a bit of request for some prayer...

hey peeps!

gonna keep this brief, but if you could keep the Order (the group i'm doing this year) in your prayers that'd be great! We're going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, and some of our peeps are leaving... so it's a bit tough! If you could pray that we all stick together, and seek God in this situation, and keep focused on Jesus, that'd be great!

Still loving serving God down here... learning so much....

Ta

For Him Alone

Ness :-)

Souls and Justice...

This was on the Armybarmy blog a little while ago (www.armybarmy.com/blog.html)

"My business is to get the world saved. If this involves the standing still of the looms and the shutting up of the factories and the staying of the sailing ships, let them all stand still. When we have got everybody converted, they can go on again. (William Booth, in answer to his own question, “Are all to be officers?” in Norman Murdoch. THE ORIGINS OF THE SALVATION ARMY. p141

My business on earth is exactly the same. I want to see the world saved for God. And I'm going as William Booth also says "while one soul remains without the light of God, I'll fight to the very end"

I've been reminded in the last couple of weeks where my priorities should be, and how sometimes I can get them so wrong. My main priority in life is my relationship with God, and the advancement of His Kingdom. My life must be a living sacrifice. Daily I offer myself to God to use me as he wants to bring Glory to His name.

It's not always easy, but I know I must do it. I'm going to fight for justice, love and mercy for the rest of my days. I'm am continually sanctified.. Gods grace abounds...
The other week at 614 we had a huge live worship recording, titled "souls and justice". It was absolutely fantastic. God was definitely there, and He moved in powerful ways. People were challenged about their apathy towards the injustice in this world, and encouraged to take a step of faith with God, because with God anything is possible.

There was an amazing moment during the night, which I don't think i'll ever forget.. Nathan Rowe (Soteria) was leading worship proclaiming freedom in the name of Jesus... freedom from addiction, freedom from shame, freedom from bondage.... There is freedom in the name of Jesus!! Hallejuah!

It really struck a chord with me (no musical pun intended!), because its been something that God has been speaking to me about for a long time. As you may have gathered, I have a passion and a heart for the disadvantaged and marginalised, the people most of society wants to forget about. I thank God that he has placed me in The Salvation Army, and I am honoured that this is where he wants me to serve Him for the rest of my days. It's not just about seeing souls won for his kingdom.. But it's not just about seeing justice in our world.. the two must go hand in hand.

Hallejuah!

For Him Alone
Ness :-)

thought provoking quote....

"The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world." Rob Bell.

That is all!

For Him Alone
Ness :-)

The O Word!

The 'O' word... bah bah bah bah! ......
orange? olives, optometrist, okay, ocean, order, oxygen, out (ok, i'm really struggling to come up with words that start with o! lol)

The O word for today is, Officership!

Often known as a bit of a blasphemous term amongst young (and even some older) Salvationists, Officership (full time service as a 'pastor' in the Salvation Army), is something that God is still calling people to! Hallejuah!

I was catching up with a friend tonight, and we were talking about our calls to Officership, and He told me that there was only one accepted candidate for College here in the Eastern Territory for next year. I was a little suprised! Surely there's gotta be more people called to Officership than that? There are going to be people (like me) who know that they are called, but next year isn't the right time, but there are going to be others who have been called in the past and have been putting it off, and so next year may be the right time!. Are You one of those? Do You know someone like that? Challenge them (without harrassing them!) Your challenge might be that little nudge from God that they've been praying for? Just a thought!

My friend and I also commented on how amazing the sense of peace and joy is when you finally stop fighting God and truly accept His calling on your life. I fought it for a heck of a long time, but then realised that to be a true follower of God, i had to be obedient. Why wouldn't I want to be? What would have happened if Jesus wasn't obedient (another O Word!) to the will of His Father? Sure, doubts and concerns crossed my mind. Am I really good enough? Can I do this? Why me? (lol, why not me?)

But God overcomes all of those doubts and fears, and he sends confirmation!. He came alongside me and said "Don't worry Vanessa, I'm going to look after You" and that's all I needed. It's not always going to be easy, no one ever promised that following God was going to be easy. But I know that I have a faithful God who is with me every step of the way.

So Officership... have you thought about and prayerfully considered it? Is the need the call?

For Him Alone
Ness :-)

Vanessa the Vagabond!

I came across this term the other day, and thought that pretty much described me at the moment. A Vagabond is "rootless: wandering aimlessly without ties to a place or community; "led a vagabond life"; "a rootless wanderer" (thanks google!)

