ANZAC Day reminder.

Today we commemorated one of the most sacred days on the Australian calendar. A day where we cast our eyes back 100 years to the shores of Gallipoli and remember the sacrifice that was made for us. We also remember the countless other sacrifices men and women in our armed forces have made for us as Australians over the years.

On ANZAC Day we have a very real, and powerful, idea that we cannot take the freedom we enjoy in our nation for granted. It was bought at a great cost. I am always moved to see the response of children and teenagers to the commemoration of ANZAC Day. It seems more and more are committed to making it to dawn services, partaking in marches and doing tangible things to remember the price of freedom and to honour those who paid the ultimate price. I remember in school having WWI and WWII veterans come and speak to us about the war – they were always moving stories that stirred my heart. However, even though today the first person stories are becoming rarer and harder to find, the sentiment of honouring our diggers seems to be growing. I feel that is something we can be proud about as a nation.

As Christians, though, it should also serve as a reminder that there is an even greater freedom that we all too often do take for granted (and that many in our nation today completely ignore). The price for the freedom from the punishment of sin was even greater than the price paid on those Turkish cliffs in 1915 – God Himself came to pay for our freedom, and in dying on the cross Jesus paid the penalty for sin for all of humankind, till the end of the ages. The weight of that punishment on Him must have been so great – but how often do we turn to our own selfish desires and take for granted what He did for us?

Today, let’s honour Jesus, like we honour the ANZACs, lest we forget the ultimate price Jesus paid, and the ultimate worth He has for our worship.

LIVE IT! - Week 7

After a short break over Easter we were back into our LIVE IT! series last Sunday Night.

We're up to Galatians 5:1-15 in week seven (go and read it here) and with only two weeks to go we're at the pointy end of Paul's message regarding the influence of false teachers and the true Gospel we have to recognise and live.

In Sunday's sermon I used a heap of different sports to illustrate the way we need to view the Gospel, and our path to salvation.  I thought it might be good to just outline those again here on the blog this week.

The Gospel is NOT like golf

The whole aim of golf is to get the ball into a hole that is only just big enough for that ball. You may have a whole field to shoot at, but it only counts if it goes in the hole. This is the 'gospel' that the false teachers were preaching in Galatia. A list of things that must be done to be saved, if you aren't fitting exactly in then you are not saved.



The Gospel is NOT like AFL

Though the boundaries of the goal are broader, but if you happen to miss slightly you don't need to worry, you'll get a point for being close.  Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life, and without the legalism of law and rules this model gives us an appreciation for grace; but Jesus still is that one way, if you miss that is sin, and you can't have a point for sin. Being happy with being close but not within the bounds of Jesus is not the Gospel.

The Gospel IS like soccer.

There is a clear goal. The aim of the game is to score in that goal, but you could choose to shoot high or low, left or right. The goal in the true Gospel is Jesus' salvation through grace. There may be a few options in understanding that, but as long as you shoot into that goal you are saved. However if you are outside that boundary you are outside the grace by which you can be saved.

When acoustic is better than the original.

I like acoustic or 'unplugged' versions of songs, usually more than the originals.

It seems especially the case with some Hillsong music - this is fantastic!

The answer to the longings in our heart.

Deep longings pervade the human heart.
   We long for selfless, trustworthy, unending love from someone we can trust to be faithful and helpful.
   We long for the unity within the diversity of humanity, some means by which we can live in peace and oneness that benefits each of us.
   We long for communication - from face-to-face conversations to the proliferation of modern technology created for the purpose of letting us know others and be known by them - and have a seemingly insatiable passion to speak and be spoken to.
   We long for community, significant and earnest relationships with others, so that we are part of a people devoted to something larger and greater than our individual lives.
   We long for humility, where people pour themselves out unreservedly for the benefit and well-being of others.
   We long for peace, harmony and safe altruism for others and ourselves so that abuse, cruelty, misery and the painful tears they cause could stop.
   We long for selfless common good, a world in which everyone does what is best for all and is not so viciously and exclusively devoted to self interest and tribal concerns.

Why? Why do we have these persistent deep longings that occasionally compel us to action and often leave us frustrated or disappointed?
~Mark Driscoll, Doctrine, p11-12

Why indeed! I read this after writing my previous post, and I realised that these longings are many of the things we use to define ourselves... to learn about ourselves... to try and understand ourselves.  If we can meet these longings in our lives then we can say we 'know who we are'.

Driscoll continues and says that all these longings are actually with us by design.  It's not a flaw, it's simply a construct in humans so they seek their Creator. In trying to define ourselves we are simply pointed once again back at the Creator and we see that only by knowing Him will we be able to understand ourselves. We long for these things because ultimately they are things only God can provide.

Tragically, human desires corrupted by sin turn in on themselves; rather than finding satisfaction in God, longings become lusts - bottomless pits of selfish desire, never quite satisfied, inevitable leading to despair. Because we are made in the image of a triune God to reflect his glory, we will never stop longing; yet, our sin-stained longings distort that reflection.
~p12

Sin defines any act when we turn from God and focus on ourselves. Any longing that we have should lead us to God, but in our humanness we change the focus and try to substitute something to subdue that longing - which will never work (as Driscoll says it's a bottomless pit).

If you have longings in your life... if you're dissatisfied, lonely, depressed or unhappy... ask yourself where are you directing you attention to fill those holes.  Is it God or is it something inferior that will never work? Is sin causing you to turn away from the one your heart is urging you to turn towards? Knowing that God created this world good, that He is good; allow that to satisfy your longing as you seek to know Him more.

Before I can know myself...

“Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.”
~ Jonathan Edwards

Yes these are the most important... but as I look at my life I realise that they are intrinsically tied to one another and cannot be separated.  The fact is that I cannot actually gain any knowledge of myself until I have gained a proper knowledge of God.

