I love reading the Psalms! I was reading Psalms today during the message - you know how sometimes when the speaker is not saying anything that speaks directly to you how your mind can wander - I prefer to read my Bible and let God speak to me from His word.
The verses that jumped out and grabbed me this morning was Psalm 78:15-16 which says "He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers".
The Psalmist is writing about the nation of Israel wandering around in the desert after God had used Moses to set them free from bondage in Egypt. IN SPITE OF ALL THAT HE HAD DONE FOR THEM, they still grumbled and complained. It says in Psalm 78 that they ate the "food of angels" - manna. But they wanted meat and bread. How sad that they hadn't learnt the secret of being thankful for all that God had done for them. It cost them dearly - God's anger was fuelled against them, and they paid for their sin. Some of us "pay" for our sins of disbelief and unthankfulness in this life also.
As John Piper said, "God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied by Him".
Whats the big deal? He has proven to Karen and me many times over that when we are satisfied and thankful for all He has done for us, and for all that He has given us, He will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing such as can't be contained. And it causes us to cry out in shouts of praise to our wonderful King.
Have you thanked Him for today yet? If not, why not do it now. There's no better time! This day may have started out as the crappiest day in history for you, but it can (and should - if you believe what you read in God's word) end the way God planned it and purposed it for you. I had to remind myself of that fact three years ago when a split second water skiing accident changed my life forever. From perfectly healthy to invalid in a matter of seconds. I know for a fact that I swore at the excruciating pain, and my life was gripped with fear. Floating there in the ocean with my leg feeling as though it had been ripped off - it was hard to believe Jeremiah 29:11 applied to me right there and then. But the reality was - and still is - that nothing can separate us from the love and perfect purposes of our Lord and King. Nothing re-writes scriptures that were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, and nothing can rob God of His power - not even all the hordes of hell. He is sovereign, and always will be sovereign. Nothing will ever change that. Hallelujah!!!
"He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers". Wow ... what can I say, except that we serve an awesome and mighty God - if he can cause rivers to run in dry deserts! And this is exactly what He did in my life. He caused a river of life to start flowing in my dry desert like life. There is not a single day that has passed when he has not provided for me, and protected me. Maybe in another post I can share how He healed my shattered knee on a missions trip to Laos.
"Know that the Lord is good, and His mercies endure forever". BE ENCOURAGED.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Thank God it's Saturday ...
Actually I thank God everyday - for everyday - for everything. I have learnt that a thankful heart finds favour with God. Psalm 92:1-2 says,"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, Oh Most High. To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night".
Thankfulness is the beginning of Holiness. When we can truly thank God for everything - every situation - that we encounter in our lives, we will start to become more holy, because we will become more like Jesus Christ. Jesus was continually THANKING God (the Father) for everything because He knew the secret of giving thanks to His Heavenly Father. As we learn this lesson, heaven's doors will open over our lives, and we will be so blessed in everything we do that our hearts will want to praise Him even more.
This may seem like a different kind of post, but I have become so aware just lately that very few Christians are thankful for what God has done for them. Most Christians I have heard talking lately seem to have a very ungrateful heart. They are always striving for something, and have missed the truth that it is when we accept what God has done for us, and what He has given us, that He will open heavens doors to pour out a blessing so great that we cannot contain it!
I am overwhelmed lately at what God is doing in our business, and our personal lives! A day does not go past when we don't see His marvellous supernatural intervention and provision in our lives. I remember a particular Friday night about 3 years ago at Perth Christian Life Centre. We were only days away from losing everything we had (the bank had issued us with a notice of intent to take possession of our house and business premises), and I was crying out to God in anguish (I seem to recall spending a reasonable amount of time face down on the carpet crying out to God) about what was going to happen to our business. He answered me with an audible voice (I was always taught that he didn't do that anymore), and His words were simply ... "Stephen, I will build a business for you that will be beyond your imagination. But I will build it!"
