A Call For Healing

So it's been forever... well, almost.

I have had some great news in recent days. It appears that Undying Love has been picked up for a compilation album being produced by a crew called Quickstar Productions. They're putting together the project to raise funds for a medical clinic in Uganda to fight the malaria epidemic.

As far as I understand, the album is due to be released in early-mid 2010. It'll also appear on iTunes and other digital media. I would ask everyone to help support this project when it is finally released. We can all do a little bit to help others, and since many hands make light work, we'd actually end up doing a lot!

When I have more info, I'll report back! Stay tuned!

Like a Punch in the Face!

Do you ever get the feeling that God is trying to speak to you... but you're just too stupid or stubborn to hear it? Maybe it's both. I reckon that's what it is for me anyway.

Over the last 12 months I've noticed a fairly solid theme in everything that I've been to, many of the guest speakers I've heard, various Bible passages I've 'studied', books I've read and even songs that I sing/listen to. Two things stand out to me: Mission and Worship.

On Wednesday at the SMG Conference I attended, Fuzz Kitto spoke about how mission and worship are so intertwined that you can't separate them. Without one there is no other. At the time, I remember thinking to myself, "Great stuff. It's not new but it's great stuff to be reinforcing constantly." Now, I'm wondering if I keep having it slammed in my face constantly because I'm just not paying attention.

This is the key point, right here. Without Mission there is no Worship! Without Worship there is no Mission. They go together, as Forrest Gump would say, like peas and carrots (not that I agree with him necessarily on that point... but you get the idea). You can't have one without the other.

So, I worship God with all my heart, not just on Sunday in our celebration services but in the things I do throughout the week during my day to day life.

Ok.

But what about mission? How am I travelling in that department? Honestly, I feel like I fail on a daily basis in this area. I don't know my neighbours as well as I should. I shy away from meeting new people in an environment I'm not familiar with. I don't walk the beat and get on the streets. I don't do lots of stuff I feel like I should be doing.

I sit back and think about the things I've heard, read, sung, played and it hits me like a punch in the face. Dude, you're not on board that mission train. Get on board.

Life is just so busy. How do I get off this roundabout and head down the path of justice and fairness and mercy and love and get on board that Mission train?

Well, maybe I already have? Working in the school now, while it makes life even busier for me with all that is going on in my life, it means I have the real opportunity to be a part of peoples' lives and maybe make a difference in the world where I wasn't before. I'm excited by the possibilities the position presents, as well as the immense challenges that I know lay ahead.

I just wish that I wasn't so hard of hearing that it takes a punch in the face to get my attention!

Misguided or Misunderstood?

I've been giving the Catholic Church some stick of late, and warranted or not, I'm beginning to wonder if I should retract some of my comments.

I've likened the Catholic Church to Pharisees, although we all have a bit of that about us (we're only human), I've called them idolaters, heretics, and stated categorically that they just aren't Christians.

Interestingly, in my reflections over the last day or so, I've been somewhat more reserved in my "judgement" of the Catholic Church, only because I doubt very much if we'd be here today without them. I disagree with much of Catholicism and I believe we owe a lot to Henry VIII, who opened the door for something incredible.... with entirely the wrong motives. Having said that, without the Catholic Church, the church itself may well have dissipated over the ages into an underground minority that was rarely seen in the open world.

I wonder if our values would be different today? I wonder if much of our way of life would be different without the Catholic Church.

I wonder if they're misguided... or simply misunderstood.

To be perfectly frank, I stand by my earlier comments regarding Catholicism; however, I don't say these things out of spite or anything like that. I say these things out of love for them. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees on many occasions, but not because he despised them, but because he loved them. He died for them, but they didn't even realise it. He was teaching them about what it means to be a Follower of God, unfortunately many didn't listen. They were too caught up in their traditions and rules. They lost their way, putting their traditions and own ideas on the same standing as God's own Word.