That sounds strange doesn't it? You would think that me being me, it would be easy for me to gain knowledge about me.  In our society today, so many physiologists, self help experts and Dr Phil want-to-bes will tell you that you cannot succeed or even make progress in your life until you 'know who you are'.  I totally agree with that, but I would add the precursor that you can't truly know anything about yourself until you understand who God is.

Why is that?  Well because God is truth.  The way I see the world that is an objective fact.  It is something that just is. I don't care what you personally believe, if you believe God even exists or not... what I am saying here is that objectively He does - no matter what people think - but not only that, also no matter what people may think of Him, He is the truth... He is perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing and all-creating.

At this point some people argue that there cannot be one truth for everyone - that humans cannot demand everyone believe one thing - in some sense they are right... humans cannot... but God Himself can, and He has.

Humans have warped that truth though, even saying that their warped ideas are from God.  That's the trouble we see today - people don't know the truth... don't accept God because they haven't gained knowledge of who He really is and on their own family history, or what they see in the media they just don't want to.

But just consider, if God is the truth, if there's even the slightest chance of that, then it is in your best interest to at least investigate that to the point of understanding what God says about Himself (not just what others say about Him)?

Because I know many people out there feel they don't understand themselves.  Today I'm just putting forward this idea that if that is the case, investigate who God is.  Because when you know that truth it really helps with the perspective of who you are.  I'm not going to write much more than that - if you do want to know who God says He is... contact me and we'll discuss it privately.

LIVE IT! - Week 6

So stoked to have my good mate Ben Peacock come and preach in our evening service last Sunday.  I really thought he pulled out the truth of the passage (Galatians 4:21-31 - read it here) in a simple yet impacting way.

Sometimes hearing someone else's interpretation of the study and application of a passage gives you such a fresh revelation of what God may be saying at this point in your life.  Ben's sermon definitely did that for me this week.




Then on Monday night we took a turn and really dove into some of the application stuff that effects our lives, and how the teaching Ben gave us really impacts us to live differently.

Two main questions were...

-Why do 'laws & regulations' have such a persistent appeal?
-Why does sin and the idea of having a 'freedom to sin' have such a persistent appeal?

These questions basically framed the rest of the study.  Because the truth is... the best I have ever felt... the most at peace I have ever felt... the most fulfilled I have ever felt... is when I have been well within God's plan for my life, serving Him and worshipping Him.   There is simply no better place to be.

Yet I don't choose to dwell there all the time.  There is some persistent appeal that draws me to either lawfulness or sin.  Why? I don't completely understand it myself but some of the main things we came up with were; self-gratification, self-righteousness, weakness and having a short vision of pleasure and our needs.

I think we pulled out many things that seem to be part of the detrimental effect sin has had on human nature.

Thankfully we are children of the promise covenant... not the law covenant.  The inheritance we receive (and learnt about last week) isn't dependent on what we do... but promised to us on regard of our faith. Our faith makes us part of the family... and eternal life, peace with God and being made righteous is promised to those who are part of the family.

It's still important to ponder those questions of turning away and of sin though, because I still recognise that the best place for me to be is immersed in that family of God - so I want to work at being better at that... not in the sense of working to be better received by God, but in being a better example of God through the workings of my life as I go about LIVING this Gospel that defines my life.

TeenStreet - The Journey So Far.

5 years of TeenStreet... what an amazing ride it's been and I love this video that's been produced just to show a little of what has happened as this camp has grown.

2015 is camp number 6 and it's going to be bigger and better than before... if you know any teens make sure you encourage them to get involved.



TeenStreet QLD | The Story So Far from TeenStreet Australia on Vimeo.

LIVE IT! - Week 5

The end of Galatians 3 is one of my favourite passages of all time.  The highlight of the love of God, and His grace through the work of Jesus Christ so that we are all now sons, with the greatest inheritance, is a monumental injection of hope, clarity, conviction and determination in my life.  It's one of those passages that serves to focus me on this Gospel mission the Church is now given, and to rejuvenate my weak humanness to a point of being clothed by Christ once again.

Verse 27 makes that exact point doesn't it?

"for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

Baptism is something many regard as a 'tradition' these days - something to be done as an initiation into the church, or a public witness to the congregation and your friends/family of your faith. However I'm not sure that's how it's portrayed in the New Testament.  There always seems to be an inherent spiritual aspect to Baptism.  The significance of it being that it instigates a distinct change in ones life.

Here in Galatians Paul says one is clothed in Christ through baptism - our identity is not now individual, it's not based on who we are, but on who Jesus is.  Because of this change in identity Paul can then say in verse 28 that there is "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Some spiritual change is attenuated to Baptism which gives us a unity with Jesus that is beyond-human.

In Romans Paul says:

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
-Romans 6:4

Baptism may display a symbolic gesture of death and resurrection, but in some very real sense Paul's writings give us an impression that there is some effectual spiritual death and resurrection that happens as well.

Theologically I don't feel compelled to state that Baptism is a necessity for salvation - but I do think it is even more important than how many modern churches portray it.

This week's sermon in the LIVE IT! series focused on our adoption as sons into the inheritance of Jesus.  What an incredible thing for us to receive! What is Jesus' inheritance? What does He get for being the Son of God? The answer is eternal life and an intimate relationship with the Father.  That's now our inheritance because Jesus made a way for us to be adopted as well.

Having verse 27 thrown in the middle of this passage about adoption makes me think Paul saw a real importance to baptism being a real instigator of that adoption process. Just like a child who is adopted takes on the family name, moves into the home, is dressed and cared for like any other child in that home - we receive that spiritually through the Holy Spirit. Through baptism we are clothed in Christ... we are now truly part of the family!

