World Mission Fellowship

Having previously served in appointments overseas, we learned first-hand the valuable support offered by the World Mission Fellowship (WMF). Now, as financial WMF members, we consider it a real joy to be able to offer that same valued support to others abroad. In addition, it is a wonderful privilege to serve as Secretary to the WMF. This wonderful fellowship exists to support our territory's overseas personnel, both prayerfully and practically ~ and does it well!

Membership is open to all Salvationist and friends. Annual subscription is only $10. Meetings are held on the first Monday of every month @ 6.30pm in the Inala Auditorium (220 Middleborough Rd, Blackburn South) and feature an invited guest speaker. as well as specific prayer focus for our overseas personnel.

If you would like to join the fellowship and receive our monthly newsletter [via print or e-mail], send us notification (together with your subscription) to:
Email ~ timothy.lynn@aus.salvationarmy.org or
Post to WMF Secretary, Locked Bag 1, Mont Albert VIC 3127

Pray for my fellow Executive colleagues as we seek to keep the WMF mission-focussed.

• Lieut-Colonel Lyndon Spiller ~ Chairperson
• Major Alan R Laurens ~ President
• Sister Elva Davies ~ Treasurer
• Lieut-Colonel Betty Spikin ~ Prayer Coordinator

Matthew 24:13 (MSG) ~ "...the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country."

A Force To Be Reckoned With

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Britain. More than 200 years ago a central figure in the push to end the slave trade was a Christian named William Wilberforce. Wilberforce worked tirelessly and suffered much opposition, but it was he who introduced the bill that finally heralded the demise of Britain’s organized trade in human beings.
Wilberforce was obedient to God’s call on his life and used his skill and his vocation to help to bring about an end to the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.The challenge for the Church to be salt and light in the world, and to live out the Biblical injunction to act justly and love our neighbours, is just as strong today as it was in Wilberforce’s day. There is a great need for Christians to take up the challenge to speak up for those people who are vulnerable, poor and exploited.

Pray earnestly that God will use the Stop The Traffik campaign launched last month on 25 March to put an end to the worldwide evils of human trafficking in operation today.

Not By Choice

I was disheartened today while listening to my favourite talkback radio station as they discussed an editorial on the subject of raising families. The views expressed by the journalist and callers were, in my opinion, narrow-minded as they determined that all it boiled down to was a matter of personal choice. Many circumstances and experiences in life are a byproduct of personal choice. But not everything is. We know this first-hand from deep personal life experiences that are often painful to come to terms with, as well as from our ministry opportunities of supporting people who come seeking welfare assistance.

It's important to recognize that there are moments in life when people find themselves bound by circumstances outside their direct control. It's then that we need to be sensitive to what is going on in their lives and live out Micah's message ~ "act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NIV)

Now, here's a matter of choice dear to us ~ "HEART TO GOD, HAND TO MAN".

Autumn Leaves

Looking out our lounge room window toward the backyard there is an array of colour breaking out, much like this. The changing of the seasons brings with it a glorious visual evidence.

On the other hand, when we allow our hearts and minds to be seasoned with God's grace, we too experience a glorious inner evidence of change that eventually has a way of surfacing in our character and deeds.

Here's a poem I wrote today as I pondered the external evidence of autumn and praised God for seasoning us with daily graces.

Leaves, leaves falling down
Like a blanket on the ground.
Red and yellow, gold and brown;
Falling softly without a sound.

Lord, I love the autumn season
Created by you for very good reason.
Fall on me with Your gentle Spirit

That I may live with holy merit.

Lest We Forget

From dawn to dusk on this day every year, as Australians, we salute the memory of the ANZACS (Returned war service men and women) with gratitude and pride, honouring the courage, bravery and mateship that saw many sacrifice their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. It's an opportunity to celebrate the ANZAC spirit and consciously remind ourselves to display that same spirit as we contribute to the life of our nation ~ LEST WE FORGET.

