Thankyou

I will be taking the next week of from Blogging as I will me overseas with Amanda,we are going to Fiji to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

Yes that's right 10 years ago on the 30th November 1997 , as a fresh faced 24 year old I pledged my wedding vows before God and others to Amanda.

And what I said back then ,I also say now with much deeper conviction.To know her just as a friend would be a privilege ,to have her as my wife , to have her as my helpmate and loyal companion is like a wonderful dream that you just don't want to wake up from.

I can honestly say that she is the greatest example of a Proverbs 31 women I know.

Thanks for the last 10 years Amanda

I am taking a break from blogging for a few days,as I am heading away for a overseas trip
While their I want to take the time to do a personal stock-take on the last 12 months,by asking myself these following questions.

The ten questions leadership guru John Maxwell regularly asks himself provide a helpful springboard for a self-audit …

1. Am I investing in myself? This is a personal growth question.

2. Am I Genuinely Interested In Others? This is a motive question.

3. Am I Doing What I Love and Loving What I Do? This is a passion question.

4. Am I Investing My Time with the Right People? This is a relationship question.

5. Am I Staying in My Strength Zone? This is an effectiveness question.

6. Am I Taking Others to a Higher Level? This is a mission question.

7. Am I Taking Care of Today? This is a success question.

8. Am I Taking Time To Think? This is a leadership question.

9. Am I Developing Leaders? This is a legacy question.

10. Am I Pleasing God? This is an eternity question


Interested in your comments
Gods strength and blessings on your life while I am away
Jeremy

Character

Another thought on Character

"The greatest tradgedy in christian leadership is when a leaders giftings is wanting to take them further than their character is willing to follow"

Great Minds

Awesome Quote
"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

Character

Thoughts on Character

Character is not what a person will be in the future. Character is what a person is at this present time. Pressure reveals the way a person really is.

Character is not how a person acts. Character is also how a person thinks, their motives and attitudes. To change one’s character one must go deeper than actions.

Character does not appear without pressure. A person’s true character surfaces when the heat is on.

Character is not just what people can see. Character is what other people do not see. Works are not always the sign of a good character. Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.

Character is not limited to having wisdom to comment on the behavior of others. Intellectually knowing how to act, think and feel consistently with Bible principles may be a far cry from actually living in harmony with those principles.

Character is not limited to relationships between Christians. How a person interacts with unbelievers also demonstrates their true character.

Character is not limited to a person’s relationship with their spiritual family. It also shows in how he treats his natural family.

(Thoughts from Frank Damazio’s book 'The Making of a Leader')

Salvation or Sandwiches

Bill Hybles, who pastors one of America’s largest churches, Willow Creek, was asked whether he thought it was more important for Christians to provide the hungry with salvation or a sandwich.

I liked his response …

“One of the great joys of my life has been to pastor a church that is unusually intentional about reaching people far from God. For 32 years now, I have had a front-row seat to observe how lost people get found and how found people get grown up. In my experience, the sandwich question is irrefutably answered as the Holy Spirit does his sanctifying work in the heart and mind of a freshly-redeemed person. What I mean by that is in virtually every case, when I see a life get transformed by the atoning work of Christ, it is not long before that new believer sees the plight of the poor.

"Usually within months of a person's salvation experience, there is both a sincere desire to pass on the message of Christ to any and all, and an equally intense desire to do whatever is necessary in the name of Christ to eradicate injustice, relieve oppression, and alleviate suffering of any kind. Selfless service of this sort isn’t normal according to human nature; purely and simply, the desires are born out of the work of the Holy Spirit.

"My point is that if new Christ-followers were not misguided by those who force an either-or mindset to the sandwich question, I am quite sure that the Holy Spirit himself would lead them eventually to adopt a both-and approach.

"In my teaching and leadership over the past several years, I have relied on two words to help keep our congregation at Willow Creek balanced on these issues: redeem and restore. I love how those two words fall phonetically, but more important, I love how they fall theologically. There’s nothing better than to see new believers around our church begin to weave those words into their everyday vocabulary; better still is when they begin to live them out in their everyday lives.”