Read Galatians 3:23-4:20 here

LIVE IT! - Week 4

Since last weekend was my weekend off, Warren preached the week four message , and Blake led the Bible study, so this blog is really my only input on this passage in Galatians (Read Galatians 3:1-22 here). I just finished listening to Warren's sermon online and loved his term "Spiritual Moonwalking" - this idea where we think and act like we're moving forward, but in reality we're actually going backwards.

I recognise I have spent a lot of time Spiritually Moonwalking and want to identify how I can get some traction and actually get back to walking forward in faith and this salvation I have been given.

Traction is important.  My weekend off I actually spent in Melbourne at the Grand Prix.  As soon as you're involved in motor-sport you very quickly become aware of how important traction is.  It's very easy to build a super powerful engine, but the speed of your race car comes from how best you can use that power to propel your car forwards (i.e traction) - or how much speed your car can carry through the corners. That is exceedingly tricky - getting that power to the road is where the most engineering is needed, and sometimes less power means more traction, and a faster car.  The most powerful engine in the world bolted onto a current Formula One car would not guarantee winning success... too much power and the car will loose it's grip, it will be slow through corners and off them... it will spin its wheels on the straights and go slower... all because the current F1 car is perfectly set up for maximum traction with the power its engine has.

A lot of time in our Christian lives we look for power.  Yes God is all powerful, but that's not what I mean here... instead what I'm talking about are those things in our life that we go towards that make us feel like a good Christian.  The power of belonging to a home group, holding a big fancy Bible, listening to the most popular pastor's sermon podcasts, being the congregation's favourite worship leader.

None of those things are actually bad things... but without the right motivation they don't provide any traction in our lives... and without the traction we may look like we're going forwards, but really we're just sliding backwards.

So I want to search my life for the motivations I have for doing things.  Am I serving God because I have a distinct love for Him and my faith in Him drives me to do things for Him... that's the traction I need... but all too often I feel I may be relying on my own purposes or emotions.

Have a listen to Pastor Warren's sermon... it was a cracker!

Am I brave enough to pray this?

I love that men like Francis Chan are sharing their prayers with us.  They challenge me greatly.

“God, interrupt whatever we are doing so that we can join You in what You’re doing”
— Francis Chan (@crazylove) March 18, 2015

LIVE IT! - Week 3

This week's sermon was a bit heavy on personal testimony for me - I felt a real link between a real life situation and what had happened with Peter and Paul in this passage

(Read Galatians 2:11-21 here)

Paul is using a personal testimony of his time in Antioch to illustrate for the Galatians how they should act in their present situation... and in many senses how we should act in situations we find ourselves in as well.

We are truly free and we should not be held down by any tradition, religious piousness, incorrect teaching or human arrogance. We should always strive to live out this Gospel we have received.  And amazingly this Gospel keeps us in-line, not because of strict rules, but because of overwhelming love.  When you are loved so purely you naturally want to engage with that person in a pure way.  You want to share that love in the same manner it has been shown to you... it's a natural reaction... not a regulation of a law.

Where Paul says; "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." [Gal 2:19-20]; we get a glimpse at how that natural reaction we have to love is implicated because of the change that the Gospel has in our lives.

The life I now live physically here on earth is powered by my faith in Jesus... and that faith is powered because of the love He has for me and that love was shown in the amazing way He gave himself for me on the cross.  That's why I seek to help the poor, comfort the hurting... why I choose not to get drunk or be sexually immoral.  It's not because there is a law that says I should or shouldn't do those things... it's because the person who set me free has a love so pure I want to live a life that is worthy of that.

10 years of blogging.

Today marks 10 years since my first ever blog post.  This blog started its life with a different focus; in the days before Facebook and Instagram my blog gave me an opportunity to share my life with friends and family all over the world.  In 2005 I had just returned from my mission journey in The Gambia, West Africa.  While there I had made friends and shared life with people from all over the world so I wanted to be able to continue to share my life with them. So I started the blog "My Jarrol Spot", reflecting on the name of the village I lived in in The Gambia, and how it had become a symbol of a place where I really 'found' myself - I was hoping to replicate that here online.

My first ever blog post reflects that, I shared some photos from a weekend on the Gold Coast where we joined with my cousin who had brought his daughters up from Melbourne. Here's one of the pictures just to hammer home how much has changed in 10 years.

In some strange twist of life - right now, 10 years on, I am in Melbourne visiting my cousin and his family.

As social media developed and grew the need for a personal 'life blog' became redundant, however I've always found comfort in processing my thoughts through writing so didn't want to stop blogging. "My Jarrol Spot" became "Working on the Mission" and the focus moved to how as a Pastor I could encourage the church to keep pushing on that Mission that Jesus gave us; to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" [Matt 28:19-20].

That is still such a passion of mine, and I hope to continue writing and blogging about it for many years to come. I surely hope that reading this blog has helped some process thoughts about the church and Jesus, I'd love some feedback.

Here in 2015 I am the Associate Pastor at Deception Bay Baptist Church in Queensland Australia.  I love the Church and being part of leading this little section of it is certainly God's call on my life. I know many from dBay read this blog, thank you for your support.

Powerful Prodigal Portrayal.

Shared this video with the youth group last Friday night.  It was our 'Insight Night', where we try to grab a clearer picture of the world around us and what the Bible has to do with that. We looked at God's impeccable memory, and the fact every aspect of our lives sits in the mind of our God who remembers everything. That's a daunting thought isn't it! But that brought us to the story of the prodigal son, who so brazenly defied his father and squandered the love shown to him.  However in that moment of repentance the father didn't pull out a list of errors and crimes, he simply welcomed back and forgave.

This video portrays that so well, but goes even further... it shows the cost of that love in a heartbreaking way.

LIVE IT! - Week 2

Have a read of Galatians 1:11-2:10

I love that Paul maps out his journey of conversion and revelation for us.  I mean he does it in this instance to stamp down the authority he's been given by Jesus Christ himself to proclaim the true Gospel to the nations - if you've been around for the sermons on Sunday night you'll know he's doing this because there are false teachers in the church in Galatia attacking the validity of Paul's Gospel message.