And that's what I kind of feel like at the moment, except i'm definitely not wandering around aimlessly. I'm following my God, who calls me to follow him with reckless abandonment. Who asks me to pick up my cross and follow him. And that's what i'm doing, and I'm going to continue to do. I'm going to seek out God, and follow his guidance. I'm not going to lean on my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge him, knowing he will make my paths straight.

What I love about my life at the moment, is the independence I have to experience what I want to without many restrictions. I'm young (although, at 21 I am starting to feel kind old at 'youth' things.. lol), and fiercely independent. I took the opportunity to move out of home and go to uni, and now i've moved to Melbourne. I'm now contemplating and praying about what i'm going to do next year. I have so many options! Sometimes i'm so overwhelmed by the amount of options I have, but at the same time, I'm excited! It's possibly one of the only times in my life i'm going to have such a vast array of opportunities on my platter. Life is going to progress, and where I am and what position i'm in is going to change, and things are going to limit what I can do, I'll have other things and people to factor into my plans. But for now, I can use this season in my life that God has given me to just embrace my independence.

So come 2009, who knows where i'll be! I could be down in Melbourne, following an opportunity that may come down my way down there (whilst finishing my social work degree, don't worry i am going to finish! lol).. I could be in Newcastle, finishing my degree there... I could move back to Sydney, where i grew up, or I could go overseas!, or even still, I could end up at SAOTC! (i've abbreviated that for a reason! lol) Who Knows!

What I do know is that i'm going to seek God's guidance on it all, and trust him on whatever path he may lead me down. I'm excited, and can't wait to see how God is going to change me, and use me to bring glory to his name, and see souls saved. Hallejuah!

All of this talk about the future reminds me of this songster piece i remember from being a songsterooni back in the days!

If crosses come, if it should cost me dearly,
To be the servant of my Servant Lord,
If darkness falls around the path of duty.
And men despise the Saviour I've adored.

I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost,
I'm called to live, to love and save the lost,
I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost,.
I'm called to live, to love and save the lost.

If doors should close then other doors will open,.
The word of God can never be contained.
His love cannot be finally frustrated,
By narrow minds or prison bars restrained.

If tears should fall, if I am called to suffer,
If all I love men should deface, defame,
I'll not deny the One that I have followed,
Nor be ashamed to bear my Master's name

I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost,
I'm called to live, to love and save the lost,
I'll not turn back, whatever it may cost,.
I'm called to live, to love and save the lost.
Gowans & Larsson

For Him Alone
Ness :-)

A Real Revolution

The term "revolution" gets thrown around a lot these days, its even part of the title of my blog!. In some ways, it's almost become a bit of a catch cry, and if we're not careful, it will lose its meaning. I love the word, it just has so much rich meaning, and its what the world needs. A revolution of love, Gods love. A revolutionary fight by Gods soldiers to see the world won for him.. That's the kind of revolution I want to be a part of.

I read this quote by Commissioner George Scott Railton (a legend back in his days) about revolution

"We are revolutionists. We know that we have passed from death unto life, and we insist on the necessity of the same sweeping change in every human being. With cries of 'Death unto sin' and 'Life unto righteousness,' we go on, determined to turn the world upside down. We are not philosophers or the theorists of revolution; but its agents. Merely to recommend revolution is contemptible. We must make it. Glad indeed would we be if any word of ours could go forth to slumbering Christians and slumbering churches, and awake them to the fight; but it is only what is done by direct personal effort that can be called sure work, in a revolution." (found on armybarmy)

Merely to recommend revolution is contemptible. We have to act on it! What a challenge hey?! We can cry revolution all we want, but we must be the change we want to see. We have to stop bashing the bride of Christ (the church) and start living the change we want to see happen. Start leading by example!

Bring it on! I'm excited, and I can't wait to see what happens when people start taking the battle that we're in seriously. Lets make an effort to become once more the salvation people of yesteryear... You can make a difference... Step out in faith - pray hard: ask for opportunities... I don't think that God is finished with us yet.. so let keep on the mission of saving souls, growing saints and serving suffering humanity... Let's take a risk- what have we to lose?, we may be surprised at what God will do in and through us if we pray and ask him to send us out into his harvest field!

Lets trust God - step out in faith and lets see the revolution he so longs to bring... (hat tip Rusty)

For Him Alone

Ness :-)

Encourage One Another!

