Serving in Solitude

Hope Darebin's 3rd Anniversary

2010-10-15T00:42:00.006+11:00

September was a time to celebrate for the Darebin Centre as we came together to celebrate our 3rd anniversary on the night of Friday, September 24. The theme for the night was titled 'Home,' as the church has been a shelter and a second home for many of the members and friends ever since the church was planted back in 2007.

It was a time for reflection as we rembered how far God has brought us so far, entertainment with dancing and multimedia, worshipping God through a multi-cultural singing team, and appreciation as each Lifegroup came forward to encourage out leaders, Eric and Atom, for their hearts in setting out to begin the Darebin Centre, as well as making us all feel a part of this spiritual family.

We are very thankful for the serving hearts of so many people who got involved in many ways to bring everything together on time, and make it a night to remember.

Above all, we really want to thank God for all He has done, and for the lives we've seen transformed over time by His grace and love. Without Him we wouldn't be here to share. We also want to praise God for the fact that... this is just the beginning!

Healing Affirmation

2009-06-16T22:57:00.003+10:00

Lord, I am hurting due to the brokenness of others and mistakes of my own. Please use Your powers to heal me and give me courage to make the choices I need to make to allow Your healing in my life. Forgive me for standing in Your way of healing for me. Thank You for allowing my past to end one second ago, and my future to begin right now in this moment with You.

Affirmation:
Today I Choose to Heal

Today I choose to heal.
My healing begins right now, in this moment.
I am no longer bound by my sick past.
There is healing in my future.
For the next twenty-four hours, I choose to free and heal.
I choose to let go of the past hurts that I cannot undo.
I choose to forgive myself for wrong choices in the past.
Today I will dwell on what is good and right, not in the darkness I have experienced or
the darkness others invite me to live.
Today I will live beyond myself and live for God.
On this day I will choose to feel my life rather than live in denial.
I will not medicate away my pain, sorrow, or anxiety.
I will allow each negative feeling to lead me to greater depths of healing.
I will not drown out or ignore my negative emotions.
I will work through these feelings and move out of them.
I will not project them onto those around me.
When I am unaware of what choice to make next, I will choose to do the next right thing.
Today I will not hide or run away.
I will connect with those who love me and with those who need my love.
Throughout this day I will stay connected to God and ask Him to guide me and lead me.
Today will be an adventure for me.
I will take a risk and enjoy the unpredictable.
I will not be governed by my fears.
I will choose to something uncomfortable that might lead me to know the truth about myself
or live life to the fullest.
I will not lie to myself today.
I will seek the truth and will ask for help when I need it.
Today I will reestablish some boundaries that will protect me from unhealthy people and
unhealthy situations.
I will tear down some walls that are keeping some wonderful people from knowing me
and loving me.
If there is some ungrieved loss, I will grieve it as much as I can today, and then put it away.
Today i will choose reality and embrace it.
I will accept my life and pick up my life right where it is.
I refuse to wallow in self-pity.
I will not focus on what I do not have or what might have been.
On this day I will not give up.
No matter how difficult the struggle, I choose to persevere.
I will not let any excuse be strong enough to derail my path to healing.
I will never give up or give in to an old life that did not serve me well.
I will allow no one to discourage me.
Today I will heal and rely on God to deliver me through the choices I make.
Today I will allow God to control my life, and each choice i make, I will make with God in mind
and love in my heart.
On this day, I choose healing.
I will do what I can do to heal and accept the limitations God has placed before me.
I will see every limitation I encounter as an invitation by God to do for me what I cannot do
for myself.
I will accept that healing is sometimes slow and delayed and will grow in character in the
meantime.
Today I will step outside of myself and serve others.
I will find a need and fill it.
I will find the hurt of another and help heal it.
I will not become self-absorbed or filled with self-obsession.
I will reach out to someone in need and do what I can to meet that need.
Today I will ask for God's help to live out His purpose.
Today I will live for God and not myself.
Today I choose to live.
Today I choose to love.
Today I choose to heal.

'Healing Is A Choice'
Stephen Arterburn

Personal Trials

2009-06-04T22:21:00.002+10:00

What the Lord has touched me through:

Psalm 13
"1How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4and my enemy will say "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5But I trust in Your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in salvation.
6I will sing the Lord's praise,
for He has been good to me."

Amen!

The Dark is Generous

2009-05-01T00:03:00.003+10:00

Think this is an interesting poem:

Its first gift is concealment: our true faces lie in the dark beneath out skins, our true hearts remain shadowed deeper still.
But our greatest concealment lies not in protecting our secret truths, but in hiding from us the truths of others.
The dark protects us from what we dare not know.
Its second gift is comforting illusion: the ease of gentle dreams in night’s embrace, the beauty that imagination brings to what would repel in day’s harsh light. But the greatest of its comforts is in the illusion that the dark is temporary: that every night brings a new day. Because it is the day that is temporary.
Day is the illusion.
Its third gift is the light itself: as days are defined by the nights that divide them, as stars are defined by the infinite black through which they wheel, the dark embraces the light, and brings it forth from the center of its own self.
With each victory of the light, it is the dark that wins.

The dark is generous, and it is patient.
It is the dark that seeds cruelty into justice, that drips contempt into compassion, that poisons love with grains of doubt.
The dark can be patient, because the slightest drop of rain will cause those seeds to sprout.
The rain will come, and the seeds will sprout, for the dark is the soil in which they grow, and it is the clouds above them, and it waits behind the star that gives them light.
The dark’s patience is infinite.
Eventually, even stars burn out.

The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins.
It always wins because it is everywhere.
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.

The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins - but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back.
Love is more than a candle.
Love can ignite the stars.

The Impact of OC 09

2009-04-21T21:49:00.023+10:00

During this year, there have been many new and exiting things happening in the midst of Hope Darebin. But without a doubt, one of the biggest so far was the experience of the Oceania Convention at Phillip Island, held during the Easter weekend from April 10-13, which would offer the opportunity to come together as a huge family with the other centres from all over Australia and New Zealand.

It began with a huge opening ceremony which illustrated the importance of Moving in the Spirit with music, drama, and encouragement that there really is more out there than just what we see in black and white. The atmosphere was one of freedom, high energy and expectation for big things to happen as God was ready to speak through His Holy Spirit to everyone over the next few days.

During Saturday, Oceania received inspiration to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's timing as like an alarm clock, if it's continuously ignored than opportunities will be missed when presented by God. Another encouraging example was when Peter Truong shared in the workshop, Moving in the Spirit to Heal, that all who wish to serve Him must release all fears and doubts before God can use us to minister to others around us, and not allow discouragement to creep in and be steered off course. The time came for this to be put into application as the alter call offered a time of prayer and ministering to all who sought prayer. Praise God that Darebin saw two brothers that night receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit! Another testimony God revealed was of a third brother who recently joined us also receiving the Holy Spirit, an amazing thing to witness! The presence of God was felt everywhere that night as all around there were many big things happening, many new testimonies, many lives being changed and touched by the amazing power of His Spirit.