I love it!

One Liners

1.The will of God will never take you where the grace of God wont protect you

2.When does faith kick in ,at the end of our reach

3.Some minds are like concrete thoroughly mixed up and permantely set

4.The Task ahead is never as great as the Power behind us

5.I would rather be a wet walker walker than a dry boat talker

6.I would rather be a amateur eagle than a professional chicken

7.Today’s strutting peacocks can easily become tomorrow’s feather dusters."

8.Promotion doesn’t come from the east or the west it comes from God but it comes through people

9.Ministry that impresses heaven and ministry that impresses earth are polls apart.

10.Humility is not thinking less of yourself its thinking of yourself less

Its Better to Prepare than Repair

Recently National Geographic ran an article about the Alaskan bull moose. The males of the species battle for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together as they collide.

Often the antlers, their only weapon are broken. That ensures defeat. The heftiest moose, with the largest and strongest antlers, triumphs. Therefore, the battle fought in the fall is really won during the summer, when the moose eat continually. The one that consumes the best diet for growing antlers and gaining weight will be the heavyweight in the fight. Those that eat inadequately sport weaker antlers and less bulk.

There is a lesson here for us. Spiritual battles await. Satan will choose a season to attack. Will we be victorious, or will we fall? Much depends on what we do now—before the wars begin. The bull-moose principle: Enduring faith, strength, and wisdom for trials are best developed before they’re needed.

Great Quote

I love John Maxwell categorization of defining moments.

He said defining moments are ground breakers when you set a new direction in your life, heart breakers that force you to rearrange your life, cloud breakers when you see with greater clarity and chart breakers when you break through limitations that have held you back

Jesus or Barabbas

I preached this twice recently, the second time it was spoken in English and translated into Cambodian.Here is an outline of the message

When God created Adam he gave Adam a garden, with it came instructions not just to tend the garden but to transform the garden , not just to maintain it but to modify it.

It the same with us today when he describes us as Salt, Light, he is saying we are people who are agents of change, people who are on this earth to make a difference. To live a life of significance, of influence and power.

I firmly believe that how much of this, we will actually become depends a lot on how serious we take this below verse.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.Mark 15:15

We are just like Pilate, we are in the same position faced with the same question.

For Pilate it was a case of who was he going to release into the crowd and who was he going to keep.For us its what are the things we need to keep hold of and what are the things we need to let go?

And it is a constant question, a constant choice, a constant place we find ourselves in as we walk through this journey of life, what are the things we need to let go of in life and what are the things we need to keep hold of.

We need to let go of the past, of resentment, regret, we need to let go of unforgiveness, low expectation, lordship over our own life

We need to keep hold of Gods promises, Gods truth, Gods Love, We need to keep hold of hope. We need to keep hold of one another

In your own personal life, which is getting the victory, what are you setting free and what are you holding on to.

What is you’re “Barabbas”, what does that represent in you? What is that “something” that you know runs rampant in you at the ultimate expense of your relationship with Jesus?

What is your Jesus and what does that represent to you?

Christianese

This is the best definition of Sanctification I have ever heard

Its what happens when Jesus takes us out of the world,takes the world out of us and then sends us back into the world to make a difference

Breakthrough Evangelism

I love the story in Mark chapter 2 about the 4 men carrying the person to Jesus on a stretcher

I used this story recently in a message I gave to highlight five attributes of people that bring others to Jesus. Here are some of my thoughts

Attribute 1# They understand you can't hide the presence of God
Mark 2vs 1

Jesus states our role as Christians is a transformational one Salt and Light
In the same way that salt is not designed to stay in a shaker,the church is never meant to be insular from the world .We are Gods hands and feet on the earth and we need to be seen and felt in the trenches of human experience .

God does not want his church to play hide and seek with the world where we hide and they seek us he wants us to play seek and save with the world where we seek them and he save them .

