New Life

It is Spring. and in spite of the lack of rain, many gardens are bursting into bloom. Everywhere I go, gardens have thrown off there winter drabness- and brilliant blues and lavenders, oranges and yellows greet the eye.

Just recently I was reflecting on God’s grace and mercy and recognised that we take so much for granted and do not really appreciate that God’s mercies are new every day. It is so because we spend an inordinate amount of time looking backwards! What a waste! The reality is that our God is a God of new beginnings so is always out in front of us, inviting us to follow new paths and new opportunities.

Humans are strange creatures, though. We find it very difficult to let the past go and venture into the unknown. The “past” even if it has not been a good experience, is still a “safe” place to be. Rather than moving forward, we spend a lot of time reflecting on the “what might have
been”! We look back and ponder how different things might have been had we just said this or done that, or, indeed, chosen a different path.

The reality, however, is that what is done cannot be changed. What has been said can never be taken back. The moment is passed and gone and regrets are of no value. It seems to me that life is faced most positively and to best advantage when we learn to let go and let God lead us into the places God has already prepared for us. Those places are places of growth and inspiration and challenge. God does not ever take us to a place for which God has not already prepared us—
even if we have yet to realise that is so!

When we seize the moment and give it our best shot, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit and acting with integrity and grace, we discover ourselves to be blessed beyond imagination. If we open ourselves, daily, to the possibility that God might actually choose to use this day to reveal God’s self to another through us, we can embrace the day with certainty and anticipation. We will find
ourselves being able to forget what is behind and move into that which is yet to come.

I would encourage you that if you MUST look back, then do so only to see how much God has already done in your life and draw confidence and assurance that there is nothing that you and God together can not handle and appreciate that every day with God is the beginning of Spring.

MD

Wise Link October 2007

The October Edition of WISELink is now available online.

This month's WISELink we are looking at the new life.

I will again be publishing the feature article, please feel free to discuss the article in the comments area of the post.

one flaw in women

Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they
hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe
there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about
you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their family and friends.
Women have vital things to say and everything to give.
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Passion:

Pronunciation: 'pash & n (n) from Latin pati to suffer –1: the sufferings of Christ between the night of the Last Supper and his death –2: the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces; –3: the emotions as distinguished from reason –4: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction –5: an outbreak of anger; ardent affection –6: a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept –7: an object of desire or deep interest.

Just recently, I have been thinking about the effect of passionate feelings on our lives and the way we live them out. We can be passionate about anything we choose, and sometimes we will throw our every waking moment into pursuing it.

Recently I went with my family to an AFL game at Telstra Dome in Melbourne to see St Kilda play West Coast. Apart from some passionate West Coast supporters who had travelled from Perth to see the game (there were many on our flight across to Melbourne) by far the most were there to support St Kilda. We couldn’t miss the true blue supporters who showed proudly their team colours and paraphernalia. (I know one ardent supporter who proudly has worn their colours for years even when they were at the bottom of the ladder!)

Back to the game though. We were surrounded by a continual out pouring of passion throughout the game. There were some there that I thought were going to have a coronary or such like in the way they reacted to the umpiring decisions or opposing teams players. Then there was one man who got up from his seat and ran down the concourse to give the umpires a real serve when he didn’t agree with their decision.

I, not having any particular care on who won the match, sat back, watched and wondered. “What difference would it make to the church today (as we know it) if we were as passionate for the Lord’s team if we followed the Christian life as passionately as the AFL team supporters do, or whatever sporting team or interests that you follow.

It is not just football fans who follow their interest so intently – there are those who are passionate about their hobbies, their craft, their car, their garden, their fishing, their music, etc. and many of us put a great deal of effort into having the necessary tools and items needed to follow our passion.

So where is this going? No, its not an excuse to talk about football but a way to look at how we respond to our passions, and line up how passionate we may be about the Lord and His impact on our lives.

To be the person Christ called us to be, we need to be passionate about Christ and the difference He has made in our life, and therefore show and tell it to the world. It is easy for us to be closet Christians because then we don't have to stand out and wear our team colours. We can just go along with the crowd or we can be passionate about the team – that we are not just supporters but members, and we need to Stand Up for Christ in all we do, say and act as it is the mission we have in life.

Christ stood up for us and was willing to go all the way to the Cross for us. How much then do we owe to Him for what He has done for us.

Let’s nail our colours to the Cross and really Follow Him.

Wise Link September 2007

The September Edition of WISELink is now available online.

This month's WISELink we are looking at the value of life and how we look at it through God's eyes.

I will again be publishing the feature article, please feel free to discuss the article in the comments area of the post.

We all need a Tree

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient one ton truck refused to start While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children…

So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again." "Funny thing is," he smiled," when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

Wise Link August 2007

The August Edition of WISELink is now available online.

