Worship Worship and Worship some more!!

What a great experience it was to be at the Planetshakers Conference 2012.

What sensational speakers, What anointed speakers, What great men and women of God!!

The theme was FAITH!!!

Reinhard Bonnke said it’s not good enough to have faith for more faith, but rather to have faith that the power that lives within us is alive and well. That it can move mountains, it can raise the dead and it can overcome any and every situation…if we will only believe and have faith.

Are we prepared to go deeper?

It may mean that we will have to live differently…

Are we prepared to press into God?

It may mean that we are mocked and laughed at…it may mean we lose some of our friends…

It may mean that lives around us will be saved as they encounter a living God.

Are we prepared to be truly uninhibited and to be free in our worship and we pursue the King of kings and Lord of Lords?

David was a man that was free in his expression of love for his God. He sung openly, he danced freely and he stood courageously on and by his faith in God. When Saul was being tormented by a tormenting spirit, they called for David to play his harp, and his worship of God as he played his harp would soothe Saul and drive away the tormenting spirit.

When they first called on David for this task, he was described as ‘A Brave Man and a Warrior’…but we know that he was just a boy!!

So what was it that made him look different?

How can a young boy, not yet a man in body, look like a warrior, let alone be called one?

Could it have been his desire for a deeper, closer and stronger relationship with God? Could it have been that he was always free in his worship and praise? What powerful worship and praise it must have been if it continuously caused a tormenting spirit to leave!!

David had a heart after Gods heart…

Do we have, neigh, do we want the same thing said of us? Let’s take a leaf out of his book….

No giant is too big, no obstacle can stand in our way, no situation is too great…for our LIVING God.

Believe it. Have Faith in it! The same spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives within us…Amen.

Lift your hands in Worship!

Lift your voices in Praise!

Sing, Dance, Live, Love and Speak completely freely and abandoned for our God!! Don’t allow tradition or religion stop you from pressing into God and experiencing Him the way David did. It is time to dance as David dance and acknowledge the truth that there IS power in our praise, that our God inhabits the praises of His people.

The Praise and Worship was free, free and then more free at Planetshakers Conference 2012…and God LOVED it and He visited, He fell, His Manifest presence was like a shower falling on us all!!!

There is POWER in the name of Jesus!!

Keeping up with the Joneses

I think it ironic that the new show on TV is called ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’. We have a tendency to try to match and keep up with those around us…but more often than not we are left feeling discouraged as we try to ‘Keep up with the Joneses’.

In life we often look over our fences fascinated by what we see. It always seems that the grass is greener on the other side. They have more time, more talent and more money. Unfortunately this is also true in our Christian life.

I want to suggest that we have all looked over the fence at different times. We have been given time, talents and resources that we are responsible to God for, yet we always seem to think that the ‘other’ person is more equipped or even better equipped than we are.

 Can I encourage you today to use what God has given you. It says in Luke 12 that God himself has ‘given and ‘entrusted’ us with the gifts and talents we have. The other side of that scripture is that much will be demanded…and then much more will be asked.

It is our responsibility to be good stewards with what the Lord has given us…ours and ours alone.

Here’s a novel thought; Maybe we should trust that God actually knows what He is doing and what He is asking us to do. If we will only use the very things that He has given and entrusted to us just imagine what could be accomplished.

He ‘trusts‘ us…otherwise He would never have ‘entrusted’ to us!!

So I say, “Trust Him”…

Trust him with your time…

Trust Him with your talents…

Trust Him with your resources…there is a lot riding on the outcome.

He has ‘given’ to us…so it’s time to ‘give’ to Him

And as Nike would say, “Just Do It”!!

Thankfulness – Releasing blessings from Heaven

We find ourselves already in the month of October. The year has all but passed us by and with it has brought many victories and many defeats.

It is becoming increasingly apparent as I spend time with people, that many of us, at different times in our lives, are inconvenienced. We are pushed and stretched to a place where we worry, and as we worry we are bogged down and distracted.

It says in Ephesians 1:3,

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

We have received EVERY spiritual blessing in Christ, let me repeat the word EVERY. Every means EVERY!! It is time for us all, as believers in Him, to be thankful, to give thanks…and to give thanks in all things.

May I suggest that on this day in October that the one thing that stands in the way of our breakthrough, the one thing that stands in the way of our healing, the one thing that stands in the way of our miracle, is the ability to give thanks.

It is said that the hardest thing to count is our blessings…because there are so many. Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings by counting your troubles.

Look around you – we have a lot to give thanks for!!

Give thanks – TODAY – You’ll be better for it!!

Amen

To Cross or not to Cross….

I have just completed an amazing leadership course that has taken the best part of 2 years. It was and is run by Arrow Leadership Australia. Arrow Leadership operates in 7 countries across the globe  with more coming on board every day…at least so it seems…

At our very last week long intensive recently, we were asked to write a 2 paragraph letter to ourselves. It was to be written as if God himself were writing to us. The first paragraph was God reminding us of our call and the second paragraph was God warning us of the things that would prevent us fulfilling that call and what He had called us to do.

