The Story of a Man Named Lazarus...

This past weekend, I found out that my bosses son, Jesse, had passed away. Although I had only gotten to know him a little bit, this still came as a huge shock for me. The last major death in my life was the passing of my grandmother about 4 years ago, and even then it wasn't quite as sudden. My grandmother spent her last couple weeks in a hospital bed where people could say their goodbyes. She had lived a long, full life serving the Lord. When she passed, it wasn't near as sudden. Finding out about Jesse was much more of a shock.

Over the past year or so, one thing I've been learning and seeing more and more of is the character of God, more specifically, the emotions of God. One thing I guess that had taken root in my mind is that the Lord is the same in his emotions, never changing. That the Almighty was so mono toned so to speak. It wasn't until I read the story of Lazarus in new light that this idea was shattered. The story which is in the bible, John chapter 11, goes like this.

Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus, and was the brother of Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha sent people to Jesus to tell him that Lazarus had fallen ill. Jesus, knowing of Lazarus's death at this point, waits a little longer to go down to mourn with the family. When he gets there, seeing the tomb, Jesus wept! Like, tears flowing, wailing, snot bubbles coming out of his nose wept! As some people in the crowed said "could not have Jesus prevented this?" Jesus was deeply moved, and ordered that the tomb be opened. And for the glory of God, Jesus said

 "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

He then directed his attention to the tomb and cried aloud "Lazarus! Wake up!"

And the dead man came out.

You see, it wasn't until I put myself in the shoes of Lazarus and not one of the side-liners that this passage finally hit me. It wasn't until I was able to say, I am a dead man, dead in my sins and I need the life of a Saviour that this passage became more than just a story. It wasn't until I heard Jesus weep and say "David! Come out!" that this passage actually made a difference in my life. I had always believed that Jesus was the resurrection, that He would bring to life all things, and as I write this fighting tears, I hold fast the reality that Jesus is saying "Come out!" not just to me, but to anyone who is listening. The reality that Christ mourns the death of our spirit as we sin, yet there he is again and again to say "David! Come out!"

The little bit that I knew Jesse was that he was full of the joy of God! Always willing to serve, even surrendering up a summer to serve at bible camp to share the love that Christ had given him leaves me still missing him, even though I know he has woken up. I know he's in heaven, and I hold fast to that truth, that reality of being made perfect before God in Christ and now worshiping the Lord without ceasing! But still, knowing that Jesus weeps over death, that The Almighty has felt exactly as I do gives me much more freedom to mourn, yet much, much more freedom to worship. Knowing that God is a good God and doesn't make mistakes, I find peace that this will all work for Him, who loves us.

Please be praying for Jesse's family, friends, and anyone else that knows him. Pray that the grace of God would comfort and uphold all who mourn.

If you are reading this and want to talk, lets talk. My facebook profile info is located at the top right corner of this blog. Know that you are loved beyond anything you could imagine, and Christ is saying "Come out,"

Surrender

Currently I'm sitting at my desk on a Monday evening, so very tired with no prevailing reason as to why, and the only thought that keeps on ringing in my head is to surrender. It's been my theme for the last couple months, something that I've been taken captive of and something that I need to captivate me every day.

Although I very much dislike teaching or preaching on something topical, there are too many examples of surrender in the bible to not mention a few. The easiest place in the bible to find them is in Hebrews 11, the hall of faith. All these people are recognized for faith that they exhibited in the Lord as examples of how believers in Yahweh proved themselves before God and man, and are written for both present and past readers to glean from.

Abel offering his best for the Lord as a sacrifice because he believed that the Lord deserved his best, believing that it would please the Lord, that it would bring him joy. Noah built an arch in an increasingly wicked generation because he had faith that the Lord would send rains upon the earth to judge the wickedness of mankind. He endured probably one hundred years of ridicule, hatred and abuse from the people around him as he built the arch in faith of what the Lord had said to him.

Abraham in faith left all of his life, his family and his possessions to go to a place that was not known to him because as an old man he believed that the Lords promise of bearing a nation were good. He trusted in the Lord as he walked along, and the Lord was with him. And then when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his son, whom the Lord had given him, he followed faithfully and nearly sacrificed Isaac. We know the ending to that story, the one of the Lords provision in trying times.

