The Right Thing

I'm sitting in my cubicle at work having been convicted about something I should have done differently. It wasn't the wrong course of action, but the WAY I approached the situation did not honour others and I also believe, did not honour the Lord. When I became aware of this situation – it left me with a sick feeling on the stomach. I can't believe I did that!?! Am I that self-absorbed?

I suppose our initial reaction is to beat ourselves up over the situation...yet this doesn't seem to help much – no, IT DOES NOT HELP! I know I am forgiven by God, yet as Christ Followers we are called to repent, but not only to God, but to the people we have offended – even IF they might not even realise the situation – THAT'S the challenging part! We don't live in condemnation (Rom8:1) , but we do live in grace, and so we need be quick to own up to our mistakes and move forward...doing the RIGHT thing! It may not have offended others, but if you have been convicted of something – you better start to listen and move to action. God is prompting you – are you obedient?

 

Psalms 73:26 reads: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"

 

I failed this time – but by God's strength I won't next time! Put differently, God is my strength, and I will put my pride in my pocket and admit my mistake – ask forgiveness! This is after all NOT about me – but about HIM!

 

To end with a quote that I am putting on my wall:

"I am humbly aware of how much I've already been forgiven, and I will continue owning up to my mistakes!"

Church Planting...

Isaiah 43:18 – 19

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland"

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His truth endures through the ages and will continue to do so, but God still does new things! We live in a world and society that can be considered as a "spiritual desert or wasteland". We read about all that's 'wrong' in the world...poverty, suffering, crime, corruption – the list is endless, yet amongst all this there's hope. A hope that is greater than what we can ever imagine – the hope of Jesus! He is our stream of LIVING water in the desert – and in our day and age HE is doing a new thing!

We know that familiar portion of scripture in John 3:16 that says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life". Jesus' heart is for all people to know him! And his chosen vehicle to tell the world about this hope is the Church, and as the Church he has commissioned through the power of the Holy Spirit to continue the work he began – to be HIS hands and feet in this broken world – to make a difference, to teach people and equip them for serve Him – to be the hope visible in this day and age.

What is the Church? Very simply put, ordinary men and women, who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour and now aim to do his will as contained in scripture. We don't always get it 'right', we're fallible human beings, yet we serve an extraordinary God in whom all things are possible and he has given each person a gift to build up the Church (1 Cor 12:7). Each Christ Follower is significant in the extension of God's kingdom and so he has sent us out (Matt 28:19) and promised that He will be with us!

 

And so, God has been leading me on a journey that stretches over 4 years to plant a local church that aims to be a passionate community of believers, who radically love God, people and impacts the community and the world. The heartbeat is to LEAD PEOPLE IN A GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS" whilst creating an environment where people do life together!

If an analogy of music can be used:

If each Christ Follower represented a music note... a note on its own does not bring out the richness of music. Add two more notes and you have a chord...already sounds a bit better, but add a whole lot of different chords in succession and arranged in a unique way and you have a beautiful melody. This is in part the design of the local church – we're all adding to God's melody, all functioning in a different way, but arranged by God to bring out the fullness of his plan for his Church.

In saying this, each of us needs to understand what our part is to play in the story – hence God places us in community...community that does not only happen once a week, but throughout the week. A community that shares and does life together! (as stated in Acts 2:42 -47)

 

Simply put, a community:

• Fulfilling the Great Commandments (To Love God & Love people),
  
• Living out the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20)
  
• Through being the Acts 2:42 community
  

God is doing a new thing. He is busy growing our faith...stretching us to see HIS will accomplished where he has placed us.

Someone once said: "It's better to be a follower who sometimes fails, than to be one who fails to follow"

I believe God is calling us to a passionate faith in Him, bringing HIS hope to the world!

Waiting...

If you are anything like me, you really don't like waiting. Just this morning I was at the airport, waiting to board my flight.

I stood in the queue looked around me, saw people chatting away merrily... and then...there I was...

