HALLELUIA!!!

Four months almost to the day and here we are again. Ready to do the will of the Father and so glad that we held on. There were times when we could easily have packed up and headed back to New Zealand but in my heart I couldn't let go of Gods promise " Go to Australia, I have a work for you to do".
Many years ago I had a vision of a huge pipe embedded in a high rock face with water coming out in a slow trickle. Below was a sparce forest through which flowed a creek that the water ran into. I knew God had spoken to the trees and told them to move and most had... sending their seed elswhere to germinate and grow. But the stubborn and disobedient remained defiant, they set themselves against the Lord. Their branches reached out to the sky as if shaking a fist at Him.
"What do we do Lord?" I said
"Turn up the annointing," He answered and as He said this the trickle increased to a pour. In the forest below the creek became a stream.
Still the trees stood in defiance... the pour became a gush and the stream became a river and still the trees stood defiant shaking their branches at the sky as the waters lapped around their bases.
"What now Lord?" I said
"Turn up the annointing", He said and the gush became a flood of mighty waters as the river broke it's banks and engulfed all the trees around it in a powerful rushing torrent and many trees were pounded as they were uprooted like match sticks and washed away by the violent flow.... but still there were trees that stood defiant, pressed in opposition.
"What do we do with these Lord?" I asked
"Leave them," He said and the waters subsided... leaving a lake... in which trees stood silently in testment to what was... but what it isn't anymore.
I don't ever want to stand against the will of God and I beleive it was His will that we come here to do a work for Him.
We've been called to Pastor a church in Yarrawonga and move there God willing in Early December.
HALLELUIA!!!

Ask for the gift of His Holy Spirit...

Hi Back again and still waiting. Much has happened yet nothing has happened to our daily circumstances. Still waiting on answers from God about ministry and starting to feel like a nag when I pray but God tells us to be persistent even impudent (still not comfortable with that word seems to cheeky maybe I've got authority issues...) In an earlier post I mentioned meeting with another couple we now meet regularly with all our kids as well and either just talk about what Gods been doing in the week or look at the word. It's going OK I think, sometimes we hit the mark and sometimes we don't. 50/50 hit rate up to now. Keith led a guy to Jesus last week it's been a radical transformation and we are helping him through some issues and just praying and seeking Gods guidance and covering constantly. It's such a joy watching God at work makes us realise all over again why we follow Him. There are so many little things God does that shows us He's still listening so I press on in prayer waiting for the answers...

Never the less Lord, at Your word.....Lk5:4,5

It's been a while since I last wrote so this is a small bite of what God has been saying to us in our search for His direction.
Thursday 24 April '09 Keith woke in the morning from a dream. We've been pressing God to speak to us through His word and Spirit so the dream was special we think.
In the dream we were on a stage in a large auditorium. There were 100's of people all crowded into an auditorium and although there was a large crowd Keith sensed there was room for many more.There was a natural sense of excitement and expectation that you get when crowds of that size come together and he sensed that things were already in motion and he only had a few moments before he was to speak. In his dream he knew he had overall responsibilty for the coming together of all these people and he went to sit in the crowd, mainly to express that there wasn't any heirachy, that he was just a man like them, but the crowd didn't notice.
As he mingled in the crowd he became aware of the peoples needs and knew that many people had been let down in the past and that any word was not enough. It had to be "a word in season"(Is 50:4) it was essential that he spoke the word in season for these weary followers of Christ. In the dream he felt immense pressure to speak the word that would feed these people or they would go away unsatisfied and that was not what he or God desired........

Still waitin....

In waiting for Gods plan for us to be revealed we've visited some different styled churches. We've been to both home and institutionalised churches and worshipped alongside brothers and sisters of different styles who believe in the deity of Christ. We've come to the conclusion that the church is a many faceted jewel.
To say one way is the only way to worship, is like the woman at the well in Johns Gospel. She says to Jesus, "We(the samaritans) worship here on this mountain but you (meaning Jews) say that we must worship in Jerusalem." Jesus replies by saying that, "Soon, where you go to worship will not matter."
What I'm trying to say is that WHERE we worship is not the issue. If we're not being led by the Spirit to truth, then how can we worship. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life"
So to me the Spirit leads us to Jesus, the ultimate truth lies in Him and who He is to us.
Recently I had a Jehovah witness knock on my door. She was filled with passion to share the God in whom she'd found a new life. As a 5 year old beleiver her heart felt enthusiasm was palpable and I couldn't but admire her joy and enthusiasm as she told of her love of God. Majoring on our common beliefs we conversed, eventually our conversation got round to what our differences were. I told her that,
"Jesus is God."
To which she replied
"Jesus is the son of God."
I shared with her the differences in her bible and mine and asked her why she was door knocking. She said,
" My God has done so much for me how can I be ashamed to share Him with other people. It's not easy for me to knock on total strangers doors but Jehovah is worth it."
At that stage Keith having heard me talking, came to the door and said to her.
"In your search for God He has led you to this door so we can tell you that there is more. Your search leads you to the Father, but also to the Son and Holy spirit."
We spoke at length together on what she believed and what we did and Keith shared with her the trinity of the God head (in about five minutes)and guess what....... she got it.
It was obvious to us that this woman loved God and had little idea of what the JW cult actually taught. So we shared on what she could understand and pointed out descrepencies when they came up.
Still enthused with the love of God she gave us a Watch Tower publication while she accepted a music CD I recorded in 2001 that I felt to give her. We beleive that if her search for God is as deep as it seems she will find Him.
Do I agree with the teachings of Russells & Rutherfords Witnesses? NO!
I do beleive that Jesus can transcend occultic barriers and speak truth to a heart that is truthfully seeking Him.
A couple we met here in Frankston have expressed a desire to meet with us to do church in our home. Our boys are good friends with their son who spends every weekend at our house. They have recently finished at a church and are struggling to find somewhere that answers their need for relationship. Our invitation was originally to come pray one night during the week to help them find Gods way but ended up as an invatation for house church as they got excited about the way we live. From what I can gather their son tells them we're "straight up."