Moses by faith lead the people of Israel out of Egypt and with the power of the Lord defied ten of the Egyptian gods to provide escape from the clutches of evil that was entrenched in the Hebrew camp and practice of worship at that time.

One thing that all these examples have in common is that they have to surrender, both good and bad. 

Abel surrendered the fat portions of his first born from his flock to the Lord, the part that was the most desirable in his eyes, to worship the Lord. The fat portion is the most flavourable and the has the most calories, to some one who has to live off of the land and would have needed many, many more calories than most people today, giving up something that good would sound insane. But he did it because he loved the Lord, and sought to please Him.

Noah surrendered one hundred years of his life, again something good, to do hard back breaking labour and endured 100 years of ridicule because he loved the Lord, as he was the only righteous person left on earth whom the Lord saw.

Abraham surrendered relationships and business opportunites to follow the Lord and his promise of offspring. And then surrendered his offspring, something that was good.

A lot of the times that I've been taught surrender in church was to surrender the bad things, to leave them at the cross. I remember doing things in youthgroup like writing down the struggles that we have in life, maybe a secret sin that no one else knew about, and we were supposed to go up to the cross and nail it to it as a symbolic way of saying that they were the Lords, and we bear them no more! Praise the Lord O my soul!

However, we need to remember why exactly Jesus had to go the cross, and that was to take away the bad that separated us from God to restore a right relationship with God and make things new, and I thank God every day for that! But one thing that I rarely heard teaching on was to surrender the good as well.

Another thing all the examples of heros of our faith is that they all had to surrender good things in order to follow what the Lord had called them to do, and this is something that I am having to learn and re learn. Right now I am in culinary school for the purpose of missions, to use whatever certification I will have as means to reach people for the Gospel. This is  good thing. I love cooking! It is something that I am good at, it is something that I can connect with people whom I wouldn't normally get to connect with and show them the love of Christ. But I have to surrender it to Him as He has me here. School is not my forte, and if you are reading this, I'm sure you are aware. I enjoy learning, but I don't like textbook work. So school is a big step for me, to surrender these next couple years into His hands.

As I try my best to do well in school, work hard and study hard, I find myself having to surrender more and more, and I'll give this example. Several nights ago, my laptop broke down, and I had a test a couple of days away. What was I to do?? I started panicking and stressing out with such a pain in my gut, one that I hadn't felt in a long long time. I called the computer repair shop (under warranty) and they said that it would take 5 days to get it fixed. So then I started freaking out even more and started shaking. In the midst of all that, there was sudden clarity. Why was I so attached to this thing, this thing that doesn't give life, and yet I felt dependent on it like it was my own? Was God not in control? Did God not put me in school? Is He not sovereign over this as well?

Another thing I am having to surrender are my finances. I'm a fairly frugal guy, try to save up as much as I can and spend as little as possible. I don't buy new clothes until i absolutely need them. But while I'm in school, I won't be making near as much money as I was before, and having to pay extra for things like bus passes and tuition. Is the Lords bank not endless? Are the riches of His glory not proclaimed in all creation? I know that He's called me to school, and I have faith that He will provide for me.

I think I am starting to ware our in thought, but the ultimate example of sacrifice was Jesus.

Philipians says "[Christ Jesus] who though he was the very form God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross."
The ultimate sacrifice was that of a loving savior for those who did not love him. That an all loving, all powerful all knowing God sacrificed his Son to set things right with man and to set an example of true love through sacrifice. And that is the mindset we as followers of Christ are to have, daily. It is hard. As Jesus sweat blood before the hour of his betrayal, so we won't have an easy ride, but it isn't for us. It's for Him. As Abel sacrificed what he considered his best for the joy of the Lord, so we are called to do the same. Not out of compulsion, but out of love. When a man and a woman love each other, they sacrifice things in anticipation of the joy it will bring to their partner. The same is called for Christians to for God, as he sacrificed everything.

Please forgive how redundant some of those paragraphs might be, this is just what has been on my mind and on my heart as of late. And I hope that whoever reads this knows how much of a sacrifice has been made for you life, how much you are loved.

