TAKE TIME TO EVALUATE YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Have you grown in your spiritual journey in the last twelve months ??
A great question that was asked of Len & I sitting in Preston Corps October 1978, this was the day Len gave his heart to Jesus , Len says that he had not grown in the Lord , because there was no relationship with Jesus Christ in his life.
So today on this last day in 2007 , I might ask my readers the same question:'HAVE YOU GROWN IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IN THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS?'
Here are some qustions that may get you started:
1. What is the word I would use to describe my relationship with Jesus?
2. How does my image of God affect my relationship with others (close friends, people I find hard to understand, colleagues, family, neighbours)
3. How does my time reflect my desire to have Jesus as Lord , ie. recreational pursuits, energy given to Kingdom business, worship, reflection time , evangelism, interactional time , prayer life ,how does it look honestly?
4. What does my bank balance reveal when I look transparently at how I spend God's money (that He allows me to manage)?
5. Give these images , what do I expect from God when I feel depressed, stressed, confused, lost, angry, sad, anxious ?
6. Do I take my sense of covenant with God seriously? If not, why not? If so , how is it reflected in my lifestyle choices every day?
7. Do I authentically have a living , vibrant , relationship with Jesus Christ ? Is Jesus truely LORD of every area of my life ?
My prayer is that these questions may bring us all individually closer to Jesus in 2008!!!
JOHN 3:17 "GOD DID NOT SEND HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN THE WORLD, BUT TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM".

END OF YEAR STOCKTAKE ON MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

PROMOTION ACCORDING TO GOD'S KINGDOM, NOT MANS

At the end of an old year , looking down the fresh opportunity of a new year , what does the Bible say on promotion in the kingdom of God.
God initiates His promotion in our lives. Psalm 75:6-7"For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the judge He puts down one, and exalts another."It is God alone who promotes whom He chooses to promote ,(not men).
Secondly God promotes people who rejoice in another person's advancements , Matthew 20 :20-28 Jesus talks about greatness is found in a servant heart : ''JUST AS THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY."
Sadly one of the uncommon traits in our Australian culture is to be genuinely excited for other people's success. Jesus help us to not be bound to a fleshly , carnal response when those around us succeed , help us all to celebrate great things achieved for the kingdom of God.
God's promotion comes when our character can stand up where our gifting takes us ! Never let your gift take you where your character cannot keep you. Jesus often may allow delays in our lives to make sure we have the capacity in our emotions, mind, and spirit to handle the responsibilities that God gives to us . SELAH on this in your own life !!!!!
Finally today promotion from God is not more prestige , actually it is more crucifixions to self:MATTHEW 16:24-26"THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, 'IF ANYONE DESIRES TO COME AFTER ME, LET THEM DENY THEMSELVES ,TAKE UP THEIR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME. FOR WHOEVER DESIRES TO SAVE THEIR LIVES WILL LOSE IT, BUT WHOEVER LOSES THEIR LIVES FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT. FOR WHAT PROFIT IS IT TO A MAN IF THEY GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND LOSE THEIR OWN SOUL.OR WHAT WILL A MAN GIVE IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR SOULS." It is Gods who exalts and God who humbles.

PRAYER FOR A CLEAN HEART AT THE END OF 2007

Psalm 51 :10-11
"Create in me a clean heart , O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence o God and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
V.12-13"Restore to me the joy of your Salvation and uphold me by your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You."
I share with you a PRAYER prayed by a Rev. Wright at a Parliament sitting :
Heavenly Father, we come before you to ask for forgiveness and to seek Your direction & guidance.We know your Word says, ''Woe on those who call evil good, "but that is what we could be guilty of. If we have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed your values then please we pray at the end of this year ''FORGIVE US ALL"!

We confess that :
We may have ridiculed the absolute truth of your WORD and called it pluralism.
We may have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We may have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We may have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We may have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We may have cursed abortionists and called it justifiable.
We may have neglected to discipline our children and call it building self-esteem.
We may have abused power & called it politics.
We may have coveted our neighbours possessions and called it ambition.
We may have polluted the air with profanity , pornography, or unclean viewing and called it
freedom of expression.
We may have not loved others the way you love us and called it cosequences.

