step into the light

John 3: 20-21 "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God"

We've been talking, at Church,  about boundaries and being accountable. Boundaries regarding our personal life. We discussed areas like boy-girl relationships, finances and time management, and what standards we as growing leaders have in relation to these areas. Being able to share openly in a safe, casual environment meant we weren't judged for our differing convictions and practices, but could be honest about what our understanding of the various matters is and how we'd address certain issues if they arose.

Let me cite an example. What is your stand on lending and borrowing of money? Simple question. Some said we should not borrow money. Others recognised that there may be times where we face financial struggles and need a little help getting by before we are able to stand on our own two feet and give what we borrowed back. Others said they'd be willing to give if they knew the person was genuinely in need and can be trusted to return it.

What sprung to mind, when I read this verse were events, that either occurred in the past (to people I know) or have taken place in the universal Church. Memories and thoughts that were triggered by what we were discussing. It's an important subject - accountability and boundaries in our personal life - as we want to lead lives of integrity. When sin creeps in and we are not accountable to godly counsel (perhaps because of pride or fear for our reputation or insecurity or shame and guilt), that sin eventually destroys us. Many great Christian leaders have fallen because of this. A common result is sexual sin and adultery.

It got me thinking. What are my convictions? If they can fall, I can fall. None of us are exempt from the temptations and distractions in this world. None of us are infallible or invincible. The higher we are in our leadership, the more humble we need to be in order to serve those we lead. Sounds ironic doesn't it? But that, my friends, is God's truth. Not the world's way, but God's way.

What am I like when no one is looking? What does my thought life look like? Do my decisions honour God? Do I consistently take care of my private life according to godly principles such that I am able to lead others in this? Or do I compromise and yet feel no shame and no inclination to hold myself accountable to my own leader, and worse, advise others as if I am above reproach?

Sin can be very subtle. Very alluring. Maybe we feel a pinch in our conscience at first. But this can be numbed over time. Or catch us when we're tired and slightly off guard because so much has just happened in our day, and we crumble like apple pie topping. It doesn't matter if we've just walked out of the best Christian seminar, spent a week praying and fasting, gone for a missions trip where we rescued a whole village of orphans. We're still susceptible to sin. Still vulnerable in some way. Look for the lines of weaknesses and build up our spiritual man. We need to be on the ball 24/7. Yes, even in those dreams where we can actually control what we're thinking.

God sees

Lord, You are here in our midst
You are here in our troubles
In our every situation
You are not just here in the good times
You are not a lofty idea, a foreign concept
You see the pain Your people go through and it grieves You
You are the all-sovereign God but You care for each of us deeply
You call Your people to action
To reach out to the hurting
To protect and to stand in the gap
To feed the hungry, tend to the sick, uphold the weak
To be a voice for those who have no say in their society
To fight for justice and live out Your righteous ways
That we may be an example of Your truth to every people group
That they may know You exist and are good
You are not deaf to their cries
You are not powerless in the face of the treacherous enemy
You roar like a mighty lion at the wicked
You are restoring that which has been taken from me, from us
You are mending, healing, bringing new hope
I am Your hands and feet here on this earth
Make me fearless, a warrior the enemy cannot defeat
I long to bring Your healing to the broken
To shield the ones who cannot defend themselves
Lord give me strength and faith
Give me love and wisdom and favour
Then give me the nations

Taste and See

Image by Coutre Cupcakes, Brisbane

"Taste and see that the Lord is good" Experience God for yourself. Why rely on the testimonies of others when you can have a deep, personal relationship with the Father? Do not stand at a distance. The Lord welcomes His people with open arms, beckoning them to return and stay in His House forever. There, Oh Lord, do I want to dwell. Never to be far from You again. The Lord protects and delivers those who fear Him, who live in a right relationship with Him. Why walk in the ways of sinners and revel with fools, only to discover that an eternity of judgement and destruction awaits you?

