It's all about love!

So Easter is upon us for the year 2010!

What's going to be different this year compared to previous years? Is God going to reveal something new to me about the Easter story? Just the thought of another insight to the love that Easter represents would blow me away - this whole story of what Jesus did by dying on the cross and by raising Himself again on the third day is just almost more than what I can comprehend!

God's love for us just blows my mind!

Tonight I was able to go back to the Harry Hunter Corps chapel even though I finished my placement there last week. I love this centre and what God is doing there! The Officers and the other employees there do such a great job.

Salvation is not a thing that happens like it does in the rest of the world - people don't always find themselves in a position of praying the sinners prayer and being classed as 'saved', but so many of the clients are finding Jesus and it is awesome and it's really a gradual, bit by bit salvation. Even tonight in one of the 'clients' prayers he said "God, I wanna invite You back into my life after all these years" - to me, that's a salvation story right there, but it's so hard to put down as a 'statistic' in a place like Harry's!

Testimony after testimony of people graduating, the 'clients' continually say 'I'd like to thank God' or 'you can't do this without God!'

God is doing such amazing things in these guys lives and it's amazing being a part of it and just watching His relationships grow.

I wanted to keep this short - this Easter, just take a few quiet moments alone, picture Jesus on the cross and know that it was supposed to be you - accept that truth and accept the gift of life you have right now - the breath you are taking and all the good things that surround you everyday!

It's all about LOVE!

Bless ya!

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."

John 3:16-18 The Message

Spiritual Discussions

Tonight we started a Spiritual Discussions group here at Harry Hunter Centre which Scott and I were leading for tonight. It was totally voluntary and 9 guys and girls turned up which was great for a start.

We didn't have anything really planned but knew that many of the guys had questions of God and spirituality floating around in their heads, and some of these questions were disturbing and frustrating them. Scott started off with a reading then opened it up for discussion, and question after question flowed from the 'clients' of Harry's.

What a night of discussion, ranging from what does it mean to let God in, to the big questions about Heaven and Hell, but I was so pumped with these guys thinking about it and asking the big questions!

Every Wednesday night we have chapel here on the sight of the centre and last week I gave a message on us being spiritual beings in a physical world. The culture here is there is no real response opportunity given, but sometimes a few questions will be given to the Officers throughout the week if required, but I opened up the meeting for prayer and a response if anyone wanted to. No one responded, but 3 guys hung around afterwards and stayed in their seats. One of them stayed and spoke to Scott and myself for at least an hour about what God was speaking to him.

Tonight another guy was telling us that he had given up on all the God stuff, but after the message I gave last week, he really wanted to give God another go! Awesome, Hallelujah! Most of the guys here have had hard lives and bad experiences of God through the church, but hearing some of the stories from here, even just tonight was unbelievable! The Spirit was really stirring, and I felt that God really spoke through me tonight, so hopefully some of these guys really start nurturing a relationship with God, and I believe they will, in Jesus Name!

Please just take a moment to pray for all the men and women here at Harry Hunter Centre in Western Australia - there is some amazing work happening and God is really moving. I'm leading and giving the message again this Wednesday night, so please also pray for that night, I feel God is wanting to use this weeks chapel again for His glory.

God, please open up Heaven and pour out Your blessings on this place as you have been doing and change lives for the better, give hope, joy and peace to all of those that are struggling here presently. Thanks God, we love You and serve You.

In Jesus Name we ask!

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Matthew 21:22

Western Australia - 3 months out-training

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've blogged, but since last time, I've been sent to Perth for 3 months out-training.

It's a great area that I'm staying in, I'm surrounded by tree's and cows. I'm staying at the Harry Hunter Rehabilitation center which is run by some great Salvation Army Officers, who have great experience and are amazing people who love God and serve those who are here with great respect and dignity.

I haven't had much experience in the social side of The Salvation Army before so I am getting 5 weeks of experience in the social side before having 2 months in the Corps (church) side of the Army. I'm experiencing such an amazing opportunities of ministry and evangelism here and really feel God's hand upon this place and my time here.

I'm praying that my time here gives me a great insight to both the social and Corps side of the Army and hopefully the knowledge I gain here allows me to somehow put the two back together within every appointment of my Officership in the future.

Please pray for my training here and allow God to be glorified in all I do here and many people come to know Him in the work that happens here.

Bless ya

Australia - what a filthy country

Last week, I was studying a subject about mission work overseas in different cultures and nations.

Many other nations outside Australia and other 'western' cultures contain quite high moral living in comparison to ours. Even though many of the countries are dirty on the outside, ie on the streets, their living on the inside, ie in their hearts, is at a higher level than here. (Yes, this is a generalisation)

There's so much I can say on this, but I'll keep it brief.

I was watching 'Video Hit's' this morning and everything that the video's were selling was filthy!! How do we let our children watch these things, what are we teaching them! Three songs in a row and I had to turn it off.

What we surround ourselves with and spend our time focused on will consume us. Morals are thrown out the window and we do whatever pleases us, even if that is at the expense of another, we are taught YOU are what's important, don't worry about your neighbor.