But even with the Biblical setting aside I find great encouragement in reading Paul's account of his journey from slavery to freedom.

If you are a Christian you too have a story of slavery to freedom.  Can you tell it to others to encourage them that this Gospel you're living by is true!?

Our stories are important, and not just the things that happened to lead you to belief, but the change that was made by God in your life.

To quote Graham Sercombe from the Focus Camp I went on the other week;

Many of you have had an emotional connection to the good news of Jesus, many of you have emotionally loved Him and loved His love... but for some you have never experienced the change that God brings. We all need that change

We do all need that change, and that is what we tell others about when we talk about this amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ, because the change in our lives can drive others to search out a change in theirs.

Not a professional.

The world does not need another entrepreneurial pastor but a more humbly holy, heart-penetrating portrayer of the Son of God.
— John Piper (@JohnPiper) March 7, 2015

But what do many of the churches today want?

I love John Piper's book "Brothers, We are not professionals" - my mentor while I was a Bible college student lent me his copy to read, and then gave me a copy as a graduation gift.  I know I need to work harder at my humility, and at being a portrayer of Jesus, not just a good talker.

Gonna get that book out again for another browse.

LIVE IT! - Week 1

We're immersing ourselves in Galatians here at dBay Baptist over the next few months. In our evening services and youth/YA Bible study we're focusing on travelling through the book together.

As part of that I thought I would blog a few extra thoughts on each week's passage/topic.  I want to link it up to the podcast of each sermon so those who may have missed it, or may not be part of our dBay community can hear the messages as well. Sometimes our podcast uploads take some time, so I will do these blog posts once the message is available.

Our first week of our new series saw us looking at this greeting Paul brings to the churches in Galatia. [Read Galatians 1:1-10] Unlike other books, Paul doesn't greet and then share his prayers and thoughtfulness for the church... in this case he shares a pointed greeting, which outlines the truth of the Gospel and the admonishes them for turning away from that Gospel.

We're faced once again with the stark and definitive reality that there is only one Gospel. Only one way to be saved, and (very really) only one way to live.

Paul's greeting of 'grace and peace' brings us to the point of having to accept this good news he presents, because the meaning of these words in a Gospel context is immense!

Grace was shown to us in the ultimate way on the cross. Receiving grace is when you are given something you do not deserve. On the cross Jesus stood in the way for us, and all the anger that we rightly deserved for all the things we've done against God fell against Jesus instead of us. Jesus standing in our place means we don’t cop what we deserve (that anger) and that is God’s mercy… but because Jesus stood in our place our faith in Jesus grants us everlasting life and a right relationship with God (something we don’t deserve… and that is God’s grace)!

Peace sums up our relationship with God perfectly. When our sins were still marked against us we were at odds with God. He rightfully had to hand out His punishment for sin, and being under the punishment of God is the opposite of being at peace with Him. But because of God’s amazing grace, that punishment instead fell on Jesus so we have peace now with Him.

So those two words “grace and peace” portray the full extent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have been shown grace, and because of that we gain peace.

How do you respond to this idea of grace? Do you still feel guilty? Alone? Angry? Ashamed? Independent? Self-sufficient???? Those things can be blown away by grace... because they have no place in the peace we gain and the unlimited access we now have to God.

LIVE IT! - Evening Sermon Series

We've started a preaching series through the book of Galatians here at dBay Baptist in our 5.30pm Service.

Right from the outset, it's abundantly clear why the Apostle Paul has written this letter to the Galatian churches. He is quick to announce his absolute astonishment that they have so quickly turned to a different Gospel.

You see these churches which Paul himself had planted were being influenced by false teachers who were bringing confusion to that original, pure, Gospel that had saved them.  Paul’s call to the Galatians was to recognise the true Gospel, and to live it… not to be swayed by anything else.

Jesus’ love, His gracious actions on the cross and His salvation through faith defines the entirety of the 'good news' which saves us. Still today, we have to be so careful to realise that Jesus is the completeness of God’s revelation, that His salvation plan is perfect, and faith in Him and His Gospel is all we need to be saved. So many things can sway us. So many things are subtle, yet still so dangerous.

Just useless

Somehow that's how I find myself left feeling... just useless. If I am honest it's something I must confess I feel a fair bit of the time.

I'm so glad that's not the end of it though... because the fact of the matter is I am pretty much useless if left to my own devices. That's why I need someone else.

That's why we all need someone else.

I was feeling a bit of a write off the other morning, my previous day hadn't gone to plan, I'd been very selfish when I'd meant to be proactive and servant-hearted.  I knew this day was to be spent looking at the Bible and meditating on God's Word, both for personal reflection and preparation for this week's sermon. But I felt useless, how could I have a horrid day like the one before and then expect to get up the next day and be all pastoral and Godly?

In making my breaky I just turned on a live stream of Christian music on my phone... I have no control over what songs play, but these were the first words I heard.

Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart 

 Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

I had to stop... I had to bow... and as I listened and prayed through the rest of the song I did find my rest.

Where sin runs deep
Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You  

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, You're my hope and stay

I am so thankful that though I am so dependent on someone else to keep things together, Jesus is more than capable of being my hope and stay.  If you feel like you're not coping, or just not doing a good job, turn once again to your one defense, you're righteousness and cry out to God; "How I need You!"

The beauty of waiting.

In September last year I found out that I was a Type 2 Diabetic. It was an answer to why I had been feeling so lethargic and out of sorts for such a long time - but it meant a whole shift in my outlook towards life as well.  To be honest I had already made some huge changes in my diet and health, and had lost a lot of weight - which was why I was wondering why I had suddenly become so easily tired and wasted - so my post-diagnosis lifestyle didn't have to change too much.

