The Shack

I just finished the Shack by William P. Young and was intrigued. On the surface it was a real heart warming but sad book which made you wanna cry at the depths of God's love for us. However the more I thought about it the more disturbed I became. If you haven't read it it is receiving rave reviews in the secular world, was on the New York Times best seller list for a long time and has Christians jumping up and down raving about it. The cover ha a message from Eugene Peterson "This book has the potential to do for this generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's progress did for his. It's that good." Wow that's a big claim. Then there is Micheal W smith on the back cover "The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God..." seems like it tick all the right boxes... Well Chuck Colsen doesn't think so- he wrote an interesting article called "Stay out of The Shack"

Stay Out of 'The Shack'

Chuck Colson

BreakPoint.org

May 5, 2008

When the prophet Isaiah and the apostle John caught glimpses of God, they were overcome with despair at their own unworthiness in the light of His glory. The same could be said of Daniel or Paul, or any number of figures from Scripture.

But when the protagonist of a new book called The Shack is introduced to the Father of heaven, he is greeted by a "large, beaming, African-American woman" who goes by the name of Papa.

If you have not heard about The Shack, there is a good chance you will soon. A novel self-published about a year ago by William P. Young, the book has gained quite a following in Christian circles. It is still among the top ten sellers at Amazon.com. And when it receives a glowing endorsement from a scholar whom I respect, like Eugene Peterson, it is not a phenomenon that discerning Christians can ignore.

The story is about a man named Mack, who is struggling in the aftermath of the brutal murder of his young daughter. One day he finds a note in his mailbox-apparently from God. God wants Mack to meet Him at "the shack," the place where his daughter was killed.

When he arrives, the shack and the winter scene around it transform, Narnia-like, into a mystical mountain paradise, perhaps meant to be heaven itself. Now dwelling in the shack are three mysterious figures-the African-American woman, a Middle Eastern workman, and an Asian girl-who reveal themselves as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The rest of the book is basically a discussion between Mack and the three persons of the Trinity. While the discussion is mostly on the deep topics of creation, the fall, freedom, and forgiveness, too often the author slips in silly lines that, frankly, seem ridiculous in the mouth of the Godhead. Jesus, looking at Papa, says, "Isn't she great?" At one point, Papa warns Mack that eating too many of the greens in front of him will "give him the trots." And when Jesus spills batter on the floor and on Papa, Jesus then washes Her-or is it His?-feet. Papa coos, "Oh, that feels sooooo good." Ugh.

Okay, it is only an allegory. But like Pilgrim's Progress, allegories contain deep truths. That is my problem. It is the author's low view of Scripture. For example, Mack is tied to a tree by his drunken, abusive father, who "beats Mack with a belt and Bible verses." The author reflects derisively in another spot that "nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that 'guilt' edges."

The Bible, it seems, is just one among many equally valid ways in which God reveals Himself. And, we are told, the Bible is not about rules and principles; it is about relationship. Sadly, the author fails to show that the relationship with God must be built on the truth of who He really is, not on our reaction to a sunset or a painting.

That is not to say The Shack is without merit. The centrality of Christ and God's breathtaking, costly love come through loud and clear. But these truths are available everywhere in Scripture, everywhere in Christian literature. You do not have to visit The Shack to find them.

As Papa warns Mack, God is not who Mack expects He is. But He is also not what our creative imaginations make Him to be, either.

He Is, after all, Who He Is.

I felt that kind hit the nail for me in my thoughts. I was really disturbed by the insinuation of the many roads to God and the lack of God's awesome fall at his feet. But in one scene he sees his daughter playing at God's feet- Happy. What parent wouldn't want that? But God never promises to do this- "Instead we are called to live by faith trusting in the bible. After all isn't that what Job is all about" (Dave Mac)- and I think Dave does hit it on the head. Mark Driscoll also posts regarding this book (yes don't die of shock I'm quoting driscoll- in reality it is just to get Chris to agree with me for once)

Both Colson and Driscoll would tell you not to bother reading the book- but I'm not sure if I'd go that far. I think you should read it because everyone else is reading it. In the same way I think people should read the DaVinci code- read it. enjoy it but distance yourself from your emotions. Just because the book made you cry doesn't mean its right- Charlotte's Webb make me cry still but it is fiction. Just because it answers a deep yearning within your soul doesn't make it from God- Grants book of Fishes answers some deep yearning in my soul but it isn't from God. Read it, and I hope it does make you think about you and your relationship with God BUT DON'T take it as the Word of God. Because it isn't and neither is it Pilgrim's progress (which everyone should read). You can only find that truth from one source where there is only one path.