The unchurched have a deep awareness of God ,especially in a crisis.However they do not have an awareness of the church.When the unchurched think God they don't think church.To them the God of heaven has no earthy address.But the church is gods address on earth

That's why when my mate went through a painful marriage breakup,he went to his Mum for her purse ,his mates for the pub and me for prayer,because to him I am the church.

The truth is we are light ,some days you may feel you are a 30 watt, some days a 60 , or 100 watt bulb,it doesn't matter your light will shine, don't hide it

Attribute 2#They preach the gospel
Mark 2vs 2

In John 1:14 it says Jesus was full of grace and truth
Grace says I will love you no matter what, I call this influence
Truth says I will speak the truth no matter what, I call this evangelism

Jesus was the perfect combination of both and made this clear when he chose the passage of Luke 4:18-19 to describe his mission and his ministry

The Apostle Paul was as "eager to remember the poor" as he was as "eager to preach the gospel" .

By themselves grace and truth are dangerous
Grace without truth or influence without evangelism can be Christianity without a backbone, goodness without God

Likewise truth without grace or evangelism without influence can be Christianity without a heart , God without goodness.

As Christians we can influence many unchurched people but I don’t want to influence all and evangelise none. Influence is good, its necessary ,it’s kingdom, it’s salting, it’s touching people’s lives, but it’s not necessarily evangelism

No doubt there are many people in Hell who were influenced by the church but never evangelised. I don’t want to just influence my community, my work colleagues, school friends or neighbours; I also want to share Christ with them.

Great Quote

"Until the future of the world matters more to the church than the future of the church..the church has no future."

One liners

I love collecting one liners ,short and sharp statements that make a point stand out . Here are some that I like

1."The work of the Lord can never become more important than the Lord of the work.

"2 "If you don't live by priorities you'll live by pressures."

3 "If your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall."

4 "The job of the pastor is not to meet everybody's needs but to make sure everybody's needs are met."

5 "It's sad to see men and women who signed up to become fishers of men settling down and becoming keepers of aquariums."

6""A missionary is not one who crosses the sea. A missionary is one who sees cross the fence.

7 "God doesn’t call the qualified he qualifies the called

Be a Conducter not an Insulator

On January 21, 1930, the name of Harold Vidian became synonymous with heroism. On that day, England’s King George V was scheduled to give the opening address at the London Arms Conference.

The king’s message was to be sent by radio all around the world.A few minutes before the king was to speak, a member of the CBS staff tripped over an electrical wire and broke it, cutting off the whole American audience. With no hesitation, chief control operator Harold Vidian grasped one end of the broken wire in his right hand and the other in his left, thus restoring the circuit. Electricity surged through his body.

Ignoring the pain, Vidian held on until the king had finished his address.

I see in this a challenge for Christians. The message of the King of kings must go to the whole world. But only as we allow God’s power to pass through us can the Lord’s saving gospel be transmitted.Paul wrote, "How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?" If we are willing to serve as conduits, regardless of the cost to us, the good news will be proclaimed around the world.

In the Classic book by Dr. Seuss…Green Eggs and Ham. Sam I am wanted his friend to eat Green Eggs and Ham.If Sam had been of a "take it or leave it" type Christian than when his friend said, "I do not like them Sam-I-Am, I do not like green eggs and ham." then Sam would have said, "OK. No problem" and that would have been the end of the story.

Sam would have happily gone on his way and his friend would never have experienced the joy of eating green eggs and ham. But no, Sam wasn't content to take no for an answer. Luckily for his friend, Sam perservered and kept on trying; because he new how important it was that his friend make the decision to try green eggs and ham.

We need to be Sam I am's
We must allow the power to flow through us if it is going to do any good.

Great quote

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt(American 26th US President)

Walking on Water

John Ortberg in his book "If you want to walk on the water ,you have to get out of the boat" highlights several principles from Peters experience in matthew 14 ,and uses other examples in scripture to show us that their is a consistent pattern that people go through ,when they step out in faith to experience more of the power and the presence of God

1.There is always a call.

