Ten Years Of Transformation

 Recently I celebrated a significant milestone. On July 4th 2004, I walked into a little church on the outskirts of London, and prayed for the first time,

"God if you're real, please show yourself to me." 

 At the time of the prayer I had no realisation whatsoever about how wonderfully and dramatically God would answer that simple, but honest prayer. 10 years later I want to share some of my story, that has helped me arrive at the point where I can say, "God is my everything!"
 When I stepped into the church that morning, I was still recovering from the night before, where I had been taking ecstasy with my mates as we usually did. There was no voice from heaven, or angels visiting me in a dream that prompted me to take such radical side step from taking drugs. I remember the feeling so clearly! It was like in my heart of hearts for the first time I knew I needed to stop running from a God, that wanted so desperately to lavish me with love and mercy. I certainly knew enough about church, the Bible and so forth, but the dramatic change took place in experiencing God. A few months after stepping into a church for the first time since a kid, I stepped into a new country, permanently. Australia was my new home and it became the training ground for my faith journey.
 Perhaps you wonder, how is it that you just 'find God'? Well firstly, God has extended an invitation to all of us, no exceptions, an invitation to know him personally. Have you received that invitation yet? Perhaps you haven't RSVP'd yet, or maybe you have declined the invitation. However, if we are ever to experience the party, we need to say yes to the invitation. I said yes, and I can hand on heart say I have never regretted that decision, ever. On the invitation it says, "no gifts required, no need for fancy dress, just come as yourself."
 Finding God is simple after accepting the invite. Walking with God requires a heart that is open to healthy change and being able to enjoy the journey through the ups and downs. Much like courtship, you begin a relationship with little knowledge but a huge attraction. If you continue to court God in a healthy, honest and committed relationship, you will grow in love to a point where you will not be able to imagine life without him.
 There is a beautiful and simple promise from the Bible that I have found to be so true in my life and many people around me.

 "If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. "

Jeremiah 29:13-15New Living Translation (NLT)

 A common stumbling block to finding God, is the assumption that becoming a Christian means becoming a hollow shell of a person, directed only by rules and a fear of an eternity in hell. Ironically, what I have found since having a relationship with God, is a deep desire that constantly grows in me to change into a better person, not because I have to, but because I want to. When you think about this in the context of a loving relationship, this makes perfect sense. We change and adapt, not out of an obligation to be with someone, but because our love motivates us to change. That is why a relationship with God that comes from a wholehearted motivation has always worked and will always work.
 When I look back on what God has done in me in the last 10 years, I am overwhelmed and completely in awe of the transformation that has taken place in my life for the better.  Everything good in me or that I possess, has stemmed entirely out of God's unconditional and unfailing love. Let me encourage you, whether for the first time, or the hundredth, to open your heart to God and see how far the journey can take you.



More of my story can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGe-nc8e10o

Stay Connected

Matthew 21:18-19 (The Message)

 Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree alongside the road, he approached it anticipating a breakfast of figs. When he got to the tree, there was nothing but fig leaves. He said, “No more figs from this tree—ever!” The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick. 

 A few years ago I arrived to start work on a new construction project. As I was walking to the area that I would be working in, I saw from a distance an old work colleague from a previous job. 'Fancy seeing you here,' I said as I caught his line of sight. The only problem was that as soon as I engaged him in conversation, I realized that he actually wasn't my old work colleague! Even funnier than that was that we still had a conversation for a couple of minutes because I think he was too polite to ask me who the heck I was. 
 In the passage above, Jesus was walking down the road and his stomach was going mental for food. 'Oh good a fig tree,' exclaimed Jesus. As he approached licking his lips ready to get stuck into some good old 'fig-a-bix' for breakfast, he realized that even though the tree had lots of leaves, it had no fruit whatsoever! How frustrating when you need something but it's not there! Countless times I have gone to a coffee shop for a quick caffeine fix, only to find that they have just turned the machine off! Hello you're a coffee shop, don't be open if you can't serve the one thing that is in your shop title!
 The Bible talks about how as Christians we are called to bear 'spiritual fruit'. It's important that we know what this fruit looks like and how to grow it so that when people are hungry and in need of God, they can approach us knowing that they will not walk away still feeling hungry. In the scripture below, the author explains what fruit we can expect to produce when we live connected to God.

Galatians 5:22-23 (New Living Translation)

 'But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.'