Honourary Aussies, Commissioners Jim and Carolyn Knaggs (Territorial Leaders), were guests of the The Red Shield RSL Sub-branch tonight at Inala Chapel as we gathered for the annual ANZAC Salute. Commissioner Jim's message on the ANZAC Spirit was comprehensive and yet deeply personal and reflective. To top it off, musical support was ably provided by Classic Brass and complimented well the superb congregational singing.

The ANZAC Spirit makes one proud to be Australian and certainly inspires us to continue to model it for generations to come so we can truly "advance Australia fair".

Micah 6:8 (MSG) ~ "But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously ~ take God seriously."

The Business Of Restoration

Carrying on from yesterday's thoughts, I recall an outstanding sermon given by Major Raymond Finger (one of many during his term as Commanding Officer of Box Hill Corps) where he quoted the following.

• "God is in the business of restoration. He desires to take the broken and purposeless lives of people and give new value and meaning both to life and the person who lives life."
• "...God is concerned more with investing His time in rebuilding brokenness and renovating bitterness, than in building up betterness."

Yes, God’s work of restoration is always freely available to each of us. His work of rebuilding is both vital and necessary in healing and strengthening us, so that we will live rejoicing in Him as we experience His worth. As we place ourselves unreservedly in the hands of God, we are assured of His complete work of restoration and rebuilding which will result in His holiness being worked out in our lives.

Will you allow God the opportunity of doing His restorative work in your life today?

2 Corinthians 4:7, 15 (GNB) ~ "Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us... All this is for your sake; and as God's grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving."

Eternal Renovations

Renovation Rescue, Changing Rooms, Backyard Blitz and Extreme Makeover ~ these are all TV shows that deal, in one way or another, with the seemingly popular theme of renovation that is a cultural focus of society today. A theme that resounds time and again throughout Scripture.

For example, God declared through the prophet Jeremiah "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand..." (Jer 18:6b); King David, the Psalmist, shared his heart prayer ~ "Create in me a clean heart, o God" (Ps 51:10) and the Apostle Paul urged his Christian readers to "be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18).

Well, praise God, it can certainly be said that all Spirit-led believers are "works in progress". God is vitally interested in renovating our souls for eternity. In his paraphrase, The Message, Eugene Petersen states well the prayer of a soul "under Holy Spirit renovation".

Psalm 51:10 (MSG) ~ "God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life."

Extravagant Dimensions

In his pastoral letter to the Ephesian church, Paul uses the four dimensions to describe the love of Christ: width, length, height and depth. These were the same dimensions given by ancient philosophers to describe the vastness of the universe ~ terms that were familiar to Paul’s readers. So it is that Paul uses this concept to describe the complete nature of the love that Christ has for us.

This morning in her Bible message entitled "A Power-full Love", Dabak reminded us of the extravagant dimenisons of God's love. Here is a noteworthy quote from her sermon.

The width of Christ’s love reaches the whole world and beyond.
The length of Christ’s love stretches through all of time.
The height of Christ’s love raises believers to the heights of heaven.
The depth of Christ’s love reaches down into the depths of this sin-soaked world to bring redemption.

All Christian believers are the privileged recipients of the extravangant dimensions of God's "power-full" love. Hallelujah!

Ephesians 3:16-17 (NIV) ~ "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."

The Welcomed Rhythm!

"Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain!" ~ these were the words I mentioned to my wife this morning as I looked out our lounge room window and saw the refreshing 'heaven-sent' rain. Opening wide the side door we heard the welcomed ryhthm and shouted together "Hallelujah!" The internal noises of household appliances had drowned out our appreciation of the glorious external blessing. Until that is, we looked outside ourselves and witnessed the wonder of God's provision. [Now there's a message in itself, don't you agree?]

Now note the Word of the Lord from Leviticus 26 verse 4 in reference to the reward for our obedience ~ "I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit."

Wake up Australia, obey God and truly welcome the rhythm of His Promised Rain!

Deuteronomy 28:12 (NIV) ~ "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands."