What do you need to change in your heart that is filthy? Living in a world surrounded by dirt is making me really dirty, how can we give a nation a shower and a good clean!? I think it starts with us as individuals.

Re-evaluate your heart and balance it up. Being clean is such a great feeling. Who has a shower then decides to jump in the mud because it is better? Let's lift our standards for our family's and our children's sake!

No more immorality, no more rapes, no more stealing, no more adultery, no more murders, no more slander, no more selfishness, no more gossip, no more hate...!!

"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial.

1 Corinthians 6:12a

[1 Corinthians 6:11-13]

Prayer

Prayer is an amazing thing to have as humanity, when you actually get your head around the concept, you realise you can have a conversation with the One who created Earth, the stars, and even you and I. It's quite mind blowing really.

This One who created the Heavens and the Earth is also the one who created the 'natural' laws that the universe was to operate within, the laws that science tell us are in place and that all the formulas that we've come up with define.

Have you ever realised, that at the same time as having laws surrounding us that we have to abide by, we can still persuade God, this Creator of the universe, to change His mind and break natural laws. This is when miracles can occur, such as a person who has developed a tumor is somehow cured and the doctors cannot explain, or someone with a broken leg gets prayed for and it somehow is completely restored without evidence of a break ever occurring to that bone, or how about someone being raised from the dead, even days after the their heart had taken it's last beat.

The God who placed these 'natural' laws in place can also break them as He chooses or is persuaded to do. Pray with perseverance and believe that God loves you and will give you the desires of your heart, not things you may want, but the things you need and especially for things that will glorify Himself. Just as a child brings a petition before their parent, we approach our Heavenly Father in the same way, and He responds as a loving parent does, the perfect parent.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

Spirituality - we're incomplete without it!

If you look at every culture since the beginning of creation, we (humanity) have known there was something bigger than ourselves, a 'higher being' that we have the desire within our spirits to search for. The ancient Egyptians had their gods, the Australian Aboriginals have their spirit gods, the Aztec's, Babylonians, Celtic, Greek, Hindu, Japanese, Roman, etc, etc, etc we all have the in built need for something more, something spiritual to fill the emptiness inside.

I've just spent a month in India, and learning about the Hindu gods and how they seem to have, just like many other religions, a god for nearly every aspect of life from welcoming you into a home, your money, harvests, travelling etc.

While I was in India, there was quite a few times I depended on help from God, protection from danger firstly; there was at least 5 times we were very close to death that we know of, and secondly health, so I didn't get sick or 'complications' from the food and water. If I didn't have faith that God would get me through I would have felt helpless. While I was there, there was deaths on train crashes, I went on these trains, there was deaths due to the cold, I was staying in this area, there were deaths on the roads, one night was so foggy there was around 80 people dead or missing on the exact road we were travelling on and many more examples of similar events; yet in all of this, I felt unbelievably safe like I was wrapped in cotton wool - I felt the presence of God surrounding us and hearing our prayers and others who were praying for us also.

I depended on the help of God during my trip and people all throughout history have searched for the help and guidance from the spiritual world, it's in our DNA to find God, yet I return to a country that really has no spirituality. Australia has so many people that are their own 'gods', they believe they don't need anything else apart from themselves, or so they say.

For a nation to have no spirituality is a nation that is lost. When I try to imagine having no spirituality, I think of zombies with no souls, just a shell going through motions without purpose; wake, eat, work, sleep day in day out.

The more I talk to people that claim they don't need God, the more they realise how pointless their life is. When all the business of their life is gone, when all the distractions, paryting, alcohol and all the other things the world does to try to keep their mind off their internal pain and emptiness and they just sit at the end of the day in the dark by themselves, there is still a gaping emptiness inside that can only be filled by God Himself.

If this describes how you feel, read the Bible, I suggest starting with the New Testament, the books like Mark, Matthew and John and if this doesn't work for you, I'll seriously be surprised. When God created us, He made us so that we were only complete with Him, without Him we are incomplete.

A Godless nation is only fooling itself, a Godless man is lost

Accept Jesus today

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.""

John 8:12

India

So I'm heading of to India tomorrow afternoon and will be meeting up with a few friends who left a few days ahead of me.

I love travelling, as many of you would know, and I can't help but think of people who have gone into lands like India before me. India has so much history and diversity in religions and other aspects of life in general. Being a part of The Salvation Army, knowing some of the work that happened in India with the likes of the Booth-Tuckers and just to be able to put everything in context will be exciting. So much to see and experience!

Going to towns and villages where Jesus is either unknown or un-acknowledged will be a challenge, being surrounded by idols, cow's of great worth and ultimately opposition in the spiritual should be a great experience especially in the northern regions.

God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, so to be blessed to be able to see more of that creation is amazing and won't be taken for granted. Prayer support will be appreciated so that God's work will be done and the Kingdom will be experienced and expanded.

Thanks for everyone who is and already prayed for the three of us who are taking this trip. I'll place some pictures up when I return, especially on Facebook if you want to check them out in around 4 weeks.

Please keep praying for us and for God's will to be done in this season.

"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars."

Isaiah 45:2