The  Curse of Unfulfilled Expectations.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.. and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.. not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2: 8-10

You and I have been created for good works. Every person born on earth has God’s fingerprint of eternal destiny in their DNA. Created for a purpose. We all have dreams in our hearts and hopes for the future. Sometimes in life our expectations get dashed against the rocks like a ship in a storm. We have our plans and yet through circumstances beyond our control… they fail.

I believe this is where real faith and determination kick in. Don’t ever give up just because your initial expectations are unfulfilled. Try a different course. Prove the legalistic critics wrong and achieve what God intended you to do. Religion will destroy you but faith in Jesus will liberate you.

The apostle Paul was doomed. He was in chains on a prison ship lost at sea in violent storms for 14 days. He knew the message he had within his heart was for the entire world to hear and he was determined to get to Caesar. He never expected it would be as a Roman prisoner. But in the end he didn’t care. He was fully convinced God was with him and the word would get out.

After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss.  But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’  So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” Acts 27:21-26

Don’t ever let the curse of unfulfilled expectations dictate the terms of your life to you. Take hold of tomorrow and live it like its your last. One small broken mechanical part in a perfectly useful farm tractor can render it useless forever if the farmer gives up on the vision he had for it. Eventually it lies dormant in a field of weeds.

By God’s grace we are called to do His good works. So keep up your courage and have faith in God that it will happen!!!

Godspeed,

Pictured: A rusting Massey Ferguson tractor in a lonely field near the town of Anakie, Victoria.

The Wonder of Creation and worrying about Life.

With every outgoing tide along the northern beaches of Tasmania’s coastline tens of thousands of sand worms carry out their daily procedure of digging deeper into the sand, leaving a myriad of artistic tubular mounds. Every one is unique and captivating…. and destined to be washed away with the returning tide, only to be repeated in the hours of the coming day. Their multi dimensional patterns had me captivated knowing they were the remnants of a worm at work.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:24-27

God knows the great challenges each of us face at different seasons of our lives. The financial struggles, the physical limitations, the family issues.. the list goes on. We all have battles and baggage to contend with. But above all that we have the choice to either be ‘better or bitter’. We choose to get up in the morning and do what we do.. to get on with it. Like a sand worm!!! If he does not dig his way into the sand on low tide he becomes lunch for the local seagull’s!! It’s worth digging deeper and getting on with life. It’s worth putting the most important things first and not being distracted what the system says you need. Just be you. You and Jesus is all you really need. The rest sorts itself out.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:33-34

As you read this we will be travelling across the Bass Strait on the Spirit of Tasmania after two weeks of concerts and ministry throughout Tasmania. Thanks for your interest in our work in serving churches across Australia. We are grateful for some amazing events and the opportunity to sing and preach to many people.

The Heritage Acoustic Tour continues later this week into country Victoria and then on to New South Wales. Thanks for your support and prayers.

Godspeed,

Pictured: The artistic trail left behind the Tasmanian sand worm. Boat Harbour Beach, North Western Tasmania.

LIVING WITH THE FAILURES OF THE PAST

One of the most fascinating creatures to ever walk this planet was the Thylacine.. the Tasmanian Tiger, presumed extinct since 1936 when the last known animal died in captivity. Hunted and killed because they were proving to be a pest to sheep farmers in Tasmania. The Thylacine was a marsupial and carried its young in a pouch similar to a Kangaroo. It resembled a large, short-haired dog with a stiff tail which smoothly extended from the body also like a kangaroo. The Van Diemen’s Land Company introduced bounties on the so called blood sucking ‘vampire dogs’ from as early as 1830, and between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid £1 per head for dead adult thylacines and ten shillingsfor pups. In all they paid out 2,184 bounties, but it is thought that many more thylacines were killed than were claimed for. Its extinction is popularly attributed to these relentless efforts by farmers and bounty hunters. We seem to destroy what we fear. The sad story of the extermination of this species leaves a blot of regret in our national history.

Because of our sin God could have wiped us out long ago…. yet He has chosen to build His kingdom with people like you and me. He calls us to ‘live’ and to be more than conquerors in this fallen world.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

This is the amazing truth of God’s heart for us. We may fail but He makes a way every time. I love the good news of Jesus!!

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Thanks for your prayers as we serve on tour throughout the State of Tasmania at this time. Believing for salvations and transformed lives!!

Godspeed,

Pictured: The last known Tasmanian Tigers. Circa 1936.