Remaining Connected

I admit I'm a great fan of information technology, so much so that not a day goes by when I'm not accessing emails via computer or reaching for my mobile phone. And yet while it can be quite convenient to feel as though we're interconnected and available, at the same time it can also be a real inconvenience ~ considering the reality of constant interruptions and frequent malfunctions associated with advanced technologies.

While watching the newly-released movie, Perfect Stranger, I noted with interest this narrated quote ~ "We value the importance of being interconnected, yet everyday we live disconnected lives". Don't you agree this comment reflects an element of truth about society today?

As the saying goes, "No man is an island". We are relational people who long to remain personally connected with others around us. But I fear that easy access to advanced technologies can often cause us to withdraw from vital personal interactions resulting in an impersonal type living and, dare I say it, ministry.

Herein lies the personal challenge to make sure that we remain connected where it counts most. And there's no better place to start than with Jesus Christ.

John 15:5 (MSG) ~ "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant."

The Pastor's Cat

The following story was sent to me by email this week. Enjoy!

"Dwight Nelson recently told a story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke, the tree went "bong!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?" She replied, "You won't believe this," and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it." She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."

Remember, never understimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humour!

A Gift Never To Be Taken For Granted

Today's ministry highlight was the passing comment of one of our nursing home residents at the conclusion of our worship service. "No one ever realizes how much the Son of God has done for us."

What a great spiritual reality check! The apostle Paul too understood that there are times in life when even people of faith seem to take things in life for granted. With this in mind, he wrote these words directed to the church at Ephesus.

Ephesians 4:30 (MSG) ~ "Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted."

Yes, the gift of God's indwelling Holy Spirit empowering our lives is not something to ever take for granted. It's a gift to truly treasure!

Power In Prayer

US President George W Bush today made this statement in response to the senseless shootings at Virigina Tech yesterday ~ "...our nation grieves with those who lost loved ones at Virginia Tech. We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers, and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today."

These God-directed comments no doubt give voice to the thoughts of the Amercian people and those of us around the world who join with them in intercessory prayer for an outpouring of God's presence, peace and promise of comfort in the lives of the remaining students and family members who are bereaved as a result of this tragic event.

May they find comfort and empowerment for the future in the arms of our loving God!

2 Corinthians 1:3 (MSG) ~ "All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times..."

Grace Sufficient

This week we are considering 2 Corinthians 12:9 in our devotional worship services ~ "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness...so that Christ's power may rest on me.” It's a wonderfully empowering verse of Scripture that reminds us of God's ability to raise us to a supernatural level of faith living.

Even as we were reflecting on this passage today, I experienced a personal renewal of God's grace sufficient for the moment for me. Grace sufficient to forgive an insensitive staff member her loud interruption to our worship time. Grace sufficient to listen intently to a dear elderly resident recall a significant life experience that she has mentioned to me now on numerous occasions. Grace sufficient to not take offense of a new attender to worship who chose, despite a warm welcome, to sit in on our devotions wearing huge, fluffy earmuffs.
Yes, praise God for the sufficiency of His grace to empower us during and beyond the 'weakness' moments of life!

Herbert Howard Booth wrote about the wonderful sufficiency of God's amazing, personal Grace.

"Grace there is my every debt to pay

Blood to wash my every sin away

Power to keep me spotless day by day

For me, for me!"

(SASB 303, chorus)

Sabbath Rest

Languages have always interested me. Perhaps that's why I chose to study and use German as a communication medium and, in addition, 'learn' Hebrew with Jim Briggs all those years ago, even if it was only a literal reading of Genesis 1 which is now long forgotten. One Hebrew word I still recall is שבת (pronounced shabbāt). Of course, this is the root for our English word, Sabbath. Though we understand it to mean 'rest', its literal translation is 'ceasing' with the implication of ceasing from work.

Having just returned from a week's furlough in Sydney with family, today we enjoyed a real shabbāt ~ for as we ceased from our regular form of Sunday platform ministry and corporate worship, nevertheless, we celebrated personal worship in our own 'home church'. Though a different form of Day of Rest for us, still we experienced the same heart devotion of love expressed to God.