Even through the smaller things during this years OC, there were many examples of God's love being put into action by the sense of family and unity witnessed all around the resort. One example being three brothers standing shoulder to shoulder brushing their teeth, the campsite full of cheerful brothers and sisters bonding together around the campfires, and despite the cold weather, a sense of peace and joy over the place.

Sunday began with a massive celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The true meaning of Easter was experienced as the sense of freedom and joy was alive in in hearts of the brothers and sisters, there were many tears shed, yet many were set free by His amazing love which is everlasting and always with us. Out in the sun, there was a wonderful sight of brothers and sisters uniting to create a huge human 'J' by linking together, an encouraging time to watch the excitement flowing from every heart.

The power of prayer was witnessed in a huge way during a time of ministering to those who desired healing from God. An encouraging verse from his Word that night was Matthew 19:20 "With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." This was an encouraging time as everyone came forward as one to either be prayed for or to minister as a vessel for God. Many testimonies came from this time, including one example of a man who had constant pain in his back and Praise God for the healing which took place as he was able to bend fully without pain. One of the most inspiring things witnessed was seeing the hearts of many people exercising their different spiritual gifting to bless others in the Family of God.

The Darebin Centre was also encouraged and motivated by the step of obedience and faith of two brothers as they received water baptism, all glory goes to God for their hearts desire to know Him more.

Leaving the OC was a sad thing in some ways, but the positive part of it which was shared to us was that even though it's over for the year, the journey's just begun. So Praise God for everyone and everything as it was truly an amazing experience for all!

"These four days were the happiest times I spent after coming to Australia." Shanshan

"I felt like I got to know you a lot more through prayer." Yvonne

"Spending time with God is important." Anthony

"Am blessed and filled with great joy to be part of this family." Mx

" I was praying hard for a church even before I came." Sarah

" The Oceania Convention is one of the most powerful and fulfilling experiences I've ever had." Pari

"I felt peace and no longer confusion or despair. Praise God!" Pari

HOPE Melbourne Christmas Service

2009-04-04T21:54:00.002+11:00

Praise God as HOPE Melbourne celebrated Christmas with a special service in the State Library on December 21. As a church we want to bless those around us as well as to share the good news to all people, so before the service a group went out to do street Evax and carolling as well as sharing from the Bible to those passing along the street.

We also were encouraged to see an attendance of 263 people from the City Centre and Darebin Centre including adults and children, a record attendance! we give all glory to God as everyone enjoyed a night of singing carols, drama, sharing the love of the Lord and being encouraged by the message of how God gave us the biggest Christmas present we could ever imagine, the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ!

We acknowledge the effort our committee put in organising this service and thank them for their hearts. We also praise God for His gift to us which is the true reason we have to celebrate Christmas. God is good, Amen!

Reported by Simon Hardy (HOPE Darebin)

Interesting Quotes

2009-04-04T21:45:00.001+11:00

Here's some interesting quotes I read which made me think and wonder at what my interpretations of them would be:

"A plan is only as good as those who see it through" - If you're not going to do act on it through the right means, your plans will get nowhere.

"Most powerful is he who controls his own power" - Reminds me of Jesus' temptation, instead of abusing His power for selfish means, He stuck to His Fathers plans and refused the temptation placed before Him. Also for us, we have power to make the right choices, we can let our hunger for power to consume us and lead to trying to control others, leading to loss of all we care about. Or we can be humble with the power God gives us and use it to serve Him rather than ourselves.

"Heroes are made by the times" - Trials and difficult times can bring people down, or we can emerge through it all as a hero of faith by never giving up hope.

"The best confidence builder is experience" - If we struggle to do something, we should do it anyway at our best. It leads to us becoming stronger and able to do it confidently the next time.

"Great leaders inspire greatness in others" - God calls His people to be leaders. Through witnessing the example of others, we all can be inspired to rise up by faith, taking initiative and being confident.

"Trust in your friends and they'll have reason to trust in you" - Don't doubt those you claim to trust, give them a chance and show them you believe in them, this will boost their confidence and help them to trust you as well.

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness" - Rising up is never easy, to get to the top of each hill we face will take strength and faith. We'll always face challenges as we move forward, how high we make it will be determined by how much we believe that we can make it. Not by might, not by power, but by His spirit.

"You hold onto friends by keeping your heart a little softer than your head" - The harder you let it become, the more it'll push people away By keeping a soft heart, people will feel closer to us.

"The winding path to peace is always a worthy one, regardless of how many turns it takes" - We may feel at times like the path keeps getting longer and steeper, but it'll always be worth every step we take in the end as long as we keep going.

"Fail with honour rather than succeed by fraud" - By cheating or going by lies to succeed, we'll always hit a wall one way or another. Rather it's better to go the right way and sometimes we'll fail in certain things, but do so with honour and our heads held high without shame.

"Fear is a disease; hope is its only cure" - Fear holds us back from reaching our full potential, it grows until we hide in a shell and never act. We should counter this with hope, even in uncertainty we just need faith to boost our hope and keep us on the right path to growing in different areas of our lives.

What's you're interpretation?

Final Step

2009-04-04T21:38:00.000+11:00

This is our last step of our journey together, but remember that your own individual journey toward healing may be just beginning.

In all that's been shared, be encouraged by looking back at how far we have gone together! Here's a recap of our signposts:

1 - Learn to practice God's presence and to hear God's still small voice.

2 - Replace diseased images and memories of God and human beings with healed and transformed images.

3 - Renounce unreal identities. Discern and embrace your real identity.

4 - Get at the roots of pain and problems, not just the fruits or symptoms.

5 - Use the physical and sacramental means God has given as channels of healing power.

6 - Turn outward! Healing that empowers compassion and service in the world is true healing.

If God has done something in your life during our journey, celebrate! Also feel free to share anything that may have helped or encouraged you through something in your life, as we're a family i'm sure everyone would be happy to celebrate His goodness with you.

Continue to seek God and move forward in whatever way you may be seeking or need, and trust Him for His blessing and healing. Our journey together may end here, but God still wants to bring His healing presence into your individual needs so keep looking to Him always.

Dangers on the Journey

2009-04-04T21:35:00.001+11:00

It's time now to identify things which can stumble us on the healing journey towards wholeness in Christ. Hopefully by identifying them will help us to be better equipped to avoid falling into these traps, as these issues can determine if we survive the journey or our seeking God for His healing pressence disappears as time passes.

