Back Up On Your Feet

O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
God makes everything come out right;
he puts victims back on their feet. Psalms 103:1-6 MSG

Yesterday I left campus with a sense of unease. At first I thought it was just my shoddy playing during a worship time - embarrassment, surely that could be a trigger large enough to cascade into those feelings of inadequacy! Then I realised it wasn’t just my lack of musicality that weighed me down but the fact that I’d put others in an awkward position as well. That’s actually far more embarrassing.

Sometimes God speaks to me through particular phrases or impressions in His word. Before I read this passage in Psalms I had the phrase in my head, “Just get back on your feet”. And that was that. My peace returned and I knew there was something deeper inside of me that God had ministered to. It was time to just get back up.

A Picture Captured by God

“But You are always the same;
You will live forever.
The children of Your people will live in security.
Their children’s children will thrive in Your presence.” Psalm 102:27, 28 NLT

I was thinking about how following a dream is similar to taking a photo. Sometimes we see different points that we’d like to focus on and may need to adjust our vision somewhat. Sometimes the subjects we want to include in the photo don’t stay in the one place, or leave the shot altogether! But patience pays off in both cases. And once the final shot is taken, there is immense satisfaction in the finished product. Years ago God promised that He would raise up young men and women from university campuses in Melbourne that would impact the nations for His glory. Thankfully, even though our focus has often been split, and the people we had thought would journey with us have moved on, God has always remained the same. He still has a beautiful picture to capture on campus and I really want to stick around to enjoy it.

I wonder which dreams He has stirred inside of you. What beautiful scenes is He setting up in your life that seem a little blurry right now, but just need His sovereign touch to bring them into focus. I know I can't wait to see His masterpieces unveiled!

This is Who I Am

Recently I let down a very dear friend of mine and it's forced me to reflect a lot on friendship. Being a good friend has always been a high priority of mine. A lot of my thought-life goes into how to care for my friendships in the best way possible. This has developed in different ways but one thing that has remained is a desire for me to be transparent with my friends. I have never wanted to present anything different than "me". In fact, sometimes I wish we could carry a book around that fully discloses everything about us, and that when we meet someone we'd like to connect with, we could just hand it over for them to read. "This is me - take it or leave it." It occurred to me that God did just that. He moved a collection of people to write down His very Being in a book and commissioned them to pass it around. "This is the Bible. This is Who I Am. Take Me or leave Me." When we shy away from immersing ourselves in His Word, we miss out on the most perfect friendship of all time.

Below is a quick clip from a song about friendship my daughters have been working on. Thankyou for Subscribing to our Youtube Channel!

Relentless Love

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go?
How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim?
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
No, I will not unleash my fierce anger.
I will not completely destroy Israel,
for I am God and not a mere mortal.
I am the Holy One living among you,
and I will not come to destroy.
For someday the people will follow me.
I, the Lord, will roar like a lion.
And when I roar,
my people will return trembling from the west.
Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.
Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.
And I will bring them home again,”
says the Lord. Hosea 11:8-11 NLT

A few weeks ago my son ran away from home. It was a strange thing to do because I had just taken him out on a date and we'd had a fantastic time together. But something upset him - an injustice he had felt, and he was off down the road intent on leaving this horrible family behind. We brought him home and all turned out fine in the end but it reminded me of the way we often respond to our own heavenly Dad. Yet His love is so persistent. So, so relentless.

My Love For You

I chose to bring you to this world
To hold in my embrace
I chose to share my life with you
And never turn away

How could I deny a part of me
How could I reject you child or what you have become
Even if you turn your face and run the other way
My love for you will never be undone

Each time you run, each time you hide
I promise to pursue
There’s nothing that will change this truth
My heart is set on you

How could I deny a part of me
How could I reject you, child, or what you have become
Even if you turn your face and run the other way
My love for you will never be undone