Heavenly Homecoming..

Today has been a tough day for the youth of Life Church. Early this morning, Inez (17 years old) passed away... At the very time of her passing (which I was not yet aware of), I posted my blog, asking you to pray for her healing. God had already answered our prayer.. Not necessarily in the way we would have preferred but we still give Him the glory for He is worthy. She is healed, complete, whole and free from suffering.. In the early hours of this morning, God called his daughter home! I can just imagine her running through the gates of heaven, being welcomed with 'Well done, good and faithful servant! Welcome Home..'

I have come to the conviction that we are called by God to pray in faith and ask for physical healing, knowing that he is more than able! ..However we do not have the right to demand that from him. He alone is God and we trust Him to do that which will most honour and glorify His name.

As we all met together today and I listened to them talk about Inez, I was inspired! This young girl of 17 years old has left a powerful legacy that will not be forgotten. Amongst her friends, there were tears, laughter, stories remembered, and moments shared, all in celebration of her short, yet passionate life. Her single minded, undivided heart was sold out for the cause of knowing Christ and making him known. In her school, she rose up, unashamed of her relationship with Jesus, causing others to stop and take notice. And today, even we, stopped and took note of her life, encouraged and challenged by her unwavering devotion, whatever the cost! I did not know Inez like most sitting in that room today (In fact I only met her for the first time in the hospital room) but even I see the fruit of her life, still growing and multiplying.

Last week at church, Steve Uppal gave a powerful message entitled 'The power of One'. We read amazing stories of individuals who laid all aside for the gospel.. men and women who changed the world, causing great revivals because they chose to surrender, take up their cross and boldly proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. Steve finished by repeating 'there are stories still to be written.. there are stories, even in this room that are still to be written'. I remember thinking to myself, "God i don't want to get to heaven and be ashamed that I did not give you my all. I want to be just another 'one' who made that simple decision to surrender, take up my cross and proclaim your gospel.. ." And not for my name's sake but that HIS name would be made famous!

As we reflected today I thought, right now Inez's story continues to be written on the hearts of those around her who were affected by her infectious love for Jesus. May her legacy, her story, and her testimony cause people to come face to face with Jesus! From this day to her funeral day, to the days ahead, my prayer is that her testimony continues to speak.. loudly.. as an ongoing reminder of the transforming power of the cross. I am reminded of the life of another precious daughter of God, Hannah Sobeski who also shared a similar journey. We wonder 'why' and we struggle to comprehend God's reasoning, but ultimately God will be glorified! God's will for Inez, for Hannah, is also part of God's will for us and our journey. He has not made a mistake, nor has he failed us. And we trust him with that.

Let me share what happened yesterday. Since I arrived and started working with the youth, I have had this strong conviction that God is on the move and we need to be attentive to His voice as He leads us and directs us. In seeking out the needs of our youth, I feel so strongly that we must seek GOD'S vision! Yes we can have 'good' ideas and 'effective' programs, but we want this to be HIS vision, HIS heartbeat and HIS mission! I don't want to naively forge ahead in my 'good' ideas hoping that God will bless it. No I want to Him to lead us. Do we sit back and do nothing in the meantime? No, but we get serious, we get intentional and we get desperate for God to speak, to move and to lead!

In the same message from Steve Uppal, he spoke so strongly with such great conviction and I just heard God repeat over and over again 'Fight for their souls! Fight for the souls of our youth! Who will stand up and fight for them?? The world is fighting for their souls - to steal, kill and destroy -to steal their innocence, kill their joy and destroy their future. But Jesus came that they would have life and life abundantly! (John 10:10). Whose going to fight for them if you don't? Bec, you don't have time to wonder whether it's possible, or to doubt your ability, or to settle for mediocrity. Bec, the gospel is urgent, Jesus is worth it and these youth need Him! So get your armour on, pick up your Sword and fight!'

So then yesterday we (youth leaders) got together for a few hours.. we talked, we prayed, we prayed.. and we prayed some more.. In that same passage in John (v10-13) Jesus says 'The thief comes ONLY to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandond the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep'. That's what it means to fight! To lay down your life for the 'sheep'. If there is no ownership it is easy to run from the need. But this mandate is not optional. Jesus did not say 'Preach the gospel.. make disciples.. care for the needy.. feed the hungry.. if you feel like it'. No he said YOU FEED THEM. And so I released them if they feel their calling is different from youth, but if they stay and we commit to this together, then we will make it our mission to fight for them! To lay down our lives for them! To care for the sheep as the Good Shepherd cares for them! I believe God stripped us back, humbled us and caused us to recommit ourselves afresh in surrender to His call. Exactly what that looks like I do not know, but I do know that it involves saying 'Jesus, come what may, I'm yours! Use me, mould me, shake me, break me, do with me what you will, for my life is not my own, I have been bought with a price. I have surrendered my rights. I lay down my life. Glorify yourself through me'.