Times never change

A thought that has been recurring in my head is how bad of times we live in. With divorce rates higher then they have been ever before, abortion rates higher then they have been before, with things like cancer and heart and lung disease higher then ever before, with people falling away from the church in record numbers with the changing of my generation, we live in a bad, sinful generation!

It is not a good thing. I've heard a lot of people older then I say things like "This generation is probably one of the hardest generations growing up." and until today, I would have agreed with these people. We do have it pretty tough! With entry level positions for jobs needing a degree and 2 years experience, lots of people have a tough time getting a job, especially one that will pay then enough to not only make ends meet, but make a living of, we do live in a hard generation, in hard times. Before you have a job, you have to drop 4 years of your life and +$40,000 in debt, you're starting your adult life already in the hole, fighting an uphill battle.

This morning I finished reading the book of Matthew, and started reading through the minor prophets starting with Hosea. As I was reading, I noticed a lot of things that were going on in the land of Israel at the time. Things like famine and economic oppression were rather rampant in the land of Israel at the time, and the word of the Lord was against his people, very much so that he compared them to a wife of whoredom. With oracle upon oracle against the Israel, the Lords word was fulfilled with the decimation of Israel in 720BC as Assyria conquered and resettled Israel, the word of the Lord will not come back void.

I couldn't help but think, how would our generation fare in such a setting, with not only austerity from the political leaders against the people, but also from the priests themselves, taking bribes and influencing people not to serve the Lord, but follow their own passions by creating other gods and worship practices to satisfy their desires (Molech to sacrifice unwanted children for war, various gods for fertility and good crops having sex to worship them...). How would we do? well, obviously, we would follow the same patterns to a tee. Why? I'm not a time travelling man (that would be so cool) but looking at the trends of the people of God since the birth of the nation of Israel, the people always revert back to their own desires leaving only a few who remain faithful to the Lord in word and action.

With such examples as Elijah and the prophets of Baal, leaving a handful of Israelites faithful to the Lord, fast-forward to 595 BC as the Lord saves for Himself a handful of people to rebuild the nation, fast-forward to about 33AD, Jesus reveals himself to the five hundred people to spread the kingdom of God, fast-forward to the reformation when church leaders themselves domineered over the church body and vastly twisted the word of the Lord and left the flock in darkness, the Lord raised up Martin Luther to instil change and knowledge to His people.

Today, the church is letting a lot of things slip, thing of sexual immorality with premarital sex, pornography and homosexuality becoming mainstream things that people in the church body do, church leaders are more concerned with your happiness, and a rebuke is nowhere to be found. Things of holiness, steadfastness and sacrifice are pushed away from the presence of the pastor but replaced with the a selfish ambition and false fire.

Times never change. 

The only thing that has changed ever in the history of the church is the tolerance of human emotion in relation to the serious charge of holiness and humility of the people of God found throughout the bible. As people feel "oppressed" by the commands of God, pastors find ways to entice them to stay and compromise the message of grace, and  judgement. One does not know grace until he first feels the judgement of the Lord, the message of the cross, of love and compassion for the world.

Paul Washer once said "The most terrifying truths found in the scripture is that God is good...what's the problem with a good God? It's terrifying to know that God is good because we are not. So what does a good God do to with people like us, sinners? We've sinned against God, we've sinned against one another, we've sinned against nature, all creation calls for our condemnation. If a just God simply pardons the wicked, He is no longer just. How does  a just God call men into fellowship with him? Through the Cross of Jesus Christ. We see this tremendous unique revelation of the fullness of God in the Cross. God is just, and He must punish sin."

Too often people are concerned more with being comfortable and not sacrificing what they do in their free time rather then sacrificing their free time and their comfort for Christ. People have become so thin skinned that no one can tell them that they are doing something wrong without taking offence. "Real family and friends will always stab you in the front." the premise behind this lyric is that the people who love you the most will tell you the things you the hardest things that you need to hear, this is something lots of the church has forgotten. Even when truth is blaring in front of them, they become so thick skinned and don't take it to heart, or change. Is this not the message of the Gospel? That man kind is completely and utterly hopeless without the violent intervention of God on the cross, and the repentance of sin thereafter?

Times never change.

