I must confess that I enjoy reading other peoples blogs more than I enjoy posting on my own!
It's fun to note all of the different styles of blogs - some people talk nonsense and others talk serious stuff. Some Christians are very intolerant when they comment on other peoples blogs - it seems there is an ongoing war between "calvinists" and "armenians". Apparently people can shoebox you depending on what you say on your blog. One blog I read had a calvinist (commenter ... commentator?) condemning an armenian (blogger) to hell. The sad thing is that the "armenian" didn't even know he was an "armenian"!
As a person who hates tags, I try my hardest to keep everyone guessing ... to be quite honest I wouldn't have a clue what I "am supposed to be". If you'd asked me 5 years ago what I was, I would probably have said calvinist. After reading what a calvinist actually believes, now I'm not sure I want to be one of them.
And then you get the "emergent" versus the "pre/anti/non/don't wanna be emergent" (or whatever the opposite of "emergent" is). Probably "traditional"! They tend to be a little less violent verbally, although they still disagree.
And then you have blogs that are encouraging. They build you up in your faith! They share stories about how awesome our God is, and tell about His fame and the amazing miracles He has done on their behalf.
Some use blogger or similar canned format, and others use their own design webpage with awesome graphics and content. Some have great links, and others have no links. Some attract dozens of comments, and others go months on end without a single comment. Chris (over at http://www.foreigndevil.org) has just got 6 comments on a "non" post. That must be a record!
Cyberanger (over at http://www.cyberanger.blogspot.com) has some great links, and has a very enjoyable blog to read. One of the links shown here is about God's grace. I have heard a lot said about grace lately, and this link explains my position on grace very well. Go here to read it ... http://www.gospelfortoday.org/jteachings/fallfromgrace.htm
And then there are the people (like me) who go for months on end and never post. It's probably because we're too busy reading other peoples blogs and leaving comments on them :-)
So as one of my favourite bloggers says ... "I'm tired, and I've run out of things to say".
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Sunday, December 04, 2005
New Creation ...
Whenever I visit Singapore for a few days, I go to New Creation Church ("The Rock") to experience amazing corporate worship, and to receive some good teaching.
The Senior Pastor there is a young man named Joseph Prince, and he teaches on the "Word of Faith" principles and God's grace.
When the Lord first guided my family and me to this place one Sunday several years ago, we were absolutely amazed at the whole experience of heart melting worship and annointed Bible teaching. Many things that previously had not made sense in the Word of God suddenly became clear and easy to understand. The whole service we just sat there and thought to ourselves - how wonderful it would be to attend a church like that in Perth.
I had heard lot's of bad press about the "word of faith" movement, which seemed to be famous for the "blab it and grab it", "name it and claim it" type of theology. I had pretty much made up my mind that I wouldn't want any part of that kind of teaching, and so for God to lead us all to a church that was teaching this kind of theology was a bit of a surprise. Even today, most people that I speak with seem to thing that the "word of faith" movement is all about the infamous "prosperity doctrine". It only takes a quick search of the internet to find numerous sites that slam everything to do with "word of faith" teaching, and some of the men who have taught that theology. Unfortunately, a lot of the "bad" things that are reported are true, but that doesn't mean that everything they said or did was wrong. A lot of the dodgy things that they are accused of were accepted and pursued across a broad spectrum of pentecostal churchs. That doesn't make all of their teachings wrong. The believers responsibility (according to scripture) is to rightly divide the word that is taught, and to weigh it up against the Word of God. The Spirit of the Living God leads us into all truth, using the living Word of God to determine what is right and what is wrong.
I was actually amazed to discover that the contemporary "word of faith" teachers (like Joseph Prince) are very serious about studying the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) that the Word was written in, so that a true understanding of the meaning of the scriptures can be understood. This has revolutionised my beliefs about health, healing, prosperity in all aspects of my life, and what God's grace is really all about.
Anyone who has read most of my blog will realise that God has done awesome things in my life, and I attribute most of this to the things and the principles that I have learned since moving closer to the charismatic camp.
Recently I ordered a whole heap of teaching CD's from New Creation Church, and they have arrived! Needless to say, I have been eagerly listening to them and learning so much - and am looking forward to the opportunity to share some of these principles when I next preach at church.
Also, a friend recently loaned me a Keith Moore teaching tape about how we are blessed, not cursed, because Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the truth. How many of us still believe that even as Christians, we are affected by generational curses and suchlike.
I am lately being forced more and more to question what I have been taught, and to re-assess what I believe. But it's all good - I am growing in my understanding of just what exactly Jesus did upon the Cross.
I am blessed beyond the curse, because Jesus died to redeem me from the curse of the law. He died so that I would be healed, and suceed in everything that I do. Wow, what an awesome God we serve. How fantastic that we can call Him Father, and that He calls us His children.
I am reminded to be careful of what I speak out of my mouth, because the Word states that "the power of life and death are in the tongue". I will speak only that which reflects the fact that I am BLESSED, not cursed.
I will believe what God has said in His living Word.
The Senior Pastor there is a young man named Joseph Prince, and he teaches on the "Word of Faith" principles and God's grace.
When the Lord first guided my family and me to this place one Sunday several years ago, we were absolutely amazed at the whole experience of heart melting worship and annointed Bible teaching. Many things that previously had not made sense in the Word of God suddenly became clear and easy to understand. The whole service we just sat there and thought to ourselves - how wonderful it would be to attend a church like that in Perth.
