Easter - Jesus died for YOU! Get to know him!

Whew! What a whirlwind that Easter was! Pete & I had opportunity to share a Good Friday "preview" at Sunrise last Thursday (Chapel). Pete laid the "Jesus died for you" message right out there on the line, answered a bunch of questions the guys had and challenged them to take Jesus as their life-saver... The classic line used to preach the gospel was "God is like KFC, we can't just walk up and take the chicken, there is a person we need to go through to get to the chicken (Jesus as a check-out chick with a difference!). The guys really connected with that one!

That night (Thursday) we went to a Passover meal at Darwin Corps, more than a hundred people rocked up! It was awesome to explore that last meal Jesus had, which he celebrated as a Jew and we can now recognise as a way to celebrate Jesus himself as the promised Messiah! (Messiah=a saving leader the Jews have been expecting for thousands of years, many recognised it was Jesus, others are still waiting to this day!).

Friday saw the kick-off of the NT Youth Easter Camp, we went to church (the Drama was awesome! that couple who were acting... second to none! hehe), then stayed out at Howard Springs at "Camp Beazley" (really a big property where the Beazleys live, they were great hosts). Camping out in tents during the wet season was a huge experience - we had two ridiculous rain storms, one which blew a big marquee tumbling across the yard! Only one person's bed got wet in the storms (guess who! grrr).
I spun-out at the go-karts (going too fast), Pete looked hilarious in his full-face helmet and one of the girls crashed while she was too busy waving! The Beazley's pool was well-used by all, especially the Melbournians! (it was HOT!). During the camp we learnt about prayer, justice and were challenged in our understanding of Jesus death and ressurrection - what did that mean personally?
The Camp Leaders had a rocking prayer meeting where the power of the Holy Spirit fell - everyone was amazed by God as leaders knelt, faces to the floor in prayer for the campers. The last night we sat round a campfire and shared about what camp meant to each of us, talked about Jesus' impact on our lives and how life from now on could be different, we could feel the Holy Spirit was there and active!

Where to from camp? We've invited the kids to our Sunday night Revolution Group, an opportunity to go deeper in learning and experiencing what it means to be a Revolutionary for God.

Monday Pete and I hung out at home, caught up on some sleep and reading, then Tuesday slept in some more and after lunch spent some time praying with one of the Sunrise guys that God is really working on (*please pray for him*). Afterwards we did the afternoon shift at Sunrise Homeless Mens accommodation.

Only a week to go here at Sunrise, then on to Darwin Corps... time is really flying by!

A final thought (as shared at Sunrise devotions today):

We can know OF people, we can know ABOUT people and we can KNOW people.
Do you know OF Jesus? Know ABOUT Jesus? or KNOW Jesus?

Because Jesus KNOWS YOU!!! - see Psalm 139!

STOKE IT UP! 24/7 Prayer @ College

Part of the college deal down here is that we all get a 'responsibility' to look after, like the media gear, the costume room, the junior youth group, music etc... Mine is with the Prayer Team, so we're right into it from the start of the year... 3 MONTHS of PRAYER!!!! I'm pretty excited at the sheer challenge of a community praying for that long, but a bit bummed that I'm going to miss most of it because I'm in Darwin then! Part of the vision for this prayer is to STOKE IT UP!!!!

If anyone is into prayer and geographically close to college, then give the college a call (or Amanda or I - if you have our numbers!), and come and pray at the "Armoury"!!! We'd welcome some integrating with the wider Salvo world and it would be a great encouragement for Cadets and staff to continue STRONG in 24/7!

"Don't burn out: keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder." Romans 12:11-12

Uniform vs. Uniformity?

PETE : AARON : XANDER : JAMES

What an awesome bunch of fired up Salvo guys! I love that all of them are in uniform, but they're all different!
This was taken at the Prayer walk (@614) about a month ago, but I recently spent some time with them at 'Go For Souls!'... an AWESOME time! People were getting saved, we were prophesying over each other, tons of prayer for others and the lost and the Revolution band went nuts for Jesus! The Holy Spirit was really moving (you know what happens when the Holy Spirit moves... oh yeah!), heaps of people were challenged that weekend.

There's nothing like spending time with people who get you fired up for Jesus! ;o)

WAAAHHHH!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!! *sob* HELP US LORD!!!!

I'm in a ranting mood and I'm sitting at the computer crying because of the blogs I've just read. So much passion. A united groaning for the Army is being sent up... weeping, hurting people, in pain because God's vision weighs so heavily on them...

How can we have so many on-fire people in our Army, people with vision and passion and full of the Holy Spirit, people showing the Army God's way foward and putting their lives on the line to do it.... and yet the Army in the west continues to shrink and wither away before their eyes?

Why Lord??? How can it happen? How can the situation be so dire, yet I sit here in the library, in the college, crying, waiting for the day I can break out into your glorious mission, make the hard decisions to see more people saved, to see the church and your kingdom grow, to put it all on the line for you!!!??!!

Send your rain on us Father God, refresh us... make us green and alive!
Send your fire Holy Spirit, burn us up, consume the dross, leave us shining in your light
Send your blood Lord Jesus! wash us, purify us, make us holy through your sacrifice...

Perhaps I'm just being emotional.... perhaps I'm connecting with the pain I'm feeling for the lost.... whatever its for, it hurts, and it makes me want to do God's will, to cry out on behalf of our world, our Army and God's people.

Lord take these inner groanings, these unintelligible words, and through your love accept them as an offering... one of brokenness... send your mercy upon us Lord... revive us once again. Amen.

Journey to the Cross

To all those who have contact with the college at some stage during the week, let this be a reminder, please sign up to our 24/7 prayer 'journey to the cross'!

I've been part of several 24/7 prayer marathons and truthfully, I've never regretted organising them or going along, I've always met with God in a powerful way. I'm not really sure why that is, but I know I can expect God's Spirit to draw near to me as I commit myself to a specific time of prayer and fasting.

Have a go... see if God won't bless the socks off you and challenge you to go further than you've ever been before!!!

------------ UPDATE ------------

God is great! Cadets, staff and visitors visited 707 and met with the Lord. Most left their 'mark' in the room with prayers on the 'wall', in our prayer journal, sticky notes, prophetic 'posts', signing the guestbook and most importantly leaving their mark on the spiritual battlefield! Group prayer was a really special time for those who came along, God spoke to us in the prophetic and hope was renewed!

This 24/7 was an awesome opportunity to reflect on the journey of Christ as he travelled to and went through the ordeal of being crucified for our sins. Personally, I've been brought to my knees in appreciation for what the Lord did for me (and you)... Jesus is Lord! Keep the prayer flowing... Praise God.