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!

 

Foundations...

Foundations...they're everywhere! In your home, your workplace, church. We know that when the foundations of a building isn't strong or of good quality, the building or structure may collapse – it's unsafe!

Foundations do not only apply to buildings, but also to our lives as Christ Followers.

Paul writes in the book of 1 Corinthians:

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" - 1 Corinthians 3:10 – 11

I am amazed at Paul's statement "I laid a foundation as an expert builder" – as we minister or go about our daily business, interacting with people around us...do we lay foundations for Christ like expert builders? Is our foundation HIM? As people, we often seek the 'experience' of praise and worship rather than the lifestyle of Praise & Worship. We seek the experience of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, yet we often don't walk in step with the Holy Spirit. If our only focus is the experience, we need to re-evaluate our foundation...and if necessary "go back to the basics" – Christ!

Is your foundation Christ? If it is, are you building like an expert builder? If not, what is it then?

A Transformed Mind results in a Transformed Heart

As we journey together as Christ Followers, we become more aware that often times serving Christ is an act of the will – a conscious decision. When things are going well it is easy to follow Christ, but at other times, we really have to 'draw deep' to continue through tough times. You may at times be so bombarded by the world and the things of this world that we 'lose heart'. It could be work pressures, pressures at home, people's pressure or just the sheer volume of events and things that are seemingly going 'wrong'.

The answer lies in renewed thinking. Romans 12:2 says: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will".

Renewed thinking results in a new perspective, a new reality – GOD'S REALITY.

We read in Psalm 43:5 "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.". The Psalmist is clearly in a bad place – he poses some questions to himself because something is not as it should be, however he does not let the condition of his soul drive him, but changes it to putting his hope and trust in God - the renewed thinking.

How do you renew your mind? By spending time in the Word – meditating on it, getting to know our Father in Heaven who has only the best planned for us! Once we know this, we don't allow the condition of our "soul" (feelings, emotions etc) to dictate to us how we should act, but instead we stand on the word of God and allow it to renew our thoughts...which ultimately results in a renewed heart – a heart after God's own heart!

"...be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." – the result...."Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is..."