Fighting for VICTORY!!

I realised it's been a while since my last blog and thought, it's about time I write a new one. 10 days infact! WOAH!

Well, what a weekend! I had the privellege of going to Unlimited in Sydney and it was incredible! If I were to explain everything, I'd be here forever! But here's a snippet! Let me set the scene. Friday night, day 1! Wayne Alcorn is the guest speaker. And here's the scripture he spoke from.
Isaiah 54:1

"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the LORD.

Hmmm...strange thing to say don't you think? I mean, if you look at the context in which this passage was written, a barren woman was hardly the kind of person to start singing over the dishes or while working around the house. She was hardly the person you'd find at a party, living it up. And with no such thing as adoption agencies or IVF programs, how on earth would a desolate woman have more children than a married woman? In fact if you look at the time it was written a barren woman was outcast. If she was married and failed to 'produce' children she was ditched and good old hubby went and picked himself up another wife - one that would bare his children. You see the role of a woman was to be a wife and a mother. That was it. You failed to do those things and you failed as a woman.

Well, how could someone who was barren, outcast and frowned upon as an unworthy person and seen as a terrible sinner because of her circumstances, rejoice and start singing songs as if life was perfect. How could she think that she would have more children than a married woman? Well, God wasn't actually referring to the barren woman herself here. He was referring to the restoration of Jerusalem. He was talking about His anger and wrath towards Jerusalem subsiding and a fresh revival happening. Wayne spoke about this revival and spoke about how we, the church, need to start seeing revival happen in our own context. And you know what, if we are doing things that honour God, that promise of revival is ours!

After Wayne spoke I went forward and asked for prayer for my ministry. You see, there's been a big split and a decline in the church and mostly amongst the youth here. There's a lot of hurt and brokeness surrounding the young guys here. So I went and asked someone to pray for them and for my role as their Youth Pastor. I received a prayer of annointing and for the first time in my life, I was so overcome by the Holy Spirit that I fell on the ground and was pinned to the ground for about 20 mins while the Holy Spirit spoke. And do you know what He said? Only one word...VICTORY! I lay there and soaked it up. I couldn't move. It was incredible! VICTORY! One word held SO much in it! There WILL be victory for the youth here! I didn't know in what way, shape of form...and I still don't know completely...but let me tell you what happened next!

As we (I took 5 yth with me) drove back to the place we were staying the young guys sat in the car with a CD on repeat on the song Shout Unto God...the lyrics are:

The enemy has been defeated
Death couldn't hold you down
I'm gonna lift my voice in victory
I'm gonna make your praises loud

Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
Shout unto God with a voice of praise
Shout unto God with a voice of triumph
We lift your name up, we lift your name up

It was amazing. I still haven't shared my vision with them yet, and yet they were singing this victory song. Over and over and over again! I sat in the car smiling not able to sing, I just had to listen. And all I could hear was the sound of VICTORY! The sound of TRIUMPH! Wayne explained that the word 'sing' means 'to emit the sound of victory' and that's exactly what I heard in the car. Even though they didn't know it!

Well, the next night, one of the youth recommited his life to Christ. He's been sitting on the fence for a little while and stopped coming to church. But he came to Unlimited (actually, Love That) and he recommitted his life to Christ there! How amazing is that?! What sweet VICTORY!

So many amazing things happened, but I can't go into them all now! Too much. But, I know that God has amazing plans for the youth here! I know that there will be many more people emitting the sound of victory. And as for me and the youth, we will SING knowing that the Lord will bless this place with MORE of His children!

Emit the sound of victory, friends...because the battle is the Lord's and the victory, through Christ, is ours! Praise Him for that!

Fighting for MORE Alex's!

Wow...I've just had one of the BEST weekends ever! Yesterday I led church in the morning. I was really nervous and felt unprepared (even though I WAS prepared...a few little things were not running smoothly and I started to panic). So, I gave the meeting to God. Heck, I don't wanna be responsible for failing to reach souls because I did it alone!! I have no choice but to give it to God! Cause then I'm putting the people in God's hands and not mine and something BIG is sure to happen that way!! And boy, did it happen!! After the message, as we sang Amazing Love, 60 people came forward to renew their life in Christ! We didn't have a full congregation, we only had around 100. That means that the Holy Spirit moved in more than half the congregation and actually got them outta their seats and forward to the mercy seat!! 60 PEOPLE! I'm not exaggerating here! That's an exact number! But I believe there were more! One or two shared with me after the service how blessed they were but that they just didn't go forward! I believe that God swept through that place and touched every life in that building in some way!! It was AMAZING!