[Misty Edwards Song]
"I don't want to talk about You like You're not in the room
I want to look right at You
I want to sing right to You..."

thinking over this verse

James 3: 13 "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom"

When Pastor Lance and Belle returned from Bethel a few weeks ago, they prayed and prophesied over various ones in the church after the Sunday service. Fab and I got called to the front as they each had a word for us. Belle spoke about righteousness. The image she saw was of me being placed in a white robe. She also mentioned the words "Rose of Sharon", which I am yet to look into as to what that means. Lance then prayed for Fab and said that God was placing him in positions of 'ruler ship' to lead God's people. That's big; it will require a depth of humility and dependence on God. Lance then said God has given me wisdom, a wisdom I should not fear as it will help me support Fab. Fab had a little chuckle to himself as one of the little gripes I have at times is that he doesn't listen to me. Often it'd be in relation to some small inconsequential thing, but there have been occasions where I felt he did not value my input on a certain matter, not that he was intentionally dismissing what I said though. Interestingly, what Lance shared to me confirmed prophecies I have received before.

When I saw the abovementioned verse today, it got me thinking more about the prophecy. I know that all wisdom comes from God and that I can't ever think that any glory should go to me if I were to offer a wise word of advice or act wisely. But what is God specifically giving me wisdom for? I certainly don't think I am wise or feel like I have some great store of wisdom so it's probably going to take time - time communing with God, allowing Him to shape my perspective of people and situations and to give me insight into matters of significance, like dealing with social injustice.

I will need His wisdom if I am to start translating the huge burden I have carried for so many years (one that has definitely been growing in leaps and bounds more recently) into a vision that I can work on practically to see materialise and fulfilled. I will need wisdom in speaking with people about social injustice, be it those who are perpetuating skewed mindsets and oppressing others, or be it those who are suffering at the hands of the wicked, or maybe even those who have the power to bring about change because of their position of influence.

I remember going straight to my friend Robin after Pastor Lance and Belle prophesied over us. She reminded me that wisdom and righteousness have to go hand in hand for justice to be brought about. I agree. We cannot be seeking our definition of justice but God's perfect picture of what justice really is (if it was up to me, I'd be castrating rapists and paedophiles and locking them all away together in a giant warehouse with no connection to the outside world except for basic food deliveries and maybe toilet paper). And without wisdom, well, I wouldn't be of much use.

i fell down

Literally. I slipped down the polished wooden stairs in my house on my way out to work yesterday morning. Fab had left at 5:30 with the company car to make a site inspection somewhere up north of Brisbane so no one saw me slip and slide my way down towards the front door. Let me tell you, it hurt. I felt my back pull and I think I heard something crack but I could have imagined that. I crawled closer to the door and propped myself up against the wall, waiting for the pain to subside. I contemplated staying home but figured everything would be fine after the initial shock wore off. The sting on my thighs eventually faded but I knew my back was not in for a good time. I happen to flick my head back a bit in the car only to realise that sent a sharp pulling pain across my back. My mobility has been restricted since the fall.

I sit here now with two very sore arms. The top of my right arm, where it joins with my shoulder feels a little whack, for lack of a better word. It's not cracked or disjointed or dislocated, just clicky and weird and sore. The main source of pain lies in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades and from there the discomfort and ache and immobility radiates across my shoulders, up my neck (sometimes pulling in my head causing headaches and even nausea), and down my arms to my finger tips at times. I can even feel it in my chest, particularly when I cough or laugh or sniffle too hard or take a really deep breath.

I haven't seen a doctor or anyone about it. I don't really feel like paying someone who might give me useless advice, as I have often received in the past from medical people who don't care about me. I'm going to the greatest fixer of all. God. He can fix me back to what I'm supposed to be because He made me in the first place and knows what needs to be done and where everything should go and what needs to be loosened or tightened or shifted or removed even.

Why shouldn't I believe that God can work a miracle in me if He has done it in so many other peoples' lives. Why should I be cynical towards His ability and willingness to heal and restore? I want to have a testimony to share to others of His goodness and His power. I want to live with faith and not just think that I have to put up with this pain until time takes its course because though I may learn to live with some level of discomfort as I have before, it just means I am giving in to a lesser standard than what my God is capable of.