This month's WISELink we are looking at the value of life and how we look at it through God's eyes.

I will again be publishing the feature article, please feel free to discuss the article in the comments area of the post.

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Thx
Web Chick

Mission— A Calling for you and me!

The theme for this month is Mission and what it means for us. This year we have seen the renaming of our Overseas Mission Board from Churches of Christ renamed to Global Mission Partners. This is a real step forward into integrating their role and place in the way we do mission.
What is mission? The encyclopaedia defines mission as being “groups and organizations arising within a particular religious tradition whose concern is to witness by word and deed, at home and abroad, to the beliefs of their religion, so that others may come to know and live the truth as they understand it.”

Ask your friend or neighbour what mission is and I am sure that the first thing they say is working overseas to tell the third world countries about the Gospel.

While I am a firm believer in spreading the Good News across the seas, I am a very firm believer that mission is where ever we are at any given time when we are with other people. Mission is people.

As I have said before when sharing with you, most businesses and churches have their Mission and Vision Statement which is often displayed for all to see. It is paramount as they search for meaning and a purpose for how and why they exist.

This is what mission is also for us. We have a mission and vision to be! In the Discipleship Development Program that is organised by GMP (Global Mission Partners) for young adults to participate in, the emphasis is on Being not doing mission. In others words being the Mission of life and not doing the mission of life. I find the “being” quite confronting, but it is only as we live mission that we will be the church in the world today.

One of our suburban churches has on the inside of its front door a poster displaying the words “You are now entering the mission field”.

Our neighbourhood and also our homes can be the mission field that we are involved in more than the going overseas. Yes we can serve also by supporting GMP and ACCIM which are very active parts of the mission work of Churches of Christ, but so should the local church, which is in fact not the church that we might attend, but each one of us who claim to be Christians. On Sundays, or when ever we meet, we are the church gathered, but when we leave the building we are the church scattered for service.

Each one of us is a missionary called to serve where we live and work.

A few years ago, my husband and I felt the call of God to overseas mission service, but so far we have not gone there. However the call to serve has not diminished. We serve Him right where we are in our life and work. Actually we have now contact with 3 distinct but separate groups in our community and church which enable us to serve Him. Our overseas mission field came to us!

Our communities are our mission field! “How will they hear without a preacher?” My friend we mustn’t leave the telling of the message to chance for our neighbourhood. We must listen to the call of Christ on our lives to “Be” His witness in our homes, communities and the world. We need to be willing to be home missionaries wherever we live and work. Going into to all the world means sharing the message starting at our back door. For some it starts before the back door as they witness and live at home.

Mission.

What do you immediately think of? Until the last few years I usually thought of ‘mission’ as overseas in a culture different to ours. I still do think of mission as overseas – as well as here in Australia and in our own city, suburb, street.

Global Mission Partners continue to participate in amazing work throughout the world and Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) are working in Thailand and in Australia. My ears and heart have been opened more and more to the circumstances in which these missionaries are working – it can only be in God’s strength that these people do what they do.

Yet, do we always have to be working in poor and/or dangerous situations to be a missionary? Over the years I have come to an understanding of ‘mission’ as being any one of a number of things. How about the person who, without fail, always checks in on someone who doesn’t have family close by?

They are not related and don’t necessarily have a lot in common, but they care with a passion and are willing to take on the responsibility – and they bring some sunshine and security into someone’s life.

What about the volunteers in the hospitals, nursing homes, meals on wheels, Red Cross, GMP, UNOH – the list goes on and on. Let’s not forget those who are constantly caring for a family member. Surely, that caring must be heart-wrenching sometimes and yet day after day after day, those carers keep doing what they do. They will fight for their loved one’s care, often dealing with bureaucracy and seemingly uncaring people in power.

And what about those who support asylum seekers and refugees? They also go into battle for those who are powerless in our land. They fight for a ‘fair go’ for those who have already endured the most horrific of circumstances and then find that life can seem very unfair in their new land.

So when I think of ‘Mission’, I think of all sorts of things. We can all be missionaries. It’s not hard to be pleasant to the checkout person – you might be the only person all day who’s treated them like a human being. It doesn’t take that long to pop in next door to check on the elderly lady or man who lives by themselves or contact that young person who seems to be struggling with life issues.

Make that phone call, write that letter, send that card – you never know when your action will be the one bright spot in someone’s day or week. Be on a mission to brighten someone’s life in whatever way you can. You are a representative for Jesus or as someone once said to me ‘Jesus in skin’. Matthew 25: 31-40 is a passage that we can all afford to read again and again, just to remind us that we are all on the mission field, every day, where-ever we are.