What did change though was my mindset. My attitude towards food and exercise changed. Food became a source of proper energy but also a cause of illness if it was treated wrong, exercise became a necessity.

I had a check up yesterday and for the last three months my average blood sugar level has been 5.8.  All my other levels have normalised as well, and though yes I am on some medication at the moment I feel that choices I have made are what have made the difference.

My choice has been to try and cut refined sugar from my diet as much as possible - however as a little reward for the good results I treated myself to a Krispy Kreme donut.  Now I can't remember the last time I ate a donut, let alone those magical Krispy Kreme ones, and as I bit into that caramel glazed goodness my mind forced me to slow down, to really enjoy it - and I must say that I did... it was fantastic!

It made me reflect that as a generation these days in Australia we live in a pleasure expecting, no waiting society.  'Special treats' are a thing of the past, anything we could possibly want is accessible to us right now - even if we can't pay for it we can simply put it on credit or take out an instant personal loan.  The idea of waiting, or anticipating, or working towards is being lost on our generation today.

I can remember when the only way you could get a Krispy Kreme donut in Queensland was if you or a friend was flying back from the Sydney Airport.  Where I worked there was an expectation that if you did a trip to Sydney you would bring back a box of Krispy Kremes to share - I can remember waiting in anticipation for people to come in knowing they would be bringing with them these amazing treats.  These days we have stores in a few places with a full range of Krispy Kremes, but you can also get a fix at any 7Eleven store all over the state.  The special-ness had worn off, that was until in my changed mindset I had not even thought to have a donut for months and months.  As I was driving to the coast yesterday afternoon I saw a store location and thought "I will have a special treat" - and can I say that I don't think I have enjoyed a donut more!

Our 'here and now' generation is becoming expectant, demanding, unthankful and desensitised. And because of that I think we're missing out on the enjoyment of waiting, or really earning something, or even just ungrateful for things that should just be a treat.

I know it was just a silly donut, but it made me think that we should take stock of our lives, what are our needs? What can we do without? What can we enjoy more in smaller doses or as a special treat? What do we need to wait for, or work towards earning?  If you can't afford it now, don't just go get a loan, set a goal and work towards it - I can assure you that you will enjoy it more when you finally get it.  Same with the things we don't always need - if we gorge ourself on pleasure all the time then we lose the ability to enjoy it at all.

Shine a Light on Slavery

“@Polaris_Project: Over 6,700 people have become freedom fighters in the #enditmovement. Are you one of them? pic.twitter.com/8psGrabOW7”
— ENDIT (@enditmovement) February 23, 2015

This Friday is the annual END IT Shine a Light of Slavery Day.  On the 27th Feb shine a light on the fact there are still 27 million slaves in our world and that's not ok.  Read up on the facts at http://enditmovement.com and then put a red X on your hand on Friday.  When people ask what the X is for you can tell them all about it.

Big enough.

Dear Jesus, let me grasp you as big enough...such that You dwarf the pretenders/contenders and quiet my soul.
— Louie Giglio (@louiegiglio) February 18, 2015

How big is big enough? It's probably different for everyone, but this Sunday we start looking at the book of Galatians at dBay Baptist, and my first sermon has a bit of this feel.  The benefits of believing the Gospel of Christ are so huge... I pray for all the people in my church that they get a glance at the idea that God is big enough!

Be My Escape

Loving this song from Relient K at the moment.  It's not a new song, and I feel the original (though sounding awesome) can cause us to loose the meaning of some of the words with its upbeat and fast tempo.

This acoustic version really let's it hit home though... I love these words.

"And I’ve been housing all this doubt and insecurity
and I’ve been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key
And I’ve been dying to get out and that might be the death of me
And even though, there’s no way in knowing where to go,
promise I’m going because
I gotta get outta here I’m stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I gotta get outta here And I’m begging You, I’m begging You, I’m begging You to be my escape."

"I’m giving up on doing this alone now
Cause I’ve failed and I’m ready to be shown how
He’s told me the way and I’m trying to get there
And this life sentence that I’m serving I admit that I’m every bit deserving
 But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair"

"I am a hostage to my own humanity
Self detained and forced to live in this mess I’ve made
And all I’m asking is for You to do what You can with me
But I can’t ask You to give what You already gave"

Writing Out Your Prayers

As I continue down this road of discovery in prayer I am trying new things, and finding new experiences to enhance my prayer life.

This week while reading Bill Hybel's "To Busy Not To Pray" I pondered his idea of writing our your prayers... actually writing down a conversation you have with God. It sounds like a good idea, but I found it very difficult to do, and actually failed at incorporating it into my prayer time. It just felt too stilted for me.

However, the next day, instead of writing out my prayer I simply sat for a while and wrote out a list of things to pray for. How many times do we sit down to pray and about a minute in get stuck on what to talk to God about next?  I know that's one of the struggles I had, and sitting and writing out prayers hadn't helped, but as I sat and started with my family I realised that if I wrote down each name of each person in my family I could think of things to write next to each name that I could commit to prayer.  Then I wrote a title "Church" and sit was easy to put down those with big health issues that we knew about... but again it was easy to list the name of every young adult and every youth and I could think of things straight away to write down for each person.  Then I went wider than my youth and young adults and was writing down names of all different types of people in my church and each time I could list 3 things I could commit to pray for.

Then I wrote the title "Me" - and again I could succinctly list many things I need prayer for.  Then I made a title "Thankfulness" and though I slowed a little, I considered many things in my life I am thankful for God for (in hindsight maybe starting with Thankfulness is a better idea).

After this I bowed my head and prayed through this entire page of notes I had just made (starting with Thankfulness) - and by the end I was worshipping God for His greatness and the contentment I was feeling from handing so much to Him.

Praise came easy after such a thought out process of coming to God in prayer.  Though writing my prayers out didn't quite work for me, this process of listing names totally revolutionised my prayer time.