Developing Fruit

 For the purpose of my analogy we are going to imagine we are back in the late 1980's when disposable cameras are as cool as 'Who framed Roger Rabbit' and Kylie Minogue. You have one of those cameras in your hand, so naturally you take a selfie but the frustrations of this stone age technology means that you can't check it out until some genius invents the digital camera in another decade. If I come up and ask to the see the picture you just took of yourself you will say that it is in the camera but you can't show me until it's been developed. The process of developing that photo will take place in a 'darkroom' using a special blank white piece of paper, eventually that paper will display the image of your quite disappointing selfie.
 Much in the same way, fruit is in us, we just need to give it time to develop, and the process in which fruit is developed is through the 'darkroom' of trials. In the book of James we are told that when we go through adversity, it is an opportunity for us to grow and that once we have walked through the trial we will come out the other side fully developed, mature and lacking nothing. Some of the best fruit you will produce in your life will come from the darkest, most difficult situations, but the image that will be developed when you come out the other side will be more Christ-like. People who attempt to produce this fruit by themselves are just growing the rotten fruit of religion. It is very important that we don't concentrate on trying to produce the fruit by ourselves, the results will be plastic and artificial. To bear the rich fruit that God desires in our lives we need to focus on staying connected to the rich vine of Jesus. 

Stay Connected

John 15:1-5 (New International Version)

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." 

 Recently at the park I have been able to introduce Frankie to the magic of a stick and it's multiple uses including, a walking stick, a spade, a boomerang (that doesn't come back), the list is endless! We currently have a collection of sticks outside our front door because Frankie is insistent that we don't leave them at the park (it's not like they grow on trees Daddy!) So aside from the fact that our house is becoming an ever increasing bush fire risk, it got me thinking about why we need to be like a branch that stays connected to a tree and not like one that a kid Frankie's age can use to hit her Daddy with. 

1) Branches don't produce fruit when they are detached from the tree and we are called to produce fruit that is ripe for others to enjoy.
2) Branches that are detached from a tree will more easily snap and break. Undoubtedly life will always bring challenges but the closer we live to God the smaller those challenges will appear.
3) Branches cannot produce life by themselves, they must be attached to the tree to draw life from it.

So remember, ensure your focus is not directed on producing fruit, but rather staying attached to the vine that produces fruit in your life.

Thanks for reading!


P.S. I posted a short video on you tube with my story of how I found God, if you haven't seen it click on the link below to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGe-nc8e10o&feature=youtu.be

I Do'd It By Myself!

Pea-licious!

  My daughter Frankie is two going on twenty-two years old. Yes she has certainly gained vast amounts of life experience in that time, even enough to not even require parenting any more!  Take dinner the other day for instance. Frankie was eating sausages with green peas (gourmet I know), now even I struggle to keep peas balanced on a fork or spoon long enough to be able to put them in my mouth, so anticipating that this may also be a problem for Frankie I offered my assistance, 'darling, would you like Daddy to help you with that?' Without any thought Frankie snapped back, 'No! I do'd it by myself!' As I watched Frankie attempt to eat peas with a fork for the next few minutes, my only regret was not filming the numerous comedic attempts she made, including the good old 'thumb holding the pea on the fork' trick. Eventually the moment I anticipated finally arrived, 'Daddy......help pleeeease.' 

Be More Like A Horse

 Whilst writing this blog, a mild curiosity sparked up in me to Google what the symbol for the upcoming Chinese new year was. Imagine my disappointment when I found out it was not the year of the ferocious tiger, or cunning snake, but rather the year of the flipping horse! I was absolutely gutted because I can't stand Black Beauty or Equestrian. Gutted that is, until I read what the horse represented in Chinese symbolism.The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. Ancient people liked to designate an able person as 'Qianli Ma', a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li equals 500 meters, so basically they cover a lot of ground). Pretty cool hey?
 It's around this time of year that we all start cautiously making promises we hope we can keep, plans for a fresh new start (for the fourth year running), and status updates declaring 'this year is gonna be my year...!' I totally get it, I'm part of the same group, but if we are going to have any success whatsoever we need to recruit some help, because let's face it we struggle to eat peas by ourselves so how do we expect to be more generous or loose weight? 

 But if we get the right help anything is possible! Get a personal trainer and you are right on course to loose weight, create a water tight budget and you will certainly climb out of debt and if you are making any types of changes to who you are as a person, be sure to get God right into the equation. 

 I say the latter because in July this year I will be celebrating 10 years since becoming a Christian. I'm a completely different person inside and out now to what I was back then, had I not started walking with God I feel certain that things would have kept on becoming messier and messier. Perhaps I might reflect again on this landmark decision closer to the occasion. For now, let me share a Bible verse that has helped me greatly - I have found that by inviting God in to work with my mess, rather than pushing it aside and postponing change for yet another year, that I've actually been able to make progress that I am proud of. 

2 Corinthians 3:18

The Message Translation

16-18 Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

 What's the secret to a successful 2014? 10 years have taught me, keeping God as close as possible to the centre of our lives is the answer. Frankie and I pray that you'll have much success and victory obtaining the dreams and goals you are putting in place for this year. Be a horse!

Frankie says.....be a horse!