Perfect Peace

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3)

Benjamin likes to have quiet in the house. If I want to listen to the radio, he protests. This morning I decided it would be nice to listen to Focus on the Family but when I tuned the radio in to the right station, I got the same protests I usually get. I told Benjy that I would turn the radio off after the program and he settled down and seemed quite happy to tolerate my "indulgence."

After Focus on the Family finished, the radio station played some nice music and, for a few minutes, Benjy seemed to have forgotten my promise. All of a sudden, he got up from his play, walked over to the radio and told me "it's finished, Mummy" and then he turned it off!

My response to that was "you want the peace and quiet, don't you Benjamin?" to which he replied "I don't want peace and I don't want quiet!"

I admit, I did have a chuckle!!!

I think I can be like that, though. I say I want peace but when I get offended or hurt or anxious or worried I stew on it and I think about it and, instead of giving it to God, I try and work through it on my own.

Or I might "give it to God" and then stew on it and think about it and try and work it out on my own, anyway.

I think "peace" might be just knowing that God is in control and having confidence in that knowledge. The feeling of safety that comes when we know that He loves us sooo much that He won't let us go through anything more then we're able to handle and to be able to leave every situation with Him so that He can work it for His glory, is not worth trading for even one iota of self-pity or worry or care.

It's really all about trusting God, isn't it?

Perfect peace, peace that passes all understanding. When the world is anxious - and really, they have a lot to be anxious about ... especially if they don't know who God is and how mighty He is - there is a God in Heaven who is looking at His creation and who knows exactly what to do.

And in that knowledge, I can rest assured and have that wonderful, unsurpassed, beyond understanding peace.

What an awesome God!!!

My Accident Prone Afternoon

Yesterday afternoon could probably be best described as clumsy ... not exactly disastrous ... but it was heading in that general direction!!

Ruth had treated Benjy to the Fun Factory and was dropping him back home. I still had groceries on the kitchen floor from my shopping expedition earlier in the day and I had a basket full of ironing on the kitchen bench that was waiting to be completed. Since I do my ironing in the kitchen because it's the most convenient place to do it, I figured I would have the basket handy for when I was ready to perform the task later that day.

I had made Hannah a Milo milk drink with a spoon in it so that she could the eat Milo on top and I was in the process of getting Benjy a spoon so that he could eat the Milo off the top of his milk ... I had the cutlery draw open and I was holding Benjy's drink over the top of it, groceries on the kitchen floor and ironing on the bench ... when suddenly, and accidentally, Benjy somehow knocked my hand and Milo milk went absolutely everywhere!!!!

It was all over everything!!

Including the snowy white shirts in the basket of ironing. And it wasn't even my ironing. At the beginning of this year, a lady whom I have known since Joel was in preschool, by virtue of the fact that she has a son in the same year as Joel, asked me if I would be interested in doing her ironing. She is a fastidious mother of 7 and so I told her I would think about it. And, as they say, the rest is history!!!

Can you imagine what Milo must look like on pristinely white shirts??? It was an ugly sight!!! I immediately threw the shirts into the washing machine with the thought that if you wash them straight away, there should be no stain.

Milo is sooooo stubborn!!!

Then, I made up a double strength solution of Napisan and prayed that in Jesus name those stains would be removed and I soaked those shirts, two of which were brand new, to within an inch of their lives!!!!

I put them in the washing machine again and, praise the Lord, those stains are gone!!!

I was worried, I can tell you.

But then, I got to thinking (something I've been doing a bit of lately). The Lord is returning for a "glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:27). Anyone who has been baptised in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Ghost is part of this glorious church. What if my garment is spotted or wrinkled? What if I have sins' stain on my heart? It could be bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, a wrong attitude, pride ... and the list goes on!

Revelation 3:4-5 mentions white garments.

"Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."

The contrast of that Milo stain on those snowy white shirts was stark. And the stain obviously didn't belong on that shirt. In fact, had I left the stain on the shirt and ironed the stain into the shirt, the shirt would have been unwearable. As it was, the stains were harder to remove then I thought they would be!

And so it can be with sin. Sometimes pride gets in the way of confessing our faults before the Lord. Sometimes self-doubt hinders us ... "what I've done is bad and God will never forgive me". But 1 John 1:7 says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin!!! Verse 9 of the same chapter assures us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just ... to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us ... from all unrighteousness!!!

Napisan, no matter how strong we make the solution, will not remove the stain from our hearts. The blood of animals won't remove it. Good works won't remove it. Going to church, acting holy, and even worshipping God, won't remove that stain. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us and make our garments spotless.

"... Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ..." (Isaiah 1:18).