Three years on He has kept His promise - in fact He started keeping it the next day after He gave it to me. He wiped out hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and has grown our business way beyond our wildest imagination or dreams. There has been no special business plan (accountants eat your hearts out), or slick business style, or advertising - simply hours of prayer, thanksgiving, honesty in dealings, and an unshakeable faith in a God who CAN and DOES keep His promises. Hours worked have halved, my quality of life has returned (He promises to restore everything that the locust has eaten), and I now love my job. Our business turnover has quadrupled in the past year, and we are debt free!!! Only God can do this kind of miracle - I just had to learn to co-operate with God, and to seek His face at every step.
The words of this beautiful old hymn says so eloquently what my heart feels ...
"My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne."
I decided to share this personal account of how God intervened in my life because I am sure that there are people who may read this blog that need to be encouraged to trust in "His unfailing and unchanging grace".
"If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face ..."
Blessed be the Name of the Lord God Almighty!
Thankfulness is the beginning of Holiness. When we can truly thank God for everything - every situation - that we encounter in our lives, we will start to become more holy, because we will become more like Jesus Christ. Jesus was continually THANKING God (the Father) for everything because He knew the secret of giving thanks to His Heavenly Father. As we learn this lesson, heaven's doors will open over our lives, and we will be so blessed in everything we do that our hearts will want to praise Him even more.
This may seem like a different kind of post, but I have become so aware just lately that very few Christians are thankful for what God has done for them. Most Christians I have heard talking lately seem to have a very ungrateful heart. They are always striving for something, and have missed the truth that it is when we accept what God has done for us, and what He has given us, that He will open heavens doors to pour out a blessing so great that we cannot contain it!
I am overwhelmed lately at what God is doing in our business, and our personal lives! A day does not go past when we don't see His marvellous supernatural intervention and provision in our lives. I remember a particular Friday night about 3 years ago at Perth Christian Life Centre. We were only days away from losing everything we had (the bank had issued us with a notice of intent to take possession of our house and business premises), and I was crying out to God in anguish (I seem to recall spending a reasonable amount of time face down on the carpet crying out to God) about what was going to happen to our business. He answered me with an audible voice (I was always taught that he didn't do that anymore), and His words were simply ... "Stephen, I will build a business for you that will be beyond your imagination. But I will build it!"
Three years on He has kept His promise - in fact He started keeping it the next day after He gave it to me. He wiped out hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and has grown our business way beyond our wildest imagination or dreams. There has been no special business plan (accountants eat your hearts out), or slick business style, or advertising - simply hours of prayer, thanksgiving, honesty in dealings, and an unshakeable faith in a God who CAN and DOES keep His promises. Hours worked have halved, my quality of life has returned (He promises to restore everything that the locust has eaten), and I now love my job. Our business turnover has quadrupled in the past year, and we are debt free!!! Only God can do this kind of miracle - I just had to learn to co-operate with God, and to seek His face at every step.
The words of this beautiful old hymn says so eloquently what my heart feels ...
"My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne."
I decided to share this personal account of how God intervened in my life because I am sure that there are people who may read this blog that need to be encouraged to trust in "His unfailing and unchanging grace".
"If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face ..."
Blessed be the Name of the Lord God Almighty!
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Jeremiah ... what a guy!
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned my favourite verse - Jeremiah 29:11 ... "for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord ... plans to give you a hope and a future ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you".
The truth is that if I had read this verse about 4 years ago, I would have laughed at the prospect that God was talking to me through it. Isn't it funny how God can change our outlook on life in such a short time ... and in the most unlikely way.
I said in that earlier post that the reasons behind this verse becoming my favourite was another story, and I would like to share it with you now.
I was involved in singing and worship leading at the church that Karen and I had been members of for 17 years. Karen and I had both been brought up in the Church of Christ, and so were fundamental evangelicals. I resisted going to any of the worship summits because my opinion was that nothing good could come out of a worship summit, as the charismatics seemed to run these shows. I remember about 4 years ago being encouraged to visit Riverview Church here in Perth for the Friday night youth rally at the worship summit. I also remember standing there with Karen thinking that this was crazy, and I didn't feel in the slightest bit comfortable with the style of worship. This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever set foot inside a charismatic church. Then the time came for the speaker ... and it was a women (a young women in fact). Wow ... this was really stretching it! Her name was Christine Caine, from Sydney. That night my life changed as God used her to speak into our lives. And you guessed it ... she spoke from Jeremiah 29:11. She shared how God had used that verse to minister to her when she was sexually abused as a child. And she kept on repeating the verse throughout the message - over and over - until I guess that God knew that it had sunk into our minds.