Sprirtual Pride
Often the most common killer of healing prayer in the church, this can appear when we have experienced God in a special way and we then expect others to feel and recieve the same thing as we have. The experiences people have are different as God works in ways which are suitable for the person He is ministering to, which of course are different, no one is the same and God does not just repeat the same thing over and over for all. The real way to see His work in people is by the fruit it bears, and especially our character. The other part of this pride is when the one who is praying for others is doing so out of a need to feel special, and allowing the ministry to become worship of him/her rather than God. These things are deadly for the growth and maturing of those praying and also those seeking healing, and is also a reason why many people end up suffering more than before because they had their hearts in the wrong place at the time. This is why we each need accountability with someone else who can offer advice so that we don't rush out alone seeking to "perform" for those around us. Performing is when we pray and try really hard to make it happen, like having a fear or worry if we are helping at all, but it should remain guided by the Spirit and not by our own judgement.

Dependency on Healing Experiences
Just like a child who enjoys something he/she experiences and keeps saying "Again... Again..." we can fall into the trap of wanting to feel the same thing everytime we recieve healing from God, rather than dependancy our experience should help lead us towards maturity, when someone is seeking the "repeated" experience it's a sign that they are growing in that particular area. Also the dependancy on a particular person can lead us astray as we can end up feeding on their energy rather than seeking God, who provides all we need.

Need to Be Needed
There is also a problem when people are only seeking to help meet the needs of others out of their own desire and need to be needed. Many people may only enter prayer ministry only because they seek to have people relying on them and asking them for prayer, asking for prayer is good, but it should be done to help that person seek God and recieve His blessing and healing, not just for them to feel good standing next to someone during a congregation or meeting. If we are constantly seeking prayer from the same person all the time we can end up developing a dependancy for them which can be more of a distraction then a help for us, so it's good to have accountability from others rather then trusting only on oneself.

Substitution
This means when we overempathize when we pray with others. Such as when we pray for someone suffering we take the pain from them onto ourselves so we now are feeling the pain from them, and by doing so we substitute ourself for the person we pray for. However, this is dangerous to do as we are not the one who should be bearing it for them, we are not that person. We need to remember to ask Jesus to take the sin and suffering onto Himself at the cross and heal the person suffering.

Seeking the Quick Fix
Another danger is when people are not seeking prayer to get better but to feel better instead, by making the pain less or only removed in particular ways. What we must remember is that many times things will get worse before they get better, At times God will heal us instantly, but we must also trust in God that He knows what's best for us and is carefully watching over us and will bring healing at just the right time, even if it seems like a long time.. it will be worth it when we let Him heal us rather than seek to be healed by a instant method.

So when we pray for people, be weary that there are dangers out there which can catch us if we're not cautious. However, God will always be there to guide us and help us at all times so don't let the word "Danger" become an intimidation.

The Outward Journey + Healing

2009-04-04T21:32:00.002+11:00

It's time to take the step of viewing the 6th and final signpost of the healing journey, the outward journey.

There are times in everyones life when they will need to stop putting so much stress into seeking their own healing and focusing and interacting with the world around them, as a Christian we should also be encouraged to learn to give all love all that God has given us. True healing is also when we are able to give as well as recieve in healthy ways. There are 4 ways of the outward journey which are meant to help take steps towards maturity in Christ:

Praying for Others
As we recieve healing, we will have the desire to pray for others and help them to recieve this healing through God, and in most cases the most we can give is what God has given us before. God brings good out of evil times, an some examples are how He turned the murderer Saul into the apostle Paul who suffered much through his life. To begin the outward journey is to ask God for opportunities to pray for others and take them as they come, often the deepest healing you can recieve will come as you give to others what we start to recieve. However, it's important to note that we shouldn't just rush into anything, God will use us in His timing to help minister to others, but He will also do it sooner rather than later, and even when we don't especially feel ready, so that we don't become too closed up within ourselves with the feeling of recieving for only ourselves. It's good to ask someone who has prayed with you if they think you're ready to start praying with others.

Praying for Seeking Friends
Another desire we will recieve will be to pray for those we know who don't yet know God, as we start to feel more love for people outside His family when His presence has become more real to us. God will heal all who seek Him and have faith, but in many cases He may answer faster when praying for seeking friends. This is because God wants to make His authority and rule especially noticable for those not yet walking with Him. So a good way to pray for these people is to listen to what their needs are when they are discussing them and offer to pray for them, of course it's not definate they'll say yes, but it's not to be taken personaly, also only offer when you're in a place where you can pray without drawing too much attention, it's not that we try to be secretive, but we don't want to make them feel uncomfortable at this stage.

Integration
Means to think less about past hurts and worries and more about the disciplines that help us to be strengthened by God's presence, such as fasting, prayer, study, worship and solitude. In times of stress we will still feel like we've made no progress, but the focus will be off us, as it's not really about us at all anyway. it's also a sign of maturing when our own questions shift from "How do I escape the pain?" to "What's God saying through and during my pain?"

Healing Societies and Nations
This is the reconciliation pursuit, when healing prayer is no longer just to seek our own wholeness, but to look at the larger work of God to reconcile divided people. This is a divided world, seperated and torn apart by racial and ethnic differences. Here is the potential to seek God in a big way to bring those groups back together and heal any hurts or issues between them, and ask God for the capacity to love all people desite if they are different or not. That is after all one of the many reasons Jesus went to the cross for, to heal all barriers and pains, Jesus promised that in unity we will know of how God sent His Son for our sakes.

As we draw closer to the end of our journey together, armed with the knowledge of the 6 signposts, I will share next time on some dangers and problems which we must be always cautious of during the journey of seeking complete wholeness for ourselves and for others. So stay tuned for that upcoming dose of reading.

Healing Through Given Means

2009-04-04T21:29:00.000+11:00

It's time to take another step in the healing journey, this step is not quite so lengthy as the last haha.This time we move on to the 5th signpost, which talks about the physical means God gave us to channel His presence through. Happy reading!

Firstly, notice that the world around us has a disembodied view of how God works and heals, but there's more to it, He also works through incarnation. When He sent Jesus, He didn't come as a pure spirit, but as a flesh and blood man who was at times tired, hungry, laughing, weeping. He can relate to us in our weakness because He went through all the pain and humiliation like we do in life. Another wordly view is that some cultures believe that passions are bad and we should resist and repress our desires. However, this is unbiblical as God loves desires because He gave them to us, Satan never created desires for us, he only corrupts and alters things which God made for life, as long as we keep our desires pure and trust them to God, then we are not doing anything wrong.

God's presence often comes to us through physical means, that's why Paul laid hands on Timothy and others to pass on spiritual authority and in Acts 19 handkerchiefs healed people. That's why the laying on of hands in prayer is important, as it serves as a channel for God to minister to the person in need, and for some the touch of a spiritual brother or sister as God ministers to them can be very comforting as it's a physical means of that family feel. Personally, when people have laid hands on me to pray I've felt encouraged and moved by God as the physical touch helps the sence of closeness, from God and also with those around me.