What can I say… very emotional, heart moving stuff.

What dawned on me though was something so profound…something so amazing…something so blatantly obvious that it was like being slapped across the back of the head…lol. (I knew I should have noticed it and locked it in before). If we want to follow Jesus, if we want to answer and fulfill the call on our lives, then WE have to MAKE the DECISION to do so.

In fact, not only do we have to acknowledge what we have been called to and for, but we also have to acknowledge and realise the things that will prevent us achieving that call and being all that God wants us to be. And you know what, it’s not that easy, it can be tough. It’s easy stuff to see, it’s easy stuff to acknowledge, but it’s not so easy to make and turn into reality.

As was asked of me, I in-turn ask you; What is it in your life that may stop you realising the call that God has placed on your life? What is it that may prevent you being all you are called to be? It could be as simple as turning off the TV and spending more time with Him. It could be that you need to go to bed earlier so that you can wake earlier and be purposeful at the first sign of light. For some of us it may be time to switch of the music we are listening to and listen to something that will inspire and encourage us….and the list can go on and on and on, and it does!

For me, it’s just not that easy….

I heard it said recently that at least 50% of Christianity is played out in out minds. We need to make the decision. We need to take captive every thought. Ok, I know that we have all decided to take up our cross….Ok, I know that we have all decided to follow Him… but… we also need to decide to die to self! It is a part of the cross that we also must carry.

Mark 10:21 reads;

 ²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

That look from Jesus will mean a heart broken forever from allegiance to any other person or thing. Has Jesus ever looked at you? If He has, what is it that may stop us following Him? What is it that stops us from fulfilling the call He has placed on our lives.

It’s time for us to make a decision. It’s time for us to take action. It’s time for us to take up our cross. It’s time for us to TRULY follow Him. As Oswald Chambers once said, “The only ‘good thing’ from Jesus point of view is union with Himself and NOTHING in between.”

One Touch…

Recently I have struggled with a really sore back…So sore in fact that I wasn’t able to sleep, wasn’t able to tie my own shoelaces, wasn’t able to sit for periods longer than 30 seconds. I was just in so much pain.

Then after a recent hour long drive I struggled to get in and out of the car, to tell you the truth it was difficult standing completely upright. My back was becoming progressively worse.

It was at this stage my wonder women wife, Melanie, stepped in and arranged for me to get some deep tissue massage. All I can say is that I squealed like a girl. The massage therapist even requested that I don’t think of swear words frightened that I would actually swear…heaven forbid…lol. It was the longest hour of my life. After the massage, I was still sore but able to move. I was so excited. I thanked my wife, kissed the kids and even hugged the dog…oh that’s right…I don’t have a dog.

Anyway, life started to get back on track as my back started to get back to normal…pardon the pun…but it was fun!! So i thought…

After just a day and half, my back started to stiffen again. Each day more of the pain returned until finally after a week since that initial deep tissue massage I booked myself in for another. As the massage therapist did her thing she kept commenting on how stiff and knotted and sore my back was…er der…I could have told you that, but as we were nearing the end of the session she suggested I attend a c-h-i-r-o-p-r-a-c-t-o-r.

I must admit that I am very sceptical of c-h-i-r-o-p-r-a-t-o-r-s (they sound more mystical if you say it slowly),yet because of the pain I made an appointment. Sceptical because I did not understand how a touch here or a press there can fix a anything.

The day and time arrived, I entered the office and we spoke for approximately 15-20 minutes. The chiropractor then did 5 minutes of physical checks, and then the moment arrived. He touched me. He touched me in one spot. He touched me in one spot for no more than 10 seconds. Then he said I could get up and suggested another appointment time. What…that’s it…I’m in pain…you have to do more….please!!

I stood and to my dismay I could move, really move. I could turn, lift my hands, tie my shoe laces, I could do stuff again. WOW. I was totally amazed. One touch and I am good. One touch and I am healed. I wanted to make another appointment, I wanted to go back. I want to see this c-h-i-r-o-p-r-a-c-t-o-r again!! I am now sleeping, walking straight, tying my own shoe laces…even showering is a breeze. So I made another appointment. I am on a winner.

I started thinking how all this relates to life and God.

One touch from God, just one touch, can heal us and make us good…for eternity. Just one touch from Him. I started to truly understand what happened to the women with the issue of bleeding. How magnificent. Just one touch from Jesus, just one touch, and she was healed.

I have started to understand the scripture in;

John 4:12-14

¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”  ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”

Completely healed. Completely restored. Never again thirsty. The desires have been removed. The cravings have been removed. The pain has been removed.