Why Sign Robbie Fowler

A lot of people have asked me what was so special about Robbie Fowler signing for the Fury. Well I could talk about him being one of the highest scorers in arguably the toughest league in the world. I could mention the worldwide recognition it has already and will continue to give the NQ fury- I could mention how he once scored 3 goals in 4 minutes 38 sec or how he is still called God by more people than who follow Scientology (I'm not agreeing but just stating what people call him). But instead I thought I'd just show this- who hasn't dreamed of doing this in a match scenario and finishing with a goal. Hopefully we see his big smile light up Dairy Farmer's stadium many times over the next 2 years.

Leadership

I'm writing a blog on leadership but I want you to tell me (and the 6 people who occasionally read/check to see if I've updated this blog) what the word Leadership means to you. What thoughts does it bring up. How would you answer the question what is leadership? (both good and bad Christian and non Christian) I just to do a quick survey on what you think.

Every day survival kit

I found this on-line and really liked it and so made one for me :) even got the hershey kiss for it. An Everyday Survival Kit Here's an Everyday Survial Kit: Toothpick Rubber Band Band Aid Pencil Eraser Chewing Gum Mint Candy Kiss Tea Bag Here's Why: Toothpick- to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others...Matthew 7:1 Rubber Band - to remind you to be flexible, things might not always go the way you want, but it will work out...Romans 8:28 Band Aid - to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's...Colossians 3:12-14 Pencil - to remind you to list your blessings everyday...Ephesians 1:3 Eraser - to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's okay...Genesis 50:15-21 Chewing Gum - to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything...Philippians 4:13 Mint - to remind you that you are worth a mint to your heavenly God...John 3:16-17 Candy Kiss - to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday...John 4:7 Tea Bag - to remind you to relax daily and go over that list of God's blessings...1 Thessalonians 5:18

Web site: eDevotions.org - art illustrated Christian devotions
Original image credits: www.corbis.com, www.photostogo.com

Santino Does the Entrance of Melina

hehehehe. Why there?

Trick Free Kicks

In both indoor soccer and futsal i'm struck by how little we think out free kicks. yes there is a fair arguement for improvisation and reading the game but i often think its worth just having a quick chat before the game. Here is some funny free kicks which were obviously planned out.

Life is stranger than X-files

We've all seen it or imagined it in some shape or form. Legs kicking below the surface of the water while the jaws music plays and a shape moves through the water. Then we are grabbed and dragged away by a CATFISH????
Strange but true a huge type of catfish, called a goonch, may have developed a taste for flesh in an Indian river where bodies are dumped after funerals.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/weird/article1784470.ece

Locals have believed for years that a mysterious monster lurks in the water. But they think it has moved on from scavenging to snatching unwary bathers who venture into the Great Kali, which flows along the India-Nepal border.

Reports were emerging about people being grabbed by an 'elongated pig'. Wow considering that the normal diet of cat fish is excrement that's a crappy way to die.

Plagues (Let My People Go) - The Lion King (Simba vs Scar)

This one deserves a mention

Lions of the Caribbean: At World's End

I've been recently introduced to the dubbing of different movies. I'm not such a big fan of lots of clips of different movies thrown together to deceive people but I find this one quite amusing. I'd like to put forth a challenge to have people find ones from more diverse films and well dubbed.

Funny Wrestler's dance

Ummm... Yeah i dunno what to say. Just enjoy.