Unfortunately, I see the Catholic Church as doing the very same thing and it pains me to see. The recent news about Mary MacKillop having performed "a second miracle" putting her in line for "sainthood" is about as heretical as it gets in my humble opinion. No person can perform a miracle, in life or death. God performs miracles.

To claim that a person has performed a miracle and then put them on a pedestal for that is heresy. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church do so, and it remains a long standing tradition.

Of course, this is just one small part of Catholicism and just the tip of my issue with the Catholic Church. I would love to see them turn from these heretical ways and return to Jesus' message.

But my question remains, are they misguided or simply misunderstood?

A Time to Mourn or a Time to Celebrate?

Is Good Friday a time to mourn the death of Christ or is it an opportunity to celebrate? Most would say that Good Friday is a time for mourning and Easter Sunday is the celebration party. Who am I to disagree with them?

I will offer this suggestion, though. In my studies, I've come to realise that the victory wasn't just in the resurrection. Sure, the resurrection was God the Father passing judgement on His son, Jesus Christ, and declaring Him to be good, so He raised Him up from the dead. Jesus was resurrected. That's a powerful victory, showing that God has control of all things, even in death (which Christ Himself had shown throughout His ministry).

The victory was on the Cross. Jesus, in complete obedience to His Father, was humiliated upon the Cross. God humbled Himself, walked a path of humiliation and was hung on a tree, crucified for all the world to see. He died a man, who had been completely obedient to God the Father, where we couldn't be. He died and conquered death, that we might live and have eternal life. He died that we could have a relationship with the Father, as He does.

The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus' last words upon the Cross were "It is finished". All that had been prophesied had come to pass. The price God chose to pay to redeem us, you and me, was the blood on His son on the Cross. Everything came to a head that day that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. God's plan had been fulfilled: to buy back everyone with the blood of Christ.

It is humbling to know that God did that, so long ago, for me. He did it for you. He always planned to do that. Before the foundations of the world, before the dawn of time, before the creation of the universe, God knew the Eternal Son was going to be sacrificed to redeem you and I, so that we could be adopted into His family and have a relationship with Him.

God did it so that we could be exalted with Him. See, Jesus, a man (yes, both God and man), is seated right now at the right hand of the Father. Just so you catch what I just said, right now there is a man, a human being, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. A human being is in heaven right now! Not dead, alive!! When Christ ascended, He ascended as both God and man. Remember, He was resurrected as a man. He ascended as a man. This is so we could be exalted as humans with Him in heaven.

The victory here, though, is on the Cross. See, when Christ died, he conquered death. He overwhelmed death and made it life. He fulfilled God's plan, living a life of complete obedience. Jesus wasn't fearless. He was scared stiff knowing what was coming up. In Gethsemane, He prayed that there might be some other way. He knew He had to die, and He didn't really want to. If you knew you were going to be arrested tomorrow and that it would result in you being crucified, dying an excruciatingly long and painful death, would you do it anyway? Jesus did.

The victory is on the Cross. So while we mourn because it is a sad moment for those of us who love Christ, it is also a time to celebrate His victory over sin and death. We celebrate because we are justified by Jesus' victory in death. By Jesus' death, we are totally accepted by God. The death of Christ is the great redeeming act that restores our relationship with God, enabling us to stand with our heads held high.

So on Good Friday, while we may feel some sorrow for the pain and humiliation suffered by Christ, remember that the great act of redemption was Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, which is a reason to rejoice and celebrate because we are now brought closer to God and share in a loving relationship with Him.

Should The Question Be Who or Whose?

In order to answer the question, I think we need to address both questions within. Who am I and whose am I?

Who am I? Does this simply refer to what you do, where you go and why you do things? Or does it go deeper than that? Does it ask you about your hopes and dreams, your fears and your dreads, your interests and grievances, your place of resolve and your advisers? Does it ask you about who you really are underneath the facade that everyone sees and experiences.... and that we ourselves come to recognise as "us"?