Apparantly after this prayer some were offended , but many more received the answer to their prayer :
'SEARCH US O GOD , AND KNOW OUR HEARTS TODAY:CLEANSE US FROM EVERY SIN AND SET US FREE. GUIDE AND BLESS ALL LEADERSHIP WHO MAKE DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF OTHERS. I ASK THIS IN THE NAME OF YOUR SON, JESUS CHRIST ".AMEN

Jesus bless you each as you come to this year end, may you know the GRACE & TRUTH of JESUS today!!!!

DON'T MAKE GOD WAIT IN 2008

The Innkeeper missed his moment, don't you!

As I prepare my heart on this Christmas Eve, I feel a great sense of the presence of Jesus! Jesus is alive, He was born,lived,and died that we may be saved from our sins, our flesh, our own rebellion, and Jesus rose again that we might experience resurrection life and power. That my friends is worth celebrating this Christmas day!! Please make sure in your own lives that you allow Jesus & His perfect will to be birthed in your life today, don't get caught as the inkeeper did in Luke 2 :7 in not being aware or prepared for the Saviour to be born in that inn.What a tragedy , so close , and yet because of no awareness or opennes missed JESUS 'birth!!!(so far).

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths , & laid Him in a manger , because there was NO ROOM for them in the inn."
How would you like that epitaph of your life , the person who missed the birth of Jesus because they made no room for Jesus! How awful ! Well I don't intend to let that occur in my life , what about you my dear friends???
May you each know the love , passion and joy of living on the edge for Jesus (this Christmas),and may you experience the reckless abandonment of getting out of the comfortable Christianity boat this season and let JESUS truly be LORD and KING of your life.

You are all in my prayers!
MARNEY

The fields are ripe unto harvest , the Labourers are few...

Dear Friends ,
Blessings upon each one of you today! Received a beautiful phone call this morning from a person being obedient to Jesus' call to her , that being responding to the call of officership upon her life.
As she rang me so excited, ignited, passionate and bubbling over with the joy of the Lord that can only come from being totally obedient to His promptings, I have to say I was grateful to Jesus and abundantly blessed to receive this call.
By God's grace this young lady may be in ''Prayer Warriors"session 2008, coming in January.
Please pray for all who have said "Yes Lord",to Jesus terms of Discipleship in their lives, they are an inspiration to me .
This young lady heard a definate , audible rhema word from the Lord contained in Matthew 9:37"Then Jesus said to His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are oh so few.
V.38So Pray the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust labourers into His harvest".

All I can say is 'thank-you Jesus', and keep speaking to us all.

KNOW PEACE, KNOW LOVING OBEDIENT LIFE, NO PEACE .....NO LIFE!!!!

Who will go for a dying world's sake??

A MEDITATION:

Go to the prisons, the hospital, the institutions, go into the slums and the dens of hell on earth, where the devil is transforming men & women into fiends and training little children to grow up to be damned.
Go and look and think until you feel, until your spirit rises up and cries out to God ,"save the people, save the children".
Mingle your tears with the tears of those who weep, groan & struggle with those who are in darkness:wring your hands for those who sink into the pits of emptiness.
What about the children ?
Who will go in JESUS' name, who will go??? Come and help us to win them all for Christ!
Come and help us to save the children! Do not let them die without God, while you are waiting for them to grow up.
Begin with them where God begins, at the very earliest dawn of intelligence, and point them not merely to an historical Christ...... but to a living, saving, present, relevant JESUS , who will save them from their sins, who will save us all from our sins.

MARK 6:34"Jesus when He came out, saw many people and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd, and He began to teach them many things."

WHO WILL GO ???

IF NOT NOW WHEN ??

Dear Friends,
As i write today to you , there is within my heart a sense of urgency for promoting the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures from Romans 13:11-14 state that very issue , the urgency for the 'NOW 'is still there for us , as relevant to us today in this century, this time in the history of mankind.
Let me share with you these verses:
"And do this, knowing the time, that NOW is high time to awake out of sleep: for NOW our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkeness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife & envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill it's lusts."
It appears to me that at any time we can convince ourselves that we will have more opportunity to serve Jesus with our all when certain milestones are passed in our journey of faith.
For example once we are married, or once we have another baby , or when our children are older , or even when our children are off our hands, then when our grandchildren are all grown up.
The truth is there is no better time to serve Jesus more fully than NOW !! NOW !!.

Discipleship is a Journey of being obedient to the promptings & calling of Jesus to us Now , on this day , when He calls us today.
Live and witness to the power of the Gospel today, as if Jesus is coming back today, and planning as if He is not coming for 5-10 years.
Despite all of our own carefully crafted plans all we have is the"NOW " of today, so use it for the glory of Jesus.
And dear friends if not now , please respectfully can I ask when???
Jesus bless you today !