For a large part of my life I have struggled with the idea of a God who is so loving that, even when I stumble and fall, He loves me enough to show mercy to me, to forgive me, to embrace me. I used to believe that when I slipped up, which was a frequent happening (and still is, actually), that God would not want to know about me.

However, I have recently learnt of the mercy of God and how much He really does love me. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. His compassion does not fail and His mercies are new every morning!! In this, then, I can rest confidently - not wanting to sin, but knowing that when I do, God will forgive me!!

And for me, that has a huge WOW factor!!!

Just a simple thought ...

"I have to work on speed and endurance and all four strokes. I need the speed to take it out (at the start) and the endurance to carry it through. You can't do it on talent alone. A lot of hard work, a lot of dedication." (Michael Phelps, Olympic Swimmer for the USA)

I was really excited when I read this comment on the ABC website from Michael Phelps, but it wasn't until I had time to think about it that I understood why I was excited.

The Bible tells us that we're in a race - "... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ..." (Hebrews 12:1-2). We have to put aside the things that weigh us down so that we can run lighter, freer. We need to look to the One who started the race to be able to see us to the end.

Matthew 24:13 tells us that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Or, as The Message puts it, "Stay with it - that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved."

Endurance!!!

The verses preceding Matthew 24:13 tell us that times are going to get tough. Conditions are going to get worse. Life is going to get hard. But there is a promise to those who believe and endure - Salvation!! Heaven!!

WOW!!

Today, I watched Matthew's team play football. I'm not really a sports fan ... I love hearing about and watching the swimming, but football ain't really my thing. However, as I stood watching, even I was able to see that Matthew's team "knew" they weren't going to win even before the game started. They haven't won a game all season and so, I guess, they had a fair idea of the end result. And that seemed to affect the way they were going to play. After all, why bother putting in all that effort only to lose at the end??? They were intimidated by the skill and "togetherness" of the other team. The difference? The other team pulled together, they played confidently, they used their strengths to help each other and they knew they were going to win. Matthew's team had effectively given up before they had even started. Matthew had said to me before he jumped out of the car that they were probably going to lose today because they had been beaten last week by a "really bad team" and, in his eyes, that made his team even worse!!!

I wonder what would have happened if they had "laid aside" the negative thoughts and began to think of themselves as winners, no matter what the end result was? I think they scored one point and that wasn't even a goal (I don't understand any football code!!). If they had been more confident in handling the ball - and, believe me, there were so many opportunities for them to get the ball and do something with it - they would certainly have made it much tougher for the other team and they would probably have scored a few goals.

Even the coach seemed to accept defeat as inevitable!!! These kids are looking to the coach to show them the way, to train them up and to teach them the rules. I guess he's only human and he can only do so much, but if he doesn't believe in his team's ability to win, then they probably won't win!!!!

Something else the team seemed to lack was the discipline to work together and to persevere until they had scored a goal. The discipline comes in the practice sessions where techniques, strategies and fitness levels are taught and increased. The results of the practice sessions are seen in the game, whether those disciplines have been exercised or not.

We need discipline in our race, too. We need the discipline of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, of keeping our relationship with Him strong in practising His presence in our lives with prayer, worship and reading the instruction manual, aka The Word of God!!

I am thankful that my Coach (Jesus) has a belief in the abilities that He has given me. The difference is that He's not just on the sideline urging me on, He's with me every step of the way. When I feel like giving up, He's there. When I just want to throw my hands in the air and quit, He's there with me. When life is overwhelming, He's there. When sorrow or grief or bad attitudes threaten to suffocate me, He's there. In every trial, joy, temptation, victory, sorrow, blessing ... He's there. He said that He will never leave me, nor forsake me so that I may boldly say "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." (Hebrews 13:5-6).

I am thankful for all that Jesus has accomplished in my life. He is an awesome God!!

Women's Retreat

WOW!!!

I have to admit that, immediately prior to leaving for the camp, I had a fairly strong lack of desire to go. Being home with my family appealed to me so much more then heading off for a weekend without them.

And it was such an effort to get there. Not just mentally but physically. Diane, Kylee and Meg were brave enough to accompany me in my car. Since I'd heard that the fella's had all gotten themselves lost, I armed myself with an infallible (ahem) Google map and I knew that there was no way we were going to get lost. God has such a way of humbling us!!!

There came a point, while we were driving down the main street of Campbelltown, far, far away from where we were supposed to be, when Kylee suggested we ring David Kent. I reminded her that we had a reputation and an image to uphold and maintain and that we couldn't have this little faux pas passed on to ANYONE!!! Praise God for common sense. Kylee looked at me and said, "at the moment, I don't really care about image or reputation" ... or words to that effect!!

