In Every Season

Just over a week before Hillsong recorded their live album "This is our God", one of their main worship leaders suffered a major tragedy. Here is Jill's story (from youtube)



I love the lyrics of this song - particularly in this time of financial uncertainty. Regardless of the season we find ourselves, this song is a declaration we need to keep always on our lips - in every season.

Here are the Lyrics

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in hunger and need
My God is the God who provides


And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

Chorus:
And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

Bridge:
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've recieved I will sow

Financial health in the midst of a Global Financial Pandemic

I haven't done the math, but I would guestimate that 70% - 80% of journalistic articles released at present are concerned about the financial 'flu' that is overwhelming the globe.

It started beyond our nation, and has spread to our own neighbourhoods. Jobs, originally disappearing mainly in the US, are now disappearing in Brisbane CBD and Gold Coast.. numbering in the hundreds.

They say it will get worse. Are we ready for a recession?

This weekend, Westlife is finalising it's "Get Fit" series by looking at being Financially Fit.

Now, more than ever, we need to hear what God has to say about money, how it should be managed, and keeping money in the right perspective.

See you in church this Sunday.

www.westlife.org.au

Who are we overlooking?

Many of the following facts are from the Washington Post

It was 7:51 a.m. on Friday, January 12, the middle of the morning rush hour at L'enfant plaza station - the nucleus of federal Washington.

A youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap removed a violin from a small case and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket.

In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. Almost all of them were on the way to work.

Each passerby had a quick choice to make: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? What's the moral mathematics of the moment?

Have a look and see what happened - from this youtube link.



No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall was one of the finest classical musicians in the world. He was playing some of the most elegant music ever written, on one of the most valuable violins ever made. His name was Joshua Bell.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.

Yet, in the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

His performance was arranged by The Washington Post as an experiment... an experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. In a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

A comment by one commuter gives this reason. She says, ""I had a time crunch," recalls Sheron Parker, an IT director for a federal agency. "I had an 8:30 training class, and first I had to rush Evvie off to his teacher, then rush back to work, then to the training facility in the basement."

I was so intrigued by this story - how we get so busy and preoccupied with our own agendas that we miss opportunities in the madness, we miss the extraordinary in the chaos and we miss the people we should be noticing while we're focussed on our own needs.

Who should we be noticing? Take a look at this from Matthew:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' "Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' (SEE 25:38) Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.' (Mat 25:34-40 - MSG)

I think about my commute to work. I awkwardly rush past the homeless guy selling "the big issue" - could he be Jesus? the Salvo collecting money every Friday for the community - could he be Jesus? I get an email from a local pastor asking for furniture for a new family - could they be Jesus?

I use all the excuses I can find - "well.. I'm not sure the Big Issue has any articles that interest me" or "I don't really have any coins today and I'm not giving notes!" or "I might need that lounge one day"

I move on - feeling uncomfortable but unchanged. Who have I just overlooked?

For each person I encounter wanting something from me, I have a quick choice to make: Do I stop and listen? Do I hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation? Do I throw in a buck, just to be polite?

The challenge for all of us is to see the opportunities we are presented with everyday - as opportunities to notice Jesus in the crowd.

Unleashed - Obama Style

Unleashed - from Paste Magazine

I think we should all get one.. and create the wall of lives unleashed!

Prepare to be Unleashed

Preparation. We've all heard the slogans, the cliches.. here are a couple:





You get the point - Preparation is important!

The session for today from WordLive is about a man who was unleashed AND was prepared for the moment it happened.

Of course, I'm talking about Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2). Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king, but had a deep sadness that the wall of Jerusalem lay in ruins. At the right time (the God prompted moment) Nehemiah shared his heart with the King, and the King unleashed Nehemiah to rebuild the wall.

However, this unleashing happened AFTER the King first asked a range of questions including how long, what's involved and why. Nehemiah was able to answer all the King's questions.

When Nehemiah's time came to be unleashed into the next big thing of his life, he had already thought through the project that God had laid on his heart. He had already thought about what resources were required for the task, how long the task would take, how to go about completing the task etc.

There are few points that we can take from Nehemiah for our year of being unleashed.

1. Nehemiah served faithfully where he was until his 'God moment' arrived to be unleashed - in spite of his intense sadness and frustration, he remained a faithful employee (and servant);

2. There is no substitute for good planning so that when your opportunity arises to be unleashed, you are ready to go. I can remember years ago joining toastmasters so that when the opportunity came to fulfil the longing of my heart to preach, I would be ready - not starting from scratch.

3. When his God moment arrived to be unleashed, Nehemiah took a risk.. but God was with him. Nehemiah could have lost his life for sharing his heart's burden - but when God directs his people to take that step, then we can trust God's grace to protect us through any situation.


But.. (to refer to a previous blog) how do we know if we're preparing for a good intention, or a God intention? How do we discern whether our preparations to be unleashed are a God thing, or merely our own good intentions?

Sarah Bingham poses these questions which I think are brilliant:

• Does the desire match or clash with scripture and what we know about God’s purpose and promises (Nehemiah 1:8,9)?

• Is there an inner pressure or passion in you to do it (Nehemiah 1:4)?

• What has prayer revealed to you about it (Nehemiah 1:5–11)?

• Do you have peace in your head and heart, having surrendered the matter to God (see Philippians 4:6,7)?

• Are there practical ‘green lights’ that enable you to do it (Nehemiah 2:2–6)?

All of these questions above require you to have thought in advance about the promptings of the heart, the desires that don't go away, and a call of God on your life that scares and excites you all at the same time!

In this year of being unleashed - spend some time in the thinking chair - spend some time in the prayer closet.

