Day 2: The Right Reasons

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Matt 6:1 (NIV)

Why do we do the things we do? I must admit I am not perfect even thought I would never say it to your face, I stuff up, every week, every day, every hour and sometimes even every minute of the day. I do a lot of things to make myself feel and look better than I actually am.

But I do not always stuff up, sometimes I get things right, my mind, my heart and God’s will match up and what results is an act of selflessness.

In the verse above it says that if you do your acts of kindness to be seen by man, ‘you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.’ I don’t know about you but the rewards of man for me don’t stack up against the rewards of God. I don’t know what they are, and if I did my brain would explode because as a man on this earth I do not have the capacity to comprehend what that reward might be, (woman might because of their higher brain capacity and intelligence)

Even thought I stuff up sometimes, I’ll still try to do what I can for God and not for sight of man. Lord help me!!!!!

Day 1: One thing is needed...

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Luke 10:38-42

Have you ever been told you priorities are out of order? I have, I get told it quite a lot even today by my own family.

Before God lead me to him I was a model student, did my homework, focused on perfection in everything I did and I like to think i was quite a gentleman. My priorities were in order, get through school as well as I could and be nice in the meantime.

Now, I have a new priority one that I think eclipses all others (otherwise it wouldn't be my no 1 priority), Jesus.

To people that don't know and understand Jesus, the commitment required to him by all Christians is a huge one. For me that entails, living life with God every step of the way, being the hands of Jesus that reach out to the lost the last and the least, and listening to the Holy Spirit every step of the way.

My mum couldn't understand why I spent so much time at church and neglecting my Uni work, but it was my number one priority, I wanted more of God.

This is what the story of Mary and Martha represents to some degree, Martha was working so hard to impress Jesus that she missed out on what Jesus was saying, her priority was to prepare this extravagant meal for Jesus, while Mary's Number one priority was to forsake all others and to connect with with the Lord for every second that had been given to her.

Where is you number One priority, Footy, School, Friends, Popularity or Jesus?

Spend 10 seconds and see.

Cirque Du Soleil

What a show!

I went to Cirque Du Soleil last night with my family and Em. It was a party for my sisters 18th birthday. It was a really good night.

It was not all laughs and amazement though, we had some difficulties.
We didn’t know that the Collingwood vs. Fremantle game was on last night at the ‘G’ and so there was no parking anywhere and ended up parking in some place that made me leave my keys in the car (not comfortable with that at all when you have instruments in the boot of your car, it was ok they were there when I got back)

We were running late because we parked so far away, and we ‘walked’ more like ran a half marathon to the arena. Em takes a lot smaller steps than me and so she has to take about 3 for every one I take so she was virtually running to keep up.(Made it just)

We needed a toilet stop when we got there (all went well I’m pleased to report)

It was freezing; I think my nose it still unfreezing.

But it was great, people flipping and contorting their bodies, it was amazing.

My favourite was these two guys who one lies down on a chair and flips the other guy around with his legs. It was just ridiculous. It was amazing because at the end he did like 20 in a row and was just flipping like a wheel going around, it was a huge effort, I found a purpose for the leg press at the Gym!! (Just wait one day I will be able to do that.)

“People are amazing creatures”
Optus Telecommunication’s logo.

Lazy Old people

What is it with young people always having to do the work? I was working today (with Em and her Gaffa tree), and it is sale day tomorrow. On Sale days companies pretend that they have all this stock that they have had out the back that they want to clear. The real story is that suppliers give huge discounts on stock if they can sell it at the sale. So really you are buying new stock that is making more profit than usual stuff. What a sham!!!

Anyway all this stuff arrives the day before and lucky me I get to ‘help’ carry it all up stairs. This means ‘Dave, can you carry this stuff upstairs while I sit and do nothing’. It is trash. The other guys here do nothing, they complain that they have back problems or disappear after moving the first box. So I end up moving all the boxes and I end up with the back problems.

Oh well, such is life, who am I to complain.

(At least I didn’t have to rip Gaffa all day!)

Sausage Evangelism

I was on my way home from uni today and i was walking past that weird white shipping container at Box Hill Centro and there was a whole bunch of Chinese people giving out stuff so i went over and saw that it was just sausages so walked off, before i got about 10 metres past it this lady popped out the side and gave me one, as well as half an uncooked onion on top of it. I ate it.

She also gave me a piece of paper that had details about a church in Surrey Hills, i looked at it and told her i actually go to the Box Hill salvos down the road, she was not impressed, she had just told me all about their fantastic young people at the church and i had just blown all her hopes. She just walked off and i was left standing there eating a sausage.

Why did she go, was she on a commission cheque for how many people she could get to the church, did i call her bluff and it is another one of the churches that have no young people, is it worth fighting other churches for members, Does God even like sausages? All these questions.

I think God would commend her efforts in out reach to community, but i think the fact that she switched off after i told her i was already saved means that her heart was not in the right place.

I like the sausages idea though, that's how the Salvation Army began, William Booth said 'Feed the hungry, because no-one gets saved on an empty stomach!!!'.

Well Done my Chinese friends.

25 years and more silverware for the shelf

Congratulations to Chris and Shirl who today celebrate their 25 wedding anniversary.

25 years is a long time, i am only 21, i still have another 4 years before I can even contemplate what 25 years is like.


Congratulations Chris and Shirl,


Sorry I couldn't afford to buy any silverware for you! (i'll get you a spoon from my house or something like that)


I hope you have a good day even though you can not be together.

Being a 'Yes' man

Well what a day yesterday was!

Kids Church, 11am with the Band and songsters, Pentecost Sunday, Melbourne Football Club going down by a point (Great game, we may have lost the the game on the field but we won the trash talk off the field), Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and Jim Knaggs.

Out of all of these (even though Pirates was good) my 'play of the day' goes to Jim Knaggs with his message on being a 'Yes' Man. It was powerful, it definitely spoke to me, to shrug off the strangle hold the enemy can get on my life and to stand up and say 'Yes' to God.

It is easy to say No, there are so many ways around it

• Not today, Maybe, We'll see, I'm busy, Ask later, Give me some time, I'll think about it.

All of these mean the same thing, 'I don't want to do it, i am uncomfortable'

Uncomfortable is the way that the Devil knows he can bind me up, if i get the slightest though of what i will be seen like, that's it, I'll find a way out. If there is a way out, i will find it, ask any uni tutor i have ever had.

Stand up, step up and say 'Yes'. God is ready to lead the path and protect you in every way possible, he has already walked the path, all you need to do is have the courage to say 'Yes'.

"Yes," he replied" 1 Kings 18:8 (NIV)

"Yes," says the Spirit" Revelation 14:13 (NIV)

Even the last words in the Bible are "Yes"

"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Revelation 22:20 (NIV)