I am fairly conservative in my theology because I see a sever lack of passion and self discipline in most liberal movements. The feel good message of joy is in every sermon, but no one reads their bibles to see if it's true. People take the pastor at his word and accept the things that he is saying without looking it up for themselves, weighing or not whether truth is to be found in it, and then changing to that truth.

James 1 says it best "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

I  know it's Christmas, and and the time right now is to be doing the christmasy thing of advent, the expectation of the coming King, This was just on my mind today. How messed up this generation is. How messed up our world is. Good thing there is Christ. Good thing.

The Head of Stone

The most real thing any one has said to me in the last couple months was this: “When a father sees his child disobeying him, he notices it, isn't pleased and disciplines him. How much more does your Heavenly Father see your disobedience? Knowing this, saying grace covers all is theology from the pit of hell.”

This week has been a week of struggle and overcoming some giants in my life (I haven't said that before...). These words have been a bit of a reoccurring thought in my mind as I wrestled through some things with the Lord. They are good, sound words that need to be said more in the church, and in the world in general. To often i find myself doing things I know to be wrong, wasting time on frugal and worthless endeavours, or trying to work out thoughts and situations on my own that just won't be resolved. To pull out some lyrics from one of my favourite bands The Color Morale, “Real family and friends will always stab you in the front, and the end result is not one damn thing after another, its one damn thing over and over. We are condemned and this is how we learn.” The use of the word damn is meant in the context of being condemned. Like it's not a bunch of things that we do that seem to irk people or rub them in the wrong way, but it is usually only one thing that we do over and over that sets people off, and I find that to be the same way with our relationship with the Lord. Let me get this clear. We, apart from Jesus, stand condemned before the Lord in judgement. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” and also Revelations 5:1-5 says that there is no one in Heaven, or on Earth or under the Earth that is worthy to open the scroll, except for the man, Jesus Christ. And there are multiple things that we have done to make us undeserving of the Grace of Jesus. What my point is is that in our lives, there are life long struggles that we will have to deal with until the day of our completion. My other point in all of this is that it is those people who are intentional with us, addressing things that they see as wrong behaviours, motives, or straight up sin in our lives that will help us out in our walk with the Lord. And it is those people that we need to be as well. Revelation 2 and 3 are chapters in the Bible where the Lord is reaming on churches about their sin and telling them to repent. How does he do it? THROUGH A MAN! Through the vision that John (the author of the book Revelation) is writing down and delivering to the churches! The Bible is filled with examples of people being intentional with sin. In Ezekiel 3:9, Ezekiel is told that he has a forehead of the hardest stone so that he can but-up against Judah, because they are a rebellious house. Paul goes as far to say that he has, and should hand certain people over to Satan to let them learn that the things they are doing are wrong (1^st Corinthians 5:3-4, 1^st Timothy 1:18-20). My friend has a saying: “Christians love people into hell” meaning that the church in general does not confront people with with their sin, but just says that they are loved, and that is good enough. They may pass it off as just planting seeds and then leave the rest up into Gods hands like the blood of the unsaved is cleared from their hands. Ezekiel 33 talks about the Lord sending the people of Israel watchmen, to tell them when they are out of line. If they do, then the peoples blood is on their own hands, but if the watchman cowards from his duty, then the peoples blood will be on his head. Another thing that the church says that if people say a prayer when they are 5 years old, go to church and youth group, start a family and bring them to church, they are saved. What a shallow Gospel. To live and receive the gospel message is a complete 180 in the way we live. Jesus in Luke 9:57-62 says this: “As they were going along the road, some one said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' and Jesus said to him, 'foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' To another he said 'follow me.' but he said 'Lord, let me go and bury my father.' And Jesus said to him 'leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' yet another said, 'I will follow you Lord, let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”. This yells out that we can not be the same when we encounter Jesus Christ. To take the words of Paul Washer “When you are hit by a big semi truck, you will be changed. How much bigger is the Lord, and how much more should we be changed when we are hit by Him?” If you call yourself a christian, what sets you apart from the rest of the world? What makes you different? In Mark 5, Jesus sets a man free from demon possession ( I have heard a very sound argument that this man was possessed by something like five thousand demons). As Jesus was leaving that area, the man comes to Jesus and begs him to stay with him. But Jesus says to him “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” To often, we forget what the Lord has already done for us, and want Christ to fix our situations, or show us some grand sign that everything is going to be alright. Christ is not some formula, and more then likely, there will be no sign given. Back to the first things I said, we might have struggles, things we wrestle through, for the rest of our lives, only focusing on those struggles, and forgetting all that has already happened. For this demon possessed man, he went away rejoicing and telling others what the Lord has done for him. Is that not all we are to do? Praise the Lord for his great works and tell others about him? Revelation 12:7-12 says that we (christians) will be accused by the great deceiver, but we will overcome by the blood of the lamb, and the word of our testimony.