BE EVEN MORE INFECTIOUS WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

I can only imagine how our world would change IF those of us who call ourselves Christians would Love like Jesus loves, see through Jesus' eyes, respond the way Jesus would respond, forgive the way Jesus forgives , be obedient to GOD the way Jesus obeyed the Father's will.
I can only IMAGINE........!
I was once very privileged to visit Dr. Paul Yhonggi Cho's Church in Seoul , KOREA, and there I witnessed that which I had always believed to be true , a great many people passionately worshipping, serving , Jesus all with what seemed to me in one accord!!! Amazing yes! Inspiring absolutely! Birthing vision in me , abundantly. Thank you God for such a opportunity and glimpse of what can be a reality , this side of ETERNITY.
Today spread the good news of JESUS CHRIST & start being infectious with His presence in your life.
ROMANS 12:9-11
"LET YOUR LOVE BE SINCERE( A REAL THING):HATE WHAT IS EVIL ( loathe all ungodliness,turn in horror from wickedness), but hold fast to that which is good. Love one another with brotherly affection (as members of one family), giving precedence and showing honour to one another. NEVER flag in zeal, & in earnest endeavour: be AGLOW & BURNING with The SPIRIT, serving the LORD".

Let us start something today, a JESUS REVIVAL !!!!!!

God's Perfect Will , not merely His Permissive Will

Dear Friends,
Had a victorious day yesterday (Monday 10th Dec), many interviews with people exploring Jesus perfect will for their lives & helping each one to unpack what Jesus terms of Discipleship really requires. Such a privilege for me & a tremendous responsibility as I share with many who know that Jesus has called them to Officership in The Australian Southern Territory, and knowing that He requires each and every one of us NOW, NOW, NOW!
Monday afternoon offered me the great opportunity to evangelise and receive donations on behalf of Melbourne- Project 614, which is where I soldier when not engaged in Ministry elsewhere. '
I was situated in the Bourke Street Mall , what a wonderful opportunity for JESUS' GOSPEL to be preached. There were many blessings & some distinct hostile responses to the hope and love of Jesus ,I knew I was in the right spot to live out , pray up, speak forth the passion and love of Jesus in that place of business and preoccupation with self. Street combat , absolutely!!! Privilege certainly, opportunities were lavishly abundant.
Please dear readers remember that Jesus calls us to do & be His Disciples , obeying His PERFECT WILL in our lives , not merely being satisfied or content to settle for His PERMISSIVE WILL
There is quite a difference between doing a 'GOOD' THING for JESUS & doing "GOD'S THING".
Today I remind you of the Word of God in ROMANS12:1-2 :
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God , that you present your bodies,as LIVING SACRIFICES , HOLY & PLEASING to God, which is your basic reasonable response.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good , acceptable and PERFECT WILL of God."
And praise Jesus I prayed with a woman who accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour,just imagine what you and JESUS could do ??????????

JESUS IS CALLING YOU , TODAY!!

Dear Friends,
I am compelled by God's Spirit to repeat Jesus' words to you & I contained in Mark8:34-38,specifically verses 34-35:"When Jesus had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me , let them deny themselves , take up their cross & follow Me. For whoever desires to save their lives will lose it, but whoever loses their life for My sake and the Gospel's will save it " (please read for your own spirit on to verse 38).
WANTED ALWAYS TO BECOME OFFICERS IN THE SALVATION ARMY
MEN & WOMEN OF GOD

Anxious to devote their lives to work of souls.
Whose character will bear any amount of investigation.
Who can talk to a crowd of people out of doors and in, so as to wound sinner's hearts.
Who can lead a band of Godly men & women to do something likely to win souls.
Who are perfectly ready to speak, pray, visit, sit still, travel a hundred miles, or die at a moment.
Who have given up drink, tobacco, and all for Jesus' sake, or are willing to to so for HIM.
Who are willing to be led & taught, & to be sent home again if not spiritually sucessful.
WHO ARE WILLING TO BE EVIL SPOKEN OF , HATED & DESPISED , & EVEN MISREPRESENTED,MISUNDERSTOOD, & UNDERVALUED.


