A Faith FULL life

27/07/2022

I AM with you.

Bill Johnson recently lost his wife to cancer and one of the comments he made reflecting on this difficult time was, “there are aspects of His presence that can only be experienced in the Valley of the shadow of death.”

James picks this up in his letter :

1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

There is no doubt upon reflection that some of our greatest teaching, growth and maturing moments come when we feel at our most vulnerable. It’s in the lonely, dark, and lost places where we have the opportunity to discover a knowledge and revelation of Jesus that we would never find anywhere else. These moments are often times when we feel great lack and when we are crying out for our Saviour and rescuer. Times when we seek Him because we have no other option. It's at the end of our rope that we discover our Saviour more and more clearly.

I have personally, in times of sickness, suffering, pain and deep loneliness, discovered His kindness, comfort, love, affirmation, assurance, confidence, hope, faith, power, timing and so much more. When much seems lost… He is there!

“Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God Himself walks with us in the fire.”
― Timothy Keller , Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Ironically, we read in James that being perfected and made complete, lacking in nothing will be discovered in the valley and not on the mountain top. We tend to avoid the valley or even deny the valley but this is and will be our greatest find, when it comes to the nature and presence of Jesus.

As we reflected on Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 last week, we saw that it all started with 3 days in the darkness. 3 days of blindness and deprivation. 3 days of learning to trust, of letting go of control. 3 days of walking in humility.

I'm not sure Paul would have known these things so deeply without this tough time. He learnt so much in those 3 days that essentially set him up for the rest of His follow-ship of Jesus. Maybe not ideal at the time but so significant, that it changed Him forever.

As we travel through some challenging or even dark times in life, let’s not miss the God moments, the presence of Jesus and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. These moments will complete us, define us and make us whole. Nothing is wasted. Romans 8:28 ‘we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.’

Love
Brook

23/01/2022

There is something about a new year that brings a sense of excitement and expectancy. Fresh beginnings! A chance to start again. A clean slate filled with boundless possibilities. Time to reflect on what’s been and a time to dream for what’s to come.
As I’ve chatted with a few people there’s definitely a sense of disappointment that 2022 seems to be ‘more of the same’. As we face many of the same challenges of the last 2 years, the clean slate we were hoping for feels out of reach.
My go to verse for 2021 was Lamentations 3:21-23
‘But this I call to mind,
Therefore I have hope.
It is because of the Lord’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed,
Because His [tender] compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.’

I’ve been pondering these verses again as we enter 2022. The truth that every day is a new beginning. A fresh start. A chance to lean into the goodness of God. To remember His faithfulness to us in days gone by and His faithfulness to us in the coming days.
The truth that His mercy and compassion are new every morning brings tears to my eyes. How beautiful, faithful and merciful is our God!!!
I love that He is with us and that each morning is an opportunity to wake up and welcome Him into the new day. To dream, to listen to His heart, to hear His voice, to offer Him our worship and get lost in His word.
So as I walk into 2022, I lay down disappointment and I pick up God’s promise of His faithfulness. I hold onto the truth of His compassion. I have hope because He is with me each and every day- my constant companion and my Mighty to save God.
Each day is the fresh beginning I hoped for as I lay hold of God’s faithfulness and mercy to me. He is here! He walks with us.
So please dream again, seek His voice for a word for this year, a verse to hold on to. Let His word light the path before you.
2022 may not be the fresh beginning we hoped for, but each day is!!! And it’s our responsibility to steward it well as we hold on to the truth that our God is faithful!!!!

Blessings
Tammy

23/12/2021

Uncommon Grace

I was standing outside the HCF Health Insurance store in Westfields Miranda and a sign in the window caught my attention, it said “UNCOMMON CARE”. I like to think of these “moments” as God interruptions rather than just incidental or natural. God wanted to get my attention.

As I started to sit in this thought I felt the Lord talk to me about UNCOMMON GRACE. If you have time I encourage you to do the same. Sit and REFLECT. Selah!

The grace that He gives is truly UNCOMMON. Not as the world gives but reflective of who He is. He stands alone in the ways of grace.

Grace is primarily about what God has done rather than what we can do. This is such an uncommon paradigm as most of our world is built upon what we can do , how we can perform and what we have achieved. Alternatively God’s view sees HIM looking upon us with extravagant favour and showing us His intention of love through the sending of His son Jesus. None of this is initiated by us, but all of this comes from HIM. This is UNCOMMON GRACE.

Ephesians 6:8-9: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.’

This word grace can also be translated to the word kindness. Hence we see UNCOMMON KINDNESS. God is not only showing us grace but a deep sense of kindness also. Wow!

The greek word is Charis in which we get the English word Charity. I find this compelling, that what we need most is God's Charity.

I don’t know if you have ever felt the need to reject charity, pride sets in and we simply say that we are ok, self-sufficient and we are “all good”. Internally we say that we would let charity go to someone who is in greater need than me, when Interestingly enough we are the ones in great need!