Why bother with silly stuff- The times have changed

Well I seem to be making a monthly habit of posting so I thought I'd continue it. One of the things I've been doing is learning the ropes as a chaplain of a local primary school. Having gotten to know a few kids who are really hurting I feel like thinking about the strategy of our youth groups and children's ministries in the context of the changing nature/state of kids. I'm going to be making some pretty bold statements which hopefully may make u think and may even offend you but please don't shut off follow me through.
Point 1 Children are Changing.
And I don't mean for the better. There is a cultural slide down hill. Kids have no respect for authority figures in their day to day lives. Now I don't mean to sound like the old man sitting on the porch saying "these kids today have no respect" but lets have a look why. Firstly there is a break down in the whole family structure. Single parent kids aren't the exception in our schools they are almost the rule. Kids don't have a solid family structure so they aren't being taught how to interact with other people. It is a fight for what you have to, dog eat dog mentality. Now how can we expect a kid who is being bashed up at home to interact with other kids. he'll react and interact in the only way he's been taught: violence.
Kids have never been taught respect. and I don't mean bashing up respect, I'm talking about a respect that come from Love. A respect that comes from fairness. A respect that was taught to me by my dad in that I will get punished for what I do wrong but He still loves me. If a kid doesn't have a father or a loving parent they don't see the love: All they see is the beating. So what hope do we have of a grade 1 kid when he come to school and has never seen tough love before: he will run from punishment. He will swear at a teacher just like he has been sworn at. He will treat teachers just the same as he treats all the rest of the adults in his life. With the same contempt as Adults Treat Him.
Now I am talking about the minority here but this is happening rapidly. And our society and especially our 'Liberated Universities' wont recognize the break down of the family unit as an issue causing this problem. They talk about 'up-skilling' behavior management stragies they pump out drugs to help tone he kids down and mean while our the poor kids drift from school to school- teachers too scared to fail them because they might have them next year, counting the days till their old enough to drop out or their guardians pull them out of school (do we even have Truant Officers anymore?)
Now we bring in strategies to manage these behavior problems. We start good programs to deal with these issues. But the problem is the average grade 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 kid sees the energy and attention we are giving these 'bad' minority and is feeling un-loved themselves (due to the teacher spending more time with the bad kids)- sees in the problem the solution. I'll act up so I get more attention. and it WORKS. Then another kid does it and very rapidly there is a peer pressure in the class to be bad and the poor teacher has gone from having a couple of behavior problems to a host of them. So what does the teacher do? Yell Louder at them? (gets old quick and they are yelled at with a far larger vocabulary at home) Send them all to time out? (great half the class is there so they'll have fun). Send them to the principle's office? (They don't have much power anymore all they can do is threaten to call the parents (which works till grade 3 or so in some cases)). Suspend them... (Woohoo there is no one at home playstation all day or worse case I might get the belt as well tonight on top of the normal beating). You see in the past there was a peer pressure to be good now there is that pressure to be bad.
Well is this just the guys? Well no its girls too. It just manifests itself differently. Carly in her blog writes well of what is means to a girl to be loved.
This basic need isn't met destroying their self esteem and their view of their self-worth which i'll leave for others to talk about. But let me just say again Kids are different to what we were.
2 How do we deal with this in our Churches and Youth groups?
Well Firstly we need to leave the traditional sunday school method behind. Kids wont respond to being sat down and told about a father who loves them when they can't even understand love or even what a good father is.
Well then lets get kids in to play games and have fun and we'll talk about God for 5 minutes and
they'll see from us and how we interact we're just like them. Well No. kids will come because they are bored and some might find the love like a parent but we still aren't getting down to what needs to be fixed so they get bored of the same old games and the extreme fun and go off to the lastest fad or girlfriend or boyfriend that comes along. There is no difference from that to the afterschool program that they go to except the leaders are more easily manipulated. Eventually the leader burns out because the kids are just looking to take take take and they end up as babysitters.
Well I think I have the beginnings of the answer but I'm not going to just say it- I'm going to tell a story.
I was asked to have a chat to a kid who was being bullied and bullying in response. I was talking to him about how kids are different, talking about a kid who had a condition that was annoying this kid until he snapped (thinking to teach tolerance). And His response floored me. He said "Yes Isabelle is different (our Youth minister's kid) I started to tell him off for being mean and then asked 'how so?'
He said Being around her she doesn't let people get her annoyed- she doesn't respond much- she just does the right thing- she is different from most kids.
We discussed this more and he then proceeded to name both the other kids we have in our kids club as also being different EVEN though they are in the grade ABOVE him. Now out of 1000 kids he brought up 3 kids all of whom are 'different' and all are grounded Christians- not prefect Christians but Kids who are Christians.
So I think This is what we need to be doing in our churches and various ministries. Building up our kids- strengthening and equipping them to be able to live their lives as a witness. Preparing them to bring kids into our groups. And when these kids come in we need to be able to adapt. We can't be demanding respect like a teacher. We need to be building relationships with kids/teens. We need to be EARNING respect. How? by Loving them- by showing them we Want to spend time with them. Not Bossing them around but showing them how to do it. We need to be focusing on where that love comes from. You see Kids who find people different aren't going to just come seeking games. They want to know what makes the kid different. And if we have a bible group with the majority of loving Christians they will come in, some for the first time in their live in a group of love and joining in with the majority in striving to go good because that is the cool thing to do in the group. I'm not saying you can't still have games or they wont slip up but The MAIN FOCUS MUST BE DIRECTLY on GOD AND HIS WORD which is what makes us DIFFERENT from every other person they have ever met. And this completely changes our role as leaders. We need to be encouraging our kids, modeling Godly behaviors (being different like in Titus 2 older women showing younger women...) and just being there as support for our kids in this battlefield. But Most of all teaching them from God's word so they are able 'to stand firm in the faith'. Debriefing them, sharing in their good and bad times and being part of the loving foundation which they base their lives.
Our Christian Kids are the ones who are carrying the standard into this battle in our schools. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ENCOURAGE AND SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR MINISTRY?