I am convinced that full time Christian ministry makes the concept of 'ceasing from work' difficult. For when we are not officially 'on duty' we are still to be available to God for His service. We might rest from the normal schedule, but we never cease to be used of God.

Trusting your Sabbath too was one of celebration and prayer, much like ours!

Matthew 11:28 (MSG) ~ "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me ~ watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Navigating The Roads

A good wholesome laughter does everyone good. This was certainly true as we tried to navigate Sydney's streets tonight. A drive to a suburb some 10 minutes away from where we are staying ended up taking about 40mins to get to. Unfamiliar roads resulted in continuous confusion and an unexpected sight-seeing tour of Sydney's "No Right Turn, No U-turn" southern suburbs to the roaring delight of all passengers, including the driver. But I guess it's a case of "You had to be there".

In the middle of this hilarious scene I was reminded of these words by General John Gowans ~ "Who is it plans the route for me and will not let me stray? That's the Spirit! Holy Spirit! That's the Spirit of the Lord in me." Aren't you glad that God's Holy Spirit directs you at the crossroads of the everyday? I sure am!

Numbers 20:19 (MSG) ~ "The People of Israel said, "Look, we'll stay on the main road."

The Big One

Turning one is not always the most memorable birthday we experience, but it is almost always a significant occasion in the eyes of close family members ~ fun-filled and full of expectation. Will today be the day that he/she takes their first step on the road to walking? Will they sit and enjoy the toy gifts or simply opt to play with the wrapping paper instead?

What a beautiful reminder belongs to those who believe ~ God is always mindful of us. Nothing we do ever escapes His attention. Our spiritual development is His key concern. His loving care enables us to feel valued every day. Praise God we are all special in His sight.

Oh and before I forget, "Happy 1st Birthday Jordan. We love you very much"!

Psalm 139:4-6 (MSG) ~ "You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too ~ your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful ~ I can't take it all in!"

Uncoached Gratitude

One of the joys of unclehood is to spend quality time with my 2 year old nephew, Jesse. And for now, this means sitting at the 'puter exploring The Wiggles website. It's amazing how much enjoyment he can get out of repeating the same few 'favourite' games online. Yet, as Jesse directs so I navigate the site and, at times, press something 'wrong' that he thinks is so funny. Just to see his reaction is priceless!

When all was well and truly over and the routine goodnight farewells were shared some hours later, Jesse asked permission of his grandma to tell me about the 'puter and then came and stood in front of me and sincerely said, "Tim, thank you for putting me on the 'puter". Wow, his simple, uncoached words of gratitude were encouraging enough to boost my 'tired-out' spirit!

Sadly, sometimes most of us almost need to be coached into a spirit of gratitude. But God's Word is quite clear in its emphasis to always be prepared to cultivate thankfulness in all we do. It's bound to always have a positive effect on others!

Colossians 3:16 (MSG) ~ "Let every detail in your lives ~ words, actions, whatever ~ be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."

Travelling

We have just completed a long journey today driving the distance from Melbourne to Sydney. But the travel was well worth it, as we got to spend time with our nephews, Jesse and Jordan and, of course, my brother, sister-in-law and parents (who are also up on holiday!).

The road conditions were great ~ light traffic, mild sunshine and good CD music to sing along to! At one stage, I found myself humming a tune in between CDs and my wife's occasional snores. Here are the words ~

"Travel along in the sunshine on the King's highway;

Travel along, singing a song,

Follow Jesus day by day.

Never mind what lies before you,

Never mind what others do;

So travel along in the sunshine on the King's highway."

So here are you a few questions for you to ponder. How are you travelling today? What's your driving force? Are you journeying life in self-dependent or God-dependent mode?