There are all my current thoughts on a page. Not sure that any of it actually flowed together. In summary though, we (Christians and the church) need to be more intentional in our endeavours with each other, asking the tough questions, calling people out if we see wrong, and if we are called out, take it to prayer and if there is found to be something wrong in your conduct, change. Proverbs 29:15 says “The rod and reproof gives wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” Also though, be kind with one another. Paul writes in 2^nd Corinthians 2:7-8 talking about confronting people, and them changing, “...so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.”

I hope that this is in some way a blessing to those who read it.
David

Take off your sandals

"When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” - Exodus 3:4-5

This is one of those passages that I have read over and over many times in my life, and brushed it aside as seemingly unimportant. This year though, I learned something. This passage isn't about the holy ground at all, nor is it about sandals. Before this last year, I would have come to take all of this quite literal, and would have been waiting for that one day when God would come to me and say "Take off your shoes, this place is holy ground." Funny thing this God fellow is though.

This last year, some one made it known to me that what was being said here was "Moses, take off the things in your past that hinder you from coming to me, for I have a great work in store for you." Have you ever gone on a hike and at the end of it look at your shoes? They shouldn't come out clean, at least not as clean as when you started your hike. They should be covered in dirt, mud, tree sap, animal droppings, but they tell a story. They tell the story of where you have been. It is the same with walking in the city. Perhaps you will step on a tack, or a piece of gum that will go with you to your next destinations. Again, your shoes will tell you where you have been. This is the same for Moses. What had Moses done up until this point in his life? He was spared at birth, grew up as part of Egyptian royalty (it is debatable to say that he was in line to be one of the Pharaohs, but I'll leave you to do that on your own study. I did), assuming that he was part of the royalty, he would have played a small part in the suffering of his people, he killed a man, tried to cover it up, and then he ran away from all his problems. This was all on his shoes at this point. But was the Lord absent in all of this? By no means! I'll get back to that. So, now we see where Moses was coming from, and God tells Moses where he is going to. God says "I have seen the suffering of my people, and I want you, Moses, to go and lead them to freedom by my hand." And even at that, Moses tries to make excuses as to why he shouldn't go. First he says "I don't know what to say." (Ex 3:13), then he says "Well, what if they won't believe that I am sent by you?" (Ex 4:1), then again, he makes another excuse "Well, I've never been able to speak very well" (Ex 4:10) then he just downright says "send some one else." (Ex 4:13). Moses was holding on to his past in the worst way, and the Bible even says that the Lords anger was burning against Moses (Ex. 4:14). All this time though, the Lord was working in Moses, and training him in the best way. The Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt, and once they were set free, they would have needed some one to lead them in all sorts of ways. Moses was educated to read and write and speak to people and execute justice being in the Egyptian nobility, and after he had fled away from Egypt he gained valuable knowledge of living in the wilderness, shepherding sheep, finding them food and water and searching out for them amongst a harsh landscape. This man Moses would go on to lead the Hebrews to freedom, execute justice on a day to day level, write down the Law of the Lord, deliver this law to the assembly, lead military wars against other peoples, and lead the Israelites around in the wilderness. But before he could do any of that, he had to take off his sandals. He had to get rid of the his past.