Murphy and the Bricks (The Sick Note by Pat Cooksey)

Some days I think My days can't get much worse but... Here is a song about a brickie. (Sorry about the video i couldn't upload the better ones)

The Little Red Hen

One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat.

"This wheat should be planted," she said. "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

Soon the wheat grew to be tall and yellow.

"The wheat is ripe," said the Little Red Hen. "Who will cut the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will thresh the wheat?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she said, "Who will make this flour into bread?"

"Not I," said the Duck.

"Not I," said the Cat.

"Not I," said the Dog.

"Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.

She made and baked the bread. Then she said, "Who will eat this bread?"

"Oh! I will," said the Duck.

"And I will," said the Cat.

"And I will," said the Dog.

"No, No!" said the Little Red Hen. "I will do that." And she did.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Phil 2:3-4

Not a happy one

When a felon's not engaged in his employment
Or maturing his felonious little plans,
His capacity for innocent enjoyment
Is just as great as any honest man's.
Our feelings we with difficulty smother
When constabulary duty's to be done.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.
Ah, when constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one, happy one.
When the enterprising burglar's not a-burgling
When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime,
He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling
And listen to the merry village chime.
When the coster's finished jumping on his mother,
He loves to lie a-basking in the sun.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.
Ah, when constabulary duty's to be done, to be done,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one, happy one.
(Pirates of penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan)

Why is it that we constantly look down upon people who are just doing their job especially policemen. When we get caught speeding we moan and groan (myself included) about Police fundraising when we are actually breaking the law, We condemn them for being heavy handed when arresting people not remember that it is their lives on the line. We criticise their every move. But as a Christian what is to be our response.

Col 1:16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

Tit 3:1-2 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

Rom 13:1-7 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Personally i wouldn't like to be a policeman- umpiring is hard enough. But how about we respect those who make such sacrifices to keep us safe.

Too much

Let me just state right off the bat that I'm a conservationist. I posted on that in one of my earlier blogs. http://howfastcanavango.blogspot.com/2006/06/we-kill-world.html but that doesn't mean I encourage extreme methods of the greenie groups. For example putting nails in large tree forests so when the lumber jacks cut their chain on their chainsaws snap potentially killing them. I do believe the environment is important but not of equal importance to human life- we were put here to steward the world not be equal with it.
I did have a good chuckle at reading an article though- remember the whaling "letter delivery" aka piracy where 2 crewman jumped aboard a japanese whaler. The media seized on the vision of the people zip tied a rail saying- they were only just giving a letter to the captain. Well were they? apparently not. In an interview Capt Watson of the Steve Irwan said the two crewmen who boarded the Japanese whaling ship in January planted several tracking devices aboard which has enabled the Steve Irwin to keep in touch with the fleet. (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=72873)
Well well well- Calling upon the government in the article to act to seize the whalers who are breaching australian law while breaking them yourself... How different what we are called to as christians. We are called to be light in this world. The end never justifies the means. How we act is just as important as what we do.
Slightly off topic Carly has posted some good thoughts about image (http://carlys-ramblings.blogspot.com/) as is well worth reading.

A stinging sensation

Couldn't help laughing when i saw this on the news- Western bulldogs afl player Jarrad Grant was stung by a stingray. The humorous thing is the irony- he was picked to make his debut this weekend replacing Farren Ray. To top it all off, the club he was recruited from? Why the Dandenong Stingrays of course.

God isn't forgetful even when we are.