Resurrection Sunday

What a glorious morning ~ the sun is shining, the breeze is gentle and the Lord is risen! As a community of gospel-impacted believers, we met to celebrate God's "Amazing Hope" offered to the world as a result of Jesus' empty tomb. This miraculous Hope brings us each a personal assurance of complete victory over death, sin and the grave. Now that's sure reason to celebrate.

Consider Mary Magdalene, the first person to witness to the Resurrection that morning. In his gospel, it is interesting to note that John records that Mary arrived at the tomb "while it was still dark". Yes, she came both in physical and emotional darkness that day to meet her Lord where she had last seen him. And, as a result of her faithfulness to Jesus, Mary was also the first to encounter the Resurrected Christ and the first recorded evangelist. Likewise, when we are faithful and obedient, we experience a life-changing encounter with Jesus that testifies to His grace, even in times of personal darkness. Be assured that while it is still dark, we can know the Light of God's Love shining through all the time; for while it was still dark, God was working the greatest miracle of all.

John 1:5 (NIV) ~ "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it."

Good Friday ~ "Amazing Love"

We thank God for an inspirational time of personal reflection and a deep presence of His Spirit within our hearts and minds on this significant day!

At 8.30am, 35 seniors joined us for our annual Stations of the Cross Good Friday walk meditating on the events of Holy Week and the Passion of Christ. Following this we met for our Reflective Worship Service, based on the theme "Amazing Love".

Personal highlights were the entry of the Cross of Christ to the tune Jesus, keep me near the cross, the Inala Choir's presentation of All in the April Evening, our corporate affirmation ~ "If ever I loved thee, my Jesus 'tis now" (SASB 357) and, finally, Dabak's beautiful exposition of Isaiah 53 that challenged us to respond personally to God's Amazing Love in Christ ~ "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." (SASB 136, verse 4).

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) ~ "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Shepparton Rotary Conference

More than 900 Rotarians converged on the city of Shepparton from 29 March to 1 April for our district's annual conference.

From all reports tonight, it was a great time of fellowship and information sharing about the wonderful programmes undertaken by Rotary International.

Sadly, I was not privileged to be counted among the attending delegates on this occasion, but I plan to change that next year when we meet in Albury/Wodoonga.

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) ~ "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

OWSOMS Altar Service

Our responsive and generous Inala Chapel congregation has again proved the grace of God's abundant provision through their sacrificial giving toward this year's OWSOMS Self Denial Appeal. To date, the appeal offering totals $6,430. Praise God!

We are constantly encouraged by their faith-filled and God-centred lives that always honour and glorify Him. Whatever age or stage of life we find oursleves, it is comforting to know that the super-sufficient grace of God is available for our personal experience. The events of this Holy Week make it clearly evident that Jesus' sacrficial love for each of us was truly amazing, and even more so, when we are mindful of what He continues to do in the lives of others as we open ourselves up to deeds of love in action.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (MSG) ~ "God loves it when the giver delights in the giving."

"Amazing God-Man"

This morning we commenced our Easter series, "Jesus Is Amazing!"
A main feature in our worship was a drama presentation entitled "Disturber of the Peace" ~ written by one of our chapel members (Major Win Barker) ~ a modern setting of Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin.

We then considered Jesus’ statement from Matthew 10:34 ~ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword”. This verse actually had a direct fulfillment in the fact that He did not come to this earth to physically deliver the nation of Israel nor any other nation from oppression, slavery and bondage of another nation.
Jesus’ statement merely reflected the mission of His earthly ministry ~ the spiritual deliverance of all people to new life with God (“...ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven”). His intention was never to bring peace 'on earth' but rather to bring peace 'in earth' ~ through you and I!
Jesus' statement also reflected the nature of His own relationship with God as the Promised Messiah and Amazing Incarnate (“God-man”). An old SA chorus says it well.

He’s the Christ of the human road
And He offers to carry your load
He is walking your way
Every night, every day
This Christ of the human road
He is human and yet so divine
And he knows your heart’s sorrow and mine
In all times of need, He’s a true Friend indeed

This Christ of the human road.

Now that's something amazing to celebrate!