Alone. (You can hear the crickets in the background)

 

So, I quickly pulled out my MP3 player to listen to music – it helps pass the time between waiting. But this got me thinking about a portion of scripture in Isaiah 40:31 that reads:

"Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."

Waiting is a natural and essential process of God's design. We so easily get impatient, yet often times the most important work takes place while we wait. Friends of mine, Mark & Di are expecting their little girl Gabriella any day now. It's been so special to see this 9 months of WAITING come to an end. However this last few days a whole bunch of us are tired of waiting – we want to meet little Gabriella, but there is STILL work being done in the womb. In reflection, I am glad that God makes us wait. You see, if hypothetically a mother got tired of waiting 9 months for her baby's birth and delivered a child prematurely, you'll find that vital growth has not taken place which could lead to various complications and even death. Waiting is important...no it is Essential!

When God gives us a vision, it's like a baby has been conceived – however growth still needs to take place before the birth. One cannot always see the growth, but it is there! God is at work. LifeCafe is in its unique stages after conception – God is doing his work. I'm just a vessel, and it is not only me that will be part of it, God is calling other men and women to join in the work of spreading His message of salvation...but God says "wait patiently"...

 

So I will wait patiently for the Lord to do what HE needs to do, and do what I need to do when He tells me to do it. It's a journey of daily obedience. It's in the waiting that our strength, our character, beliefs etc get tested, developed and sharpened. It's in the waiting we discover the most about ourselves. It's in the waiting that we come face to face with the most loving Father anyone could ever have...and then when God says "Go for it!" we're ready...and waiting...

Can’t Stop Talking

I am sooooo passionate and excited about what Jesus is doing! What an awesome Saviour we serve! I've recently rediscovered a song written by Russell Fragar (sung by Darlene – Hillsong) entitled "CAN'T STOP TALKING". I have been grooving to this tune over the last few days – It sums up what I'm feeling about how JESUS is not A WAY....but THE WAY to the Father. Fil, my housemate and friend I'm sure thinks I'm crazy – 'cause when I hear that song I just want to jump up and down and go wild for Jesus! I'm at a place where I am struggling to contain my passion and "fire for the Messiah" (as my good friend Mark Moodie puts it) – which is brilliant! The future may be uncertain, but in Jesus Christ our hope is made real – our purpose is defined...our destiny secure and certain! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for JESUS!!!

Below is the song...read the words...make it your own... Love the TRUTH, LIVE THE TRUTH!

 

I can't stop talkin' 'bout, everything He's done
It's the best thing happened since the world begun
It didn't come cheap but I got it for free
It's the hope of glory, Christ in me

He helped me to see, when my spirit was blind
It's amazing, if you look, just what you'll find
Every step I took, He took two
If He did it for me, He will do it for you

Do you know Him?
Yes, I do!
Do you know what I say is true?
Do you know Him?
Yes, I do!
If He did it for me, He will do it for you

Songwriter: Russell Fragar

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!

Psalm 139:13 - 18

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together
in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you
because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. ¹⁵ 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,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained
for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷ How precious to
me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸ Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

Nothing inspires me more than to see the wonder of God's work! On 25 November, Benjamin Gibson-Taylor was born! A perfect little treasure...a gift from God! To think that this boy was knit together by God in his mom's womb – absolutely amazing! When one looks at a baby one realises the magnitude of what scripture says we're "fearfully and wonderfully made". God does not just leave it at that – he's got a plan and purpose for each and every child!

Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans
I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper
you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

The future of little Benjamin is in the best hands possible…God's and with that he has been blessed with two amazing parents, Bevan & Jo, whom he'll learn from what it means to follow Jesus wholeheartedly – while having stacks of fun in the process! When one looks at this family you realize that doing things God's way results in God's total order and blessing!

 

I am truly blessed to be a part of this celebration of new life and to share in God's goodness and blessing! All glory to God!