It's a great day to be a Queenslander!

A huge win for chaplaincy!

I had the opportunity to be apart of the 'Sunnybank Chappy River Run' yesterday. We saw over one hundred people from all over Brisbane get involved in the 4km walk or 8km run to raise money for chaplaincy. The morning started with a slight drizzle of rain but cleared up to be a fantastic day!

All competitors were asked to make a $20 donation to walk or run and also collect sponsors to aid them in raising money for our amazing chaplaincy service at Sunnybank. One of my highlights was a young guy from our church who chose to run in a 'tu tu', he received many strange looks (and strange comments) from those people passing by. Our Senior Pastor, Geoff Blight, finished fifth; narrowly missing out on four place!

However the real highlight for me was raising over $4500 and seeing so many people get involved with the event. Overall, the whole day was a huge success! A big shout out to Chaplain Renee, Chris & Jayde Mackay and Sam Mathews who really made the day happen, plus to the 20+ volunteers who helped out!

Well done guys!

Time to start training for next year....

Switchfoot go home!

Switchfoot have written a song for the Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia) movie to be released on the 5th of June. I LOVE the song, and I LOVE the lyrics. Last August, I had the opportunity to meet Switchfoot and hang out with the guys for a few hours, they are really cool guys (as you would expect) and heaps of fun to be around...

The song they have written obviously refers to heaven (created for a place I've never known) and also centres around the theme of faith, and living by our faith in God and our longing to be around Him and do his will. My favourite verse in the song is below...

Belief over misery, I've seen the enemy and I won't go back, back to how it was.
And I got my heart set on what happens next, I got my eyes wide it's not over yet.
We are miracles and we're not alone.

I just get caught up in that verse every time I hear it!

"...Belief over misery..." We no longer need to live in fear or misery - Jesus has won for us life and life to the full! I now need to choose to believe in God rather than revert to what may come naturally to me.

"...I've seen the enemy and I wont go back, back to how it was..." God doesn't go backwards! Thank you Jesus that I don't have to go back to the way my life used to be. The past is the past - there is nothing we can do to change it, and why would we ever want to go back!

"...Got my heart on what happens next...got my eyes wide, it's not over yet" Let's be people who are expecting and looking out for opportunity to be Jesus to our world! I pray that I always have my heart set towards God and what He is doing!

"...We are miracles, and we are not alone..." Yes you are a miracle! The Bible tells us that we are fearfull and wonderfully made! Take a moment to look at the beauty, detail and magnificece of creation this week and you will see how amazing our God is! Not only is He incredibly powerful, however, he is also deeply personal. John 3:16 identifies us in the same sentence as God, and describes God's incredible love for us. Not only do we have lots of people to reach and help, but we are doing it all because we have a God who is with us always! We are never alone!


Here are the lyrics to the song below....


"Switchfoot - This is Home"


I've got my memories
They're always
Inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe now
I've seen too much
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I've never known

This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back
Back to how it was
And I got my heart
Set on
What happens next
I got my eyes wide
It's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

Now I know
Yeah, this is home
I've come too far
Now I won't go back
This is home

Prince Caspian & Switchfoot

Eternity is on our side

"Eternity is on our side"

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)"...He (God) has also set eternity in the hearts of men..."

In our God-given mission to help people find the love of Jesus (Matthew 28:19), I think as Christians we sometimes get the idea in our head that eternity is working against us and that it's a race against the clock we cannot possibly win, and while I totally believe we must have a sense of urgency in dealing with people who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus, I'm not entirely convinced that this is the case.

Infact, I believe that God is working eternity in our favor!
Let me explain. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. Simply translated, 'God has put something in each of us that causes us to long for more than just what we have on earth.' I'm sure we are all familiar with the 'if I could only have that' experience, whatever 'that' may be (whether a car, relationship, house, career, looks), but once we get 'that' we are left to that when we have 'that thing', we still feel a sense of emptiness.