I know I'm a person that craves love and acceptance, respect and inclusion. I want to be loved, so I love others. I want to be included, so I make an effort to include others. I want to be respected, so I respect others.

I do this with my family, with my friends, with others that I recognise as needing help. But does giving love, respect and so on guarantee that it will be reciprocated?

Since I crave these things as a person, and I can't guarantee that I receive them in return, the question is asked... well is it worth it?

Let's answer that in a moment.

So whose am I?

Well, I know that God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sent His Eternal Son to earth to live as a man in perfect obedience, die as a man to conquer death, and have victory over sin so that I might be reconciled with God. So what? Why would God do that?

The answer is simple.

God the Father wanted, before the dawn of time, before the foundations of the world, before all of creation, He wanted to adopt me as His son.

Why would He want to do that??? Because He loves me. He accepts me. He wants to include me in His heavenly bond of love. Jesus, who is by His very nature, God, came to earth as a man so that we could have a relationship with God. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, so that we could participate in the bond of love between Jesus the Son, God the Father and the Holy Spirit, who are all bound together as one, and yet are three separate.

God loves us, so that we might love. He accepts us so that we might accept others. He includes us so that we might include others. God promises to restore all of creation, and wants us to restore brokenness here on earth as He does.

So I ask the question again. Is it worth it?

What do you think?

Get Back To The Basics!

So often we see our sports heroes (well, at least I do) go through these "form slumps" where their performances are lacking somewhat. We know what they are capable of because we've seen them time and time again tear opponents apart on any given day single-handed.

Often we'll see our cricketing heroes go through form slumps. Possibly the greatest modern day batsman in the game, Ricky Ponting (yes, I do have some bias but his record speaks for itself), has gone through his share of slumps. Matthew Hayden, former world record holder for the highest score in an innings, went through a massive streak of innings where he just couldn't put together a big score. Michael Hussey seems to be going through one at the moment...

... we see this all the time and simply say, "They've just got to get back to the basics."

You see, when you have the basics down, everything else slots into place. If your footwork has flaws in it, your timing will suffer, shot placement will be awry and you'll find the fieldsman more often than the fence, the edge more often than the middle of the bat and end up back in the pavilion quicker than you'd otherwise like. When they get beyond the barrier they've made for themselves, uncomplicate things and just work on getting the basics right, we see that fluent and familiar presence at the crease and the runs tick over on the scoreboard.

My greatest sporting hero, James Hird, who I affectionately refer to as Sir James (along with many other Essendon Football Club fans), didn't go through too many "slumps" but often struggled with injury. Setting aside his incredible run with horrific injuries that would have destroyed most careers, Sir James suffered one season from being too bulky, of all things. Over the off-season and during the pre-season, he'd been hitting the weights hard to bulk up. He did a great job, and he looked huge... but it really detracted from his game. He couldn't do the basics well, because his body and the way he played just didn't suit that bulky physique.

The following season he trimmed his body down again, got back to the basics and was an unstoppable force. The Maestro could turn a game on his own boot, and often got the Bombers across the line by sheer will power alone... and the fact that he had the basics down.

When we learn to play a musical instrument, we don't go for the hard stuff right away. We need to get the basics down first. We need to learn the fundamentals before we can get our teeth into harder, "more interesting" stuff. You need to learn how to play a scale before a tune, how to buzz on a mouthpiece, valve combinations, slide positions, notes on the fretboard, hand shapes, etc before you can move on to playing things that start to resemble "music" as we know it.

So, if we need to learn the basics before we can play sport for a grade team or play a tune on a musical instrument... why do we think that our walk with God is any different?

It's time to get back to the basics! Prayer is the basis of our relationship with God and it's a two way street, peoples! Prayer isn't a one way thing. It's not us talking to God and God just sitting pretty and listening. It's not me, me, me, me, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME!!

Prayer is an encounter with God, a relationship with God, it is dialogue with God. DIALOGUE, People! DI meaning TWO. Two people speaking with each other.