Even though we don't always need to have physical means to seek God, let's remember to do so at the relevant times to celebrate the incarnation. God became human and one of the ways He works is through physical channels, lets remain encouraged by this as it reminds us of the many ways God wants to comfort and to heal us.

Forgiveness and Healing Memories

2009-04-04T21:19:00.002+11:00

We now head into the detailed path of the 4th signpost, which talks about getting to the roots of pain rather than just the symptoms.

Many strengths as well as roots of sin and struggles are actually buried in the past with being raised by our mothers and fathers (or those who raised us), and have an affect on our relationships as we get older. A baby for instance knows he is loved when he can see joy in the eyes of his mother, and when she's not doing too good in any way he feels anxiety which can affect his relationships as he goes through life. A teen girl knows when she's attractive to males first by how her father treats her, if he hugged and affirmed her often than she feels loved and worthy of it, but if the father is abusive or distant she will have trouble in relationships with other men in her life.Some examples of how certain pains can link to our parents are like if a parent is absent or distant constantly we can grow up feeling like they weren't proud of us or avaliable to bond with, which can lead to us becoming too hardworking due to how we know they worked as well as seperating us from the nurture and security they gave us before. Fathers can also be abusive and criticise us when we don't meet expectations, even abuse the child physically at times. Mothers can be controlling, leading to men being unable to commit to a relationship with a women or needing to escape from being too close to women at all because of this expectation from the mother in the past.

However it's not all bad, our parents used to celebrate our b'day to indicate it's good we exist and we are loved (even if they forget now), people have said they don't like their b'day because it means they are older, but look at it as celebrating the day God brought us into the world, the day we were given a sence of existence out in the world.

Healing Mother Wounds
First, what are the consequenses of having a distant and disordered relationship with her?Seperation Anxiety - Always uncomfortable, unmet need for comfort and nurture leading to lonliness. Leading to fear of rejection, which becomes rejecting others first which will fulfill the fear of being alone.
Comfort Seeking - Seeking love through other means as we feel unworthy of being loved, addictive habits like pornography for men and emotionally depending on food or another person for women.
Avoiding Commitment - Angry toward any women who have expectations of you.
Impact on Sexuality - Avoid the feeling of loss with sexual fantacies or encounters as a repalcement.
Stages of Severity - Example in a baby: loss of mothers nurture leads to (1) cries uncontollably with anger. (2) detachment, goes inward and stops crying. (3) attachment to another object, as adult it can be clothing or something they feel safe around in replacement of mother We need God to give us substance we lack, by reading scripture and imagination to connect with Him. Remember the living God is in us and is ultimately satisfying. Through prayer and laying on of hands helps to minister this kind of healing for God to do within you, remember that even after our healing we may still at times feel like it never happened, but it's not the experience of feeling it happen we should seek, but our choices and experience. Ministering to others is helpful as well even if we feel inadequade, it's not us doing the work, we're just the vessel. We should be patient when seeking God's healing here, and trust Him as He plans to heal you much more than you could imagine!

Healing Father Wounds
Fathers can be aggressive in how they deal with us growing up, leading to fear of being around strong men. When they do something to hurt us at an early age, men can end up only choosing to bond with women, and women could have trouble building a healthy relationship with men and trust others. Often people who are exposed to anger from the father tend to use anger or rage towards others, even if they don't realise, or bottle it up like a bomb before going off. If Father didn't encourage us much, we can fear failure so much we don't take risks or struggle to express true gifts (I can relate), this becomes apologetic if we ever initiate because we feel like we shouldn't which will also lead to a need to prove ourselves. If you had an unaffirming relationship with your father, you may have trouble relating to authority figures or idolizing them, then turn against them when they act different to expectations. You also may find it hard to take any authority over others (I've felt this personally), thinking you won't be good enough, or too much, leading to not enough boundaries.

Stages of Severity - (1) Teens can be defensive, angry and rebel against authority figures in their live, (2) Escape into fantasy or depression, (3) In anger and self-hatred we can abuse others or ourselves, ending in violence or even suicide.

We are each blessed by our true Father at baptism, becoming children of God, He is proud of us because of our relationship with Him, not our performances. God sees us as who we really are, we don't have to prove anything to anybody or earn anything. Healing memories are vital to forgiving and accepting, leading to healing because unforgivness blocks us from recieving blessing.

Healing Memories
When Jesus heals our memories, remember that He doesn't change our past to remove the painful areas, healing is also being honest about what happened so it doesn't become a barrier, and naming these people and events which hurt us so we identify them as what they are. We must allow ourselves to feel what happened so we can recieve God's healing, forgiving those who caused pain when we havn't truly named what they did will lead to a fake forgivness. We can tell if we've only pretended to forgive as we will still carry unresolved anger or hurt. If pain we recieved let to sin on our part, we should feel what it caused before we can recieve healing also, as it's the gateway of truth it leads through. We still should love that person and honour the good shared together, but also to seek healing and forgiveness for any sin which came about on the way. Memory healing will also help to show us what Jesus sees us as, not the painful lies and names we are called by other people which caused us to feel inadequate. By bringing into mind the experiences, then letting Jesus enter into them and be Lord of all our imagination and memories will bring His healing to take place in that memory, remember that the person in the memory may hurt us but Jesus loves us very much and doesn't want us to feel the pain anymore. This will benefit our self-image also as we allow Jesus to heal memories which shaped it into a distorted pain filled image, memories are healed when they can't lead us to sin anymore. Remember, forgiveness of those who sinned against us is vital to healing as it is not our place to seek vengence, there will be a time when God will judge everyone on what they did. We are free from feeling negative about them once we realise we are able to love and wish well for those people, then we're healed truly. Also don't forget to ask God's forgiveness with a sincere heart for anything we did wrong as well, as we definately will have somewhere along the way.

And finally the last stretch of this part of the journey!

We are constantly also in warfare with evil spirits which come in and plant these thoughts and unforgiving feelings in us. As Paul said in Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." We must renounce these ruling powers which seek to destroy us, works of Satan, ways of the world and sins of the flesh and claim the ultimate victory of Christ which sets us free! So this means we should be on alert and pray in the name of Jesus against these evil forces, and renounce any idolatry of people in our lives, and influence which is not from God but of these dark forces which seek to pull us away from God. Will you let these forces do this?

Embrace Real Identities/Renounce the Unreal

2009-04-04T21:16:00.001+11:00

Welcome to the next step of the healing journey!

This time we will move on to what the 3rd signpost means in more detail. (Warning: May be a bit long, sorry about that).

Many talk of how our identity is in Christ, we're a new creation, the old gone, however sometimes we can slip into old habits like feeling that the inadequate weak person in who we are, the knowledge of who we are in Christ becoming head knowledge. As we learn to hear God's whispering voice we will also hear old voices of pain and distorted images we have kept long buried.