At the end of our time together after we had prayed for Inez, Tammy said something that would prove to be even more profound today. She said 'Guys, we're talking about laying down our lives for God. Inez is doing this.. she has done this.. she has laid down her life. She has surrendered herself, knowing that her life is not her own'. And then only a matter of hours later, Inez went home. She truly had laid down her life, surrendering to God's will in her life. "To live is Christ; To die is gain" (Phil 1:21). It's easy to say but not so easy to live out in the midst of grief. By no means am I saying that I understand all of what they are feeling right now, but I do know grief and what it means to lose someone that you love.

And so I don't believe that timing is ever a coincidence. So often it's easy to say 'oh this is bad timing' but I wonder it that is wrong to say, if we truly believe that God is sovereign and in control. It's as if on Sunday we verbalised our surrender and submission to Christ regardless of the cost, and then on Monday we were called to walk it out in faith. I just know that God is calling us higher and deeper with Him.

Please pray with us for Inez's family.. for her school friends.. for her friends here at Life Church who have lost a precious friend.. for our church leadership.. for Tammy as she takes the funeral and for those who have YET to accept Christ as their Saviour. As much as we might know the truth in our heads and I've even managed to ramble away with many words, the fact remains that in this world we do face pain, hurt and grief. Inez's family and friends are grieving and we're praying for God to be revealed in such a powerful way! The youth at church are amazing and I am so encouraged by their steadfast trust in God in the midst of their pain. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Cor 1:3,4).

Well once again, thank you for praying! God is still on the throne and we will continue to praise Him for he deserves it! Forgive my rambles at times but at least this blog is not a 'required reading' but simply an 'optional extra'.

Blessings,

Bec..

'BE THE CHANGE'.. Life in Cape Town so far!

Before I kick off, I want to thank each of you for your messages and emails etc etc! I really have not spent time replying as yet.. I will, I will.. but may this blog serve as an encouragement and an update! Yes I know sometimes it ends up a little long but at the same time, only read if you have time and feel the urge.. J More than you know I appreciate your love, your friendship and your prayers! Blessings to you..

“Welcome Home!”. That phrase we usually use when RETURNING BACK to our place of belonging. And yet, it is a strange reality to realize that I have instead been welcomed to a new place, which will now become ‘home’. The past 25 days have been active, vibrant, busy, meaningful, powerful, surreal and full. From day one I knew that I knew that this is the place that God wants me to be. And even though there are still things I am learning, procedures to be understood, people to meet, relationships to be built, ministries to grow, there exists a ‘sweet spot’ when regardless of all that, you know that at least in this very moment, I am where He wants me to be! It’s not necessarily ‘easy’ but there’s nowhere else I would rather be.

2 weeks ago Gareth Stead came to speak, and among other things he reflected on Adam’s life, where in Genesis it reads ‘God took him and put him.. (in the garden)’. He didn’t ask for Adam’s approval, nor try to convince him of how good it would be, No, God took him and put him! The same is said for Joseph whose master ‘took him and put him’ in prison! And ‘what man intended for evil, God used for good’! In a similar way I feel like God ’took me and put me’ here! This is God’s placement, not mine and because of that one thing, I know that He has a purpose and a plan for me here in South Africa.

On Thursday 29th January I arrived in Cape Town to find out that my Pastor, Anthony had been admitted into hospital with chronic pain in his neck and down his back. Resulting from a surfing accident 5 years ago, his neck and back were now saying ‘enough’. With compressed vertebrae and pinched nerves, it was time to get it ‘fixed’. So on Tuesday 3rd Feb, Anthony went in for surgery, with an expected recovery time of 5 weeks! For a guy who is always on the move this has been quite the adjustment. He at this moment in a neck brace and slowly getting back to his normal active self. Vision Sunday was moved from 1st Feb, to this Sunday 1st March (while several individual staff meetings have occurred in his living room). But God is on the move! He has a plan! And God always has a purpose in events such as these! So as a church, we are excited to hear how God has envisioned Anthony for the year ahead and empowered him to lead us in that God-inspired vision. Our mission statement for 2009 is BE THE CHANGE! When the disciples were faced with a crowd of over 5000 hungry people, Jesus responded to their state of anxiety with ‘YOU FEED THEM!’. Often we see the need and hope/ask/pray that God would meet the need by those who are ‘gifted’, ‘qualified’, or ‘trained’, and yet to his disciples Jesus said ‘You feed them’.. ‘YOU be the change that they are searching for’! And that is our mission.. to BE THE CHANGE!

