches - that's great as long as it's being done, but then I think - are we now redundant? What do we exsist for now or doesn't God requre the Army anymore, or has He changed our mission and focus?

Oh great Shepherd, come tend to Your flocks!

"However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and the that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."
Acts 24:14-16

Encouragement and Freedom

Acts 6:1-7

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews [a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Yesterday at Church, we had a great time learning about Jesus the Healer and things were going great. One of our attenders had a total turn around during the week, he almost appeared as a new being claiming he had finally found God. Things are going great at Glenroy Salvation Army with our adopted new Sprirtual leaders - Lt Colonels Brain and Elaine Hood.

One of our 'members' was talking to me after the meeting and gave me an insight to an answer I've been after. I've been wondering why we're still not repenting as God's been asking of us. I thought our church was hard of heart but the answer seemed to come through our childrens story.

Our CSM was taking our young ones through the parable of the seeds falling on different types of ground - ie, the path, the thorny ground and good soil. It seems as though we don't have hard hearts but the seeds, or the word of God in our lives are falling on thorny ground and as it is growing in our hearts it is being strangled and taken over by the world. The world has too much of a hold on our lives still - be in the world but not of it!

Now I come to the part to explain the Bible verse above. Our congregation seems to have more fault finding abilities than encouragement abilities - which can have it's advantages if in balance with the encouragement. In my martial arts teachings, I've learnt that for every one bad punch, for example, you need to do seven correct ones to re-correct the one wrong. I thought of this yesterday when people started comming upto me to complain about the things we aren't doing well enough - hey, there is plenty of good things that we are doing, but the complaints are weighing me down too much, I feel drained and disouraged by all of this. No one said a word of encouragement yesterday, just one would have been enough!

Anyway, in Acts 6 (above) due to the complaints of the church, more leaders needed to be raised to deal with the other things that were lacking. At Glenroy, it seems that everything falls on the same people and no one else will offer to help - it's not that they couldn't, they just dont. I'm wanting the church to re-focus on the blessing and laying on of hands that used to happen, to place the blessing of God back onto peoples lives. This way we can re-introduce the baptism of the Holy Spirit back into the disciples of Jesus. I know this is happening in many places, but not enough!! Imagine the world with God's Spirit manifesting in our lives everywhere we go if we hand over all of our lives to God's will - can you see the Great Southland of the Holy Spirit?!

Just to finish with, let's be more encouraging, I know it's not in my nature, but when I give the Holy Spirit reign in my life it starts appearing. We need to be people of encouragement and give hope to those who have no hope, and free those people who have the hand of Satan over their eyes.

Walk in the Spirit - the freedom of Jesus our Christ and in the blessing of our Great God!!

Year of Salvation

I was talking to my good mate, James (see link to Wholly Holy) a couple of weeks ago and together with our spiritual discernment we felt there was possibly some type of 'curse' over the Salvation Army that was stopping us 'saving souls' in the proportion that we should be. Many of us are responding to God's call upon our lives and we should be seeing the flood gates opening in a 'biblical' size but we're not!!

I spent last weekend up in the Snowy Mountains in NSW with my family and I got to spend some quiet time with God and He told me its not a curse on the Army but He did push the thought - how can we give out when we're empty!?

God showed me a picture of the Salvation Army that appeared to me as large circle. It was a huge circle with a very thin outside layer. This thin outside layer was the Salvationists that were Spirit filled and the rest were not, a huge ridiculous amount of 'soldiers' were not filled with the Spirit of our God!! How can we give out if we are empty??

That night I prayed for a while with my brother Sean and God Gave me the title for 2007 - 'Year of Salvation' along with a Bible verse "Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8 which told me He wants to be remolding us this year so He can fling open the flood gates and make this the year of Salvation, but we must allow ourselves to be fully devoted to His work and be filled with His Spirit - we as the Salvation Army must focus this year on allowing the Spirit of God be filling all who are under the banner of His Army! Without the Spirit of God we are doing everything in our own strength and our own authority - no wonder we're not doing any good in the world any more - we're doing what we want and therefore God isn't getting any glory, therefore not blessing us!!!