So how can we become true to who we're called to be?

First we should understand that many of our false images of ourselves were made early on about our unattractiveness, weakness and failure, and came from sources and people around us in the world. One part of identity is a name, God has given each of us a name which implies the nature and destiny. In Scripture people often recieve new names to express their true identity, such as Peter becoming the rock, God built His church on that rock. Jesus is waiting to talk to each of us, not to express critisism at our past wrongs, but to see the best we are and can be. So we must let our false selves die with Jesus on the cross because He died to free us from these diseased images and painful words, while we believe the voices in our minds speaking of weakness and lies we will remain immature and not grow. When He died, Jesus didn't intend it just to forgive us for our failures, He died also that we could recieve and embrace the new name and identity He's called us to. If we act according to His word and our true name we will become who we were created to be. Of course it's not always easy as our unreal selves get lots of attention from the world and the puppet-master, the devil.

So when we identify our unreal self and break free of it, we'll recieve stronger willpower which may have become weak from feeding this false self, to do this I suggest praying and asking God what your new name may be and what most delights Him about you, and take time to listen as well as it's His timing and not our own.

So, where to go from here?

Embracing the real identity usually starts with renouncing the false one, the new and real cannot become solid in us while we return to addictive habits and feed the false self. In the addictive patterns we tend to look to a person to tell us we're ok and to seek comfort from them. A way to tell if we're depending too much on a specific person is if we feel strong and full around them, then feel weak and incomplete when they're away from us. Also if we're depending too much on study or money, we find we feel stable around it when things are going well, but then when it gets harder we feel like we're losing a continuing battle.

We need to look to Jesus for our real identity and word on who we are, responsible and obediant to Him rather than people and worldly things as they can become corrupt. Another things to note is that repenting is a good thing to do to turn away from sin, but it's not the only key to transform, we also need to renounce and reject any unreal indentities and things which we may idol, including people, money, material things etc. Please don't misunderstand me by thinking I mean rejecting needs, because many of our needs are God-given, we just need to ask God to set them right and redeem them so that we don't seek to fulfill them our own way, but rather that they are expressed and met in a way that fits our real identity and bring glory to God. A good way to help people who are suffering is by helping them to realise they're a God-created and redeemed identity through biblical teaching. Then showing them the risks of what can happen if they don't understand the characteristics of idolatries so that they can ask God for protection as they learn more about this.

Example from Genesis 3, men are told that they'll work by the sweat of their brow. They become frustrated by life of work as it never seems to fulfill any fruitfulness. So they tend to work hard to gain approval from their father. If they have suffered from past experience of growing up with a father who doesn't fulfill his duty as a dad, then they tend to seek the approval of other men around them. If they had little proper mothering due to circumstances beyond control, then they will seek the nurture and care of women around them, although it can also lead toward things like pornography. Women are told in Genesis 3 that their desire will be for their husband (not the God-given desire). They may seek attention of men to feel complete as a result of the desire for approval. They also face temptation to give themselves away physically to a guy to recieve approval, or to build strong relationships which become too dependant on the person.

Learning to walk in our real identity in Christ takes a long obediance for our part. As we wait patiently on God and commit ourselves to Him fully to cleanse our past hurts and false selves from us, we'll experience the transformation we long for and will refresh us.

Understanding Gender Identity

2009-04-04T21:13:00.002+11:00

Hope the healing journey hasn't been too exhausting to travel along.. God will carry us through those times.

The next stage of our journey together will focus on the 2nd signpost, and will help to make it clear what it means to replace diseased images with healed and transformed ones.

One example of a image that's been distorted could be of masculinity being related to violence and sarcasm because of someone in our past who was very forceful with authority over you. This can lead to fear of being around men in general due to fear of what we think they might due because of that haunting image in our minds. An example of diseased feminine images can be about someone who hates herself because of being self-conscious of her body, due to having a particular woman in her life who is a perfectionist, this can then lead to us mis-understanding what it means to be a man/woman by what that image shows us.

So how do we get rid of these images and have new ones in their place?

By seeking God in prayer we can ask Jesus to show us how He thinks of us as a man/woman, for men relating to the example, they will recieve God's love and blessing for their masculine strength and energy. For woman relating to the example, God can speak to their hearts through prayer and images of beauty to restore them. It's important to allow Jesus to be Lord of our imaginations as well because although we know of man being made in God's image, we can still have pictures inside which symbolise other people as destructive, painful and negativity which can be affected by things like advertising on TV for instance. Also by looking at the symbolic aspects in the image of God, He's our loving Father and shepherd, and also like a nurturing mother, this shows the perfect example of both sexes identity because God cannot be filtered into either one, He's above all including gender.

So first of all we should place our imagination under Lordship of Christ and allow Him to cleanse it of distorted images which can corrupt us.

Second, as Paul says in Philippians 4:8 we should think of things which are true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Reading the parables of Jesus will also help to encourage us through these times as they are wonderful symbols of what Jesus shares, a personal favorite of mine is the Prodigal Son, which reminds me of God's everlasting love no matter what we did in the past that He will embrace us when we come to Him.

As we learn to listen to God's whispers, we can see what He's showing us sometimes through symbols or images that He places in our mind to see and in our heart so we rocognise it, these things can do so much for us in our walk with God if we allow Him to be Lord of us completly, including our imagination.

Practice God's Healing Presence/Hearing His Whisper

2009-04-04T21:07:00.003+11:00

Practicing God's Healing Presence

Where should we start praying for someone who has lots of hurts in their life?

First we should practice the 1st signpost, practicing God's presence and preparing to hear His whispering voice, through this we can recieve His parental love and hear Him ourselves rather than focusing on ourselves and our problems all the time. One thing to be careful about is to remember that we need to look at God as their healer rather than the person who prays with you, it's great to ask someone to pray for you of course, but it's important to note that they are just the vessel for God to work through (that's why the 5th signpost talks about the laying on of hands to pray together, which i'll come back to in due time). This is why before we ask to have someone to pray with us that we should focus on God and who He is.

One way to shift the focus off the pain and on to God is by singing a song to God, like joining in free worship and invite His presence to be with you, as we bring quiet to our hearts we can "picture" Jesus standing with us (this isn't making up something like we do with everyday things when we can imagine people doing anything we think of) when we picture Jesus, what's He doing or saying in your heart? is it aligned with God's word?

Remember that His presence is always with us when we focus on Him, even if we don't sense or experience it. A vital way to learn to hear God is by reading the Bible and having time to pray personally between you and God to allow His presence to speak to you, it's always a 2-way conversation so listening is important as well. In a place you feel comfortable and relaxed will help you as well to remove any distractions, personally I have certain places which I feel offer solitude and help to calm the busy, fast-paced thoughts of everyday life.