THE FOLLOWING NEED TO PRAY IF THEY SEE THEMSELVES IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORY:
Who, "do not think they can be expected" to exhaust all their strength in labouring day & night to save souls.
Who , desire "LIGHT EMPLOYMENT", with many personal hours to be entertained by the world.
Who doubt that The Bible IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD, THAT THERE CAN BE A FALLING FROM GRACE, who doubt THERE IS A HEAVEN & A HELL, who doubt the enemy of our souls , satan would seek to destroy the KINGDOM OF JESUS.
Who , having had considerable "life experience" think they know how to achieve KINGDOM business in their own flesh & abilities.

With thanks for the above to the author

WILLIAM BOOTH
Co founder of The Salvation Army

Blessings to you all!!

The Truth is Jesus really is above all OUR OWN OPINIONS.

I hear alot of opinions today about many many things. And quite frankly I need to remind everyone , myself most of all that our opinions as good as we may think they are when seen in the light of ETERNITY don't really mean as much as what JESUS says and in particular what The Word of God requires of us .

For example MATTHEW 28 is not the Great Option , it is the Great Commission , Jesus said it , that means we lovingly obey what He has commanded us to do & be.

Either we live , talk , act believe JESUS IS LORD or we don't. There can be no compromise on this BIBLICAL , GOD -GIVEN TRUTH.

Here is some thoughts from Nehemiah 6 for you , have a read dear friends.....

1. PEOPLE ARE TALKING(Godly words or ungodly)

2.ENEMIES ARE LISTENING(Nehemiah6:1-2)

3.EVERYONE IS WATCHING (including FATHER , SON & HOLY SPIRIT)

4.JESUS IS STILL WAITING FOR HIS BRIDE TO BE WHO WE ARE CALLED TO BE.



From myself , and I pray for you & I that we would faithfully just stop repeating our great OPINIONATED thoughts and start repenting of our carnality and may Jesus really be LORD of our lives.

I am praying for us all.

JESUS HELP US GET OVER "OURSELVES".

Jesus is really ABOVE ALL!!!

STANDING STRONG IN JESUS

2Peter 1:3 "HIS DIVINE POWER HAS GIVEN TO US ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE & GODLINESS, THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM WHO CALLED US BY HIS GLORY"
1. Receive the promise of God's Spirit.
2. Looking unto Jesus in every situation , every day , every way , through every battle .
3. Remember Jesus is full of Grace & Truth, we all need to imitate HIS nature (not my own).
4. Beware of "DECEPTION" : Matthew 24 (READ IT).
5.Hold onto The Word of God , Hebrews 4:11-13 . ''For the word of God is living & powerful & sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit...discerner of the thoughts & motives of the heart."
6. Realise Jesus may come today ,stop wasting His time in Your life.
7.Live your dash _ for Jesus' Glory.

PASSIONATE FOR THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

We as God's soldiers need to be passionate about the Gospel of Jesus in our every moment of every day.
This passion for Jesus, His word, prayer, the ongoing presence of The Holy Spirit and compassion for the lost are mandatory for those who call themselves CHRISTIANS!
If we as the people of God just settle for the basic necessary spiritual practices there will not be the "Kingdom achievements " that are required in this day at this time in history. Holy Ghost passion will keep you and your influence for Jesus' sake going when some others have given up or given in to such tragic responses as :cynacism, bitterness, criticism, apathy, blandness , self-centredness, and even small vision for Kingdom business.
King David had a passion for the House of God, and he expresses this repeatedly in 1 Chronicles 29:3-5 (read it). This passion and action will always have practical application in your life and the lives of others around you. Holy passion is CONTAGIOUS and quite frankly we /I can never be over zealous for the work of the kingdom of Jesus.
Spiritual passion is expressed with love for God, His people and His house. When any of us "COOL OFF" there is a obvious change in our passion for Jesus , His work, His love , His calling in our own lives. Don't sell out , don't settle down, don't be lulled into second best for Jesus , please.
How does one measure their passion for Jesus? Other people get fired up for the Gospel when they're around you. Cooled off people become convicted and hopefully rededicate their lives to the cause Of Jesus Christ. There is a "holy fire" that burns up every trace of sin and Psalm 51 is prayed more than once a day.
Holy passion, get it ,please for a lost world's sake , for JESUS' sake.

PSALM 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God;and renew a right , persevering,passionate,steadfast spirit within me"

First Blog!

Here is the first blog to get started!

Jesus is alive! Lets get passionate about changing the world...