CS Lewis in his book 'Beyond Personality' writes this:
"The fact we desire something this world cannot provide should alert us to the possibility that we were not infact created for this world." He then uses this example to illustrate his point. "We are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it, 'My, how he's grown', we exclaim, or, 'How time flies,' as though the universal form of our experience were again and again a novelty."

The band Plum, in their song "God shaped hole" wrote these lyrics:
"There's a God shaped hole in all of usand the restless soul is searching.
There's a God shaped hole in all of usand it's a void only He can fill"

I just figure that since God has placed a sense of eternity in the heart of every person, and since He is the same God that works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, then that sense of eternity in people's hearts must work for us, not against us.

I have great news, as Christians, our fight for people to spend their eternity with Jesus is a battle that we can win (with the power of Jesus working through us!)
There is a great story in Acts 8 about a guy called Philip meeting an Ethiopian, and after his encounter with Phillip this Ethiopian became a follower of Jesus Christ. I think there are some things we can learn from this story that will help us to share Jesus more effectively.


1. Obey Promptings from the Holy Spirit
Acts 8:26-29

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert
road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way
he met an Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This
man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his
chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to
that chariot and stay near it."

Firstly I need to explain something. In this story we read that the Etheopian is a eunuch, however, in this case it doesn't mean a man who had his goods tampered with (if you know what I mean). History actually records that by the first century the term had become a government title use for important military or polital officials. So this Etheopian eunuch was actually really high up in the government, you could say "People know him." He was hip hoppin, chillaxin with the Queen!

The Holy Spirit didn't give Philip all the details, he pretty much just said "Go talk to that guy!". Faith in God means being able to move and obey without explanation.
So If God is prompting you to speak to someone, give somebody a gift, take somebody out for lunch, invite a friend or family member to church, then do it! You may be shocked at what opportunities open up from your obedience to God.

2. Let your life speak for you
Acts 8:30-31

30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31"How can I,"
he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and
sit with him.

Wow, did you get that? The guy actually invited Philip to come up and hang out with him in his chariot!

Let me ask you a question. Does your life speak in such a way that your unsaved friends and family ask you to journey with them? Remember what St Francis of Assisi said "Preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary."
I want to be the the kind of Christian that people look at and wonder what makes me different. I believe if we keep living Jesus out (not just talking about Jesus) in our life everyday, people will come to know the love of Jesus in their life!


3. Only answer questions when asked
Acts 8:32-34

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to
the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open
his mouth. 33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his
descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."[e]
34The eunuch asked
Philip, "Tell me, please, who is theprophet talking about, himself or someone
else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the
good news about Jesus.

I love the fact Philip didn't just shove the Gospel down this guys throat, but as soon as he asked about Jesus, Philip started to tell him! Now I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about Jesus, no way, we need to pray and believe that God will give us opportunities to share about Jesus with everybody we know (or maybe don't know yet!). However, I do think it's important we understand, we only have to answer the questions we are being asked. If somebody asks you about Jesus, you don't need to tell them about the 10 commandments or why you believe the earth was created in 6 days.

Just answer the question you were asked, stay away from all the 'super-spiritual' Christian jargon, and just answer in simple terms what you were like without Jesus and the difference he has made in your life! I would love to recommend reading Bill Hybels book 'Just Walk Across the Room', if you don't have it, you should buy it and read it!

4. Never give up
Acts 8:36-40

36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"[f] 38And he gave orders to
stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the
Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went
on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about,
preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

History tells us that having heard the message of Christ's sacrifice for sin, the Etheopian responded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Irenaeus, an early church father who live between A.D 130-202 wrote that the eunuch returned to Ethiopia and became a missionary to his own people!

So can I encourage you with this thought. Never give up! If you know people who don't yet have a relationship with Jesus.....please don't give up on them! They are so so valuable to God! You never know the impact they could have on this world and on heaven! Eternity is on our side!