The other part of the 1st Signpost involves Hearing God's Whisper, one of the biggest issues that comes with this part involves confusion about who's voice we are actually hearing within. God voice speaks the truth which exposes the lies in our hearts, so practicing to hear Him by focusing on Him above all else regardless of our circumstance will help us better understand His voice.

Firstly, we can note that physical and worldly things constantly scream at us wanting us to listen and respond, but the voice of God is like a whisper, that's why we need to quieten down our hearts to focus on Him first, and remember that everyone has different ways of hearing so we should not try to copy the exact ways others use, let it be personal and He will speak to you in a way you will understand.

Even if we don't hear Him at that exact moment don't be discouraged, just allow the Spirit to search our hearts and God will speak in a way that we will hear and know His voice, that's why we need to practice it so we will recognise His voice, just like the story of the shepherd and how the sheep answer His voice because they are trained to recognise it as they get used to it.

Another question is How do we know if it's from God or our own heart? Personaly I'd answer it by asking Is it something that will only bring temporary happiness and good feelings, or will it be something beneficial to my growth and have eternal joy?

Usually when we pray and hear something relating to our desires, that's usually our heart so take caution when hearing things like that. Listening to God is not like opening a fortune cookie with a direct "yes or no" answer to everything, by experience of hearing God's voice when we listen as well as talk will train us to know His voice apart from our heart, for instance children learn their parents voice and a lover learns their partners voice, until we can feel the presence with the voice, it will become dear to us when we hear it (hopefully I'm making sence and not just rambling on here haha). That's why listening is vital, by just doing all the talking we are only listening to our hearts desire rather than God's voice, at first it's hard understandably, but we should learn to block out all the noise inside us which never seems to end, and listen for that gentle whisper in our heart that is the loving voice of God. By turning our focus outward we will recognise His voice better as it's around us as well as inside, even though it comes from within as well.

Finally (for now) ignore any doubt that comes in during these moments, often they can destroy a fruitful time of prayer and what was moments ago a heart felt convesation with God. God promises to never leave or forsake us.. so listen to what He's saying because it could be something you've been praying hard about!

A Map for the Journey

2009-04-04T21:00:00.002+11:00

As we take next steps on our healing journey together, it's important to have a map to help us along and understand true healing is not just physical, but complete inside and out.Our map consists of 6 signposts leading towards healing of the soul. What are these signposts? Here is a brief description on each.

Signpost 1: Learn to practice God's presence and to hear God's still small voice.
This means we should Listen for God's voice, we can't just pray and rely on our voice to touch the heart.. it won't work. As we pray we should seek God and listen to what He may be telling us or prompting inside us, this can sometimes be an image of something that is relevant to the person we pray for, or a verse which God has placed in us to share to them. The particular way we hear God may be different as He speaks through different ways, but we need to pray and focus and remove anything in us distracting our thoughts so we need to be patient and not rush God, because He alone knows when the best time is.

Signpost 2: Replace diseased images and memories of God and human beings with healed and transformed images.
Some people may have distorted images when they think of God with authority or as judge (Old Testament context), and because of these images they can picture Him as uncaring in how He uses His power. People also see authority figures at times, wheather God or human being, with fear and a desperate need to always seek their approval in all they do, otherwise being judgemental in how they think of these figures and the reason why they have authority in a negative context. Our imagination is important, we live in a fallen world and this can easily cause the wrong thought or motives to creep up inside us and seem right.. but those negative thoughts are lies.. part of our cleansing from God is our imagination so our memories are cleansed and renewed by the Spirit. We need to understand God is a loving parent and is most responsible with His authority, until people's memories and images of their parents and authority figures are healed they have a very limited capacity to see God positively. The way to do this is by letting the Spirit of God work us mentally as well as physical and spiritual, talking about our memories alone won't heal them, but share and allow the Spirit to work in them so as we open up to share God will heal the wounds from the past, remember I'm not saying God will make us forget.. but to understand what caused those thoughts and to transform them into healed ones. When our mental images are transformed and we apply them and live according to them, we will transform too. Remember that if God can heal our images, then He can heal our hearts.

Signpost 3: Renounce unreal identities. Discern and embrace your real identity.
One of our difining mental images is our self-image. Throughout the journey of healing, we need to come to a healthy sence of personal identity.Paul said in Ephesians 4:22-24 - "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by it's decietful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."The new self is our real identity in Christ which we learn as we are called children of God, the old way is our false or fleshly identities which the world feeds it's desires, we need to put it away and embrace our new identity. A false self can be doubts inside us which keep popping up saying we have just missed the grade we were studying for, and pushing us to believe lies like that, it can also be worries about money or love that we won't have enough of. This pushes us to believe all sorts of things about ourselves like we are not worthy of being loved and are worthless (I can relate to these). How do we discern the lies from truth? How do we embrace our real identity? We will come back to these questions as we get further along our journey.

Signpost 4: Get at the roots of pain and problems, not just the fruits or symtoms.
There is a story which helps to put imagery in this signpost, picture a tree with it's roots gone deep, everytime it was chopped at to be made smaller it grew back. Many tried to bring it down but everytime the branches were chopped off, it would grow back over time stronger and bigger. Finally along came three brothers who chopped at the roots, which brought it down at last.The problem was that the branches being removed made it worse, as long as the roots were there it would continue to florish and grow bigger. This is like our problems in life, we try to remove them by dealing with the symtoms along to seek relief, what seems like relief is only temporary and then the problem comes back.. sometimes worse than before. We think that if we could only get someone to love us the right way then it all will go away and we'll be fulfilled.. this is not true, it doesn't work.when we are faced with a problem of our own or from someone sharing to us, we can't just focus on the symtoms, we need to get to the root of it, what's causing those feelings, only then can God heal us in the right place. Usually the root of many problems lies in our past, if we experienced things like abuse, fear, depression or even in our past relationships with people around us. Once we look past how we feel and seek the root of the problem we will allow God to heal our soul. So What are the last two signposts?

Signpost 5: Use the physical and sacramental means God has given as channels of healing power.
We can tend to have too much of a diembodied view of God's work, He became flesh and ministered to many lives during His ministry on Earth, this is why laying of hands is important. Our flesh is a channel for God's Spirit, that's why Jesus used saliva and mud to heal a blind man. We need to use the human and material means God gave us to minister healing, there's also the sacraments, communion helps as a reminder of all Christ did for us, baptism cleanses us from sinful acts. The reson why many don't recieve healing can be due to these means given to us being ignored, laying of hands for instance is important as we are the vessels for God to work through, and there are ways which we can bless others through these means as well, such a friendly hug to symbolise the nurturing love of God.