This is mirrored in the New Testament by he who would be a voice crying out in the wilderness "Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight!" (Matt 3:3) and "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matt 3:2) Aka. John the Baptist. John was saying to a crowd "Stop doing things your way, and start doing things as you would in the Kingdom. I don't care where you are from, you can change." This is also seen in foot washing. Jesus says to his disciples "I'll wash your feet." Peter says "Then wash my head and hands as well" And Jesus replies "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet." (John 13:1-11) Feel free to disagree with me, but I have come to interpret this as saying they if you are living for and in love with Jesus, then you are already made clean, sanctified, redeemed by the blood of the lamb, bought, paid for. Your sins are forgiven and you are an ambassador, but you need still need to repent from where you have been. Again, John  the baptist says "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8), and the apostle Paul says "Work on your own salvation in fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) as Paul is talking about being the light of Christ in this world. These echo the call of Moses, take off where you have been, and put on the burden of the Lord. "For my yoke is easy. My burden is light." It is said in Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.." the feet go from being this ugly past to being something that is completely beautiful! What is the good news? It is the news of Jesus Christ, and what he has done in your life and what he is doing in the world. As we serve God, he is making us beautiful, and separating us from our old selves.

This last week was one of the toughest weeks in my life spiritually. This is probably the only time you'd catch me saying that I was attacked spiritually. My biggest struggle in the past was that I struggled with lust in my heart (being sought out through pornography and masturbation). For many years, it was my master, and I did nothing to get rid of it in my life, but made a petty plea/cry to God blaming him because he had given me these desires, and again a petty plea to take them so that I would stop sinning. That wasn't the issue though. For other years, I did fight for my freedom, and until a little while ago, it was to no avail. I'd try accountability partners, but the four or five people I had asked to help me out all lost interest and after a month or so just stopped caring. This never gave me a bad sense that I couldn't really trust people with how I was feeling, or what was going on in my life because it felt like no one cared. This last year, I studied every book in the bible 5 times over, and it was the best and worst nine months of my life. Best because it was a place where I could just devote myself to studying the word of the Lord, be away from distraction here at home and spend time with some other amazing people who are passionately in love with Jesus Christ. It was the worst nine months though because being nine months away from people you love is a long time, and it just takes a toll on relationships. There is some background for you the reader. How does this all tie in though? Through those nine months, God gave me a focus in life, where he is leading me. Its given me a more focused and driven pursuit for purity and humility. In Ephesian 6:12, Paul writes "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of darkness in this world, against the spiritual wickedness in this dark place." This word in Greek is the word "Pa/lh" and it is a type of wrestle in which the victor of this fight gets to hold his opponent down by the neck and gouge his eyes out. Learning this made me realize where my focus was, and by what I was having my eyes gouged out. Back to this last week. I was (and still am) free from giving into sexual temptations but this last week, temptation came stronger then I can ever express, and it lead me into a slight depression. But hope is a good thing. When the world comes against you, take heart. "For greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." (1st john 4:4) and God upheld me in the roughest times. In the end of it all, all God said to me was "Take off your shoes. This time that I have given you is holy, it is precious. Take heart."

God saves lives.

Sean Naus and his family are people that I met this year on the Coast, and have been an awesome encouragement to me. This happened to them and their coffee shop, as well as the Board Store where they do business. And this is the hand of God in their lives.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/29503844/security-video-shows-amazing-escape/

End of the New Testament

Well, Today is the official end of all New Testament studies. The school went to the Pig&Whistle pub to celebrate. It was really nice to just go out with everyone, take our minds off of the studies, and just have fellowship with one another. We have been extremely blessed to have the leaders we do here in the Sunny Coast. This is probably the only YWAM base in the world to take the students out to a pub in celebration of a milestone. The leaders know what people need, and that is to have the option to choose for ones self how they are to act. YWAM Sunshine Coast is really what one would make of it. If people came here just for the beach, then they would only get the beach. If they came here seeking a deeper more intimate relation with Jesus, then their world will be changed.

Here on the SBS, we have a group of 15 students and 8 leaders who are passionate about seeking God in worship and prayer while actively letting the Word of God transform their lives. I am extremely blessed to be put here amongst the other people that are here. God is melting peoples hearts and showing them their roll in the Kingdom.

I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who has, and is supporting me in this school! Your prayers and faith in God are above words. I'd like to ask any one who reads this blog to continue to pray for me as we pick up things in the Old Testament as the work load increases.

God Bless!

David