We need to learn how to speak with God... but we also need to learn how to LISTEN with God.

It's time to get back to basics. Will you join me?

A New Anointing

"Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy." - Exodus 40:9

This morning a handful of us walked the halls of our Church. We prayed, giving praise to God, and then anointed each room, each door, each wall with oil. A new anointing.

We blessed the building. We commanded evil to flee from the building and claimed it anew for Jesus Christ. May all that occurs within those walls be for the glory of God. May no evil pass within the walls, through the doors.

A new anointing.

This morning, we took the oil, anointed the building, consecrated all that was in it, and made it holy. We claimed it for Jesus Christ. It all belongs to Him.

Amen.

It's All About Attitude

Justin Herald (a well known business personality in Australia) started his "career" with a simple phrase on a tshirt... In the end it's all about attitude!

How we perceive things, how we respond to things... it's all determined by our attitude. We can choose to be either a thermometer or a thermostat. Huh?!?

Let me explain. A thermometer is designed to react to its surroundings, so if it gets hotter the "mercury" rises, and when it gets cold the level drops. It's reactionary. It is determined by its surroundings. When things go well, it's happy. When things don't go so well, it's not so happy.

A thermostat, on the other hand, determines the temperature. The surroundings are set by the thermostat. It decides when things get hotter or colder. When things start to heat up, the thermostat kicks in and says "Hey! Cool down!" When things don't go so well, it's not a case of indifference, but rather bringing the focus back to where it should be.

Last time I wrote about being proactive or reactive. It's the thermostat or the thermometer.

When we are being a thermostat, we do our best work. We are confident about ourselves. We exude optimism, confidence, and that springs creativity and innovation.

When was the last time you went out on a limb and took a risk on something or someone? Be a thermostat. Get your groove on and be creative.

Remember, in the end... it's all about your attitude!

To Act or REact?

To act (or be proactive) is to take responsibility. It is to live as you are called to live. It is taking action in your calling, living by the Spirit. This is freedom.

To REact is to allow your circumstances to determine your state of mind. It results in you to palming off responsibilities to others, shifting blame, constantly feeling pressured. Excuses abound and you strive to please others because what they think determines how you feel about yourself. This is slavery.

Based on the above (very simplified) responses to the question, I'm pretty certain I'd like to act, rather than REact.

How about you?

Common Nokia Problem... and They'll Tell You It's Not!

Well, well, well. After two weeks of being stuffed around by 3 mobile and their service centre because my Nokia 6110 Navigator decided to pack up and go home, I've just found an article that suggests it's a well known problem and has been for a long, long time.

My 6110 lcd screen started doing funny things, like flipping upside down and then just going blank. It was ok at first, being very intermittent and pretty rare. Then it got worse, and suddenly the screen went off altogether. The phone was still on, and I could see that it was on because the black screen was slightly lit up. I could still receive calls and make calls if I was careful with what I was pressing... although it wouldn't always work.

Anyway, I took it to the 3 service centre and found it was out of warranty (yay!) by 2 months, with 9 or 10 months still to run on my contract (also yay!). Not fun. Even though it is no fault of mine, the 3 service guys told me I'd have to pay for the repairs, and that they thought it was a software issue... then it was a screen issue.... then it had liquid damage!?!?

I refused to pay for the "quote" and lack of repair, and while I tried to remain relatively polite about the whole thing, informed them in no uncertain terms that I would not be paying for anything to be done to the phone.

In the end, I've got myself a Samsung Omnia i900, which is usually free on my contract but I'm having to pay $15 a month for the duration of the contract (not happy about it but I'll survive for the moment... unless I can prove this is without a doubt a common problem) and 3 have waived my contract termination fee. So I've come out ahead anyway (well not really) in that I should have paid $451 to pay out my contract (even though it's NOKIAs fault my phone died!) but I'll only be paying $360 over the course of 2 years. So it's less, and over a long period.

