The Gospel in my own words. Why I live for the Gospel. Why I would die for the Gospel.

Here is what changed my life, and still exhilarates me to preach to others and even myself:


1. You were born to be in a relationship with God, who loves you.

2. But something called 'sin' breaks that relationship, and sin must be paid for in Hell, because God is perfect and God is just, so He must punish sin.
- Sin is active rebellion against God, whether in your mind, in your heart, in what you do or in what you say. Sin is thinking you know better than God in refusing to follow His righteous commands.

3. Everyone is a sinner, therefore everyone deserves to go to Hell, and therefore nobody can have this relationship with God that they were born for!

4. However God is love in its fullness. He loved you so much that He sent down His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take on all the past, present, and future sins that you will ever commit in your lifetime.

5. And Jesus wasn't just any man. As the Son of God, He was completely human and yet also completely God. He had absolutely no sin while He lived on earth, but was tempted in every way by the devil himself. So being without sin, it made Him the perfect sacrifice so God could punish all the sins of humankind by putting them all on Him.

- Think about it this way: You are guilty of murder and are about to do be punished for life, but then Jesus steps into the court and declares that He will do your life prison sentence for you.

You are free.

6. All you have to do is believe. Can you honestly have a think about your life? Where you are going spiritually? At the end of your life, you will face God in all His majesty, splendour and perfection, and He will assess your every thought, word, and deed. Then He will determine where you are to spend your eternity.

We are all sinners against a perfect, righteous, loving God. For what you have done and are probably going to do, you will never be good enough. Neither will I ever be good enough. Jesus Christ gives us the opportunity to get things right with God, because He's paid for our sins. It's all been done. Finished. In Christ we experience a freedom like no other, because there is no fear in His amazing, unconditional love, which offers us a life that is eternal!

So this is why I live for the Gospel - I was born to know God, and so were you.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

In dying I will continue to know and worship God. That is Heaven. I hope I will see you there.

O, poetry.

In waiting, do I purposely occupy my head,
Or I may truly suffer.

Little do I know
His plans are yet to be released

on me.

I refrain from
guesses.
We are fickle,

He had not even spared
His Holy Son.

This reality: captivating.
Amidst the chaos

We can do nothing
but hope.

Bursting bubbles

Tonight I played a gig at Kelly's on King St. There was no sound guy, my levels were off and several times I had to adjust my guitar or my mic. I don't know what I have become, if I can call it 'professional' or whatever, but in trying to multitask I just looked like an inexperienced amateur (which I definitely am)! All in all it wasn't the best gig ever, but I look back and consider it worthy still.

I am finding it so hard to relate to the secular audience. All my songs have been inspired by my walk with God. So in introducing 'Soap&Vacuum' I said something like: 'So this song was inspired by a bar of soap and a vacuum cleaner, and then it switches over to God's love.' People usually smile at that. (I am so chicken).

Am I determined to stay young and idealistic? For my sanity, I would rather not know about the feelings of worthlessness the other musician I met tonight had experienced. For my innocence, I would rather not know about this girl I met at Kelly's, who fell pregnant at 15 and has been mothering her now 2-year-old son to this day. I came into this music adventure wanting to share the gospel to the lost, but I didn't realise how hard it would be.

I once lived in a Christian bubble. If I am still inside it I wouldn't be surprised.

I don't want to feel worthless when no one is listening to me sing and play. I want to be the last hopeful who considers it an opportunity to witness, because, who can comprehend the mind of God and what is happening spiritually? Also, I want to learn from the girl I met tonight. How could I be so sheltered from people like her? I want God to use me in telling her about His love, and to give me the words to say in doing this.

May I learn to be all things to all men, so that by all means I might save some.

Exhilarating.

I'd love to know what you think of this.

Sharing the gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ, is so exhilarating. It's scary and it's exciting. I usually approach the prospect with fear and trembling, but at the same time, if I back out it'll be an action I'll regret. It's as if you're saying to the Holy Spirit -

"I don't think you can work through me, even though you created me and convicted me of my sin, and that the Son of God HIMSELF paid the punishment for me, died and rose again in three days... yeah, I don't think you're powerful enough..."

We both know the answer to that.