Christmas is such a charitable time with giving to the poor at its most prolific, but maybe we are also the ones who need to receive His charity again.

Matt 5: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” WE are the poor!

God wants us to receive the fullness of the Kingdom through a humble heart that recognises His Grace, Kindness and Charity towards us. We are desperately insufficient without Him but incredibly sufficient with HIM.

Joy to the world the Lord has come.

Isaiah 9: ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’

TO US a son is given.

What does it mean to you that God gave us His son? That He (God the Father) sees you, is kind to you, has grace for you and is charitable towards you… simply because He loves you.

This is UNCOMMON and UNBELIEVABLE. You could say DIVINE!

So, O Come all you faithful and see this UNCOMMON GRACE , take the time to authentically say a BIG THANK YOU to God and enjoy all that He has for you over these coming weeks.

Merry Christmas!

Brook

21/10/2021

Uncertainty

Last Sunday I spoke about dealing with uncertainty and focused on how the disciples felt when Jesus told them He was leaving them in John 14:1-18. Take a moment to read through this passage.

After being called by Jesus and spending some incredible times with Him, these disciples found a new life in Him. He became their everything and now He was leaving. You could imagine how this created uncertainty and so many questions for them all. Everything they had come to know and love was about to go, and this significant disruption was unsettling them all.

As the passage unfolds we read this in John 14: 18, “I willl not leave you as orphans”. It's in this moment that Jesus speaks into the disciples greatest fear and in essence speaks into one of our greatest fears… that we might be left all alone and therefore be unbelievably vulnerable and afraid.

While there is so much to unpack in this passage I feel this one thought is so critical for us as we find ourselves living in or with uncertainty .

You are not an ORPHAN but a CHILD of GOD.

In times of uncertainty (like the disciples) we are tempted to think, feel and act like an orphan rather than a child of God. It's my encouragement that we continue to remind ourselves of who we are and who we belong to.

Spurgeon considered several ways that the followers of Jesus are not like orphans:

An orphan has parents who are dead; the Spirit shows us Jesus is alive.
An orphan is left alone; the Spirit draws us close to God’s presence.
An orphan has lost their provider; the Spirit provides all things.
An orphan is left without instruction; the Spirit teaches us all things.
An orphan has no defender; the Spirit is protector.
Here are a few promises and truths that remind us of who we are:

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own,and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 1:9-13

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
- Romans 8:14ff

You are not a slave to fear and He will not leave you as orphans (John 14:18). Instead, you are a CHILD of GOD!

"The nature of the spiritual life is that we are CERTAIN in our uncertainty." Oswald Chambers

With Love
Brook

28/06/2021

We moved to Sydney when I was 7mths pregnant with Josiah. Another little person in tow, we left everything and everybody we knew to head to the Big Smoke! To say I was homesick was an understatement!
But on a hot day in February, just 3 weeks into our new adventure, I got invited over to the church hall. To my absolute surprise a group of young, gung-ho, filled-up-with-Jesus’-love mums had thrown me a baby shower.
That day was a turning point for me. I went from feeling alone, unseen, homesick…to knowing that I would be ok, that God had placed me in a church family who were willing to walk alongside me with the love of Jesus.
I learnt a lot from those girls. They were fiercely passionate about sharing the love of Jesus with others. They ran playgroups at our church and they made sure that everyone that entered that place felt seen and cared for.
I’ve spent many years growing in my understanding of the love God has for me, living into my belovedness as His daughter. But I pray that I don’t take this journey alone… that I’m taking some people with me and making the most of the moments God gives me to love His beloved ones.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul exhorts us ‘to eagerly desire the greater gifts…yet I will show you the most excellent way.’ And there begins the lesson on love. The most excellent way is a way of love, being filled with the love of God so that we can shower the world with it. Knowing we are the beloved so that we can help another glimpse their belovedness.
Life is busy and full and sometimes we miss the people God puts right in front of us, we miss the opportunity to stop and notice a fellow beloved child of God, to reach out and say ‘hey, you are seen, you are His beloved, you are fought for. Abba Father is CRAZY about you!’
I pray that our eyes will be opened to see others the way God sees them, to let go of our prejudices, our busyness, our own importance and to take the time to help another experience the deep, long, high and wide love that God has for them.
Love makes a way. Love makes a stranger feel at home.
Blessings
Tammy

11/06/2021

31/05/2021

A RICH INHERITANCE 

This past week I was contacted by a solicitor asking for the details of our Community Care work as someone wanted to put us in their will. They wanted to leave us part of their inheritance when they pass away. This is amazing and so generous, and this person as far as I know, is not part of our church.

We were also given $30,000 from a donor this week (not from our church) for our housing projects.

It's amazing to see people who are outside the church understand they have a social responsibility to serve the poor and marginalized. God is using so many people to build His Kingdom work on the earth.

