Long time no see

Wow, it has been almost 8 months since I last made a post on my youth blog.

Well even if no one ever reads this, it is a great opportunity for me to glorify God and give Him the praise and honour.

UPDATE


I've moved to the university group and under the leadership and guidance of Andy Leake who is doing an awesome job. He is a great man of God, 34 and single :D for all you who are single, female, Godly and willing to come to Adelaide for a missions trip :D

Anyway, youth is still on, same time same place! It is being run by my good friends Nick, Joe and Vivian. Youth group has been able to grow in so much depth because of these three. They are taking Youth group to a place I would never have been able to do myself. I am so honoured and blessed that the kids get great leaders such as these guys to lead them.

I think the main thing that I wanted to talk about tonight was contentment in Christ.

I see so often in ministry and serving, so many people striving to please either God or Man. I know that there is a part of us that always wants to be encouraged and complimented from others and that is okay. But when we start to serve Christ in order to recieve applaus from anyone but Christ himself, we miss the point.

Our reward becomes other peoples approval and our joy and peace in Christ is sold cheaply for a few words.

I don't say this because I am perfect, but rather I say this because I myself have done that in the past. So much i've strived so hard and for all the wrong reasons that although I got the job done, i missed the heart of God.

The heart of God is so important. God's heart is one of love. He doesn't want us to strive in order for us to win his love. He just wants us to receive His love.

Imagine, if you had a child, or imagine your nephew or neice. Imagine that you love them dearly and you want to give them a hug. But they said 'wait, let me do the dishes first, or clean my room first, or get a glass of water for you, only then I will allow you to hug me, because then I would be worthy of your love'.

That is totally wrong thinking, we love our children regardless of what they do or how they perform. Yet we view God in this same manner, we assume that if we cannot or do not perform, we cannot recieve God's love. But God is faithful and just to forgive when we repent of our sins. He then seperates our sin from us as far as the east is from the west. Then He loves us, just as we are, just where we are.

My encouragement, is stop striving. Allow God to love you, rest in Him.