If your prayer times are dry, try something new - something completely different... if the first thing doesn't work don't give up, because God wants you to connect to Him in prayer and so you will find a way to do it effectively.

Speedway honours Motor Racing Ministries Aus.

It's very humbling to see Valvoline Raceway (Parramatta Speedway) recognise the work of Garry Coleman and all the motorsports chappies in Australia by raising some funds for the ministry.  This weekend the drivers themselves will walk into the crowd asking fans to fill their helmets with a collection to give to MRM.

To go along with that Valvoline Raceway have recorded this interview with Garry Coleman.



I hope that gives you a bit more of an insight into what Sport Chaplaincy, specifically in the motor sport world, looks like. I feel truly blessed to be one of Garry's 46 chaplains - getting to work in V8 Supercars mainly these days, but I am always available whenever there are situations that arise around South East Queensland. It is a big job, and hard to do when it's something extra to the ministry I have here at Deception Bay Baptist - but it is certainly worth it.

Everlasting Enjoyment

In all of our thoughts and remembering that we are selfish humans who don't naturally turn to God but to ourselves, it's also important to not just focus on that negative.  The positive outweighs it so much! The good in Jesus, the love of God, the fact it's all seen in Jesus' actions on the cross creates for us (as Piper says above) a source of everlasting enjoyment.

So yes take stock of your life, but also stop to enjoy the relationship we know have because of Jesus. Marvel at the beauty of His love, rest in the peace that comes from His grace and rejoice in the sureness of His righteousness.

Always remember what has been done for you.

Timothy Keller ‏@timkellernyc  4h4 hours ago

Relationships are costly. Whatever it will cost you to be with God is nothing compared to what it cost Him to be with you.

It's all about perspective isn't it - but how often do we ignore God's perspective and only think of ourselves?

"It's too hard"

"Everybody is doing it"

"God doesn't care if I mess up"

"I just want to do something for me"

"I know the best way to do this"

...there are so many excuses... but all of them are flawed when we put into perspective the cost God paid for our relationship with Him.

I wonder what we can do to help each other always keep the thought of God's input into our relationship on our minds? I think we need to help each other, but as a Pastor sometimes I feel it's all I am doing... almost nagging people to remember to not be selfish.

I wish we could just get it.  I have seen places where for a period of time people have 'got it' and amazing things happen. I have experienced times in my life where I have just 'got it' and moved so readily with God that it was incredible.  I'd love to hear some practical ideas on how we can work on this together.

The way we treat God

The first of three Passion Conferences was on last weekend in Atlanta, there is another in two weeks and one in Houston in February. I am hoping they do a live stream of at least one of the conferences... last weekend they only made one of the sessions available, I am thankful I got to watch that one.

Francis Chan spoke in this session and his message was fantastic.  If you have the time, sit down and at least watch that.

He spoke from Exodus 19, talking about the preparation of the people to meet God and then Moses going up the mountain to speak to God face to face. It's incredible the time and the preparation the people put into that event, and then their anticipation to actually meet God, but they were not able to - Moses was told to make sure the people didn't touch the mountain or they would surely die.

Chan then set up a tent (just a little pop up one) on the stage and described the idea of Louie Giglio coming out onto the stage and going into the tent, and all of the people there in the stadium getting to watch as God came down into the tent and witness Him speaking with Louie face to face... how amazing that would be for all of them...

God is going to visit us in that way!? A human being is going to climb in there and it's going to be him and Creator God! See this is the way they viewed this meeting with God.  And what's crazy to me is that nowadays is how we treat this time with God as ordinary or even burdensome... to where we try and squeeze in 5 minutes at the end of our day, like I gotta try and get some time with Him, I feel guilty because I only got 2 or 3 minutes... ahhh do you understand? I was reading this in Exodus and going 'man how did we come so far?'
Where it use to be "no way! A man is going to meet with Almighty God", and they'd see the lightning and hear the thunder, the fire... and now it's like a burden, and we have pastors that beg us to 'please, please, please just give Him a few minutes... please just try and read through the Bible in a year it only takes like 10-15 minutes a day, just try to hear from Him... Please!' How did we get here?
~Francis Chan - Passion 2015

I know that as a pastor I have done that, pleaded with my young people (and whole congregation) to just give 5 minutes to God.  That's disgusting, that even in our church the culture of today is so caught in itself that it denies God the respect and honour He deserves.  But I know I am guilty too... I don't give enough time to Him... and sometimes when I do, the time I give isn't given with the right amount of respect or honour.

Francis also said this;

I think this generation would be more excited to take a 'selfie' with Moses than to meet with the living God.

That's it isn't it? It's so true! Today's society is all about who we know... or who we are known to know. We crave the 'selfie' with the celebrity, so people will see that we 'know' that person.  I've thought about it... I was at a conference earlier this year where Francis Chan was speaking and I really wanted to get a photo with him so I could make it my Facebook profile shot... how cool! I met the Chan! But I didn't, because he preached a message like this, and I realised as cool as he is... it's not about him... it's not about knowing him, it's about knowing Jesus.  We have access to God now, through Jesus, yet we don't go ourselves, we chase the selfie with Moses instead. In Exodus 19 the people couldn't go to God... they had to experience it through Moses, but now, because of the peace we have with God through the grace of Jesus Christ we can approach him like Moses did, face to face.

So why do we idolise and search out our modern day Moseses?? Why don't we go ourselves? Why do we see it as a burden, or flippantly give God 5 minutes at the end of the day out of guilt? We need to shake up our church culture... we need to realise the privilege we have, and the honour that God deserves... because most of the time I think we miss the point.

I don't want to do better just so I can say I am better... I want to do better because I realise God deserves the best, and when I am not doing that I am not living a life worthy of the grace He has shown me.