I had heard lot's of bad press about the "word of faith" movement, which seemed to be famous for the "blab it and grab it", "name it and claim it" type of theology. I had pretty much made up my mind that I wouldn't want any part of that kind of teaching, and so for God to lead us all to a church that was teaching this kind of theology was a bit of a surprise. Even today, most people that I speak with seem to thing that the "word of faith" movement is all about the infamous "prosperity doctrine". It only takes a quick search of the internet to find numerous sites that slam everything to do with "word of faith" teaching, and some of the men who have taught that theology. Unfortunately, a lot of the "bad" things that are reported are true, but that doesn't mean that everything they said or did was wrong. A lot of the dodgy things that they are accused of were accepted and pursued across a broad spectrum of pentecostal churchs. That doesn't make all of their teachings wrong. The believers responsibility (according to scripture) is to rightly divide the word that is taught, and to weigh it up against the Word of God. The Spirit of the Living God leads us into all truth, using the living Word of God to determine what is right and what is wrong.
I was actually amazed to discover that the contemporary "word of faith" teachers (like Joseph Prince) are very serious about studying the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) that the Word was written in, so that a true understanding of the meaning of the scriptures can be understood. This has revolutionised my beliefs about health, healing, prosperity in all aspects of my life, and what God's grace is really all about.
Anyone who has read most of my blog will realise that God has done awesome things in my life, and I attribute most of this to the things and the principles that I have learned since moving closer to the charismatic camp.
Recently I ordered a whole heap of teaching CD's from New Creation Church, and they have arrived! Needless to say, I have been eagerly listening to them and learning so much - and am looking forward to the opportunity to share some of these principles when I next preach at church.
Also, a friend recently loaned me a Keith Moore teaching tape about how we are blessed, not cursed, because Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the truth. How many of us still believe that even as Christians, we are affected by generational curses and suchlike.
I am lately being forced more and more to question what I have been taught, and to re-assess what I believe. But it's all good - I am growing in my understanding of just what exactly Jesus did upon the Cross.
I am blessed beyond the curse, because Jesus died to redeem me from the curse of the law. He died so that I would be healed, and suceed in everything that I do. Wow, what an awesome God we serve. How fantastic that we can call Him Father, and that He calls us His children.
I am reminded to be careful of what I speak out of my mouth, because the Word states that "the power of life and death are in the tongue". I will speak only that which reflects the fact that I am BLESSED, not cursed.
I will believe what God has said in His living Word.
God answers prayer ...
Ever had one of those prayers that you prayed and then forgot about ... but God hasn't forgotten?
Had one of those this week. Karen reminded me of a prayer that I prayed some months ago regarding something that really irks her and me, but which we both felt powerless to change. So I prayed for the "mountain to be removed", and then forgot about it.
And now it looks like my request will come to pass. And what a blessing it will be. When it happens, I will share the full story here - about how our awesome God "removed" our mountain.
How often do we just accept the situation (translated = mountain) because of unbelief. We are somehow convinced that God doesn't get involved in "un-spiritual matters". I would like to suggest that on this earth this no such thing as an un-spiritual matter. Everything that matters to us matters to our loving and awesome Heavenly Father.
He loves to do miracles on our behalf ... because He can! Because He is God! Because He is King of kings, and Lord of lords!
Had one of those this week. Karen reminded me of a prayer that I prayed some months ago regarding something that really irks her and me, but which we both felt powerless to change. So I prayed for the "mountain to be removed", and then forgot about it.
And now it looks like my request will come to pass. And what a blessing it will be. When it happens, I will share the full story here - about how our awesome God "removed" our mountain.
How often do we just accept the situation (translated = mountain) because of unbelief. We are somehow convinced that God doesn't get involved in "un-spiritual matters". I would like to suggest that on this earth this no such thing as an un-spiritual matter. Everything that matters to us matters to our loving and awesome Heavenly Father.
He loves to do miracles on our behalf ... because He can! Because He is God! Because He is King of kings, and Lord of lords!
Now for something different ...
I was so pumped when Kate DeAraugo won Australian Idol. I must confess that I voted for her a few times, because I believe that she truly deserved to win.
Her voice is so mellow, and she has a beautiful smile which shows how she feels inside. And considering "shark boy's" rude "tuck shop arms" comments, I thought that she showed amazing grace in putting all of the criticism behind her.
The final clincher for me, which convinced me beyond a doubt that she was going to win, was the final night of performances. Her rendition of Mary Mary's "Shackles" blew me away. She was singing it like she really believed it.
So good on you Kate! Well done - you deserved the reward for never giving up - for trying three times to get into the competition.
Can't wait for Kate's album to be released. I might just buy my first Australian Idol related CD.
Her voice is so mellow, and she has a beautiful smile which shows how she feels inside. And considering "shark boy's" rude "tuck shop arms" comments, I thought that she showed amazing grace in putting all of the criticism behind her.
The final clincher for me, which convinced me beyond a doubt that she was going to win, was the final night of performances. Her rendition of Mary Mary's "Shackles" blew me away. She was singing it like she really believed it.
So good on you Kate! Well done - you deserved the reward for never giving up - for trying three times to get into the competition.
Can't wait for Kate's album to be released. I might just buy my first Australian Idol related CD.
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