We are thirsty, hungry and lost because we have been separated from God, yet one touch from Him can satisfy all. Just one touch.Yet so many are sceptical. So many question how one touch from a God they cannot see can fix anything. They question how it can soothe anything.

So many try so many other things…I’ll read more…I’ll go to church more…I’ll see the pastor…I’ll listen to another sermon…They are all good things, just like my deep tissue massage. But it was the one touch that made it right. It was the one touch that healed my back. It is the one touch from God that can make ALL things new. One touch.

I understand now why Jesus cried on the cross;

John 19:28

 ²⁸ Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

He had a sore back. He was in pain. He had a craving. He had a desire. He was separated from the Father. He needed a touch. Just one touch.

All of us who know not God need just one touch. It’s time to drop the scepticism, make an appointment and go and see Him. Just one touch and the pain is gone. Just one touch and all questions will be answered. Go and see Jesus. All you need is one touch. Just one touch and all is made whole.

Just One touch!!

Let us be a people that are hungry, passionate and committed to touching God. A people that really press in to Him. Let’s open our hearts to Him in worship and in prayer. Let us worship Him in spirit and in truth. WHY? Because all it takes is One Touch from Him.

Do you still hunger, do you still thirst, do you still have cravings, do you still have pain?….maybe you haven’t Touched Him!

Just One Touch!!

Thanks you Jesus.

The Wrong Fruit

Qu: Why did Jesus ‘really’ curse the fig tree?

A great question requires a great answer…so here is what God revealed to me.

In Matthew 21:18-29…¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

I believe that in reading this scripture many times over the years, that many of us have assumed that Jesus cursed the fig tree because it had no fruit. I would like to suggest that in fact the fig tree was cursed because it had the ‘wrong’ fruit.

The fig tree was full of leaves and leaves are a fruit. The leaves bring nourishment and replenishment to the tree itself. The fruit proper is always for someone else, it is to bless others.

Now it tell us in Mark 11:13 that Jesus approached the fig tree because He could see that it was full of leaves. But upon arriving at the fig tree all He found was that…leaves. All He found was a tree that was full of  fruit that was only good for itself. It was a selfish, inward focused tree.

The word says in Matthew 7:17-18 that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. The fig tree was not bad. It did not have bad fruit, in fact there was not a single piece of bad fruit on it. It was full of green leaves. It was a healthy tree…but it had the wrong fruit. It had no fruit proper. It was inward focused and only cared for itself. It certainly wasn’t loving it’s neighbour in any way.

We are called to be ready ‘in season and out of season’, yet the fig tree was not ready.

The fig tree is a great anology for us, for you and me, for mankind. So many of us look good on the outside, we look healthy. We feed on the things of God, we read the bible, we pray, we attend church regularly, we may even go to a bible study. We look Christian. But upon careful examination we find that we are full of green leaves. Full of fruit that is for our replenishment, our nourishment and we lack the same thing that the fig tree lacked. We lack fruit proper, fruit that is for everyone else. Fruit that will bless others. We are inward focused…in reality we are selfish.

There are many reasons why the fig tree was not ready, why it had not produced fruit…but rather than focus on that let us focus on the more important things.

Let us be a people that produces not just leaves, not just fruit for ourselves…but let us be a people that produces ‘real’ fruit, the fruit proper. Fruit that will bless and benefit others. Let us never forget to ‘Love our Neighbour’.

As it is written in Matthew 7:16…¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them.

Love your Neighbour

Don’t you just love the scripture found in Luke 10 vs 27;

He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”

A scripture that a majority of Christendom knows…but what does it really mean? What does it really imply? For many of us, it means to be nice to our neighbour, to be loving, to be caring. Often the discussion around this scripture turns to ask who our neighbour is.

I have a different perspective on this wonderful piece of the word. I want to suggest today that we need to ask ourselves deeper questions than who is our neighbour. We need to look deep within and truly answer; How do we love ourselves? What do we do to love ourselves? Upon finding the true and deep rooted answers to these questions I then believe that we can now look more intently and ask ourselves;

Do we ‘really’ love our neighbour?

Now ask yourself this question….Why did Jesus ‘really’ curse the fig tree?

Here I am…

Many of us have at different times of our lives committed ourselves to serve God in some way. By the same token, many of us have at different times believed that we are not capable or skilled to complete the tasks at hand.

Have you ever wondered what your reaction would be if God called out to you as he did to Samuel when he was a young boy?

Would we have responded kindly to God’s call? Would we today answer Yes Lord?

God has given us all the tools we need to complete the tasks that He has called us for. Each one of us is individual, each one of us has a strength the the next person does not. We ALL make up the Body of Christ and we all have a part to play.

Stanley Rinehart once said – “We do well to remember, before we consign the concept of spiritual leadership to the arena of the superstar, that we serve a God who invaded this planet as a small, fragile baby.”

When the creator calls out our names, let us all answer – Here I am.