Lord, I've royally stuffed up so many times and yet You ♥ me with an awesome, indescribable ♥. There are so many times I doubt Your intentions and wonder why You make the decisions You do. But I know I have a long way to go towards understanding You and all You ask is that I trust Your sovereignty on the basis of what I already know. Which really should be more than enough because of just how much You have blessed me. Many across history have trusted simply upon hearing stories of You. Greater is their reward. Lord, You are indeed faithful. You are good. You have looked after our family for generations and I believe You will continue to do so for all generations to come. Thank You.
So guys (yeah you, my lovely readers), I found a video from this pair of twins - Janice and Sonia. They're absolutely gorgeous, not just because they're incredibly beautiful on the outside and I ♥ their clothes, or because they have angelic voices and can harmonise well, or that Sonia is great on the guitar, but they have an immense ♥ and awe for God. They do sing a couple of non-Christian songs and a couple of cute, funny ones so you can check those out too if you like. This one (Amazed by You - taken from Lincoln Brewster) is so relevant to me, except the bit about playing the guitar as I don't play an instrument.
I hope you all had a blessed Easter remembering the depth of our Saviour's love. Janice and Sonia sang It's Your Love by Hillsong for this Easter.
I hope you all had a blessed Easter remembering the depth of our Saviour's love. Janice and Sonia sang It's Your Love by Hillsong for this Easter.
Shaun, Renee, Judith, Rosie and I watched Passion of the Christ yesterday evening. Sunday service was in the morning instead at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, as part of this year's Oceania Convention so to cater for those who didn't attend the conference, Shaun, Renee and I had a pizza and DVD night at the School where we usually hold our services.
This is the third time I have seen the movie but each time I watch it, it gets harder to look at the scenes where the soldiers torture Jesus and later crucify Him. When I first saw the movie at the cinema, I braved every scene and did not cry. But though I find my heart hard at this season of my life, and I have been struggling to get into God's presence and worship Him, I find it difficult to witness the torment Jesus endured. True it would make me sick to see anyone be treated that way but what is strikingly different is this. Jesus was completely pure, holy and righteous. He was without a doubt perfect and blameless in every way. Yet He chose to walk that path for the sake of bearing our sins so that we might live to the full.
This time when I saw the tears that fell from His eyes in the movie as they wrecked His body, I heard Jesus say, "I didn't cry for myself. I cried out of compassion for those who did not know what they were doing. I cried as I wanted them to choose an eternity with my Father. I saw the end they would have if they continued to walk in deception and self-righteousness and my heart went out to them." He reminded me that "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12: 24).
I often ask why this has to be so, why He could not make another way for us to be redeemed or for churches across the world to grow. Many testimonies tell of how sacrifice has brought great growth and how churches have been born out of adversity. Yet I forget that there is no onslaught so great that God cannot redeem it a million times over. If He had chosen any other way to claim back our God-given authority and freedom Adam handed to Satan on a silver platter, how would we be convinced that death has been overcome, that He is indeed over all things, that He loves us that much, and that He came to establish a new covenant?
Father, I need a deeper personal revelation of Your grace. I need to live out of that grace and not condemn the men who hurt the women and children of our world. Father, let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. May Your glory shine here through each one of Your children. Father, You are able. You are able to surprise us. You are able to do immeasurably, exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we could ever ask for or even imagine. Father, may I never limit You in my prayers but may I also trust in You when You choose not to answer my prayers the way I desire. For You know all things Lord and Your heart is to prosper me and give me a future of hope, joy and peace. I thank You this promise is for all of us, not just myself. Father, be exalted in my life. In my family. In my Church. In this nation. In this world.
This is the third time I have seen the movie but each time I watch it, it gets harder to look at the scenes where the soldiers torture Jesus and later crucify Him. When I first saw the movie at the cinema, I braved every scene and did not cry. But though I find my heart hard at this season of my life, and I have been struggling to get into God's presence and worship Him, I find it difficult to witness the torment Jesus endured. True it would make me sick to see anyone be treated that way but what is strikingly different is this. Jesus was completely pure, holy and righteous. He was without a doubt perfect and blameless in every way. Yet He chose to walk that path for the sake of bearing our sins so that we might live to the full.
This time when I saw the tears that fell from His eyes in the movie as they wrecked His body, I heard Jesus say, "I didn't cry for myself. I cried out of compassion for those who did not know what they were doing. I cried as I wanted them to choose an eternity with my Father. I saw the end they would have if they continued to walk in deception and self-righteousness and my heart went out to them." He reminded me that "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12: 24).
I often ask why this has to be so, why He could not make another way for us to be redeemed or for churches across the world to grow. Many testimonies tell of how sacrifice has brought great growth and how churches have been born out of adversity. Yet I forget that there is no onslaught so great that God cannot redeem it a million times over. If He had chosen any other way to claim back our God-given authority and freedom Adam handed to Satan on a silver platter, how would we be convinced that death has been overcome, that He is indeed over all things, that He loves us that much, and that He came to establish a new covenant?
Father, I need a deeper personal revelation of Your grace. I need to live out of that grace and not condemn the men who hurt the women and children of our world. Father, let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. May Your glory shine here through each one of Your children. Father, You are able. You are able to surprise us. You are able to do immeasurably, exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we could ever ask for or even imagine. Father, may I never limit You in my prayers but may I also trust in You when You choose not to answer my prayers the way I desire. For You know all things Lord and Your heart is to prosper me and give me a future of hope, joy and peace. I thank You this promise is for all of us, not just myself. Father, be exalted in my life. In my family. In my Church. In this nation. In this world.
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