So while we are waiting we're still sharing Christ.

To see or not to see, that is the question?

Vision paces sedately in your mind till it finds space to stop and take up residence. Vision doesn't go away or leave but remains firmly rooted in all you do and say till it's birthed in the real world for all to see.

Vision doesn't go away! That's the difference.
Inspite of the disillusionment, dissappointment and discouragement we've felt in the last two weeks, we find ourselves pressing into God for the same vision to Senior Lead a church in the Frankston area. We don't know how or when but in the mean time we pray and seek Gods face.
The kids are going to youth group at the local AOG that keeps them into the Lord and allows us time to "wait" on Jesus. Keith and I are spending a lot of carpet time praying for God to have His way. As we wait on him He is focusing and sharpening our vision and "it ain't over till the fat lady sings halleluia.... "
to be continued

Vision

Ideas are ephemeral, flitting past your consciousness at the speed of light. Vision on the other hand paces sedately in your mind till it finds space to stop and take up residence. Vision doesn't go away or leave but remains firmly rooted in all you do and say till it's birthed in the real world for all to see.
We arrived in Melbourne in March 2008 with a vision to Pastor a church in the Frankston area. Having been approached 9 months later in December to take over a local AOG we felt vindicated at the illogical move from New Zealand to Australia. We had a very comfortable life back in NZ and were throwing it all away on a whim as far as our family were concerned.(They don't know the Lord yet, so are blind to the concept of Godly "vision")
We'd come pretty close to giving up and returning to NZ when the invitation was proffered. Our excitement at Gods moving was palpable and we left the meeting with the Senior minister and his wife beleiving it was a done deal and the hand of God.
The church had been through a hard time, but our giftings are along the lines of restoration, healing and vision casting so we were excited. A month later the day before we were to meet the congregation the Area Supervisor rung us to say the senior leader had changed his mind.
So was it a good idea OR a Godly vision that brought us here to Melbourne?????????
to be continued

Jesus wept.....

We watch and listen as people in Victoria return to their "homes" now leveled by fires that have gutted not just the houses, but the lives and families of those who once lived there. The devastation of lost lives leaves Victoria weeping.
For the blessed few, being reunited with the ones they love has brought a whole new outlook on what is really important in life. For others the loss is great, as they struggle to put their lives back together again. Donations are flooding in from all over the country as a nation reaches out to comfort each other.
Jesus compassion for the lost and needy, His care and empathy for the broken hearted, His love and anguish to wounded and dying. Oh how He weeps......

For the vision is still for an appointed time...Hab

Here we are in Melbourne waiting on Jesus.
Our experience is that "wait" is the most difficult of Gods answers and one that is the hardest to live. Keith and I spend a lot of time praying together and at first it was 'gung ho' full on warfare but as time has progressed we've come to understand that seeking God just for the sake of being with Him is an hounourable practice.
On Thursday night the kids (unprecedented) called a family prayer time and they prayed for our circumstances. We are amazed at how they've grown in God since we've been here.
So here we wait for the appointed vision praying that God would not tarry.

But we all, with our faces unveiled....Paul

As we wait on God He has been peeling back the veils. Our hearts are set to follow Jesus leading but what do we do when he is silent.
WE WAIT!!! But oh the price of WAIT.
To reflect the Glory of Christ we allow Him to dig deep into the recesses of our heart motivations.
As we wait we question have we heard right?
As we wait our resolve to follow hard is tested in the fire of self doubt...are we worthy?
As we wait we see our own weaknesses as insurmountable...can we do this?
So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord's Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord. 2Co 3:18 CEV

In Him We Live and Breathe

There's a particular sound that God makes when He's close. It's not just a silence or lack of sound. You can't manufacture it. It's a sound that reaches past your hearing perceptions and into your heart, reminding you He is here, in the now, listening for you too. When I lead worship that's what I'm searching for. The quiet place in His presence where life and breath seem to stand still and Gods breathing and yours are so synchronised you can't tell them apart.

Still Seeking

Christmas and New Year have been and gone. The house seems strangely empty after the last few weeks of overseas family & friends pandemonium and noise. We decided that God really was calling us to Australia and resisted the urge to turn tail and run back to New Zealand inspite of the economic downturn. The kids are part pleased and part sad to stay, wanting to see their friends from New Zealand but hoping they'll come to Oz for a visit.Since then we've been approached to Pastor a small church here in Frankston area and are exploring the posibility. We've attended a couple of alternative Home house churches and thoroughly enjoyed them but not found what we're looking for(reminds me of the U2 song...)
Will keep you posted he he he.