Speaking on breaking free from those things that bind us…during December…

Going to speak on Moses….no turning back to Egypt

Elijah…turn your back on fear of people

Acts…turn your back on the denial of the supernatural..

When you become a Christian…there is no turning back! Burn those bridges!!!

and so much happening next year.
I feel like I am on a boogie board at dusk, and the wave is pushing me towards the shore…but there is another wave behind me….ready to pounce as the present wave runs out of puff….

Its a little scary, but I have nothing to complain about.

There are so many that are critical of the church, in a whole raft of ways.
However the keenest and most consistent of these are generally those who would call themselves Christians.

You don’t really hear the Muslims, the Bhuddists complaining about what a Church is doing…..and for that matter you don’t really hear the Christians bleeting about what the Muslim is doing…and I am talking about a question of degrees here, there are always exceptions.

I wonder how Jesus dealt with those who were critical of His ministry? Who were they, what did they look like? What did he say to them, and how did He treat them?

A fault I have is that I take criticism to heart, I take it personally.
Instead of focusing on that which is affirming, I focus on that which is critical.

There are so many great things about Inglewood Church…and our affect on the community. It feels like we are on a wave of blessing, expectation and fruitfulness.
My prayer is that I don’t get in the way of what the Holy Spirit is doing at the moment, but facilitate it.

I am repeating myself, but I did not like high school.
I felt trapped, I felt I could not be myself, and I did not really like myself either!

But today…I met up…for the first time…with a mate from high school days.
The first time I have met up with anyone from my time at Scarborough High.

It was a great experience, a really nice guy, and it made me feel like some of that time was redeemable. We had a great conversation abour our time at Scabs, some of the good times we had.. life, philosophy, spirituality.

We also talked about what some of the blokes from ‘our group’ are up to.
It feels like an age away now, but it was refreshing to have it brought into the present.

On Saturday I ‘serviced’ my Vitara 1994.
This involved…
Changing the oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant and sparkplugs.

All up…cost was $74

There are three of four types of air filter, and the price difference is incredible.
Over $70 for one type, $11 for the Repco one!

I use reasonable oil, but oil has gone up so much in recent years. However I chose a middle of the range one…with 20w-50w of course.

I have found Repco to be the best auto parts shop, because they are the cheapest, and they carry the biggest range. They always have what I need.

Auto One the most expensive, and generally the guy behind the counter treats you like an idiot…maybe cause thats how I come across!

While Supercheap Parts can be cheap, they rarely have what you need, they carry bulk items, so if you have a 2000 Commodore, you should be okay! Anyone else will need to go elsewhere..unless you feel like buying a $2 air freshener in the shape of Bart Simpson.

The most painful aspect of servicing the car yourself is getting the oil filter off. The Suzuki one is reasonably easy to get to, but what a pain to get off! I eventually had to drive a screwdriver through it to be able to turn it to get it off….Oil dripping all over the joint.

The spark plugs are reasonable easy, but you need a good sparkplug socket, or, like me, you could use your sons super strong magnet to pull them up…as they are right inside the block. But thankfully…no points.

All in all, a massive saving, and with my son at my side, a good teaching exercise.

No other religion has it
No one who has not experienced it thinks it fair

Those who know it, know its the only thing stopping us from sliding….
Thank God that He knows what we are really like, and knows that grace is the only thing that is of any use to us.

What made Jesus madder than anything? Those who did not show grace, yet were under its covering.

What perplexes me? Churches with grace in their title, but who show anything but grace to a dying world oblivious to their need for it.

What spurs me on? To be relevant to those in need of Gods grace, who don’t know it, but who I know….need it.

For all my interstate and overseas visitors…
(H/T Rod Benson)