Spend some time with pad and pen in hand seeking God about His "next right steps" for your life, and how you can prepare for that.

Find The Best, not the Worst

One of the things that I get most disappointed about myself is when I buy into a lie straight from the devil. At the time, I don't realise I'm get taken for a ride, until afterwards and I realise I was a doofus!

These lies include statements such as, "what if you and Bevan lose your job? that's going to be horrible!" or "they're all leaving you behind - you're being left out" or "that's not the way you'd do it - I'm sure you'd do a better job" or "You're such an idiot.. how embarrassing are you!"

All these things do nothing but steal, kill and destroy my peace, my contentment and my focus on the goal.. and they're all LIES. They take God off the throne, and are void of my faith that says, "God has a plan and purpose for me" and "God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory", and "I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

One of the worst attitudes that flows from buying into these lies is negativity, condemnation and judgment. Big words.. but a bigger problem.

Joyce Meyer says it takes no effort at all to find the negative in someone, or something. We effortlessly find the negatives in our job. We effortlessly find the negatives in the people around us - our spouses, our leaders, our parents!

Our insecurities mix with the lies being fed to us, and we find ourselves picking faults with others because it makes us feel (temporarily) better, yet it is the opposite of the fruits of the spirit. Criticism is the opposite of love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self control and humility.

Here's what the bible says about judging others:

James 4:11 "My friends, don't say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God's Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it 12 or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone? "

Romans 14:13 "Then let us no more criticize and blame and pass judgment on one another, but rather decide and endeavor never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle or a hindrance in the way of a brother. "

Rom 14:10 "So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly--or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. "

Looking at others with a critical eye doesn't benefit us one bit, but it is poison to the unity of any organisation we're a part of - be it the church; our workplace or our families.

Instead, we need to:

"Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] " Php 2:5

Philippians 4:8 "Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. pan>"

Last night God challenged me. Everytime I catch myself with a negative thought about someone or something, I am to respond by finding 2 positive things. For every thought that focusses on the 'Worst', I am now challenged to find 2 thoughts that focus on the 'Best'.

This is my way of "doing my best" to fill my mind on the best, not the worst.

Choir of Hard Knocks

Last night I caught the end of "Choir of Hard Knocks", a choir of homeless people guided by Jonathon Welch, well known Tenor and Choir Director. Jonathon had been inspired by a random article in an old Reader's Digest magazine about a choir for homeless people that had been set up in Montreal, and he sought to set up his own.

With the help of another charity, the recruiting process began - flyers on the streets, meeting with agencies, visits to crisis accommodation centres and hostels.

Jonathon describes waiting for members to arrive on the first day "like having a party - you've invited lots of people, but you have no idea if anyone will turn up. In fact, more than 20 did turn up, with that number rising to 50 regular participants within a few weeks. "

As I was watching the program, I firstly found myself being taken back by their rawness, their lack of 'social skills' for want of a better term. They were brash, they hogged the microphones, they seemed to have fights over nothing and their singing voices were crude.

But Jonathan saw the potential in them all. Through his skilled guidance, they created the most amazing music. They themselves were shocked at how beautiful the music sounded, and couldn't believe they had done it. Of course, they couldn't have done it without Jonathon.

It was at this point it hit me - this is like the Kingdom of God!

Matthew 22 describes the Kingdom of God like a king who prepared a wedding dinner for his Son. Those who he originally invited didn't come. So he told his servants to, "Go to the street corners. Invite to the dinner anyone you can find.' So the servants went out into the streets. They gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad. Soon the wedding hall was filled with guests. "

When Jesus came, he didn't come for the rich in spirit or healthy, he came for sick, he came for the poor in spirit, he came for the lost.

Just as Jonathon sent out flyers to all the streed corners seeking the disadvantaged and said "come", Jesus sends out that same message to all in the world today - "come - I have a plan for you".

And come we do, with our warts, our faults, our brash comments, our filth, and self-centred egos - trying to hog the spotlight.

However, there is no judgment, there is no condemnation - because the 'Supreme Choir Master' Christ sees past the faults, and sees our potential. He takes our sin, our shame, our filth and blots it out with His blood.

Then he grooms us. As we keep turning up for His guidance, and as we sit under His leadership, He takes what was a clanging noise, and turns it into sweet music - often shocking even us that we could be part of something so amazing.

It's important to notice that it is a 'choir' of hard knocks - not an individual. Jesus wants us too to be in his choir - with others - because it's as group that we are most effective. As a group we support each other, we encourage each other, and increase our impact in this world.

The church is that choir, and we need to be a part of the church - His choir.

On the web, Jonathon says, 'the formation of the Choir of Hard Knocks has given me the opportunity to use the musical gifts I have been blessed with and wonderful experiences I have had as a professional singer and conductor, to bring pleasure and a sense of belonging and self esteem to those who've joined this exciting new project.

'As many of the participants come from marginalised and often financially difficult backgrounds, it is my hope that the joy and euphoria that music making in a group dynamic will give a sense of purpose, structure and respect to their lives and help them look forward to belonging to a 'family' - albeit a musical one!

Let me re-word his comments to apply to us.

'Being a part of my Church has given me the opportunity to use the [insert] gifts I have been blessed with and wonderful experiences I have had, to bring pleasure and a sense of belonging and self esteem to those in my Church.

'As many of the participants come from marginalised and often financially difficult backgrounds, it is my hope that the joy and euphoria that following Christ in a group dynamic will give a sense of purpose, structure and respect to their lives and help them look forward to belonging to a 'family' - albeit a spiritual one!

We need to be ready to welcome a continual stream of seekers from a life of hard knocks - look past their obvious, and see their potential.... because that's what Jesus did for us.