Monday, 9 June 2014
A New Journey
Dear Friends,
I am joyed to tell you that I have been accepted to go to Perth, Australia this fall to take part in YWAM's Frontline Discipleship Training School! I have been researching and praying about this for more than a year, and feel very driven to go. I will be away for at least 6 months - 3 months of Bible school and out trips in Australia, 3 months of backpacking overseas and spreading the Good News. My Visa application has been accepted, and most everything else is already under way. A huge thank-you to friends and family that I have been able to discuss this with and for your prayers and input. I look forward to this new season of life, and what it will bring. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I am excited to share this journey with you!
24 "May the Lord bless you
and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you His peace."
Numbers 6:24-26
Here is the Frontline page on the YWAM Perth website:
http://www.ywamperth.org.au/training/frontline-dts/
Thoughts About "Eternal Life"..
Thoughts about "Eternal Life"..
Here are some thoughts I've had about life that I wanted to share. I was inspired to write down thoughts about what I believe on the idea of "eternal life" after reading an excerpt from a book that I borrowed from a friend.
Excerpt from book, "Victory Over the Darkness"
Dr. Niel T. Anderson.
Chapter: The Whole Gospel
Pg 44 - 45
"Many Christians are living under half a gospel. They have heard that Jesus is the Messiah who came to die for their sins, and if they pray to receive Christ, they will go to heaven when they die and their sins will be forgiven. Two things are wrong with that statement. First, it is only half the gospel. If you came across a dead man and you had the power to save him, what would you do? Give him life? If that is all you did, then he would only die again. To save the dead person, you would have to do two things. First, you would have to cure the disease that caused him to die.
The Bible says, 'The wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23). So Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. Is curing the disease that caused us to die the whole gospel? No! Finnish the verse: 'but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord' (6:23). Thank God for Good Friday, but what Christians celebrate every spring is the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. For some unknown reason, we have left the Resurrection out of the gospel presentation. Consequently, we end up with forgiven sinners instead of redeemed saints.
A second problem with the previous gospel presentation is this: it gives people the impression that eternal life is something they get when they die. That is not true. 'And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life' (1 John 5:11,12). If we don't have spiritual (eternal) life before we die physically, we can anticipate hell."
I enjoyed this excerpt because it iterates the idea often missed in Christian circles, that the concept of "eternal life" is available before us, not strictly after us. We are here and now; Jesus died and rose that we might have life, and life to the full. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6). God is alive and everlasting, and He desires for us to have life with him. He has given us the gift of grace, peace, hope, joy, and all abundantly and in our lifetime. We aren't supposed to wait for the end, or for the right timing, we are to live within this beautiful gift; to truly live. This, my friends, is true life. This my friends, is our gift; that we are made free in Christ to live with pure joy, pure peace, to live fully. We don't have to wait until we've come to the end, we are given the gift of life to live it now, for now is all we truly have. The past has gone, the future is uncertain. But our God holds us in his hands, the battles are won. We are but to embrace his beautiful gift of salvation and fully live, alive and unafraid, free to enjoy what Christ has to offer. So, let go of the worries or guilt that hold you back from life. Sure, there will be pain, struggles, heartache. Of that we are also certain. But we have the opportunity to be free from the bond that these create. Life is bigger than our individual circumstances. God is bigger. Those times may shape who we become, but they can't dictate who we choose to be.
"Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22: 37-39). Life isn't about trying to find a way to heaven, or be good enough, or accomplish enough. All of that is meaningless. The most important things are to love God and love people; to seek the truth, and live it wholeheartedly. In this, everything else will flow. So, go. Go live. Embrace the gift of life. You were given life, so live.
Excerpt from book, "Victory Over the Darkness"
Dr. Niel T. Anderson.
Chapter: The Whole Gospel
Pg 44 - 45
"Many Christians are living under half a gospel. They have heard that Jesus is the Messiah who came to die for their sins, and if they pray to receive Christ, they will go to heaven when they die and their sins will be forgiven. Two things are wrong with that statement. First, it is only half the gospel. If you came across a dead man and you had the power to save him, what would you do? Give him life? If that is all you did, then he would only die again. To save the dead person, you would have to do two things. First, you would have to cure the disease that caused him to die.
The Bible says, 'The wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23). So Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. Is curing the disease that caused us to die the whole gospel? No! Finnish the verse: 'but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord' (6:23). Thank God for Good Friday, but what Christians celebrate every spring is the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. For some unknown reason, we have left the Resurrection out of the gospel presentation. Consequently, we end up with forgiven sinners instead of redeemed saints.
A second problem with the previous gospel presentation is this: it gives people the impression that eternal life is something they get when they die. That is not true. 'And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life' (1 John 5:11,12). If we don't have spiritual (eternal) life before we die physically, we can anticipate hell."
I enjoyed this excerpt because it iterates the idea often missed in Christian circles, that the concept of "eternal life" is available before us, not strictly after us. We are here and now; Jesus died and rose that we might have life, and life to the full. "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6). God is alive and everlasting, and He desires for us to have life with him. He has given us the gift of grace, peace, hope, joy, and all abundantly and in our lifetime. We aren't supposed to wait for the end, or for the right timing, we are to live within this beautiful gift; to truly live. This, my friends, is true life. This my friends, is our gift; that we are made free in Christ to live with pure joy, pure peace, to live fully. We don't have to wait until we've come to the end, we are given the gift of life to live it now, for now is all we truly have. The past has gone, the future is uncertain. But our God holds us in his hands, the battles are won. We are but to embrace his beautiful gift of salvation and fully live, alive and unafraid, free to enjoy what Christ has to offer. So, let go of the worries or guilt that hold you back from life. Sure, there will be pain, struggles, heartache. Of that we are also certain. But we have the opportunity to be free from the bond that these create. Life is bigger than our individual circumstances. God is bigger. Those times may shape who we become, but they can't dictate who we choose to be.
"Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; love your neighbour as yourself" (Matthew 22: 37-39). Life isn't about trying to find a way to heaven, or be good enough, or accomplish enough. All of that is meaningless. The most important things are to love God and love people; to seek the truth, and live it wholeheartedly. In this, everything else will flow. So, go. Go live. Embrace the gift of life. You were given life, so live.
(Taken on a road trip, near Peachland.)
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