Anyway.... a long story later, and here we are. Today I found a link to an article telling me that this is a common problem, and that Nokia knew about it all along (and I dare say so did 3... and every other phone company)... but I'm paying for it!

Here it is: http://www.dexigner.com/design_news/705.html

Enjoy.

If you have a 6110 or any of the other slide phones mentioned in the article, get it checked out.

Cheers
Allan

Amazing Grace

Well, I saw this video today and thought it was really well done. I figured I'd share it with you guys.

If you've seen Josh Wilson's Amazing Grace Loop then you know what I'm about to show you. For those who haven't seen it before, be prepared to sit and just say "Wow".




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd4PBZgxCB4

So what do you think?

Have I got it wrong?

I wrote this song for my youngest daughter's dedication. I've been reflecting on it lately, post Creative Living, and wondering if it really applies or not. I'd love to find out what you think. Feel free to comment.

At the moment, it still doesn't have a title. Perhaps you could help me with that part too!

--------------------------

Purchased by Your blood
You became the Lamb of God, Saviour
Ransomed just for me
Jesus, You have set me free
Now I bring my offering to the King

Pardon for my soul
Saviour, You have made me whole
Lord, You gave me a new start
Revolutionised my heart
Now I bring my offering to the King

I'll live for You all my life
Through all the joy and the strife
Blessed Redeemer, Saviour
Now I'll live for you all my life, my King.

--------------------------

Let me know what you think.

Forgiveness

Wow! Everything I know about being a Christian is being challenged this week!

I always thought that I was to forgive and to forget, but now I find out I've got it all wrong! I'm not meant to forget! How liberating!

"What are you talking about?" I hear you screaming at your monitor!

Well, I was given 11 points on forgiveness today. 2 of them struck me like lightning.

The first:

Forgiveness is not excusing!

What does this mean? Well, it means to forgive someone is to acknowledge that they did something wrong. It is to judge! I didn't think we were supposed to judge as Christians, BUT WE ARE! We HAVE to judge, so that we can forgive! If we excused it, or dismissed it, we'd be doing the other person a disservice. We HAVE to judge the action to acknowledge that it was wrong. Then we forgive them to give them freedom. We forgive out of freedom. Freedom to love the other person. We judge the action (not the person) so that we can restore our relationship with that person!

The second:

Forgiveness is not forgetting!

Huh?!? Aren't we supposed to forgive and forget?!?!?!? NO!!! We're supposed to remember! We're supposed to be angry! It's ok to be angry with someone for hurting you! What a liberating revelation!!!

Remembering is the secret of redemption! You see, God remembers everything. But doesn't it say that God will forget our transgressions when we confess and repent? Well, no, it doesn't. It says, God remembers our sin no more. That means, he won't judge us according to our sins. He still remembers that we've sinned, but he loves us anyway. He chooses not to judge us based on our actions. When God "remembers", He acts to save!


We forgive because God first forgave us. You can only forgive someone after you have known what it is to be forgiven. Because God forgives us, we should forgive others.

But forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. To forget would be wrong. It would allow ourselves to to wander into the same type of situation to get hurt all over again. No, no. The scars are there for us to remember. After a while, they stop hurting, but they are always there to remind us. But the scars don't stop us from releasing the desire for revenge.

Forgiveness is simply relinquishing your demand to get even with someone that hurt you. You can be angry. You can be upset. You can be disappointed. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is an action. It is something you do! It doesn't mean you have to forget that you wer ehurt, angry or disappointed. It is simply giving up the need for revenge.

You know, someone has probably hurt you, and you feel like you've never really forgiven them for it, but you never set out to hurt them back. You know what? You've already forgiven them! But you still feel angry about it? Well, that's ok. That will heal. The scar will be there forever, but after a while it won't hurt anymore. God loves you. God forgives you. Because he forgives you, you can forgive others.