I am so blessed to be part of Student Life. It is a university ministry alive and burning for God on Macquarie Uni campus, University of Sydney campus, UNSW and UWS. It's mission statement is to turn "lost students into Christ-centred labourers." I was definitely a lost student. I stepped onto MQ Campus not really planning to stretch my faith, but I did want to get right with God again and reconnect. I guess He had other, better plans.

I see now, that we can't just get stuck on being built up in the knowledge. By this I mean, I have seen so many Christians argue over theology, translations, predestination, spiritual gifts... all the while ignoring the reason Jesus came to die in the first place:

to save us all!

Yes, knowing the Bible is important. However Jesus didn't suffer so we could argue over matters of exegesis and hermeneutics (or whatever). In the beginning, God created. He created mankind in His image. He created us to have a relationship with Him.

Every spiritual walk needs:

1. Prayer - talking, conversing, in constant communion with God.

2. God's Word (it is important, but only AS important as the others)

3. Fellowship - with other Believers (involves attending church and surrounding oneself with many good spiritual influences)

4. Evangelism !

And how can we think otherwise? If we preach the gospel to ourselves, we will feel its transforming power. How doesn't that alone compel us to preach it to those who don't know Jesus?

Here are some scriptures to give you a spiritual kick:

16Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.

- 1 Corinthians 9:16&17

I hear Paul. It's not an option. We must do it. If not voluntarily, then merely doing what we have been called to do.

But let's not stop at that as our final reason.

We share the gospel because it's just too great to keep to ourselves.

To my friends who have fallen away

I don't have to explain to you who God is. You already know.

If I point to the piercing blue of the sky, or the transparency of the ocean, you will comprehend my source of thrill without aides.

I do not have to convince you that Jesus was born of a virgin.

Nor that He was fully human

and wholly God. At once.

If I point to your weakness out of love, will you think I crossed the line?

How about your situation? Now.

We need not argue if there is such thing as Heaven

for we know of Hell, and the injustice God has created

to have made His Son go there instead
of us.

Ridiculous, right?

He was perfect.

And you and I have forever been

f a r

from God.

But He made a way

right?

And His love is pretty insane ..


4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

5who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,

6if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because[b]to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

- Hebrews 6:4-6


What did Jesus ever mean to you?

famous.

I want success as a muso. Question is if I'll ever get there.

boyfast .. reflections

1. being friends with a man is different to being friends with a woman. you need to make things clear about where you stand.

2. it is dangerous to spend time with a man alone unless you define what your relationship is with him. (so, if he's married, respect that. if he's single, tell him you want to honour him as a brother and that you respect him, and want to enjoy the relationship that way).

3. if you develop feelings for a man during boyfast, tell him if appropriate. talk it through and ask him to help guard your heart in this time. if you allow them to fester they may grow, therefore hindering your heart's focus on God.

4. i am never lonely. the Holy Spirit is always with me !

5. it is normal to want to be wanted. it is normal to want affection. (one of my best girls is being pursued at the moment, and she is beaming--)

6. every woman wants to be pursued.

7. every woman is being pursued, whether she realises this or not.

8. i absolutely, ardently, and completely adore singleness. it is one of the most underestimated human states.

9. God loves me.

10. i may not be the most beautiful girl in the country, nor the state, but to Him i mean the world. and He is beauty in its very essence . He created it. and He created me !

11. getting married and having babies one day shouldn't be idolised.

12. God . deserves. all . the . gloryfullstop.

The sin that separates me from God.

I have a pet sin.
It separates me from God.
I wrote a song about it
entitled "White Puffy Cloud".

The Bible says:

The wages of sin is death..
(Romans 6:23)

I will die because of this sin.
It is re-occurring, ever enticing,
always beckoning me to give in.
It has been going on for so long
that it has developed a mind of its own

It is a room in my life that I haven't given God the keys to

I wrote the song so long ago
I guess I was admitting defeat
or
Admitting that I had a problem.

Want to feed the enemy?
Just surrender.
(2006)

Just surrender.
I have done this, but not to the One who
rightly deserves my surrender.

This sin
has become so bad
I feel the Holy Spirit
telling me to
STOP
when I am in the act.

And what I hate
most
is how so many
people
have tried to
help
me but to no
avail.
Sin's Mind is
too
strong and I am
too
far in, too
drawn in.

I can't stop because I still
love sin
and

Jesus had to
die
just because of
ME.