So ... Kylee rang David Kent. I think David Kent should be the CEO of Google Maps. We got there relatively easily under his superb directions - roughly two hours later then we should have, but we felt grateful to have arrived safely.

Because not only did we get lost, but we were driving through wind along tree-lined roads where bits and pieces were flying at the car!!! I have to say that we passed an accident on our side of the road at Lake George, then we passed through rain that was driven sooo hard by the wind that it was, literally, almost parallel with the road. I don't remember ever seeing anything like it.

When we arrived, I knew that the hand of God had been upon us and I was (and still am, actually) very, very grateful to Him for ensuring our safe passage. There was a wonderful sense of fellowship within the car, too, when it could, otherwise, have been soooooooo stressful.

Thus, I knew that God was going to move in a mighty way!!! I just wasn't expecting Him to move in SUCH a mighty way!!!! From the first song to the last, from the first word spoken to the last, I was ministered to by the Spirit of God in a really deep way. I haven't cried so much in a long time and, I can tell you, it felt soooo cleansing.

Sister Sjostrand (pronounced "show-strand" - she pronounced it herself and I think that's because we were all pronouncing it wrong!!) and her daughter, Caitlin, are amazing in their ministry. Sister Sjostrand can work a piano/keyboard over like it was a "walk in the park" - she makes playing it look soooooo easy!!!

And can she sing???? And when Sis Sjostrand and Caitlin sing together, it's as if all the angels in Heaven have entered into Earth's atmosphere and are singing with them. It's truly wonderful. What an experience!!!

Her ministry in preaching was heavily anointed. She was obedient to the direction of the Lord and His anointing flowed into the congregation. He ministered through Sis Sjostrand and through Jena, too, in such a magnificent way. We had two sessions each morning and a service at night.

Jena preached on Sunday morning and, even now, when I think back on the words she spoke, my heart is full of love for the Lord. God knows the innermost working of our hearts and minds, even when we think we're keeping them locked away in the secret places. God knew exactly what I needed and He touched me and delivered me in a beautiful way.

The worship was simply amazing. Especially on Sunday night!! Marcella (from Campsie church) led the worship and, as usually happens when Mars does anything, it had the signature of God allllllll over it!!! There was dancing down the front, in the aisles, in the seats, all over the place. The overhead wasn't working, but the praise went up unhindered. And just when it was beginning to quieten down, Mars announced that the Fijian sisters were going to do a special item and "please be seated".

Yeah!!! Right!!!

It was, quite literally, music from Heaven. I'm sure that God was directing that choir. It was wonderful and the dancing happened again. Then ... the Fijian choir stopped and we thought the "item" was over but one Fijian sister started singing again and, so, the dancing started again, but this time, the choir was dancing, too. Sister Sjostrand and Caitlin were in there dancing with them and whoever else joined them at the front.

There was another special item on the Saturday night. Four sisters from Hoppers Crossing positioned themselves at the front of the congregation and performed a piece of choreography to a CD of "There is a sweet anointing in this sanctuary". By the time they finished, there was not a dry eye in the house, it was so beautiful. And powerfully anointed. Absolutely wonderful!!!!

One amazing thing happened for me, personally. On the Friday morning of the day we left for the camp, the Lord showed me a passage of scripture. I was reading it and comprehending it and going "wow" over it and then, when Diane and I were talking about scripture on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't remember a thing about what I had read on Friday morning. Soooo - I decided I would refresh my memory on Sunday morning and was dumbfounded!! The scripture the Lord had shown me on Friday was very, very much in line with what Sister Sjostrand had preached in the two sessions on Saturday morning. In fact, although Sister Sjostrand didn't use that particular passage of scripture, she probably could have preached her whole message from it!!! That has never happened for me before, so I knew that God was wanting to tell me something!!

I love the Lord so much. He is so faithful to me, even when my heart wanders and my mind is turned to other things, He still loves me - warts and all. I love the fact that He knows me intimately, but He still loves me. In fact, He loves me too much to leave me the way I am. He wants to keep changing me and making me more like Him. Even when others have given up on me, the Lord remains constant!!!

This is not, by any means, a comprehensive account of the women's retreat, but the Lord did so much that it's difficult to contain it all in a few words. I think that sometime, down the track, there will be many testimonies of the Lord's wonderful work in the lives of those who went and desired to be forever changed. I am changed because of what Jesus has done for me - I'm not quite sure how those changes will be exhibited, maybe no-one but me will know how I am changed - and He has set His seal upon my life!!

What a wonderful Saviour!!