To cut a long story short, over the next 12 months, that verse just kept popping up everywhere. The Sonshine Radio verse ( after the news) would be Jeremiah 29:11, the daily verse in the newspaper would be Jeremiah 29:11, the speakers at different churches that we were visiting (due to me standing down from my worship ministry, and us leaving our church of 17 years) would speak from Jeremiah 29:11. It seemed that wherever Karen and I went to church, or whatever meeting we visited, or whatever we listened to, or whatever we read -was about Jeremiah 29:11.
So why the big deal? The big deal was that through this period of approx 1 year of our lives, it seemed that our world was falling apart. Our business was failing, we were on the verge of losing all that we had, my ministry had been cut-off, we were churchless (looking for the perfect church), I had suffered a serious knee injury, my main employee had left, and things weren't looking too bright. Through all of this, God kept speaking Jeremiah 29:11 into our lives ... and then we started to believe it! And then He started to make the reality of it become true in our lives. He saved our house and our business. He restored our finances (way beyond our wildest dreams), wiped out our debts, gave us a new church and worship ministry, and He has used this verse to speak into many of our family and friends lives.
And for those that would say that God was only speaking to the Israelites, and that the word "prosper" does not mean to bless us in material things - I have heard sermons preached on this angle. All I can say is what God has done for us. God gives us a testimony so that we can share it and encourage others who may be going through the same trials and troubles.
Now Karen and I go to a charismatic church. Wow!!! It's amazing how God can change our attitudes and our beliefs. It's not hard for Him. We just need to be desperate enough for more of God to allow Him to breakdown our mindsets and wrong beliefs.
Every amazing thing that God has done in our lives over these past three years has been as a result of our charismatic friends praying for us, or through visiting charismatic churches and receiving teaching that once upon a time I would have turned my back on. I am so thankful to God for the 40 odd years of Bible teaching that I received in fundamental evangelical churches. I am so sorry though that it took 40 years to learn of the awesome power and freedom that comes from a passionate affair with my Creator and King - Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit has become a very good friend of mine. Hallejujah!!! I finally allowed God out of the box that I had imprisoned Him in for most of my life.
My prayer is that you will trust God for your miracle ... the miracle that perhaps you have been too afraid to ask or believe Him for. Remember that He knows the plans that He has for you ... and they are all good.
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"
Does your Redeemer live?
The truth is that if I had read this verse about 4 years ago, I would have laughed at the prospect that God was talking to me through it. Isn't it funny how God can change our outlook on life in such a short time ... and in the most unlikely way.
I said in that earlier post that the reasons behind this verse becoming my favourite was another story, and I would like to share it with you now.
I was involved in singing and worship leading at the church that Karen and I had been members of for 17 years. Karen and I had both been brought up in the Church of Christ, and so were fundamental evangelicals. I resisted going to any of the worship summits because my opinion was that nothing good could come out of a worship summit, as the charismatics seemed to run these shows. I remember about 4 years ago being encouraged to visit Riverview Church here in Perth for the Friday night youth rally at the worship summit. I also remember standing there with Karen thinking that this was crazy, and I didn't feel in the slightest bit comfortable with the style of worship. This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever set foot inside a charismatic church. Then the time came for the speaker ... and it was a women (a young women in fact). Wow ... this was really stretching it! Her name was Christine Caine, from Sydney. That night my life changed as God used her to speak into our lives. And you guessed it ... she spoke from Jeremiah 29:11. She shared how God had used that verse to minister to her when she was sexually abused as a child. And she kept on repeating the verse throughout the message - over and over - until I guess that God knew that it had sunk into our minds.
To cut a long story short, over the next 12 months, that verse just kept popping up everywhere. The Sonshine Radio verse ( after the news) would be Jeremiah 29:11, the daily verse in the newspaper would be Jeremiah 29:11, the speakers at different churches that we were visiting (due to me standing down from my worship ministry, and us leaving our church of 17 years) would speak from Jeremiah 29:11. It seemed that wherever Karen and I went to church, or whatever meeting we visited, or whatever we listened to, or whatever we read -was about Jeremiah 29:11.