But, wait...that's not all! There's an amazing young guy, Alex, who's been coming to youth group with a friend for the last few months. He came to church yesterday morning (his first morning service...It was a nice surprise to see him there cause he's only ever been to a few night services) After the service Alex came up to me and shared with me that on Saturday night while chatting on line with 2 AWESOME guys from church he committed his life to Christ!! He said he heard God speak to him and tell him that this was it...this was what he had to do! He said he couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night!

In Luke 15:7 it says "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:10 says "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Then Luke 15:32 says, "...we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."


Man, I can't even imagine the parties going on in Heaven for Alex right now, cause let me tell you...yesterday was SUCH a great day! I couldn't stop praising and worshipping God! I spent most of the day at the church either by myself, in church or hanging out with others just singing worship! The whole time praising God for what he had just done in Alex's life! It was amazing to see his face when he told me. He seemed nervous to tell me but he also seemed like he couldn't wait...he was so different...his face was aglow! I was just so blessed and in awe of God yesterday and today and ALWAYS! It made me think about my own experience when I found Christ and how free I felt! I am SO excited that Alex now has that same FREEDOM!!

Everyone was just buzzing! It wasn't just me! All day amongst the young people hearing about Alex becoming a Christian we all just wanted to go and celebrate! We all got hyper to the max and couldn't stop smiling and randomly laughing because of what God had done! It was such an incredible feeling! It made me think about how much I want to see more of that! I want to see more Alex's! I want to see more young people come to know Christ and have a real WOW experience with God the way that Alex did! And I think...no I know...it was because it finally clicked for Alex and he completely opened himself up to God and God spoke to him! If everyone was like that, they would hear God speak too! My prayer, and I will fight till the very end for it to happen, is that people continue to come into the presence of God and be nurtured the way that Alex has been till they finally have their eyes, ears, minds and hearts opened by and to the Holy Spirit!

As if Alex's decision wasn't encouraging enough, just speaking to him about it really blew me away. He shared with me that he really wants to learn so much more and that he is so glad to be around Christian friends who will help him to grow! I was so blessed and encouraged by that! I remember as a non Christian occassionally going to church with mum and dad and on a couple of occassions being in the moment and saying I wanted to be a Christian again but giving up the moment I left the church. It was just too hard and I couldn't be bothered. I didn't want to quit smoking and drinking. But the day I really gave my heart to the Lord He really hit me hard! He reached out to me...I didn't reach out to Him! I could feel Him calling out to me with sorrow...His heart was breaking for me! I didn't deserve that but I knew for the first time that regardless of whether I deserved it or not God WANTED to give me His grace and He wanted to be in my life! So I gave it all to Him and it was the first time I actually opened myself up to Him COMPLETELY! He took away my addictions...I didn't even have to worry about it! I KNEW that was it! I was now living for Christ and NOTHING could take me away from Him now! From that moment I couldn't get enough of church! I had to be there and be involved in the worship teams etc! I couldn't stay away! I see that in Alex now! Although, he is not drowning himself, he is so keen to be filled with the Spirit and to learn more and GROW GROW GROW! I believe that Alex has had that experience where there is NO TURNING BACK! God is IN HIS LIFE and there's NOTHING better than that!

Psalm 63:3 says, "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."

Man, God's love and grace is so much better than ANYTHING!! Nothing tops that! I WILL fight for Alex...I will fight to see him grow and learn more about HIS God! I will fight to see more Alex's...more young people coming to take refuge under the Lord's almighty wings!

It doesn't get much better than this! Life's not always a bed of roses...but OUR God's love is BETTER THAN LIFE! I can't think of a better reason to praise Him!!

FIGHT FOR MORE ALEX'S, FRIENDS!

Fighting for better movies!

We had a ladies night here at our church on Friday night and it was a lot of fun. But they women organising the night went through a lot to organise the whole night. The women spent a lot of time searching and watching a lot of movies to find one that was appropriate to show that had no swearing in it or no sex scenes etc. Do you know how hard it was to find a show that had no swearing or sex scenes. Almost impossible. After much searching
they found one.