Signpost 6: Turn outward! Healing that empowers compassion and service in the world is true healing.
When we recieve a feeling of God's healing in us, many can become distracted by wanting the feeling again, like a little kid saying "Again! Again!" however we need to mature past this, after being healed and are able we should turn outward instead of just wanting more for ourselves all the time. We will not find our real identity in Christ by having many spiritual experiences so to speak, even though they are helpful and encouraging. As I mentioned in my last email, healing prayer is not just an escape route from pain and suffering, it's being transformed into the image of Christ, who died so that we may have life and honour God with it. we should be empowered by our healing to grow in compassion and minister to others, that's part of God's plan in healing us, not just relieving the pain, but so that we can go out and be vessels and minister to others needs as well, that's part of the bigger vision He has. He wants us to become who we were made to be.

Of course there are times when we must focus inward on ourself as well, we have to grieve losses and go through our own stages of healing with God.. but that should only be for it's own season and not become a point of hiding for us. The way to our own healing as well is to turn outward and express God's goodness, love, healing and power to others around us. Even if we feel like we have nothing to give, we actually do.. when we give what little we have to minister to others and pray for God's pressence to minister through us we will see great things happen!

As we long for God's healing pressence we need to learn to love and have the longing for it in our hearts, when we put our focus on God and feast on His pressence alone, it becomes clear that that's all we need and everything else is only temporary and short-lived. Look at Moses in Exodus 34:28, when he went up the mountain to talk to God, he was up there for 40 days and 40 noghts without food and water, the only way that could've been possible was for Him to feast on the pressence of God which sustaining enough For Moses. That's an example of his trust in God, he could've resisted and put his needs first, but he went up alone without anything to speak with God.

Trial and temptation will always be there to stalk our minds until Jesus comes again, but we have the capacity to know, love and understand God better which will help us always to resists the lies of the enemy. As we experience God's pressence more and more we will find ourselves becomming more like the image we were meant to be from the beginning. But first we need to have a day-to-day experience of His pressence.

These signposts may be a bit short to understand now, but as our journey goes on we will go into a bit more detail on the steps towards wholeness in Christ. I hope you all will recieve something special to encourage you in your daily walk with God as we take this journey together.

The Healing Journey

2009-04-04T20:50:00.003+11:00

What is healing? How much healing can we expect?

Lets take a journey together to understand what it means to be whole in Christ.

Jesus' ministry of healing is not over and still of great importance, as His followers we can continue this work.. But how?

We need to acknowledge that "Healing" does not mean just in a physical way like getting rid of a headache, it is done in every way.. physical, emotional and spiritual, this is how we move towards complete wholeness in Christ. We should address any area that be still wounded or in bondage by sin in the person to help them find freedom.. it's not always immediate or easy to find healing in God.. sometimes it will mean feeling pain for something in our past or other situations, but that is part of the transformation into becoming like the image of Christ, the pain will not last forever.

By reading the Gospels we can see examples of how Jesus healed in more areas than one. John 9, there is a man born blind, Jesus came and spit on clay then rubs it on the mans eyes; After washing, the man can see for the first time, however his healing wasn't just that.. because people didn't believe he was the same man the religious leaders wanted him to swear it wasn't Jesus who healed him, otherwise he would be considered not as the formerly-blind man, or that Jesus healed him but came from the Devil. The man acknowledged Jesus' identity and was rejected from the community, notice how there was more than one kind of healing here: Jesus not only healed him physically, but also in courage and willpower.
There is also to note that being healed is not an easy escape-route from pain, we will still face it many times but in different ways. If we seek healing or minister to others with the idea of getting them relief from pain than it's the wrong motive.. what we should be doing through it is helping the person become a truer lover of God through His good works.

Something important to note is that healing is not an excuse to try and make money, that can be shown as obvious manipulation if someone was to say "you can be healed more effectively if you pay money to the church or an individual person. This would prevent people from trusting God to heal them.

An encouraging way to show people of God's amazing power in healing ministry is to tell testimonies of people you know who have experienced it first hand from God, this would show that it's not a trick from a doctor but rather faith in God which brought it to pass.If you're seeking wholeness in Christ, consider and ask yourself what ways would you like to see God heal you so you will be sure what your asking for.

This is only a small part of what the journey will involve, next time I will reveal 6 signposts which is a map of the journey to make things a bit clearer.. Stay tuned for that.

Worship: Bridge

2009-04-04T20:48:00.000+11:00

I'll never know how much it cost: See Isaiah 53:4-6, John 15:13

There are many sacrifices in the world today; financial, sports, work related and more. But one sacrifice will forever outshine then all, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is very significant as it has set us free from sin's burden forever, even when everyone didn't know why He went through it all.. including the Devil. It only became clear of God's plan when Jesus triumphed over death, through the cost of One most dear.

To see my sin upon that cross: See Colossians 2:13-15

As we're dead in sin, Jesus took it all upon Himself and died on the cross. He died, but rose again.. now we are alive in Christ!
No other triumph could compare with Jesus' triumph over death, He defeated any power over us that sin had in the past.

Let's Celebrate!

Through this song we have much more than just a few fancy words.. it holds the truth of a true victory, won by Jesus!

Worship: Verse 2

2009-04-04T20:42:00.001+11:00

King of all days: See Luke 1:26-33

God's authority passes by far any other, so we should approach Him with honour and praise which He deserves. Say if we met the Prime Minister of Australia, even if we don't like his views or policies, we should still treat him with honour if we ever got to meet him because he's the leader of the country. God is creator of the whole world, how much honour and praise should we offer him!?

Oh so highly exalted: See Ephesians 4:8-10

Jesus has proclaimed victory for those who seek Him. It however wasn't easy, the few hours after His crucifixion led Him down.. all the way to hell! But He defeated the Devil and rose again.. higher than any other, He filled the whole universe! He loves us and wants a relationship with us.. be encouraged because we just need to look up to Him, He will never leave or forsake us.

Glorious in Heaven above: See Philippians 2:5-11

Worship involves imitation. Imitation is not just copying someone to try and be someone we're not, it's trying to have a little bit of someone we respect and admire in our lives. Who else is better to imitate than Christ? He set a perfect example, even though he was tempted He never sinned and humbled Himself. He came from the highest place to die for us, He never complained once, He willingly accepted God's call.. so why shouldn't we do this in our walk with God.

Humbly You came to the earth You created: See Luke 2:4-7

Jesus entered this world into a very uncomfortable place, what a humble way! God could've made sure there was room in the inn for Joseph and Mary to stay, but they stayed in a stable instead, and there the King of all days was born.
We should make sure there is room within our hearts to accept Him and have a open heart for His warm presence, He won't force His way into a place he's not wanted. The cool thing is that if Jesus could be born in a dirty stable, there's no amount of uncleanness in us to keep Him out.