I started to think about this idea of inheritance and why we generally feel we need to wait til the end before we share it, and consequently what would it mean for us to share it today! How much of a blessing it is (like the 30k donor) to share our inheritance now.

Ephesians 1 is a wonderful passage where we discover every spiritual blessing we have in Christ. This is our true INHERITANCE.

Ephesians 1:11 says. “Because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to his plan.” (Original word: ‘kléronomia’ an inheritance, a heritage, regularly the gift of God to His chosen people. In the Old Testament this is the Promised Land. In the NT it is a possession viewed in one sense as present, and in another as future; a share, a participation.)

Our inheritance is HIM, in HIM and our Inheritance comes from HIM. We are simply stewards of everything God has given us.

Romans 11:36 (AMP) tells us ‘For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.’

Sharing our inheritance doesn’t mean keeping everything to ourselves.

I read that the average living expenses for an Australian family of four is around $5,000 per month. This is how much we spend on ourselves - on “AVERAGE”. 🙂

This may not be you, but either way this prod is simply about looking at your inheritance NOW! Take a look and ask yourself how you can share that with others. Your inheritance includes everything you have … which is your faith, hope and love - as well as your finances.

The early church showed us how to share our inheritance now. Acts 2:44 reads, ‘And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.’

This is God’s way … share what you have with others. Share your inheritance. We not only have a social responsibility, but also a spiritual responsibility, to serve people in need.

This is what our giving is about … our regular giving, our missions giving and our faith sharing. It is a distribution of our inheritance, a sharing of every spiritual blessing to those God has put in our care. This is not only our opportunity but also our joy.

Big love . Brook

05/04/2021

Here is Tammy's lastest Blog...Have a great day and be encouraged .

This year was the first year in forever that I didn’t get to church for easter. I felt like I’d missed celebrating something of great significance. I was disappointed and FOMO had certainly settled…

31/03/2021

A Simple Easter Thought !

If you search EASTER in google images what you find is Eggs and Bunnies … Jesus is hard to find and if you test this, you will discover it may take 5-6 pages before any resemblance of Jesus is found. Google images works on algorithms based on human behaviour, so it is not Google’s fault … but rather a reflection of the way humanity is behaving. It’s a reflection of where we are placing our focus and our attention.

I’m not sure Father God couldn’t have done any more to get our attention by showing us how much we are loved, and sending Jesus to die for us in our place so we could experience life forevermore … life to the full.

While eggs and bunnies may give us a temporary fix to make us feel happy … just for a moment … I’m sure Jesus came to give us so much more!

The deception in this is we are led to believe we can find life through created things rather than the Creator. In this season ... if we eat enough chocolate … life will be all good.

Now this is not a dig on celebrating or eating chocolate eggs (which I love) but rather a prod to encourage us to align our behaviour with our beliefs.

This is such an incredible time! This is such good news! I wonder if we, as believers, could ...

Make an exerted effort to make Jesus famous again, through our words, life, actions, thoughts, social media posts and conversations,

Started placing more focus and attention on Him, and

Made Jesus known in many small but significant ways,

… we would actually start to see people discover where real life, happiness, joy and peace are found.

We might even find Jesus when ‘Easter’ is searched on Google 😊

‘Jesus said…A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.’
John 10:10 (Msg)

With Love

29/03/2021

Worth Sharing 🔥🔥

Psalm 23:5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil."

The whole Psalm looks at the Shepherd caring for the sheep. What does it mean - He anoints our head with oil and what does it have to do with our enemies?

Sheep can get their head caught in briers and die trying to get untangled. Once they are trapped, there are horrendous, relentless flies that will torment sheep by laying eggs in their nostrils which turn into worms and drive the sheep to beat their head against a rock, sometimes to death. Their ears and eyes are also susceptible to these tormenting insects. To protect the sheep from these "enemies" the shepherd anoints their whole head with oil. The oil creates a barrier that the enemy cannot pe*****te. So the enemy is still there, in the presence of the sheep, but it can no longer torment the sheep. The sheep is protected by the barrier which the oil forms. We can be at peace, even in the presence of our enemies, knowing it is our good Shepherd who is anointing us with oil - all we have to do is receive it. Are you being tormented by accusation, fear, lies of the enemy? I bless you today to receive the anointing oil of your good Shepherd today, to guard your heart and mind from the enemy's onslaught. This oil carries peace. Receive His peace today.

Shared from Melinda Wilson

24/03/2021

Don’t allow the no good around you to stop you from doing what is Good !
Jesus lived this and as He was so will I be !

18/03/2021

“
Let GRACE ARISE! for you , your family , friends , neighbours and enemies !

Love this quote !

Max Lucado! Story after story, surprise after surprise. Seems that God is looking more for ways to get us home than for ways to keep us out. I challenge you to find one soul who came to God seeking grace and did not find it. Search the pages, read the stories. Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. I dare you! You won’t find it.