img_1359Refreshing power and passion.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:4-7

The sun rises at 4.45am in the middle of our hot December summers in Queensland. That means Christmas holidays are all about the sunshine, afternoon thunderstorms, bush fires and cyclones, looking for a shady spot to park the car. Christmas in Australia is all about being scorching hot. Most people who live near the coast all head to the beach. Australian’s have a love affair with the ocean. For me that love affair started when I was 14 years old when I purchased a surfboard for $25 from a school mate. I couldn’t even swim but that did not stop my determination to ride waves. Every morning before the sun I would ride my bicycle with my beloved surfboard under arm, religiously turning up morning after morning, no matter what the weather conditions, simply to surf for an hour before school.

A year before I had prayed a prayer and asked Jesus to be Lord of my life. I did not yet understand the mysteries of faith in Christ in those difficult times. But as a young believer I loved the solitude of those early morning surfing sessions. Time to pray and ask God for help.

These days I still love surfing. In fact we spent a few days this week looking out at Greenmount Point and resting. A great surf break. It reminded me of the passion I once had with my old beaten up single fin board…. and the passion I had as a young Christian to live for Jesus every day.

My prayer is that as we all grow older we will not let past failures, hurts, tradition, legalism, religion or just plain indifference rob us of the fire that once burned so brightly in our souls.

“Lord refresh us I pray, that we may be so in love with your ways that we will rise early in the morning to give you praise, that we may live our days serving you and refreshing others. Amen”

Thanks for your refreshing support.

Godspeed,

steve-sign-white2
Pictured: Greenmount Point this week

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