All for love's sake became poor: See 2 Corinthians 8:9, Hebrews 12:2-3

When we hear this line we can easily think of money-wise, and our riches as heas of gold coins in a cave somewhere. Our riches is a life with Him free from bondage of sin. We must turn to Jesus in worship and accept what He offers. When we suffer hardship in life through any area, just remember that there is joy on the other side of it.. if it can help Jesus through the pain of being crucified, it can carry us through anything as it is much stronger than pain. So we can be encouraged through this joy.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Worship: Chorus

2009-04-04T20:36:00.003+11:00

Here I am to worship: See Isaiah 6:1-8

God deserves our respect. Even though we have Jesus living inside our hearts, we still have to make the choice to approach Him. We don't need to remove our sandals like Moses did or have to witness a burning bush to worship God. Years later Isaiah had a similar encounter, he was filled with guilt for himself and those around him, and God saw this and cleansed him of his sin and saved him. Like Isaiah, when we honestly feel sorry for our sinful nature we will be forgiven and cleansed of it which is why we need God, because He alone can forgive us. When God asked who He should send, Isaiah answered "Here am I. Send me!" this is how we should have our attitudes as well, always ready to worship and serve God because He has made it possible to approach Him without guilt.

Here I am to bow down: See Isaiah 45:22-25

In the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had a commitment to God which was unshakable, even in the face of death. We can learn from this when we are faced with decisions to bow down to statues or anything besides God, no matter what the cost. That's true commitment.

We all face times when we want recognition for things we do, but what we should know is that without God we would have nothing and are powerless without Him, so we shoud bow to Him and praise Him with a humble heart. Without Him our lives have no meaning.

Here I am to say that You're my God: See Romans 10:9-10

Things around us like money, food, sex etc, all want our attention and worship. The Devil wants us to be tempted by these so that we won't truly worship Jesus. However when we boldly say that Jesus is our Lord and God is our God, we are telling them of that fact, as well as telling the Devil we don't buy his lies.

In Matthew 26:31-35, Peter was shown to have strong love for Jesus, however he also thought he could do anything because of it, so when he's told that he will disown Jesus, he didn't believe it, a few hours later ater Jesus was arrested his words were fulfilled when Peter disowned Him three times in a row. Remember being didicated to God is very important, however we also need to admit we need His help.

You're altogether lovely: See 1 Chronicles 16:8-13

It's easy for us to clap and raise our hands during church, but what we need is the yearning for God always so that we never think of worship as something we endure for 20-30 minuites before the preaching. If we desire God our worship will feel much more joyful and true to God.

Memories of Gods goodness are important as those foundations will help us in the future so we wil be hard to blow aroung by lifes troubles. If God han help us once he will of course do it again. So remember always times when He saved us, was good to us, blessed us and even got us through testing times. So seek God and encourage others to as well.

Altgether worthy: See Mark 1:1-8

John the Baptist was very popular and people came to him to confess sins and hear him, but he always remembered his place and said that he wasn't worthy to untie Jesus' shoes. Like this example we need to remember our place that even though we are raised up by God, next to Jesus we re nothing and can be nothing without Him, in other words having a humble heart.

Altogether wonderful to me: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." Hebrews 11:6

Seeking God fully takes faith and only when we turn to Him and seek Him fully will we be rewarded, not with a "buy one get one free" but something much better and eternal, we will know God better. Material rewards will occasionally come if they are needed at the time, but we shouldn't just seek something in return, knowing God means so much more, and it's much more special!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Worship Verse 1

2009-04-04T20:30:00.001+11:00

Light of the world: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, "I am the light of this world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

In our house at night we can picture the layout to navigate safely, but pitfalls are everywhere. How many times have you stepped on something you forgot was on the floor in the darkness? Stubbed your toe because you can't see?
How hard would it be to live forever like that? That's called spiritual darkness.
Jesus is the light of the world: Even though scary at times beause we can't see the whole path, as long as we walk close to Him we'll see enough to keep going one step at a time, and what He calls us to be.
The sun is the practical light of the world, generating millions of degrees of heat and is enormous, it could fit 1 million earths inside it.. it's a nonstop nuclear reactor.
Think how great and Almighty God is then.. He created the sun, stars and everything, now that is huge!
God created the sun to give light and heat.. our method of making light in flashlights, bulbs etc is so tiny and like a flicker compared to this. This reveals how limited we really are.

You stepped down into darkness: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Genesis 1:1-2

Dark is only absence of light. There are no such things as flashdarks, or headdarks to spread it. Dark was nothing until God spoke light into the world, now dark had met the one thing that gave it meaning.
The world was physically dark before God created light, and it was spiritually dark until He redeemed it. is son came to remove the darkness of greed, lust, jealousy, rasism, hatred.. darkness of mankind.
Without Christ's light our hearts are dark places where our sinful nature runs without a care. When we open our heart to God so He can enter our hearts, He exposes the dark spots so He may create something beautiful in its place. But for the darkness to disappear we need to accept what Jesus did on earth. Most ignore it because they like their evil deeds more than Jesus' sacrifice.
When we open our hearts to Him we are inviting Him to come inside and bring light to expel darkness, and we see what He did in the name of love, He saved us all!

Opened my eyes let me see: "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what He has done through God." John 3:21

We may get to a stage where we pat our backs for getting where we are in life, but we are fooling ourselves. We were driven here by our owner who understands us better than we ever could. We need to look through eyes that God has opened, when we do we see that we can do nothing exept through God, even though we may seem alone.. we are never alone.
Our eyes often decieve us so we need to look through eyes God has opened to recognise through His perspective. We get worried and burdened by evil around us, but God is on our side and has everything under control.

Beauty that made this heart adore You: - See Mark 14:3-9

We can never get to the point where God gets sick of seeing how much we love Him, He never says "Ok I believe you love me, go watch TV or something now."
Though we may feel like we sacrifice a lot to offer to Jesus, we actually gain so much more from giving Him our most expensice gift without fear.
When we think of eternity we can't get our minds around it because everything we know and have on earth is limited and will someday die or end. Our great hope should be in exitement looking forward to an eternity spent with God, the one who gave us everything and loves us so very much!

Hope of a life spent with You: "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord ad to seek Him in His temple." Psalm 27:4

We can never fully know God, but out biggest desire is to know Him which is why we seek Him. Day after day we should desire to know God more and more so His beauty can fill our hearts even more, and our hope for eternity with Him grows even stronger.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thoughts on Worship Song Study

2009-04-04T20:25:00.002+11:00

Worship is part of of our walk with God, such as in the songs we hear we may hear certain lyrics which speak to us in a personal way as God speaks through many different ways.

The song "Here I Am to Worship" by Tim Hughes is one particular favorite of mine as it's a reminder of how important God is in our lives, even if we don't realise it. It's also a cry to Him and a statement of where our allegiance lies.
I've been reading a devotional on the song to see the appreciation of the truth in it, so each line of the song is broken down for us to understand the message behind it.

First let's see the lyrics in full:

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let I see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in Heaven above
Humbly You came to the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross