Well this weekend has been great for me, saturday night was the night of my first proper ball and i must say i throughly enjoyed myself, not because i was dancing and eating (especially) and enjoying the company of my friends being all dressed up and snazzy. more thoroughly it was because it was my first social event that the temptations of alcohol and sexual urges were practically gone, its an... enlightening feeling to know that i can have a good time without any of that and just resting on god to keep my concoiusness clear and focused on him.
today, while lying in waitangi park soaking up the sun and enjoying the company of some new christian friends, i heard one of them say "apparently the devil tries hardest to tempt you during the 40 days after you baptism" and in hearing that i automatically linked it to the bible for when jesus was baptised and then tempted and tried in the desert by satan himself for 40 day's.
on top of this i believe i am finding a lot more ease to pray DURING everyday life not at night or in the morning but while things are happening and this has been a significant step in my faith i think as it allows me to acknowledge my sin and repent and ask for forgiveness right away rather than passing it off as "another thing to pray about for tonight" because let's be honest we can never remember all the things we put in that list can we?
then there was the greg laurie crusade tonight; Harvest.
to know that so many people came that there was not enough room in the TSB bank arena (events centre) and that they needed an OVERFLOW room for people who came late, to know this alone is quite overwhelming and had my heart overflowing with thanks and praise to God. of course i got involved in the moshing to the few songs by the couple of bands but as usual was keen to hear the preaching. my 'analysis' of greg's preaching is that it is very direct in terms of reaching to the lost and in terms of preaching from the bible, quotes left right and centre from the bible and c.s lewis and celibrities about what they thought if heaven were to exist.
all in all my heart was once again overflowing with thanks when i saw the dancefloor completely fill up with people ready to give their lives to christ i had to try not make a scene in my seating area by crying out (literally) and shout "praise the lord".
from my guess i would say 3 or 400 people came to christ this evening, in the past two nights the total was 1000, and in the past 2-3 weeks i would say we now have a total of over 1600, from church services, street preaching and harvest. words will never be able to express my joy of this moment, and on top of this i might have to go deeper into the subject.
i think that regardless of what kind of church people are in or are coming to christ through we are all inexplicably part of a concregation and henceforth one that is ever growing, i believe that yes denonimations have their differences but as long as people are pushed to read the bible then all is fair and well, for in reading the bible i have known many catholics to come out of their, undermining denonimation (in the sense that catholicism purposely ignores a lot of what jesus say's and what jesus stood for) god has been granting my prayers to soften my heart and through that i have heard phenomenal stories of hundred's, thousands and even millions making a commitment for god at the same venue. in the respect of that million figure, pastor levi (my baptist :D) in life group was speaking of taking action and spoke of a man who got called from god to travel america and share the gospel and in one of his conventions more than two million attended and around one million committed right then and there, the message behind this story was that when he was interviewed he was asked "do you feel privelaged?" he answered no because the lord had told him that before him god asked 5 other people, as far as he was concerned he was just doing his bidding in his faith.
(gargh there was so many thoughts running in my mind while i was at harvest that i wanted to blog about, lost hlaf of them.) yes well this has been half of my original thought train this weekend.
i guess sometimes there is just too much to talk about with me, infact thats generally the case.
yes i indeed love ranting :D mainly about god :D.
I think i shall leave it at that for tonight.
Please give me your thoughts on this.
God bless.
Daniel
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
A New Beginning
Those of you who know I got baptised on Sunday will not know yet how it was, I remember my brothers word when I asked him how he felt when he got baptised, being a man of very few words but words of which are well thought out he only said 'it felt right' and I think I will have to follow this trait and explain it with the same words. Ever since Sunday I feel completely changed, not neccesarily in a radical way but in a way that tells me imp on my way to being who god want's me to be, since Sunday the only way I can describe it is that it was a new awakening within me.
I feel like if anyone were to ask me about my beliefs I would be a lot more open then I have been, one significant step in my life this year was that I started to not be afraid of talking about my faith, before Sunday I still would have slightly hesitated and thought a bit about my wording to not come off as one of those typical 'bible bashing preachers' as some may call us however right now I feel as though I would actually be proud in a way to talk about it, keen or hyped to talk.
I know these are all steps in my relationship with god but as my brother wisely pointed out it is persevering in these moments which is the real test, making sure our determination continues throughout our life sometimes in moments like on Sunday I can feel the.... ambition and inspiration in my eye's I can sense that I am determined thoroughly to spread the gospel. my spectrum of Christian friends continues to grow and I am continually challenged with which of my current friends I should possibly let go of but then it hit me, Jesus dwelled with sinners and tax payers and Pharisee’s for one purpose alone, to spread the gospel and share enlightenment, why should we not do the same? I understand the danger of getting too acquainted with aggressive and bitter person's and I now know that I need to keep a healthy tab on that balance between my Christian friends and my un-believing friends, in saying this I can assure you all that that balance is only ever improving.
in a sense I do feel different since Sunday but one thing I need to focus on most of all is not being a 'Sunday Christian' because that will create doubt in my faith as well as sloth (laziness).
there really isn't much else to say really apart from feeling like my heart is getting closer and closer to him everyday/week.
god be with you all and guide you towards him.
I feel like if anyone were to ask me about my beliefs I would be a lot more open then I have been, one significant step in my life this year was that I started to not be afraid of talking about my faith, before Sunday I still would have slightly hesitated and thought a bit about my wording to not come off as one of those typical 'bible bashing preachers' as some may call us however right now I feel as though I would actually be proud in a way to talk about it, keen or hyped to talk.
I know these are all steps in my relationship with god but as my brother wisely pointed out it is persevering in these moments which is the real test, making sure our determination continues throughout our life sometimes in moments like on Sunday I can feel the.... ambition and inspiration in my eye's I can sense that I am determined thoroughly to spread the gospel. my spectrum of Christian friends continues to grow and I am continually challenged with which of my current friends I should possibly let go of but then it hit me, Jesus dwelled with sinners and tax payers and Pharisee’s for one purpose alone, to spread the gospel and share enlightenment, why should we not do the same? I understand the danger of getting too acquainted with aggressive and bitter person's and I now know that I need to keep a healthy tab on that balance between my Christian friends and my un-believing friends, in saying this I can assure you all that that balance is only ever improving.
in a sense I do feel different since Sunday but one thing I need to focus on most of all is not being a 'Sunday Christian' because that will create doubt in my faith as well as sloth (laziness).
there really isn't much else to say really apart from feeling like my heart is getting closer and closer to him everyday/week.
god be with you all and guide you towards him.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Societal Problems.
found an article on someones blog on bebo, i think its amazing how much god is moving through our realm of internet into the metting places of millions of young people all around the world, i myself have been struggling with keeping close to god's word and reminding myself that life is so much more than fun and games.
anyway here is the article/blog, i really liked i
----
I am currently sitting on my Queen-size bed ,typing on my state of the art laptop. One glance around my room and you see an expensive stereo, a digital camera and a cellphone. My family is defined in the top 6% of income earners in New Zealand. I hate being rich. I hate wealth. Well, I don't hate wealth, I hate the fact that others are struggling well everything in my life is handed to me on a plate. A few months ago, I was almost oblivious to this fact. I mean, I saw the African kids on T.V., but I kept saying to myself
"Don't worry, they've got people taking care of that, just sit here and enjoy your life, most people are well off in the world anyway." . Over the past few months though, God has been softening my heart and creating awareness of how much the world needs us, as Christians, to stand up and show his love.
THE PROBLEM:
The world is a lost place. A place where inequalities between continents, countries, races and genders are extreme. No matter how much we've tried, how many people we've appointed, how many organisations (United Nations, Its time for some accountablilty) we have created, the world is not getting anywhere. "How can I make such a cynical judgment?" , you may ask. Well I can, because I've heard people's experiences of the world and I have the facts- Facts that will shock you:
1)The average Japanese woman can expect to live to be 84. The average Botswanan will reach just 39.
2)China has 44 million missing women.
3)Every cow in the European Union is subsidised by $2.50 a day. That's more than what 75 per cent of Africans have to live on.
4)More than 12,000 women are killed in Russia each year as a result of domestic violence.
5)One in five people lives on less than $1 a day
6)Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour
7)A third of the world's population is at war.
8)There are 27 million slaves in the world today
9)Some 120,000 women and girls are trafficked into western europe
each year.
10)More people can identify the golden arches of McDonalds than the Christian cross.
These are only just a small fraction of the many horrible (some are even too much to put on bebo!) statistics there are on the world. This proves it: The world is lost. We have no hope, or do we? There is still hope. There is still time to make the world a better place..
The Challenge:
A Challenge to the Church:
”American churches have spent $8.1 billion on audio and projection equipment in the last year”
The church needs to start obeying God by having its focus on the lost, instead of trying to please its congregation by placing big screens, lights and other fancy technology in church. Granted, a lot of churches have lots of technology to increase its ministry, to draw more people in etc. but the fact the American churches have spent $8.1 billion on audio and projection is extreme. Imagine if they took that $8 billion, and used it to feed the hungry, give the homeless a home, and “tell the world that Jesus lives”, as the famous Hilsong song goes. What a ministry that would be!! God has commanded us in the bible to help the needy again and again, to find the lost, to tell others about god:
Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.
Deut. 26:12. When you have finished paying the complete tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied.
Lev. 19:19. Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
Prov. 31:8. [Commandment to kings.] Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Is. 58:66. Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Jer. 22:3. Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Luke 12:33. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys."
Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, "Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."
Mt. 5:42. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
The church sometimes neglects this fact, even though Jesus himself spent his life with the poor, needy and lost. If the churches of the World combine together, and focus on changing the stats mentioned above, then God will truly move in this planet. We sing the song “Solution” by Hillsong United, which talks about us being God’s hands and feet, but do we really mean it? Do we really want to be his hands and feet, or do we just want to sit in our isolated Christian lives and do nothing.
At the moment, the leaders from my youth group are currently building houses in the slums of Mexico. After seeing the absolute poverty and the lost people, one of our leaders offered us challenge on the youth group blog:
“OK, so imagine this scene:
Jesus walks into Rojo Gomez* and sees the poverty, his heart melts and cries out in pain as he sees the conditions they live in, the sheet for a roof, the bare refrigerators, the dodgy wiring, the lack of running water, no sewage, beds without mattresses, clothes that have gone rotten because they have had to be stored outside…
So in seeing this need, he acts.
Would he stand on the roadside and say “I am the Son of God, build this family a house!” or would he gather people around him and quietly, without fanfare pick up a hammer and start building?
So, what will you do?
* Rojo Gomez is the name of the valley where the slum city we’re working is.”
That’s my question to the church.
WHAT WILL YOU DO? Will you preach to millions about giving and not give yourself? Or will you set the benchmark and give and give until you have given all you have?
A Challenge to us:
As Christians, we have a huge responsibility to help the needy, as the verses above tell us.
Sometimes though, we have no idea of how we can possibly help, or make any sort of change.
There are three ways you can make change:
1.) Through self-denial:
Giving up time, skills or money is the best way to affect change. Ways you can do this is vast. Volunteer at a local ministry or charity. Don’t have takeaways for six months, and instead give it to a charity etc.
If you need specific ideas of how you can help, bebo-mail/comment me.
2.) Through encouraging/pushing your government and church leaders to act.
Each and every person has a voice. If Christians stand up and make their voice heard, then change will happen. Simple as that.
3.) Through Prayer to God.
Nothing can happen without God. We need to pray, if we want the lost to be found.
So my challenge to you is to GET INVOLVED. I know its hard to know where to start, we have to try. I have to try. Because if we don’t try, our world is doomed.
----
just on another note, would appreciate some prayers as im really struggling with my faith at the moment.
am getting baptised come the 21st.
just hoping that i won't lose sight of god and his purpose for me by then as i don't want this baptism to be meaningless.
thanks all..
anyway here is the article/blog, i really liked i
----
I am currently sitting on my Queen-size bed ,typing on my state of the art laptop. One glance around my room and you see an expensive stereo, a digital camera and a cellphone. My family is defined in the top 6% of income earners in New Zealand. I hate being rich. I hate wealth. Well, I don't hate wealth, I hate the fact that others are struggling well everything in my life is handed to me on a plate. A few months ago, I was almost oblivious to this fact. I mean, I saw the African kids on T.V., but I kept saying to myself
"Don't worry, they've got people taking care of that, just sit here and enjoy your life, most people are well off in the world anyway." . Over the past few months though, God has been softening my heart and creating awareness of how much the world needs us, as Christians, to stand up and show his love.
THE PROBLEM:
The world is a lost place. A place where inequalities between continents, countries, races and genders are extreme. No matter how much we've tried, how many people we've appointed, how many organisations (United Nations, Its time for some accountablilty) we have created, the world is not getting anywhere. "How can I make such a cynical judgment?" , you may ask. Well I can, because I've heard people's experiences of the world and I have the facts- Facts that will shock you:
1)The average Japanese woman can expect to live to be 84. The average Botswanan will reach just 39.
2)China has 44 million missing women.
3)Every cow in the European Union is subsidised by $2.50 a day. That's more than what 75 per cent of Africans have to live on.
4)More than 12,000 women are killed in Russia each year as a result of domestic violence.
5)One in five people lives on less than $1 a day
6)Landmines kill or maim at least one person every hour
7)A third of the world's population is at war.
8)There are 27 million slaves in the world today
9)Some 120,000 women and girls are trafficked into western europe
each year.
10)More people can identify the golden arches of McDonalds than the Christian cross.
These are only just a small fraction of the many horrible (some are even too much to put on bebo!) statistics there are on the world. This proves it: The world is lost. We have no hope, or do we? There is still hope. There is still time to make the world a better place..
The Challenge:
A Challenge to the Church:
”American churches have spent $8.1 billion on audio and projection equipment in the last year”
The church needs to start obeying God by having its focus on the lost, instead of trying to please its congregation by placing big screens, lights and other fancy technology in church. Granted, a lot of churches have lots of technology to increase its ministry, to draw more people in etc. but the fact the American churches have spent $8.1 billion on audio and projection is extreme. Imagine if they took that $8 billion, and used it to feed the hungry, give the homeless a home, and “tell the world that Jesus lives”, as the famous Hilsong song goes. What a ministry that would be!! God has commanded us in the bible to help the needy again and again, to find the lost, to tell others about god:
Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.
Deut. 26:12. When you have finished paying the complete tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied.
Lev. 19:19. Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
Prov. 31:8. [Commandment to kings.] Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Is. 58:66. Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Jer. 22:3. Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Luke 12:33. "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys."
Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, "Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise."
Mt. 5:42. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
The church sometimes neglects this fact, even though Jesus himself spent his life with the poor, needy and lost. If the churches of the World combine together, and focus on changing the stats mentioned above, then God will truly move in this planet. We sing the song “Solution” by Hillsong United, which talks about us being God’s hands and feet, but do we really mean it? Do we really want to be his hands and feet, or do we just want to sit in our isolated Christian lives and do nothing.
At the moment, the leaders from my youth group are currently building houses in the slums of Mexico. After seeing the absolute poverty and the lost people, one of our leaders offered us challenge on the youth group blog:
“OK, so imagine this scene:
Jesus walks into Rojo Gomez* and sees the poverty, his heart melts and cries out in pain as he sees the conditions they live in, the sheet for a roof, the bare refrigerators, the dodgy wiring, the lack of running water, no sewage, beds without mattresses, clothes that have gone rotten because they have had to be stored outside…
So in seeing this need, he acts.
Would he stand on the roadside and say “I am the Son of God, build this family a house!” or would he gather people around him and quietly, without fanfare pick up a hammer and start building?
So, what will you do?
* Rojo Gomez is the name of the valley where the slum city we’re working is.”
That’s my question to the church.
WHAT WILL YOU DO? Will you preach to millions about giving and not give yourself? Or will you set the benchmark and give and give until you have given all you have?
A Challenge to us:
As Christians, we have a huge responsibility to help the needy, as the verses above tell us.
Sometimes though, we have no idea of how we can possibly help, or make any sort of change.
There are three ways you can make change:
1.) Through self-denial:
Giving up time, skills or money is the best way to affect change. Ways you can do this is vast. Volunteer at a local ministry or charity. Don’t have takeaways for six months, and instead give it to a charity etc.
If you need specific ideas of how you can help, bebo-mail/comment me.
2.) Through encouraging/pushing your government and church leaders to act.
Each and every person has a voice. If Christians stand up and make their voice heard, then change will happen. Simple as that.
3.) Through Prayer to God.
Nothing can happen without God. We need to pray, if we want the lost to be found.
So my challenge to you is to GET INVOLVED. I know its hard to know where to start, we have to try. I have to try. Because if we don’t try, our world is doomed.
----
just on another note, would appreciate some prayers as im really struggling with my faith at the moment.
am getting baptised come the 21st.
just hoping that i won't lose sight of god and his purpose for me by then as i don't want this baptism to be meaningless.
thanks all..
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