Rather than blog about things which most people don't care about e.g. liverpool beating inter milan or collingwood getting thumped in AFL I thought i'd tell you guys about how i was encouraged by God yesterday. To go back a few years: (wavy dreamy music plays)
Background- I live in a house managed by the pressie church and as such there are rules/ regulations about who can move in. For example the person must be a christian and looking to be actively involved in serving at the church. (next door). We are expected (gentleman's agreement ;) ) to live lives as Christians (apparently this means mowing the lawn )
Now a few years ago a guy (Woody) moved into the house from ayr a relative of a person on the board- indeed i think might have even been our landlord (not 100% sure on that we have had so many) So imagine our surprise when we found out that this person was quite honest about his lack of Christianity. However he was a good bloke and we included him in everything and he abided to the house rules and over time began to learn more and more about God and Christianity. he was very keen on learning about God and really made some major changes in his life. He had made some bad choices in friends at home in Ayr and these friends were getting him into trouble/fighting/alcohol and so was often going home to ayr for weekends and coming back with stories of "defending people" and massive brawls. Over time he came to realize that it wasn't helping him and he was affecting his life by making bad choices. He then made a commitment to serving God. All seemed to be going great.
Imagie my frustration when he got involved in a relationship with a Church girl who "needed him" and so stopped coming to bible study and stopped growing. We kept trying but...
Anyways to make a long story short there was a major explosion involving nervous breakdowns, stalking, other girls, paranoia and many other things- he decided he was really missing his family, his dad offered him a job and so he moved back to Ayr and straight back to his old lifestyle and friends emerging every now and again when we went down or he came up. Over the years his mobile number changed and we lost contact for a year or so- every now and again we'd hear rumours through friends or he'd give me a call often a bit tipsy and we'd have a good chat.
I'd often been blaming myself, if only i hadn't been so busy, if only i'd done that, if only i had a few other guys i could have let int the whole situation instead of keeping quiet, if only.
Now recently we had the joy of having some one come to Townsville on a bible college mission and over a year or so they were lead to come up here to take over at the congregations at Ayr and Home Hill (they had no minister our church had been rotating with guys going down to preach for the last 2 years or so). As we were planning to go down to celebrate with the people there for the induction service- i thought- wouldn't it be great if woody was there. (Could i just put in that although he sounds like a thug he is actually a top bloke)
So i called his mobile- no response, tried to find his e-mail address- no luck. and had just about given up. Then on Tuesday i remembered he worked at the ford dealership a year earlier. doubting if he still worked there i gave them a call- and Woody answered. he had a chat and i invited him to the event on wed night. He indicated he might be keen but was in Bowen that day and would see how he went- he only finished work at 5 and the bbq started at 5:30.
Now I mentioned to the new minister at Ayr that a friend of mine might show up and i wanted to introduce him but wasn't really expecting him to show.
Well lo and behold in walked woody straight from work having driven an hour to come up for it. he stayed for the bbq and then for the church service and then hung around for hours afterwards chatting to us and to the new minister. In fact he was still there chatting to Gavin (the new minister) when we left and indicated he'd come back to the church and invited Gav to drop in on him at work or for a coffee etc.
I felt like dancing around (partying right now) and was reminded about how God is in control. I'd almost given up- actually i probably had but yet God was in control to give woody an active christian contact in his home town.
Now I'm not saying i know what the future will bring but i know God is in control- I'd love for you to join with me praying for Woody and for Gavin and janelle (his wife) as they get settled into this new area. Pray that God might encourage them in their ministry. And don't ever give up on a friend thinking they are too hard: God is in control.

Finally Tim has come back Blogging

Inspired by Leah's return to blogging ( http://missleahmaria.blogspot.com ) i thought I should place some thoughts on screen. Last night a group of us went to see Les Miserables put on by the Townsville Choral Society. I was struck about how much of there is of a portray of Christians (something I'd never picked up before) there is in the musical. To begin with when the Convict Jean Valjean is released he is shown nothing but cruelty and hatred hardening his heart and looking to fight for what ever he can get. However he is broken of this by a Bishop who brings him in for a meal and a bed. Jean then repays him by stealing his silver. being brought back by the police the bishop admonishes Jean and says did i not tell you to take the candlesticks too. This act of Grace is turning point for Jean Valjean and a point where he fails to understand Why...
The bishop continues But remember this, my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man
By the witness of the martyrs
By the Passion and the Blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God!
Whilst I don't agree fully with the practise of buying some one :) it is a nice little summery of our state in todays world.
If only there was more of that in todays media/entertainment.
Maybe thats a challenge to us to live as Christians in our day to day living and generosity to others- that we might show to others the grace that was shown to us.
The ending of the musical is probably my favourite part so i thought I'd share it.

Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief
At last, at last behind you.
Lord in Heaven,
Look down on him in mercy.

VALJEAN
Forgive me all my trespasses
And take me to your glory.

FANTINE & EPONINE
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation.
Take my love,
For love is everlasting.

VALJEAN, FANTINE & EPONINE
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God!

CHORUS
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of a people
Who are climbing to the light.

For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
And the sun will rise.

They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
They will walk behind the plough-share,
They will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes...
Tomorrow comes!

New World Leader

Every now and again a moment defines a country. A country takes a stand and says This is me and I have an identity. For us Aussies some say it was Galipoli or the Kokoda trail. For the Americans it was the declaration of independence- The french hmmmm ummmm maybe a surrender here or there. Germany when the wall was knocked down.England The Magna Carter or the battle of hastings. At the time they don't seem like big events but they change the shape of the world just like 9/11 (could anyone tell me where afganistan was located before that) One possible one happened at Bali where a nation took a stand and made the most powerful nation in the world back down. Was it Australia with their new Pm full of talk on climate Change. Or North Korea with their nuclear weapons? No it was the country of Papua New Guinea. Sure it may be a small thing but so was a bunch of vandals pouring tea crates into the ocean to protest taxes. And look what that led to (Boston tea party).
So let's hope this is the chance PNG has to develop some character and self belief instead of being known as a corrupt dangerous place.

People of Faith post 1

Many of the people who read this know I like looking to people for inspiration or am fascinated at what makes people tick. I believe you can find out a lot about people in who their role models are. I'm thinking of doing a few post on some people who have inspired me in their faith. Now I would like to add these aren't perfect people and with my luck will probably come out and renounce their faith but I thought I'd go ahead and post- many of these people you only will have heard about if you are in that particular field.
My first person is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. Ring any bells? Yes Brazilian and yes soccer player but when most soccer player score goals they show off by pointing to their name on their back- doing athletic flips or do many other things to bring adulation to themselves. Ricardo just puts his arms in the air face up and prays a prayer of thanksgiving. This public showing of his faith was even more evident when his team won the champions league (Europe's Top Club competition). moments after the whistle blew this photo was taken.



You may know him as Kaka, playmaker for AC Milan .

What you may not know is that in the year 2000 he broke his neck in a swimming pool accident. Doctors told him he wouldn't be able to walk properly again. A year later he had cemented his spot in the senior side. He quite openly uses his celebrity to promote the Gospel. Ironically the shirt above is in a language he doesn't even speak. In an interview with a soccer magazine he was answering questions sent in by readers about improving their skills. He was asked if there was anything he'd like to say to his fans. Instead of a feel good message like try your best he instead said " To those who already have Jesus: you have made the best choice and are in the best team. Go ahead. Do not give up. The fight is great, but we can only win being on Jesus’ side. To those who have not yet surrendered their lives to Jesus: What are you doing being outside of this team?! Come to learn the Word of God, come to know who God really is." Proud to be a Virgin when he married he is also a UN Ambassador against hunger (the youngest ever appointed) and yesterday won the Ballon D'or the award given to the world footballer of the Year. And guess who he thanked first :)
What can we learn from Kaka- well firstly nothing is an accident- God puts you in various situations- what are you there for- preach the Gospel openly.
Secondly Be mindful of how you conduct yourself whatever you do. people are watching.
as kaka says "But I am not supposed to be punching people up on the field or swearing. I don't want people to be saying of me," Look, that guy says one thing and does another". My concern before my fellow players and my adversaries is to be what I am and never say one thing and be something else. I seek to be a role model in the club. I seek to demonstrate what God has done for me and that He can do it in their lives as well. As much as possible I try saying something about Jesus, about life with God, to counsel and help others." (he also has refused many sponsorships for various Wine or beer companies as ' It wouldn't look good')
Finally God is faithful- At least that is what is stitched onto the tongues of his boots along with I belong to Jesus. Why? Every time he looks down he sees it and is reminded of what God has done for him. Your own ego vanishes in the realisation of the power and faithfulness of God.
So as Kaka says “Stop eating cookies, while God offers us a banquet.”