Devotional: Spread the Word

"For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything."

1 Thessalonians 1:8

Paul, Silvaneus and Timothy write to the Thessalonican church and commend them for the way the Word is shared through them. Paul writes that in every place their faith was spread.

I am challenged to be like this church. I am challenged to step out of my comfort zone and say the Lord's name and speak of His love. I am challenged to live in a way that people will see the difference in my life.

I want to be remembered for how, when and where I share my faith!! I want to be remembered for the way my life shines for Christ!

Let us be encouraged that this is possible. It truly is possible for Jesus to show Himself through us. When we rest in Him, talk with Him, and follow His leading, this is more than possible!!

~Rachel

Who do I Trust?

A few weeks ago now, we had two lectures titled "Living by Faith".

My mentor, Esther, spoke about the importance of trusting the Lord to provide our day-to-day needs. She shared many of her own experiences in this area, and it was amazing.

Esther

She is ethnically Chinese and grew up in Malaysia. She shared how Chinese people in general are very focused and like to earn money and everything that goes along with that. With that being her background, going into full-time ministry with no regular support was a huge challenge for her. Being separated from her parent's income and learning to live with her very generous and faithful husband [who pushed her to give up her rights to riches, money, etc.] began a new journey for her.

Just hearing her stories of money coming in and then immediately being passed from her hands to someone who needed it more challenged me.

Am I generous? Am I willing to give up my needs for the benefit of others and the Kingdom? Can I live my life on the edge, with full confidence that God will supply ALL of my needs, exactly when I need them??????

Phew. What a challenge!

She gave us lumps of playdough and told us to mold the shape of the thing that we have put our faith in for finances. Being completely not artistic in this way, I freaked out a little! But an image came to mind...

When I was 13 years old, I began working for Simply Elegant, and since then have been working, earning my own money, and living quite independently in that respect. I've always bought my own clothes and personal items, gifts for friends, my car and all the fees that go along with that... Completely relying on my work for my financial provision.

The reason I sculpted a computer is because since I was 16 years old I have been doing office work, so that has been my source of income. Basically, I was trying to show that I have always relied on my own work to earn my money.

Since coming to YWAM, I have been challenged to rely on GOD for financial provision. With no income since the end of February, I have freaked out at times! But you know what? I have seen ANSWERS to my prayers exactly when I needed it.

It's such a learning curve!!!!!

I never thought I would be in the place of actually seeing the Lord provide money, plain as day.

One or two weeks ago, I went online and my bank account was... well... let's just say, I could see the bottom of the barrel ;-) That afternoon, I literally went "shopping" with the weirdest knowledge that I had no money to spend! As I walked around the shops, I really just kept giving up this financial situation to the Lord.

And I kid you not - the following day, Mum emailed me, saying that my vehicle insurance company owed me some money, and that she would transfer the $$$ into my account.

=D

Thank You, Jesus!!!!

I am learning to life this life of faith and continual surrender.

It's scarily amazing.

~Rachel

Steps That Lead to Effectiveness & Productiveness

2 Peter 1

New King James Version (NKJV)

Greeting the Faithful

¹ Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Fruitful Growth in the Faith

⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

On Sunday, my pastor spoke on the above passage.
I was reminded that just because I have put my faith in Jesus; just because I want to live my life for Him - doesn't mean that I should remain the same. In fact, I should continue to change. I should continue to grow. I should continue to "add to my faith" (verse 5).
God has placed goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love (and MUCH more!) at my disposal. These are some things that Peter tells us to work towards; to add to our faith. Now I have to step out; put in effort; apply myself!

[Side note from the message: Pastor Doug challenged us. He asked, "What are some of the character flaws you had last year?" This kind of took me aback. Made me question what I am aiming for; why I live. Does this question make you think?]

To add to my faith; to attain the things in this passage requires effort.
It requires me to set aside time daily to spend with the Lord.
It may even require me to put aside my wants and desires. To have times of fasting.
Prayer is essential if I want to grow and add to my faith.
And for all of this, I will need to have discipline. Much discipline!

These are some steps we can take to be more effective and productive! I hope and pray that we can apply even some of these! This is all a journey. Let us aspire to be greater servants of Christ - and most of all, to be more like Him every single day.

~Rachel

District Assembly 2011/12

I am really looking forward to this weekend! We have the Annual Southern District Assembly, and this year it is at my home church, the Gawler Church of the Nazarene!
Every year, our district (which is comprised of New South Wales, Victoria, ACT and South Australia) comes together for a weekend of meetings, conventions, services and fellowship.
When I first started attending my church, I was about 12 years old. Assembly didn't mean much to me then, but as each year went by, I looked forward to them more. Because each year I get to meet more people, and this circle; this community of believers and brothers and sisters in Christ gets bigger!!! Each year I come to realise, again, that I am not walking this journey called life alone. I am just one out of dozens and hundreds and thousands and yes, even MILLIONS of disciples of Christ. How amazing is that?!?!
This year's Assembly theme is Faithful. Funny, because this entire year has been a journey of faith for me - a journey that began with one sermon from my pastor at the end of last year. The sermon was on faith, and during that half-hour of preaching, I felt the Lord speak to my heart that, in 2011, I would be learning about faith.
And boy-oh-boy, was He right!!! Right from the beginning when I met a very special man who is now a very important person in my life; to when I flew to New Zealand alone to help with the earthquake relief, now knowing who (if anyone!) would be picking me up from the airport or where I would be working; and as I felt the pull and direction that I needed to go to Bible college in the very near future. Through these things and so many more, I have just been learning so many things about faith. I plan to list them in another post.
So I cannot wait to experience this weekend. Fellowship with friends; worshipping the Lord in His house; experiencing a closer closeness with the body of this Southern District.
Praise the Lord for fellow believers and these opportunities to come together in His glorious Name!!!
~Rachel

Memories of a mentor...

I would like to dedicate this blog post to a friend of mine; a very special person who I have known a very long time; someone who has influenced greatly, for the good.

This person is amazing. I don't know anyone else quite like them (aka--him / her). This person has an amazing faith, an amazing family, and has had (and is having) an anamazing journey.

This person has inspired me in so many ways--both in ways that I can see, and ways that perhaps have changed parts of me, even though I don't realize it.

I think (and hope!) I am sort of like this person. In fact, I would count myself extremely lucky if I had just a few of their characteristics and a bit of their lovely personality!

My upbringing has been similar to my friend--I was brought up in a Christian home, have been going to church my whole life, and I was homeschooled (I think this is mostly the same).

My beliefs have been influenced by this friend. This friend taught me about topics such as modesty and femininity, and a lot of what I learned (through specific conversations or teaching, or just by the way this person conducts themselves) has stayed with me, and I pray that I will be able to pass this part of what I have been taught by my friend, to people around me.

While everyone's lives are different; everyone goes through various struggles; everyone goes through their trials in different ways... My friend is definitely one of the most inspirational people I know. This friend has been through a lot in his / her life, and the way they have continued through trials and heartache is just astounding to me. While faith in God can feel crumbled and shattered through things life has brought, I know there is still hope and still faith in my friend's heart.

Kristy, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the amazing way you have influenced my life. I hope you can see that you really have put a lot into my life (even when you may not have realized it), and I also hope that I can carry that on into other young girls' lives. I guess there's not a lot more I can really say, other than that I truly admire the way you have gone through your life and the different journeys you have taken... And I hope that I can come through things in my life with the same grace that you have in yours.

I love you!!

~Chel