Intensives finished a few weeks ago and we’re into the meat of our semesterly (I think I just made up a word) schedule. I absolutely love the classes and teachers that I have. I have three different music classes a week, two Old Testament classes, two personal leadership, and then chapel four times a week.

A few weeks ago, I went with three incredible people from my tutorial class to Mona Vale and went to the beach there. That was such a fun day and it ended with me getting probably the worst sunburn I’ve gotten in my life.

Then this last Monday, my entire tutorial class took a trip in to the city to do the touristy thing down at the opera house.

I love being here. This college and this church are challenging me constantly to become that man I was born to be. I leave every class feeling more like that man I was born to be.

This wasn’t very many words and only had a few pictures. But I will try to do better at updating this thing.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

I was walking home from Maccas at about 10:30 and started praying and talking to Jesus about how amazing the night was and how I’m so thankful to be here and be a part of it. Now, I’ve been a fan of Hillsong music for around three years and I came down here with certain expectations of what I would see, hear, and feel during church/worship/whatever. God revealed to me that lately in times I’ve worshiped, I’ve been worshiping to try to get a feeling to come over me. I’ve been seeking an emotional state where I just start weeping during worship because of what’s going on. Then God whispered these words into my ears, “Don’t seek a feeling. Seek me.”

I’ve talked about how worship is more than a feeling before, but this really hit me last night as during the night, Joel Houston talked about freedom in worship and not abiding to the, “raise your hands during the chorus, sway during the verse” model we sometimes get caught up in. As people were really pressing into God and seeking God in that time, as I was pressing into and seeking after God in that time, worship felt different than it has since I’ve been here. It wasn’t about getting this mushy feeling inside. It was about worshiping God because he’s God.

Holy are You, God.
Holy is Your Name.
With everything I’ve got
My heart will sing “How I love You.”

There are flashy gifts in the Kingdom of God. There are the more prominent gifts. There are gifts that are more noticeable because it involves being on a platform singing or speaking. But those gifts don’t say anything about the person who has received it. It’s a testimony of God’s goodness that he would gift us. Like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. Ferguson then went on to say that it is our character in which we use the gifts that says something about us.

This was making sense to me, but my spirit hadn’t fully received what he was saying until he illustrated it out for the class. He opened his wallet and took out a fifty dollar bill. He asked who in the class room needed fifty dollars. A few people raised their hands and he walked over to a young woman from New York who raised her hand. He asked her if she needed the money. She said yes. He asked if she had prayed for God to provide. She said yes. He then gave her the fifty dollars from his wallet.

He asked the class, “What does this gift say about her?”

The room was amazed. I may have had to pick my jaw up off of the floor.

“Nothing.”

It spoke of his generosity, but it spoke nothing of the young woman from New York.

In the same way that Robert Ferguson’s gift of fifty dollars to the young woman said nothing about her. God’s giftings he’s given us say nothing about us. But it is a testimony to who He is. It’s what we do with the gifts that says something about us.

Today, I pretty much chilled at the house. Let the blisters on my feet heal up. Let the sunburn cool down a bit. It felt nice to just relax.

I did get my debit card from my new bank in the mail today, so I’ll be able to go shopping for a few new things that I need. (Having to have cash on you to buy stuff is a pain!) While I’m on the subject of shopping, here’s an interesting thing about living here. Shops and stores and such are only open until 5:00 most nights. Thursday nights are special and things are open until 9:00 but that’s it. So if you don’t have what you need by 5:00, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get it. That may become a tad frustrating when school starts and classes run until 4:30-5:00. But we’ll deal with that when the time comes.

Church over the weekend was amazing. I went to three services over the weekend, Saturday night, Sunday morning, and then Sunday night. My housemates who have been here for a semester or two say that Church is the highlight of their week. I can see why.

The fact that this day is finally and already here is unreal.

See you all on the other side of the world.

Last night: My friends threw me a going away party.

Today: I consolidate my life here and try to fit the next two years of my life into two suitcases.

Tomorrow: I lead worship for the last time at my church.

Monday: The adventure begins.

I can’t believe it’s almost here.

While I was laying in bed last night, I was thinking/pondering/praying about matters of God and got hit with a sudden, clear new revelation of God. I was pretty blown away by it and I thought that you might find it helpful, too. So here it is.

Jesus is our Savior. Our rescuer. He redeems us. He restores us. But we have to let him do that and follow him once he has made a path for us to be rescued, redeemed, or restored. In Exodus, God delivered Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians, but the Israelites had to still choose to leave Egypt. When the Red Sea parted, they had to choose to walk through it.

So it is with us.

When God answers our prayers for deliverance and to be rescued, and he opens a door for us, we still have to choose to walk through that door and out of the stuff we’re in, be it sin, oppression, danger.

In John 8 when Jesus saves the adulteress from being stoned, his last words to her are “Go now and leave your life of sin.” He had already delivered her and it was now up to her to accept that.

This may not be big news for you, but it really struck me. So when God answers our prayers and gives us a way out, let’s have the courage and the faith to walk through that door. Amen.

It’s too bad that this never made it into theaters. I think it would have been a huge hit!

Lately, a lot of what I’ve been praying about and praying for is for the Kingdom of God to manifest itself here on earth more. God wants so bad for us to usher in His kingdom and I think that I’m ankle deep in a vast ocean of what that actually looks like.

I’ve been reading the book When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson, the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. It has just been rocking my world and I’m only five chapters in.

One of the biggest revelations I’ve received from reading this book has been about the prayer that Jesus taught (Matthew 6:9-13) and how it’s all about ushering in God’s Kingdom. It starts with worship and then declares His will be done “on earth as it is in heaven”. It then goes on to list of what heaven on earth looks like: provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. It then concludes with more worship.

I’m not really one for new year’s resolutions, but I want to make it a goal and a habit of bringing the Kingdom of God with me wherever I go.

I bought the new live CD by Misty Edwards titled Fling Wide last week. It’s an amazing CD and it has been dominating time on my iPod. This album has a different sound on it than most of Misty’s albums as the songs have a strong anthem feel to them while still maintaining the intimate worship melodies and lyrics that makes her albums so amazing. My favorite song off of the CD right now is Resting Place. It’s a simple repeated chorus that soars and draws you into a place of worship.

To buy this CD or any of her other ones, click here. It’ll make your eardrums happy and your heart long for more of Christ in your life.

What album has been dominating time on your iPod lately?