Lets be filled with the Holy Spirit this year, everyone who claims to be a disciple of Jesus must be filled and therefore developing Spiritual gifts which will build up His church, change the world through His strength and authority and give Him the Glory He rightfully deserves!

If you've never been filled before with the Spirit of God, start praying for it, search for it and move past the baptism of John, the baptism of repentance - let's get past living in our sinful lives and now move to the baptism of Jesus - the baptism of the Holy Spirit!! This is going to be the Year of Salvation - let's rise up and bring the world back to God in Jesus Name and authority.

As I was writing this I happened to pick up a book in a pile and it had a note written in about the baptism of the Holy Spirit which I'll share with you. It's from a book titled "Helps to Holiness" by Samuel Logan Brengle and on page x of the introduction it says;

"Do you want to know what the baptism of the Holy Ghost is? It is not a mere sentiment. It is not a happy sensation that passes away in the night. It is a baptism of love that brings every thought into captivity to the Lord Jesus; that casts out all fear that burns up doubt and unbelief as fire burns tow; that makes one 'meak and lowly in heart'; that makes one hate uncleanness, lying and deceit, a flattering tongue and every evil way with a perfect hatred; that makes heaven and hell eternal realities; that makes one patient and gentle with the forward and sinful; that makes one 'pure,...peacable,...easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hippocracy ';that brings one into perfect and unbroken sympathy with the Lord Jesus Christ in His toil and travail to bring a lost and rebel world back to God"

"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 19:4-5

Out with 2006!!

Well, it's a good thing that 2006 is over in a way since there was quite a few deaths of good friends and family which occurred during the year and hopefully the last one occuring on the last day of the year.

My Mum's youngest sister lost her battle to a brain tumor at midnight as the last day of the year arrived. In recent days she had been searching for answers about what was going to happen to her immortal soul as she was becomming very confused and worried at the same time about what was going to become of her soul. She was once a Senior Soldier in the Salvation Army when she was younger, but I feel that doesn't mean she really knew that Jesus was the Son of God - too many people talk the talk in the Army, even back then.

Assuming my Aunty was truly saved at that time - and backslidden in more recent days, is it true to say that 'once saved - always saved'?? Someone said this to me on Sunday - but can it be true? I've got a lot of things going on im my head at the moment, and one of them is - all the demons know that Jesus is the Son of God, but are they saved? You can know that Jesus is Lord, but turn away from Him, can't you? Many of her sibblings are in the same boat, and it's sinking!

How many more people in the world also know that the end of their life is comming and are fearful of what is going to happen to their souls, either not knowing what the full truth that Jesus has to offer to them, or not even knowing of Him at all??

In my Aunty's last morning, she was getting upset saying that God wasn't listening and that she just wanted her head to finally explode and it just to end - that night she died and it looks as though her head may have just done what she wanted - God WAS listening! Only if she knew. It makes me sad to think that she was lost, not just in the spiritual sense, but mentally having no hope or sense of security. I didn't even know the words to say to her to help - she continually thanked me for my prayers, but did she really mean it? I think it did give her some sort of comfort.

Just to fill you in, October/November of 2005 she was originally diagnosed with only 1-2 months to live - God told me she would be healed and she went into remission a few months later, but then halfway through last year secondary cancer hit. Mum was devistated and blamed me, saying that I told her that God had given her a miracle, but now she found it wasn't true. God healed her, but I feel a lack of faith of God in other family members wasn't helping. Was this supposed to be a wake up call to a family being lost - was the miracle a gift to them that went unappreciated, so God took it back??

Anyway, I suppose I better go out and make sure the rest of the world doesn't end up in her position not knowing the hope of eternal life paid through Jesus' blood. I want everyone to have the peace that I do - it is offered to all. If you know this peace too, don't keep it to yourself - sometimes it's hardest to talk to your family about these things, but if you tell others, you could have saved my Aunty for me, but you didn't! I just hope I can save someone elses Aunty!

Enough of my depressive thoughts - go out and tell the world about Jesus, for everyones sake, especially God's, He wants them to know.
If anyone has a word of encouragement, please share it with me, I could use some lightening up (obviously!! lol)

Well, until next time - God bless.
Simon.