Went to check my wallet yesterday and it felt light. Now my wallet never feels heavy from cash, I am a Pastor after all!
But friends often stir me up because they think I am a little like George Constanza in that my wallet is normally stuffed full of receipts, notes, cards etc etc.
However yesterday it felt light!
I checked it, rechecked, noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

You are the light of the world–like a city on a mountain, glowing in the
night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on
a stand and let it shine for all. (Matthew 5.14, 15)

Jesus is talking here to a ragtag bunch of Israelis on a rural setting somewhere, on a grassy hill.
No one really important or influential is there. Just ordinary people, captivated by what Jesus is saying.
How on earth are these folk going to ‘be a light to The World?”

Well there is nothing on earth, much, that is going to help them.
At Bedford we have some great programs in place, really effective, in the sense a bunch of people from the community come and appreciate them.
But we are struggling, although we have had some effectiveness, with seeing how on earth we are going to lead these people to a fulfilling, joyful life found in Jesus.
Well the truth is we aint going to be able to do this, no more than we didn’t do much at all to get them along in the first place, that was God.

Moving them along, helping them on their spiritual journey, well that’s going to have to be God as well, because quite frankly I dont know how, I dont have the answers. I certainly dont have the strength or power.
But as I spent some time with some mates praying this morning, gee it felt powerful, gee it felt strong. The X Factor was amongst us, the unexplainable power that comes from God.
We will see some people come to know a ‘good’ life, a great joyful life. Because we have asked God to help us.

Oh someone up there is looking after me.

I rock up at Midland shops at about 7.30am to get my derby tickets.
Now Midland shops is undergoing a huge redevelopment, and I am waiting outside at the wrong glass doors. What I mean is that the entry I am going to go through when the security guard opens the door is miles from the Wesley Music store aka Tickemaster booth.

Thankfully for me the security guard opens my door, I spend about five minutes wandering through the store until I find Ticketmaster.
As I wait outside I am struck by the fact that there is normally about 50 people already waiting there.

Then I glance to my right and see about 100 people waiting outside, right near the store, for the security guard to let them in!
They come rushing in about five minutes later and demand to know how I got in, and I tell them. The lady who was there first has been waiting since 3am!!!
Unfortunately for her, she is an Eagles fan, and does not realise that Eagles fans cannot buy tickets today, members already have theirs, and only Dockers fans can buy them.
She trudges off very upset.
The next lady is a mad keen Dockers supporter, and has been waiting since 5am!!
I stroll in, and she has been waiting for ages!!!
Worse is to come.
The Ticketmaster computer is playing up, and they take until about 9.13 to get my tickets, two tickets at opposite ends of the ground.
The poor lady behind me gets restricted viewing tickets.
Only three more people get theirs, the rest miss out!
All Derby Tickets gone by 9.15am.

What a win!
Hard, pressured, mature footy from a team who obviously had not read the script.
Ladder leader, at home, McLeod back in, 50 000 rabid Croweaters cheering on, dubious home town umpiring……….

Farmer, what defensive pressure. Who has taught him to play the team game? Yes, he kicked a lazy 70 when he played for Melbourne, but he mostly cared about himself back then. Now he cares about the team…..

Matthew Carr…….. did team playmaker Simon Goodwin play?? Because I didn’t see him under the BLANKET that Josh’s brother was carrying around.

Great to see J LO back out there as well.

Despite there often being 3, yes 3, defenders hanging off Pavlich, he still managed to cause plenty of headaches for the Crows, even when he went into the midfield.

My prediction for next week? Well, myriad is going to be a very sad sad place to be on Sunday night. Maybe Saint Gaz could do a series on Jeremiah, the weeping prophet… 🙂

p.s. this late news in from the Herald Sun
“Centrebet now has Fremantle at $15 for the flag and spokesman Gerard Daffy noted there is a chance it could get two home finals if results fall its way.
“We expect them to win their last three games and that includes beating the Eagles at Subiaco,” Daffy said.
“That would mean they are every chance to finish either third or fourth, meaning they could easily meet the Eagles at Subiaco (in the first week of the finals), which is obviously their home ground.
“They’ve already beaten the Eagles this year and if they beat them in their first final then they would go straight to a preliminary home final. Suddenly it is looking very good for a team that most had written off just over a month ago.
“They have been backed solidly all season and are a loser for us and were a loser on the weekend.
“One punter had $4000 on them at $2.50 at quarter-time (yesterday) and another had $10,000 at $1.55 at halftime. They were actually back out to $2.50 at three-quarter time when Adelaide came back.
“They were a loser for us in the game, being backed from $3.65 into $2.90.”

Not always an easy job, not often an easy job.
Dealing with people, sad ones, depressed ones, frustrated ones, impatient ones.

When it comes to matters of spirituality, everyone has an opinion, some strong ones as well.
We cant all be right.

I wonder sometimes about the balance between spiritualising matters and being pragmatic.
How more churches don’t split apart is beyond me.

“Give me wisdom, strength and vision God. Help me to lead well. “

In the old days the word ‘awesome’ was used much differently to how it is now.
In the old sense it was used to mean “to hold something as serious, as of significance”. It was a serious word, a word meant to invoke feelings of reverence.
As I think about trying to lead people in spiritual matters, I wonder, what the heck am I doing? This is an ‘awesome’ responsibility, even if it is only a small church.
I also wonder about those great spiritual leaders of our day. I dont think half of them know what they are doing, if any of them .
We are all so fragile, our feet are made of clay.

As I looked around our childrens program today, and the room was absolutely packed, I wondered, what the heck are we doing? This semester we started the third day of the program, and it is now bursting at the seams, with families in need of the live and joy Jesus offers.
What an ‘awesome’ responsibility.
I dont want to take it lightly, but neither do I want to think there is really much wisdom in me to make it all work.

Here’s a great article from one of the board members of the FFC.

article

This line in particular took my fancy,
“Others are not so observant. During the mid-season break ABC Radio had an “in-depth” look at each club. You may remember that Fremantle took the break after its worst performance since 2001 – thrashed at home by Geelong. Former Carlton captain Mark Maclure, now a special comments man on the ABC, had the solution. Fremantle had to act immediately he said – not at the end of the season – but right away. It was time to get rid of Peter Bell, Jeff Farmer and Paul Medhurst. By the way Peter Bell didn’t play in the Geelong game. Maclure’s argument was that Bell is no longer the player he was at North Melbourne and that Farmer and Medhurst were (like ever other small forward in the history of the game) too inconsistent. You can bet he’s pleased that Medhurst in currently playing in the WAFL but you can be equally sure he’s saying “I told ya so” all that often when discussion turns to Fremantle. As has been mentioned before on this page lots of people talk about footy on the wireless and the TV – the important thing is that while we may tune in we’re not obligated to really listen. “

“If God is silent, what’s that to you? If he turns his face away, what can you do about it? But whether silent or hidden, he’s there, ruling,” – Job 34:29 (MSG)

Speaking from the book of Job this week, wow, what a book.
The oldest book in the bible confronts the most modern of questions,
“Where is God when life sucks?”