It made me think about what we watch everyday. We don't have any movies or shows anymore that don't have people sleeping with eachother on night one or having affairs...or without swearing etc. I think this is a little disturbing. What are we watching, WORSE, what are our kids watching?

I hear so many people who say "Oh, I let my kids watch this show. I mean I know its rated 'M' but they know it's not real. They know not to do the things they see." Really? I mean, it's great that you give your kids so much
credit, but let me tell you, they are not as mature as you'd like to believe! I'm sure that you tell them that it's not real, but do they really understand? Kids live in a world of fantasy. If your child still believes in the tooth fairy, Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, then chances are they're not old enough to be subjected to 'M' rated movies that are full of sex, violence and swearing!

Maybe you think that I'm a prude or something, and that's ok...but I think as Christians we need to make sure that we are using our discernment. We need to know where to draw the line...and let me tell you, it's a very thin line! We need to know a little about discernement. We need to know when to switch the TV off or walk out of a movie that's not wholesome or a movie that maybe you wouldn't be watching if Jesus was there! If there are things that you believe we shouldn't be doing as Christians, why would you watch those things happen on your TV screens? Why would you bring that into your homes? Why would you pay money to go and watch those things happen if you truly don't agree with them. The sad thing is that there are very few movies and shows out now that are wholesome, so we have just 'put up with it' and subjected to the rest of the world.

In Philippians 1:9-11 it says this:

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God."

So much truth in those words. We need to have depth of insight so that we can discern what's best and may be pure and blameless until Christ returns. How do we have depth of insight? We study and we get to know the Word of God and what it tells us about what we should do. The Bible still applies to us today. All the answers you need to know about anything in life is found in the Word of God. You just need to know how to study it. You can't take everything the Bible says as you read it. You need to study it. You need to get to know about when it was written and the context in which it was written to understand what it really says and means. You need to know who translated it and what their sources were. If we put effort into studying God's Word we will have depth of insight and we can discern what God is saying to us and how we should live in a way that is pleasing to God and so that we might be full of the fruit of righteousness. You need to ask yourself in everything you do, 'Is what I'm doing giving glory and praise of God?'

We have fallen into the trap of 'going with the flow'. That's not what God intended for us as Christians. He didn't want us to go with the flow. He wanted us to be IN the world but not OF the world! So in everything that we do we need to make sure that we are pleasing God and not man. If you wouldn't watch it with Jesus, don't watch it at all. Because you ARE watching it with Jesus! Don't encourage people to make these movies. By watching them we are encouraging them to make them and we are not helping. If we take a stand time will show that we, through Jesus, will have the victory.

Fighting for peace and joy!

Man I love Romans 5:1-11...if you don't know it then PLEASE go grab your Bible and read it...or read it here

I often think we complain or worry too much about life and all the little menial things that we don't really need to worry about. Life at times can be tough and can be testing, but when you read Romans 5:1-11 you can't help but forget about all that stuff and just smile. Well, I can't help but smile!

There are so many things in my life that I sit around and complain about. But they're not important things and so I have to think to myself, why on earth do I winge about these things? The biggest thing I complain about is being 22 and still single because for as long as I can remember I've wanted to be married with 2 kids by 25. Hahaha...clearly that's not going to happen. But, does my eternal life hinge on whether I'm married with kids? I mean, sure, I won't deny that I still want that life and that my hearts desire is to be married and have kids, but at the end of the day, why am I not content with just God?! I mean, it doesn't make sense really. When you read Romans 5:1-11 and realise that God provides FAR more than a partner could, why would you not be content with that? Obviously there are other things in a relationship that we as humans crave for...or atleast us girls...hugs...kisses...just snuggling up in front of the TV. All those couply things...hehe. But God can give me SO much more than that! He can promise me and give me eternal life in glory with Him!

How often do we complain about things that go wrong in our lives? Like when we're sick or in pain or when we face temptation or trials. When we've lost our job. When someone says or does something hurtful. And rightfully so...right? Well, Romans 5:3-5 says this:

"...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Wow! Imagine REJOICING in our sufferings. Imagine rejoicing in our trials and in temptation. Imagine rejoicing over your flu or over your surgery or over temptation. Imagine rejoicing over losing your job (some of you probably can imagine that tehehe). Imagine rejoicing when someone stabs you in the back! It's hard to imagine isn't it? But God says in His Word...REJOICE in all these things because through them I am making you better people! I am making you people of character and FULL HOPE! A hope that will NEVER disappoint you! So rejoice and be glad in the Lord because He has poured His love into our hearths by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us!

