Back in to it

It has been a while since I posted.  In fact, it has been over six months!  So I thought it was high time I got back on the hobby horse, and write a post.

A few things have changed since my last post.  The floods have gone (in our area the devastation has regrown), and life is going on as normal.  I lost my job just after the flooding- sales dwindled down to nothing, and it just wasn't working out, so I found different employment.  I no longer sell Solahart Hot Water or Solar Power systems- I am the worlds newest Used Vehicle Sales Consultant!

Before March the 18th I had never sold a car in my life.  When we moved from New Zealand to Australia, my dear wife had that chore with our automobile.  I had never had any formal sales training either- I just sort of fumbled along, gleaning what I could from books and cd's I came across.  Despite all this, it hasn't taken long to build my sales.  I am by no means making a fortune, but as I gain experience, I can see the potential for quite a satisfactory yearly income!  On this subject- if you are looking for a quality used vehicle, and live in the eastern states of Australia, call me on 07 4924 5200 and I will be happy to help you find the best car for you.  I work at Ian Weigh Motors- one of the countries premier Toyota Dealerships (Oh What A Feeling).

One final thing for this post.  Check out http://www.ChristianBusinessSearch.com.au, the best place to go if you are a Christian business person in Australia, or if you are looking for a business operated by a Christian.  This is a little business I have started, in the hopes that we may be able to be financially free to serve the Lord in a more full time capacity.  Please get behind this, and help us to be able to more fully serve our God.

Queensland Flooding

There is something about nature that is awe inspiring.  Something that makes one stop and think, and look at life a little differently.  Earthquakes will level cities, fires will raze them, tornado's will flatten them, and floods will wash them away.

Australia is the Golden land.  We have an heritage of wealth, a spirit of achievement, and a 'can do' attitude.  Australians have a resilience that many other people cannot (or will not) show.  When a town gets hammered by a disaster, we rally around and fix it up.  When tragedy strikes, we pull together and pull through!  It's in our history, it's in our blood!

Mining disasters, fires, cyclones, and flooding.  Australia has had it all.  Queensland has suffered through a decade of drought, and the farmer has stuck it out.  We have now been hit by some of the worst flooding in our history- but we will come back!  The towns have been washed away, but they will be rebuilt.  Some people have perished, but we will stand strong!

Our Diggers in wars gone by showed us the way- don't give up.  We've had it good, we've had it hard, but whichever way the wind blows, we will not give in.  As the water drains away, stand up Queenslander, let's get this place rebuilt!

My own home has been flooded, but thank God for the small grace of not being there.  Instead, we are privileged to be taken care of by some dear friends to the South.  Eventually, we will return to face the clean up, but by God's grace, we have suffered no great loss.

Jim

Photo's

Has God Forsaken Our Land?

And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?
Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

 Ezekiel 9:8-9 

It seems to me that every day there is more news about a natural disaster of some description.  Christchurch- a massive earthquake, the same size as the one that struck Haiti, destroys half the city.  Victoria- flooding has placed many houses under water.  Hurricane Igor, and Hurricane Karl, fires, flooding, earthquakes- it seems like a world under attack!  But it's not.  More likely it's a world under judgment.

We are seeing the same attitude in people today that Ezekiel saw all those thousands of years ago in the people of Israel and Judah!  A feeling that God has left the Earth, forsaken it, and does not see or care what it going on.  An attitude that says, "we can do what we like, because God will not see it anyway."

Let me remind you of a passage of Scripture that will show you that no matter what we do, God will see, and he will not be turning a blind eye:

Psalms 139:1-24
1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5  Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
17  How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
19  Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20  For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

God is everywhere, and the time of his coming must be soon.

Jim

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Something I heard on the radio recently made me stop and think about this.  I was wondering about the manifestation of this fruit in the lives of Christians, and what it means if this fruit is missing.  I believe that if a person is 'Born Again', then there will be some sort of manifestation of that in their lives.  I am not saying that they will suddenly become the great Christian who can do no wrong, what I am saying, is that, in some way they will be different.

The difference may just be a nagging when they are doing wrong- at the point of Salvation, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell within you, so you have an additional conscience poking you in the heart when you know you are doing wrong.  Maybe it's a sudden desire to make things right with other people, or maybe the activities you enjoy just loose a little of their gloss.  Whatever it is, there will be something.

As a person grows in their relationship with God, there ought to be an obvious change in their lives.  This is shown to us in Galatians 5, when we read what the Fruit of the Spirit is.  I wonder how many of us (myself included) are showing some, or any, of these fruit?  A Christian should have an underlying joy in their lives- even in times of sorrow and hardship.  A Christian should be gentle (I don't mean soft, there is a difference between being a coward, and being gentle,) humble, and slow to anger.

After reading Galatians 5, I started to wonder about the world of Christianity in today's day and age.  I was wondering if we exhibit these Fruit of the Spirit, or is their no difference between us and the world.  Do our Facebook posts honour God, or when our children read them in years to come, are they going to be ashamed or hurt by it?  I have, in the past, been guilty of some harsh words, but I know, when it comes down to it, our actions will typically be a representation of our walk with God.

I hope this will encourage you to think about what your actions are saying concerning your walk with God, and how the Fruit of the Spirit is reflected in your life.

Jim