So why the big deal? The big deal was that through this period of approx 1 year of our lives, it seemed that our world was falling apart. Our business was failing, we were on the verge of losing all that we had, my ministry had been cut-off, we were churchless (looking for the perfect church), I had suffered a serious knee injury, my main employee had left, and things weren't looking too bright. Through all of this, God kept speaking Jeremiah 29:11 into our lives ... and then we started to believe it! And then He started to make the reality of it become true in our lives. He saved our house and our business. He restored our finances (way beyond our wildest dreams), wiped out our debts, gave us a new church and worship ministry, and He has used this verse to speak into many of our family and friends lives.
And for those that would say that God was only speaking to the Israelites, and that the word "prosper" does not mean to bless us in material things - I have heard sermons preached on this angle. All I can say is what God has done for us. God gives us a testimony so that we can share it and encourage others who may be going through the same trials and troubles.
Now Karen and I go to a charismatic church. Wow!!! It's amazing how God can change our attitudes and our beliefs. It's not hard for Him. We just need to be desperate enough for more of God to allow Him to breakdown our mindsets and wrong beliefs.
Every amazing thing that God has done in our lives over these past three years has been as a result of our charismatic friends praying for us, or through visiting charismatic churches and receiving teaching that once upon a time I would have turned my back on. I am so thankful to God for the 40 odd years of Bible teaching that I received in fundamental evangelical churches. I am so sorry though that it took 40 years to learn of the awesome power and freedom that comes from a passionate affair with my Creator and King - Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit has become a very good friend of mine. Hallejujah!!! I finally allowed God out of the box that I had imprisoned Him in for most of my life.
My prayer is that you will trust God for your miracle ... the miracle that perhaps you have been too afraid to ask or believe Him for. Remember that He knows the plans that He has for you ... and they are all good.
"I know that my Redeemer lives!"
Does your Redeemer live?
Cool runnings ...
What a weekend it's been.
Today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. Tomorrow I turn another year older. Karen just walked in from the shop with a Vienetta - my most favorite food in the whole world. Well, alongside Tom Yum, Steamed fish with ginger and shallots, Yong Tau Foo noodle soup, Oysters Kilpatrick, Prawn Noodle soup and Peppered Mud Crabs. (just to name a few)
Last night we went out for tea to celebrate 23 wonderful years of marriage. On Wednesday night we went out to the movies to use up some La Premiere tickets we were given as a present ... saw "The Bourne Supremacy" ... which was a really good yarn.
Life is good because God is good, and He's good all the time. What can I say other than that God has caused His face to shine upon me and my family. We did nothing to deserve or earn it ... we simply asked Him to do what He did for Jabez ... that He would bless us and bless us INDEED. And the thing that I have learned in all of this is that it is His delight to do far beyond what we can even hope or imagine He would do.
Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for me. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for setting me free from the curse of the law. Thank you for healing and restoring me. Thank you for prospering me in all that I do. Thank you for keeping every promise that you have made to me and my family.
"In this one thing shall I boast ... that Jesus died and rose again"
Today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. Tomorrow I turn another year older. Karen just walked in from the shop with a Vienetta - my most favorite food in the whole world. Well, alongside Tom Yum, Steamed fish with ginger and shallots, Yong Tau Foo noodle soup, Oysters Kilpatrick, Prawn Noodle soup and Peppered Mud Crabs. (just to name a few)
Last night we went out for tea to celebrate 23 wonderful years of marriage. On Wednesday night we went out to the movies to use up some La Premiere tickets we were given as a present ... saw "The Bourne Supremacy" ... which was a really good yarn.
Life is good because God is good, and He's good all the time. What can I say other than that God has caused His face to shine upon me and my family. We did nothing to deserve or earn it ... we simply asked Him to do what He did for Jabez ... that He would bless us and bless us INDEED. And the thing that I have learned in all of this is that it is His delight to do far beyond what we can even hope or imagine He would do.
Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for me. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for setting me free from the curse of the law. Thank you for healing and restoring me. Thank you for prospering me in all that I do. Thank you for keeping every promise that you have made to me and my family.
"In this one thing shall I boast ... that Jesus died and rose again"
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