So, tomorrow I expect to see everyone REJOICING in their sufferings! Hahaha...gotcha!!! Just kidding! We're not perfect, so we're not gonna nail this thing...however, we can try to work at it atleast. I find it so hard to grasp at times that persevering and being patient and waiting on God's timing is ultimately going to build my character. I guess that's the beauty of hindsight! :D But, its the truth! God says it in His Word! He wants us to learn to rely on Him and learn to walk in His truth and grace! So, we need to atleast try with all we've got! Verse 6-8 says,

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

How amazing is that? Isn't that a reason to rejoice in the Lord? I think so! At JUST THE RIGHT TIME! Have you ever thought about God's impeccable timing? I mean, really sat down to think about how perfect it is? In Romans 5:6 He says, "...at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Isn't that amazing? Not a minute sooner, not a minute later...it was just the right time! God knew when the time would be and why it would happen at that time! He died while we were still powerless. He showed His grace in SUCH an amazing way! That while we were still sinners He died for us!

You know, when I got this job I had to find somewhere to live and a way to get down here...considering a removalist etc. Well, I knew that this was the job that God wanted me to have...I knew by then that this was the place I was meant to be! But it was up to God and His timing and His provisions to get me here cause I couldn't get here otherwise. Well, man, did He show me what His timing and provisions were all about! My CO's/Pastors arranged for me to get here and to get some of my stuff here...a lady in the church happened to have a boyfriend moving here from Brisbane the following weekend and he had a half empty removal truck, so the rest of my stuff came down with him! I had only 3 months in the first unit I moved into and had to be out. Within that time my CO's/Pastors got a new house...much to their surpise...and that meant that I was then able to move into their house...only 2 weeks before I would have been evicted from my unit! Someone else wanted to buy the unit. It all happened in such perfect timing! Because the watch is on God's wrist, NOT MINE!

The last part is the most exciting! Romans 5:9-11 this is what it says:

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

How exciting is that? While we were still rejecting God in sin He came and rescued us and reconciled us through His Son! If we are now saved and washed in the blood and sanctified by His Holy Spirit, imagine how much MORE He will justify us and save us and rescue us in our times of suffering and trials! That's incredible don't you think? I mean, think about it! We rejected God. Do we even deserve His grace? Of course not! But that's what His grace is all about. Giving us what we don't deserve because He LOVES us and wants to clothe us in His majesty!! What an awesome God we serve!

We live in exciting times my friends. We live in a time where we can freely choose what we will do with this life God's given us! We live in a time when our voices can be heard! We live in a time where God is moving throughout our nations! We live in a time where God is raising us up to lead those nations and take the gospel to them!! What are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your life? What are you doing for Jesus? Are you sitting around complaining about life and waiting for life to happen to you? Or are you taking a stand and putting action with your words and getting out to make life happen with Jesus? The decision is yours...but remember, the time is God's! At any moment He will return and you will be faced with this question: WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JESUS?

Thanks Jesus, thanks for fighting to give us PEACE AND JOY!

Fighting for leaders!

Last week 2 of my old pastors/Officers stepped out of their position for family and health reasons. It will be very sad to see them leave their positions because God has really done amazing things through them and they are both such wonderful pastors/Officers. But sometimes things are just beyond our control. Health reasons crop up and we need to make sure that we are in the right state physically as well as the rest because otherwise we can't serve how we're meant to. This doesn't mean that unwell people can't serve the Lord, but if you're at the point where your health is going to get in the way...then you do what's best!