More on Prayer

I saw this on twitter, but I believe it is from one of Tim Keller's books.

I continue my journey on discovering prayer. I can't seem to escape people's thoughts and beliefs on prayer at the moment, and I am working through my own prayer/devotional life searching for a more authentic and interactive experience - I want to do better... I find I keep getting in the way of doing better... but these little snap shots help me refocus.

Our focus for this year... and the next!

As 2014 ends I've spent some time reflecting back on all the different things that have gone on throughout the year. We had a reflection service last Sunday night, and I displayed some images from some of the major news events of the year.  Some were good, some were weird, and some were downright horrific.

Then someone read this Bible verse as part of the service.

Jesus replied:" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:'Love your neighbor as yourself. ' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
~Matthew 22:37-40

In the middle of all the chaos this world throws up, I see here a very clear and simple focal point for us as believers.  This focal point of loving God with your all heart, soul and mind is a firm foundation through good times and bad.  It will get you through even the worst of times and help you remain pure in easy and good times.  And then loving the neighbour as yourself will make sure your interaction with the world is always pure as well - in its purity it is then helpful, kind, compassionate, safe, courageous and glorifying to God.

Some of the horrific things that have happened this year have caused people to zealously hold to that first commandment (that they'll proclaim their love for their God for all to see), but the second commandment has taken a hit.  I've been disturbed by some Christians responses to people groups, cultures, even religions, after extremists have shot down planes, blown things up or taken people hostage.

I think we would all do well to realise that loving God with all our heart, soul and mind means that we will love our neighbour as ourselves... you can't actually focus on one while you neglect the other. It just doesn't work.

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
~2 Corinthians 5:14-18

Because of Jesus, because He's shown us such an amazing amount of love, and a grace we simply do not deserve, we can't look at other people the same way anymore.  We have to look at them through the grace filled glasses that Jesus has washed us with, by His very own blood. We no longer regard anyone merely from a worldly point of view, so where the world condemns we must offer peace and forgiveness (because when we were to be condemned, we were offered peace and forgiveness).  Yes there is still a thing as justice, but it is not ours to dish out.  Does that mean Christians might get the raw end of the deal? Does that mean we may be persecuted, terrorised, even killed? Yep; actually it does.

That's a scary proposition, but when my focus is to simply love God with all my heart, soul and mind then I know that whatever the proposition is, I can handle it, and in the same breath I will be able to love my neighbour as I do myself.

Share Eternity

This Christmas we at Deception Bay Baptist want to share the story of Jesus with everyone. In that light we want to equip our people with tools that help them share this story with their friends and family.

YesHeIs is a fantastic app that you can have with you at all times, on your smart phone, that gives you access to videos and pictures that are valuable assets when you want to share your faith.



You can either use the app on your phone as part of a discussion you have with other people, or connect the app to your social media and share videos and pictures online. Here’s a little more on how it works.


So we encourage you to Share Eternity this Christmas – and we hope that YesHeIs helps.

http://www.yesheis.com/en/shareeternity

Where is my identity?

A song from Matthew West that has been encouraging me today

Where do I find my identity, in my faults... or as a child of the One True King!!!??

Thought of the morning...

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
~Psalm 23:6

What a promise... what a statement of faith!

If I make that statement how does it change the way I live? What does it mean for my outlook on life? How does it alter the way I interact with people, especially people who oppose me?

I see I can make that statement in my life, the promises of God mean everything to me, but I have to translate that into the daily outworking of my life and attitudes.

Just some questions and thinking processes triggered in my personal devotion time this morning.

A true idea of fellowship

Fellowship is a very 'churchy' word. It is one that we throw around a lot, but do we live out fellowship in the Church today like we see fellowship lived out in the Church in the Bible? Fellowship is more than just socialising, it's more than just feeling welcome and comfortable... in fact, true fellowship may be very uncomfortable on an individual basis for the greater good of the unity in the Church.

Acts 4:32-33 says

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

This gives us an amazing insight into the fellowship of the early church. When we look at our church today can we truly say we are "one in heart and mind"? Or that we claim nothing as our own, but everything shared for the common good - as noted before on an individual level that may create some discomfort, but a supernatural unity seems to be more important than personal comfort. Because of that attitude the Apostles are able to preach Jesus with great power, and they continually received much grace!

 What an incredible picture that paints for us, and maybe leaves us wondering if we're not lacking something when we do 'fellowship' today.

 Jesus command in John 13:31-35 gives us a reason why fellowship is so important, it also shows us why when true fellowship happens then Christ is preached with great power.

Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now:Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you:Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Loving one another is our greatest witness... so how does that effect the life of our church?

I preached this sermon on Sunday morning - it is online here.

Attacking Complacency

Timothy Keller ‏@timkellernyc  33 minutes ago

God attacks the complacency of religious people who protect themselves from the needs of others with the reality of their own needs.

We all have a great need for grace.  When we only worry about our own wants then we ignore our communal need for grace because we deny others the opportunity to receive grace.  May God blow away our complacency with a true idea of our needs and how He has met them.

Speaking the truth about Jesus

I heard a sermon yesterday on the life and ministry of John the Baptist.  The preacher used John 10:41 as a main focus for the sermon.

"Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true."

John was not about bringing praise, honour or identity to himself. He was as he said, 'a voice in the wilderness calling out "make straight the path for the Lord"'.  His sole purpose in life was to reveal Jesus, and when Jesus turned up he gladly became less as Jesus became greater.

John didn't perform any miraculous signs, or bring down fire from heaven or stop the rain or anything like the prophets of old.  He simply preached about the kingdom that was to soon come and call people to repent and recognise Messiah.  Jesus performed many miraculous signs... and he did so for a purpose.