When I was praying one Sunday a couple of months ago, I received a little vision, an image, that though fleeting, was clear to me. It was a picture of me being handed a sceptre (like that of a King). I felt God impress upon my heart the statement, "I'm giving you my authority. You don't have to beg me for things, you can speak to the storm. You can speak life over terrible situations with authority and faith. Take hold of it. Walk and live in the authority I am giving you".

Just the Sunday that past, Pastor Lance said in his sermon (regarding the commission in Matthew 28:18-20), "Jesus gave us his authority. And to make sure we got the point, he baptised us into the name (authority) of the Father, and then as if this weren't enough, into the name (authority) of the Son, and to really drive in the message, into the name (authority) of the Holy Spirit. So we're effectively completely drenched in God's authority! What are we doing with it?"

Do I know what it means for me to appropriate this authority? Do I know how to exercise it? Sometimes I think the louder I yell a command, like, "traffic jam, be gone in the name of Jesus this very instant!!!!" that things will happen as I declare them. But it doesn't work like that. I am starting to think it's linked with my motives as well - what I am asking for, the reason for asking, and maybe at times whether I could have done something to change the situation (like woken up earlier to avoid peak hour traffic or something).

One of the areas I want to be able to exercise God's authority over is in interceding for social injustice around the world. I just have to seek God more for what His heartbeat is on each situation and how to pray with His love and His perspective and not my own biases, resentment and fear.

Fighting Sex Trafficking One Tweet at a Time

By Felicia Mann

A Florida journalist plans to fight sex trafficking one "tweet" at a time by using the social networking site Twitter to mobilize 9,000 people to give $9 on Sept. 9. Diana Scimone, founder of Born to Fly International, a nonprofit child advocacy organization, hopes to raise $81,000 tomorrow to begin printing Born to Fly, a children's book she wrote to raise awareness among children and parents about the sex trafficking industry. "Each year more than a million children are lured into slavery around the world," Scimone said. "Imagine what a dent we can make in the trafficking pipeline if we educate kids and their parents about the tactics traffickers use before they show up at their doorstep." Scimone says the $9.5 billion sex trade industry, which she says has reached "pandemic" proportions both inside and outside the U.S., is built on unsuspecting children whom traffickers entice with promises of "employment." Scimone said she has personally witnessed the power of "twitterthons" to bring awareness to important causes.

Know who you are and what I made you to be

After the teaching on the second night of our church camp, we got into groups to pray over the following 8 spheres of influence - Business & Economics, the Law, Government and Politics, Education, Media (written) and the Arts, Entertainment Industry, Social Welfare & the Community, and Sports. As social justice is a great burden on my heart, I joined the group praying for Social Welfare and the Community. Areas that were covered were family life (this being the fundamental unit of any community - my friend who prayed for this is a social worker), health (my friend who prayed for this is a dietitian who works in a hospital - her heart is to see God perform miracles of healing as why should people feel that God does not care about this area and all they have to depend on are medication and negative reports from their doctors), cancer (the girl who prayed for this is a nurse who works in an oncology clinic and has a real heart to see a cure for cancer being discovered and God delivering people from their painful condition), inner healing, poverty and orphans. I then committed the following areas to God - human trafficking, sex trade, sexual abuse, child abuse, slavery of any kind and the countries where men treat women as second class creatures or even less.

As we prayed, God spoke to me about two things (through impressing these words on my mind and heart) - "Identity" and "Understanding our roles". God desires that we know who we are in Him, who He made us to be. We are precious in His sight and not looked upon as dirt to be trampled on. We may be the size of the dandruff on the head of a super mini micro organism but God has decided to love us and create a wonderful purpose to give us each a meaningful and prosperous future. He chooses to bless us and uphold us, to encourage us and see us mature in our character, and to enjoy and intimate, eternal relationship with Him. Sadly though, many see themselves as garbage because others speak death over them. The enemy deceives us with lie upon lie about our identity and we need to break through this trap to see ourselves through God's eyes. We are not to think ourselves more highly than we ought (God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble) but neither are we to be oppressed and suppressed. We need to have a healthy self image from which we can even begin to serve others freely. We're made in the image of Christ not jellybeans after all. Women and children across the world are told over and over again that they're not worth anything, and the way they are grossly mistreated just sends the message right into the core of their being. But that is not God's plan for them. He does not bring us into this world to be disrespected, violated and crushed. He calls us to lift up our heads and live with dignity. We are God's beloved. His Word is filled with the truth about our identity. The world needs to know the truth.