Thinking about my pastors/Officers leaving bought up a lot for me. It made me really think about people in leadership and how they are finding it more and more difficult to stay in their positions. (I am now referring to people in general...not my pastors...their reasons are different!) It's a very sad statistic that Youth Pastors don't last longer than 18 months. Some do! Most don't! I am so blessed to have an awesome mentor who has been through SO much more in her position than anyone I know! She's been mistreated, payed wrong for years, been through 3 sets of pastors/Officers and her job description has changed every time! But she's now in her 6th year as a youth pastor and the youth in that church are so flourishing!! They're not without issues. Every ministry has issues! But God is really working there! I am so blessed to have her mentoring me because my prayer is that I will also last! I won't be in this role for 6 years. I know that! I have applied to go to Officers Training College in 3 years (to be an ordained minister for those non-Salvos who dont understand our Salvation Army jargon! hehe) But my hope and prayer is that the Lord will use me to lay a STRONG foundation here over the next 3 years and that as an Officer in the years to come, I will serve the Lord in that minstry for as long as possible!

There are so many Officers/pastors leaving the work now. Good ones too! Young and full of passion. For some of them, it's beyond their control. They have health or family issues. But for the rest...well I don't even know how to explain it! I don't understand it! I don't understand that people in ministry don't find the support they need or don't seek it. I think that alot of people think that when you're working full time in ministry serving the Lord you are invincible and they wear themselves out trying to do it all on their own. One of the things that I find the hardest coming into a leadership role and in a new state and city is that I don't know many people. I am starting to get to know more and more people. But, within my church, which is where I spend most of my time, although I have a great support network, I also need to be careful that I'm being appropriate and that I'm not seen as 'playing favourites'. This makes it very difficult to make friends. I am starting to get to know more people outside the church now, which is great. But I often wonder how Officers cope with not having many friends. I mean, I know that alot of them do have friends, but being an Officers also means moving alot. Some are blessed and stay in the same place for a long time. But, they know that there is always the possibility of being moved anytime! This makes it hard to build friendships when you don't know how long you're in one place. It does make life interesting and you meet lots of people. But I wonder if for alot of people its just too much, and they burn out and leave the work!

I don't know...your guess is as good as mine. But in writing this blog I want to encourage you with a few things and I also want to challenge you to do a few things too. If you're in ministry, no matter what it is, you have an important role, a God-ordained role, and God knows what you can and can't handle. He will never give you anything that you and He can't handle TOGETHER! When times get tough, and they WILL, hang onto God! Don't let Him go! Reach out and handle it with Him! He wants you to serve Him! But also realise that you need a support network too. That's why God doesn't put us in ministry alone. Find a mentor...find an accountability partner! Someone you trust and respect, someone appropriate (ie. guys and girls stick to your own sex...as much as you think it will be ok, when you start to get personal, things may take a different path...just play it safe!!!) someone who understands...eg. my mentor is someone who has been in youth ministry for 6 years. She's been through alot and some of it is what Im facing now as a Youth Pastor myself. So, she is the best person to be mentoring me because she's been there and knows how to handle it...so she can then support me and pass ideas etc on to me! Don't sit around waiting for the support to come to you and then complain, "We have really bad pastoral care! No one called me when I was sick or depressed!" Did they know??!! You need to put in some effort too! The support is there...you just need to ask for it! If you ask, you will receive!

Here's the challenge for those of you who are being ministered to! Your leaders/pastors have the toughest job in the world! It's not a 9-5 job...it's a 24/7 job! They're committed to their ministry but more than that, they're committed to you! So, SUPPORT THEM!! Do what you can to make sure that they feel supported! It doesn't have to be that you're a shoulder to cry on, cause that may not always be appropriate...but support them in other ways! Make them a meal...invite them round for dinner. Offer to help them out with something, even small, that might just make their day a little less hectic. When they do well at something, TELL THEM! Encourage them! Slip them a note in their pigeon hole to tell them how much they're appreciated! Make it anonymous...the thought that it could be anyone makes it seem like it's everyone...and that makes SUCH a difference! If you want to be outrageous, throw them a surprise thank you party...just because!! If you have kids groups in your church, get all the kids to make a big thank you card and put some money together for flowers or an appropriate gift! There are so many ways you can show your support and apprecaition! If you have new pastors/Officers at your church make sure that you COMPLETELY go out of your way to support them and their children and make them feel at home! It will be hard for them to come into a new place as your leader when everyone just wants to suss them out! Make them feel comfortable and loved!

Lets fight for our leaders! Lets encourage them and support them and let them know that they mean the world to us...because with our passionate leaders starting to lose their passion, we will soon start to feel a bit lost! Encourage them and keep that passion alive...their ministry is YOU!! Love them for that!!!