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
~John 20:30-31

John, not being Messiah, didn't need to do miraculous signs to prove who he was, he just had to point to the one who was the Saviour and His signs would be more proof... John just spoke the truth about Jesus and I love the next verse after the verse that talks of John not doing any signs... it simply says;

And in that place many believed in Jesus.
~John 10:42

Speaking the truth is so powerful.  You don't need to perform any signs yourself.  I want people to remember me for speaking about Jesus, not for doing anything to draw attention or fame to myself.  If I could have that gravestone as a lasting legacy I would feel my life had been lived in proper service to my Lord.

A G20 Psalm

With the G20 World Leader's Summit in Brisbane next week politics, security and world influence is dominating the news.  As the leaders of the most powerful nations on earth meet I was reminded of their responsibilities as I was reading Psalm 82 today;

God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods":
"How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
"They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
"I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High. '
But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."
Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.

In the devotional book I am using along side Psalms the writer said this about Psalm 82

In Israel, judges and kings are suppose to represent the Lord and model His concern and protection for the people who might be taken advantage of. Yet those human rulers are included among those taking advantage of the pool, weak and otherwise helpless (Ps 82:2-3).  The description of such people in verse 5 is accurate, but truly bleak.

The psalm serves as a reminder of a ruler's job description. Rather than adding to the woes of the weak and poor, Israel's leaders are suppose to defend and rescue such people. But in order to save them from wicked people, those in authority first must stop being wicked themselves.

In the end, the only judge who matters is God. The human rulers may have a high position for a while, but they will meet the same end as everyone else. The more the psalmist thinks about the difference between God's rule and human leadership, the more he desires God's authority (Ps 82:6-8).
~ Dr Tremper Longman (ed.), "Ancient Wisdom for Today", p69

I pray that these leaders meeting in Brisbane next week desire God's authority, or are encouraged to at least defend the cause of the weak and fatherless and maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. That's not something even our Australian government has been doing very well lately itself.

Motivate Me

It's that time of year where everything seems to become a struggle.  People have been working hard all year and around November they just find they're at the end of their rope.  Attendance to nearly every church thing seems to drop, finding volunteers for holiday events is hard, and sometimes everything just gets a bit of a flat feel to it.

I'm not a good motivator.  I am motivated, I keep working, and I get frustrated when other's can't motivate themselves... but I am not good at motivating people to keep going, maybe it is because I am so self motivating that I struggle to see why other's cannot.  I know I can be a bit harsh or come across a bit bossy when I am trying to encourage people to pick something up, help with something or just attend something that is being put on for them.  Bossy doesn't always come across well does it? So I am looking at how to massage my motivating techniques to be more encouraging.

However, I get frustrated, because I see a lot of people motivated to do things for themselves, but not for others, or supporting church events/ministries.  Sometimes the things they motivate themselves to do are good, things to do with family, or friends, or study or work... but when I was growing up my parents always taught me that before all that I had to motivate myself to read Scripture and support the church community.  When I was in uni and I had huge assignment deadlines I had to motivate myself to sit at a computer and write... but my first motivation had to be to honour God with my faith; which meant I had to be even more motivated with my studies, so I had enough time to finish my assignments before Sunday night's church service, or not be left so rushed that I scrapped my morning devotion time before going into class.

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."  Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
-Matt 8:18-22

Even when there are good things to do, they are not good things if they hinder Jesus' simple command to "Follow me". We have to be more motivated to follow Jesus than anything else.  As I said before I am not a good motivator, and when people are just sitting back saying "Motivate Me" I feel so frustrated... but when I say "Follow Jesus" they don't get the motivating factor behind that.

It's the same with family and friends - both are great and encouraging things, but commitments to church and to following Christ have to have a higher motivating factor in your life.  Sports people are some of the most motivated people in the world, and sport demands a lot from us, there's the pressure of the team, as well as the pressure of making sure you are fit enough to cope, but again even if you love sport and are very good at it, you can't let those demands seep away your motivation to follow Jesus.

I have a friend who plays AFL for the Gold Coast Suns. Playing professional football consumes the majority of his life... training, conditioning, travelling and playing are what fills his week. Yet his commitment to his faith in Jesus is held in even higher regard. He has to be so motivated to meet the physical demands of his life, but whenever I catch up with him I am constantly encouraged not by how fit he is, but by the motivation he shows in supporting his church, sharing the Gospel and mentoring younger Christian guys.

If someone with those kinds of demands can do it, then anyone can. Our churches are floundering because people are not motivated to get in and do the work... in some cases they are just not motivated to follow Jesus, sure they're happy to sit and listen while someone else talks, as long as they get to sing a few songs they like and have a decent cup of tea afterwards... but that's not what Jesus meant when He said "Follow Me."

Maybe it's all just amplified because of the time of year, but I feel the only injection of motivation I can hand out is Jesus.  Because if I am honest He is the only thing that motivates me.  So when you feel like you're done, at the end of your rope... don't just sit back and do nothing, or look for something you can do for yourself, or expect someone else to motivate you. Instead turn to Jesus' example, how He lived, and simply follow Him by doing the same.

When a plan comes together...

God has a plan. He's had a plan right from the beginning, but I also have to assume our human selfish nature must have wrecked His plan at some points.  I mean God's perfect plan must not have included human sin - and not in any sense of a weakness or oversight by God, but our sin (even right from Adam and Eve) must have caused havoc for His perfect plan.

But God reigns, He is sovereign and in complete control so I don't think our actions of disobedience sway the conclusion of His plan in anyway, but the havoc and chaos we must cause when we are selfish, or not listening, or just plain disobedient just shows again how in control God is.

If anything I think we just make it harder for God to complete the plan He initiated with creation, sin has meant God had to provide a way for us to repair that relationship with Him, and the only way was for Him to give up Himself (how could we have made it any harder for Him than that!). But even today, even as Christians, we have to follow His plan and not our own; because God will still complete the work He set from the beginning, it is just selfish of us to make it harder on Him by disobeying.