We each have a unique role to play as well. What I felt God impress upon my heart was for us to realise our intended role as either a man or a woman, and largely as a child of God. Though equal, God created some to be male and others to be female, each with a different set of roles. We function differently though one is not seen as greater in value over the other, as many in this world perceive to be so. The skewed perspective of who we are and what we were created for has led to many feeling unwanted, discarded, broken and restrained. Others have tried to fill the shoes they were never meant to and therefore feel trapped or heavy laden.

God intends for us to relax in who we are, to have the freedom to be who He made us. We are not to feel as if we have to be someone else to be accepted or recognised, or meet the needs or expectations of others. Women across the world have been made to feel utterly dis-empowered. Some have risen up to fight back on the inequality and injustice they were made to face but have done so in ways that go against God's intended purpose as well simply because they know no other way. That does not release them ultimately either. As women we should feel free to be beautiful and not have the need to hide our beauty so men will not take advantage of us. I'm not talking about our outward appearance here but the deeper issue of our self image and security though the latter often dictates the former. Women are not made weak and we are certainly not any lesser. We should not have to walk around with an invisible crutch, living at a standard far, far lower than what God has in store for us. He is the giver of ALL good things and His plans and purposes are far greater and more wondrous than what we can ask or comprehend or even imagine for ourselves.

If men understand that they are given the role as the head of the family as a privilege to lead and serve with humility, love and integrity, and that they do not need to use their strength towards abusing others so they feel in control and in a position of power, imagine the change we will see in family life and in turn the society we live in. If they recognise that the decisions they make, the attitudes they display, the words they speak and the actions they show affect themselves, their immediate family AND the whole community for generations to come, and that they get to choose to give life or death, perhaps they will consider these things with more wisdom. But when a father fails to lead in line with God's perfect model (not mould mind you - it is not restricting in any way and is not a stereotype), someone else may need to step in. And sometimes this responsibility is thrust onto the already harassed mother who may drop the ball herself as certain weights are not for her to carry. In God our burden and yoke (responsibilities) are light. If we discover what God's initial picture of a man and woman is and what He had originally designed this world to be like, we will soon see it is nothing like what we witness around us today and is nothing like what we perceive in our minds because our limited vision is tainted by the sin that has wrecked our existence.

God can restore and He is in the 'business of restoration'. He will redeem us. We need to bring His truth to the world - to the men and women (and children) who are crushed in their spirits, who have turned to temporary or worthless things that cannot satisfy or help them. We need to see heads and hearts being lifted up to our loving Father and Creator.

To the nations, I read out this passage:

Isaiah 52
1 Awake, awake, O Zion,
clothe yourself with strength.
Put on your garments of splendor,
O Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
will not enter you again.

(In my understanding, "you will not be hurt/shamed again")

2 Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,

(God has given us the power and keys to free ourselves)
O captive Daughter of Zion.

3 For this is what the LORD says:
"You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed."

“Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night?” Luke 18:7

My Tongue

James 3: 3 to 12 says, "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water".

With my tongue I praise God yet I curse rapists and paedophiles and men who have no respect for women. I gossip, and I slander those who offend me. Yet I forget that they too have been made in His likeness; that I need the grace of God just as much as they do. That my many sins are no different from theirs. There are even days I yell at God and tell Him that He is wrong. I question and complain, forgetting that He is the Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, of Heaven and Hell. It is a contradiction that my tongue should speak both good and evil, life and death. It is moved by the well springs of my heart. If I hold God's love in my heart, I give life. If I harbour resentment and self centredness, I pour out death. My heart and tongue I must guard and yield to the Word of God.