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you have been doing." 1 Thess 5:11

I decided to type the word "encouragement" into google images and see what came up. I had to have a bit of a chuckle when this image came up

Please meet, the "encouragement gong". The sound of this gong is meant to encourage you to do great things... Without being disrespectful to those who do believe in these kind of instruments, it just sounds a little crazy to me.

I've been thinking a bit lately about what role encouragement has in relationships that i maintain. Do I encourage enough?, Am I myself being encouraged enough in what I do. I've come to the conclusion that along with love, encouragement is another thing that is necessary for change to really happen. The people who do great things in this world have been encouraged to do so.

I've been amazingly blessed to have had people in my life who have encouraged me to be all that I can be. People who have encouraged me to seek God with all of my heart and trust in his ways. People who have encouraged me to believe in myself, and in God. I wouldn't be the person I am today if people hadn't encouraged me.

Yet, when encouragement has such good repercussions, why are we so quick to do the complete opposite and discourage people? We say harsh words, we gossip, we tear people down, we make a sarcastic comment or two. What does this really achieve? Nothing. It causes hurt and pain. It has no place in this world. It's made me think about the way I talk to and about other people. Does even that sarcastic (although seemingly funny) comment I make about someone build them up at all? no.. it tears them down. You and I know how much it hurts when we are discouraged by others, yet why are we so quick to do it ourselves?

We don't need a gong to encourage each other. God has given us the gift of communication (thank goodness, i think i' d die if i couldn't talk! lol) It's time to use it! Tell people you think they're doing a good job, write someone a note telling them you really value their friendship, send a text message to let someone know you're praying for them... just do something!

God can do great things if we encourage one another as we're commanded! Last night at Youth Church, a guy whose been coming for a while told of how he's been clean from a $400 a day heroin addiction for a week now, and he spoke of how one of the workers has really really encouraged him to give up his habit and turn to God. Praise God! See, the power of encouragement at it's best!

Seek to encourage, and slow to discourage.. it really does no good hey.

It's about now i have to eat humble pie, because I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else!

For Him Alone

Ness :-)

She's Somebody's baby

I was listening to an album by Jon Foreman (the lead singer of Switchfoot) this afternoon, and this song came on. To be honest, it almost made me cry.... you'll see why


She yells, "if you were homeless Sure as hell you'd be drunk
Or high or trying to get there Or begging for junk
When people dont want you They just throw you money for beer.

"Her name was November She went by Autum or Fall
It was seven long years Since the Autum when all
Of her nightmares grew fingers And all of her dreams grew a tear

She's somebody's baby Somebody's baby girl
She's somebody's baby Somebody's baby girl
And she's somebody's baby still

She screams, "Well if you've never Gone at it alone, well then go ahead
You better throw the first stone You got one lonely stoner
Waiting to bring to her knees" She dreams about heaven
Remembering hell As a nightmare she visits And knows all too well
Every now and again When she's sober she brushes her teeth

She's somebody's baby

Today was her birthday, Strangely enough
When the cops found her body At the foot of the bluff
The annonymous caller this morning Tipped off the police
They got her I.D From her dental remains
The same fillings still intact The same nicotine stains
The birth and the death were both over, With no one to grieve.

She's somebody's baby

It saddens me that people in this world can be so alone. It makes my heart break that people can die, and no one will notice. They are so isolated from society that no one cares if they're gone. These people exist... and they're exactly that- people! People who have feelings, people who have experiences, people who long for more. They are like you and me. People who shouldn't be alone.

Some of these people are people I see everyday at the Life Centre. For some, we are the only social contact people have. Apart from visiting the life centre they are isolated. In the people at the life centre, they have found somebody who cares that they exist, and they are able to find out about the God who created them for a purpose. In the Life Centre they find a community... a community who will care if they disappear... They have such stories, and a lot of them extremely inspiring, but filled with hurt. They are mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.... they've loved and lost... they've hurt and cried.. they've felt joy and happiness....

It's only by the grace of God that i'm the person I am now. It very easily could have been me on the streets, and I pray that if I was, someone would care about me, even when all hope seems lost. God has spared me from that, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't care about others who haven't had the same opportunities as I have. It doesn't call for a sense of apathy.... It means that I must show them love when no one else cares....

It's not always easy... oh Gosh it's not always easy! some days I can only love through the love that God gives. I can't love in my own strength.. only in Gods strength. But in those times, when i don't really feel like caring, one thought runs through my mind

"it could have been me"..

For Him Alone

Ness