God asks an ordinary person to engage in an act of extraordinary trust, that of getting out of the boat.

2.There is always fear.

God has a habit of asking people to do things that are scary to them.
It may be a fear of inadequacy (“I am slow of speech and slow of tongue,” Moses said
It may be a fear of failure “The land we explored devours those who live in it, cried the spies sent out to the Promised Land”.
It may even be a fear of God (“For I knew you were a hard man, seeking to reap where you did not sow,” claimed the servant in Jesus parable.
But one way or another, their will be fear.

3.There is always reassurance.

God promises his presence (the Lord is with you, Mighty warriour!”An angel assures Gideon who had certainly never been addressed by that title before).God also promises to give whatever gifts are needed to fulfil his assignment (“I will help you to speak, and teach you what to say” he tells stuttering Moses)

4.There is always a decision.

Sometimes, as with Moses and Gideon, people say yes to Gods call .Sometimes, as with the 10 frightened spies, or the rich young ruler who spoke with Jesus, they say no. But always people must decide.

5.There is always a changed life.

Those who say yes to Gods call don’t walk the walk perfectly –not by a long shot .But because they say yes to God ,they learn and grow even from their failures .And they become part of his actions to redeem the world .
Those who say no are changed to .They become a little harder ,a little more resistant to his calling ,a little more likely to say no the next time .What ever the decision it changes a life –and it changes the world that little life touches

3rd "Gut Check Question"

#3 - Am I Understanding How Big God Is?

In the book of Matthew chapter 16 Jesus states he has given the church authority and influence to build and to advance his Kingdom on earth but to what decree that this will be done is wrapped up in the question he asks to Peter “Who do you say I am”

When you think of God, what comes to mind?
A.W. Tozer once said, “We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.” If our ideas about God are coming from the wrong places, then our God will be too small.

God’s Word, His Son, and creation give us ideas about the Creator. In Romans 1, Paul tells us that creation reveals God’s glory, but men have suppressed this knowledge

I think many Christians live with a “God in a Box.” We put parameters on God that do not really hold true. We create fences rather than gateways. By doing this, we create our own notion of God instead of believe in God as he shows himself to us. We have made a God that is explainable, bound up by the human mind and only as powerful as we will let him be, as a result we limit His ability to work in us and to bless others through our lives.

We will need to let God out of the box of our limited understanding and imagination if we are to become all that He wants us to be. We will need to let God be GOD!

Is God getting bigger as you get to know him more?

2nd "Gut Check Question"

One of my favorite things I do once a year is watch reruns of the Rocky movies not that I am a huge fan of boxing -but I love the thought of the ordinary guy overcoming the odds and becoming a champion .One of my favorite quotes of Rocky 3 is when Mick turns to Rocky and says.

"But then the worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter,you got civilised

I dont believe that Christ has called us to a passive Faith ,where we just sit out our time on earth playing it safe while waiting for Christs return . Faith is spelt RISK ,and it doesnt matter to what degree that is ,as much as to the fact that we are taking them .When I say "them" I mean doing the things that cause our spirit to soar and our stomach to sink

I never want to be one of those leaders who only say , “Well, you know, I am praying about it!” Many Christians can often use prayer as an excuse for inactivity…but because it sounds spiritual then no one can argue. (please hear this in the context of risk)

I laugh when I read I Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath.
In reading that story it is clear in I Samuel 17:16 that the Israelites were held in bondage for 40 days by the giant.
I am sure they prayed for God to remove the giant…maybe they sang songs to God about what a giant killer He was…or better yet, they began Bible studies on how to kill a giant. BUT–it wasn’t until David walked down into the valley and cut off the big fellas head off ,that people were set free.

David took a risk. Peter took a risk and because he did he is known as a wet water walker rather than only a dry boat talker

What is the risk that God wants you to take.Take a walk and see what Christ will do