Blessings!
Allan

My World Turned Upside Down!!

This week, having started my Theology degree at Tabor, my world has been completely turned upside down. Everything I thought I knew has been tossed out the window.

A Revelation! GOD IS LOVE. Ok, nothing new. We've all heard it before.

So have you ever stopped to think about it? GOD. IS. LOVE.

He has forgiven us. He forgave us for our sins long before we ever existed. Jesus repented for us when he was baptised by John. He confessed for us when he was crucified on the cross. He was obedient for us throughout his life. Jesus Christ did everything for us, so that we might be able to do it in him, here and now!

Doesn't make sense? Jesus did it all, and because HE did it, we are now able to do it IN HIM, through the Holy Spirit. He carries us along as we go for the ride.

God the Father forgives us, but if we don't acknowledge that we've done anything wrong then that forgiveness is useless to us. It's still there, but we simply refuse to accept it.

When we confess our sins, that's like us saying "Hey God! You know what? You're right! I realise now that I have done something wrong! I know that I can't fix it by myself, and that I need you to do it for me. Thank you for taking responsibility for my wrong doings!! THANK YOU for REDEEMING ME! I accept your forgiveness and love, and I thank you for making me your son, a joint-heir sharing in the inheritance of Jesus Christ, your son!"

God's love is like a raging waterfall that never ceases, much like Niagara. Ignoring the overwhelming force of the water in that fall, imagine you're in a little boat at the base of the falls. That boat is Jesus. Now, there's a problem. The boat is shielded by a great umbrella. That umbrella is our sin, our refusal to accept God's love and forgiveness. Our refusal to let God's love rain down on us.

When we confess, it's like asking the Holy Spirit to give you a hand pulling this great umbrella down so you can be showered in the love and forgiveness that God the Father has always been offering you.

I always thought that I had to confess my sins and ask God to forgive me before he'd do such a thing. Now I realise that I was being ridiculous. If God's forgiveness was dependent upon me, what if I didn't ask properly? What if I wasn't sincere enough? What if I missed something? How could I possibly recount, and even KNOW, every sin I commited each day? I was destined for failure and damned to Hell.

Now I realise, God's forgiveness is always there. We just have to put the umbrella down and accept it. Say "Thank You, Lord", and know that we are all children of God the Father, adopted in Christ.

You see, Jesus died on the cross so that God the Father could adopt you and I as sons (and daughters) of The Most High. He gave himself (Jesus) on the cross, so that the pathway would be open for us to become a son/daughter of God the Father.

This is mind-blowing stuff! I can't wait to find out more!

Promoting my business, Duckling Finance

So I'm trying to boost my Duckling Finance website profile. I'm hoping that I can send some traffic over there and build up business. Now is a great time for the mortgage and housing industry, since mortgages are cheap, houses are getting cheaper and the future people still need somewhere to live.

Anyway, I'm mostly wanting to improve the profile of the Taking Flight blog attached to the Duckling website. The blog contains tips, hints and thoughts about the state of the marketplace that can benefit you... and even give you a bit of inside knowledge.

Please check it out, and subscribe to the RSS feed to get regular updates. If you're into Facebook, you can find our business page over there which also has regular updates about our blog and other goings on.

Hope to see you there!

Blessings!
Allan

2009? Where did the time go?

Well, it's 2009 and we've got new leaders at Oakden this year. Earlier this month, Brad and Katrina left for Melbourne to take up their new positions at the Training College in Parkville as training officers. To replace them, we've been sent Captains Colin and Kylie Palstra, formerly of the Copper Coast in SA.

We've had dinner with them, met with them a few times already and started working along side them. All this before they're officially installed as the leaders... which is happening tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the year ahead. I'm keen to see where the Lord will lead us at Oakden. I envisage big things on the horizon, but we've got to make sure we're following God's call and not our own ideals.

It should be fun.

Until next time... and I hope not to leave it 15 months or so this time!

Blessings!
Allan