My transition into church life, staff roles, youth leadership and building relationships has proven to be surprisingly smooth and natural! Yes as I said earlier, there is much to learn and understand, but more than that, there is an overriding peace and excitement that God has deliberately put me here for ‘such a time as this’ to serve his purposes in this current generation. I feel ‘at home’ in church, within the staff, with the youth, and here in Cape Town. That is not to say that I don’t feel the effects of being away from my family back home, because I certainly do. It is one thing to go away on ‘trips’, knowing that you will return ‘home’, but to re-locate to another continent for the purpose of establishing life there long term is very different and new for me. In many ways it still feels surreal and I often catch myself thinking ‘Am I really doing this? Did I actually leave Australia and move to SA? What on earth am I doing here?’ Lol. But in those moments I must come back to the assurance that God said GO! Like he told Abram to ‘leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you’, I feel that God has required the same obedience from me – to get up and leave.

I am grateful that this firm confirmation from God was not only revealed to me but also to my family. As difficult as it was to say ‘goodbye’ they released me to go, knowing that my obedience to God had to come before my own personal desires (like spending some time back home with them!). I feel supremely blessed.. Only God can allow a family to be so close, and yet release each other with such freedom, knowing that God is God and bridges the gap while apart from each other. A sweet friend recently said to me ‘Bec, God’s will for you is God’s will for your family’. So I entrust them to God! (But I will say that technology is just fabulous! Skype/FB/sms/calling cards etc makes the contact all the more convenient!)

While writing this I am sitting in my ‘granny flat’, situated in Bantry Bay, Cape Town about 5-10 minutes drive from the church. A sweet couple offered for me to stay in their granny flat, under their house.. It started out as a temporary arrangement, but I'm trusting that God will lead the way ahead. All I know is that for now God has placed me here.. deliberately.. intentionally.. for a purpose! God is good! And nothing is a coincidence or ‘plan B’ when He’s in charge!

As for buying a car, that is still a Work in Progress! For those of you who have read my previous blogs, you are probably thinking to yourself ‘Bec, it’s not about the car!’ lol.. yes thank you! But I am trusting that in the next week or 2, I might have found one! Maybe God is teaching me the lesson of dependence upon others and the humility it takes to ask.. and ask again.. and again! Sweet people have been absolute gems! – always willing to pick me/take me home! I have also enjoyed the 40minute walk to work when the weather has been good.. and the walk home certainly gives my legs and rear end a work out! Bantry Bay is quite elevated, overlooking Sea Point.. so my trek home, feels more like a mountain trek, than a casual stroll! But I can’t complain – Cape Town is a beautiful place to be!

So this brings to me to why God brought me here in the first place! The youth of Sea Point! Wow, what a journey it has been so far. My first meeting with my leaders occurred 3 days after I arrived and I just knew that there was treasure lay hidden and potential waiting to be released! It was as if we ‘clicked’ from day 1. I love them! ..And I am passionate about investing into their lives and setting the stage for each individual to explode in the fullness of what God has placed within them!

There are 12-15 key leaders who have committed themselves to the youth of this city. Yes we have much to learn and much to grow into, but what an exciting reality it is that ‘God’s eyes search throughout the earth, looking to strengthen those whose hearts are set on Him’. My prayer is that as God looks across the city of Cape Town, that his attention would be arrested as he looks upon this group… These are the future leaders of this country! May they not settle for what the world would throw at them or let their confidence be crushed by the weight of pressure around them. But may they stand firm, rise up and take hold of the power that God has placed within them by His Spirit!

Paul’s words to Timothy continue to speak ‘Don’t let anyone look down upon you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity’. God uses young people!! When Jesus fed the 5000 (yes by now you know I love this story!) he said to his disciples ‘YOU FEED THEM’ (thanks Sean!), but where did that food come from??? That’s right – a boy! As I journaled this passage on Friday it hit me.. ‘Bec, those youth leaders that are right in front of you – they hold the key! Just like Jesus blessed the boys lunch, my prayer is that he would bless that which is in the hands of my leaders to ‘feed’ the multitudes!

I believe God wants to touch this city in a powerful way! Do I feel that the task is too great! YES! Do I feel like small David standing before the mighty Goliath? YES. Do I feel that it is impossible for me? YES. .. BUT!.. Do I believe that God is too small for a miracle? NO! Do I believe that God can’t work with my limitations? NO! For his power and strength is made perfect in my weaknesses! David’s confidence was in His God, no giant was greater than his trust in His God! I want to be like the disciple Andrew who ‘spoke up saying ‘here is a boy, with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish..’. That might seem simple to you, but he had enough faith to speak up, offering that which he had to offer! In the same way, I feel like I am saying to God ‘There are hundreds/thousands of youth who are spiritually hungry! The task is so great, the man power, seemingly small. But Lord, here we are.. use us!

I believe change is on God’s heart, but with that change I believe the evil one is freaking out! He is threatened by the potential of what God wants to do in and through his Church! And so we as the church are certainly being tested. Without delving into great detail, we had a major shock this past week with Lorenzo, one of the key church leader/planters in Mozambique dying suddenly from viral meningitis. He was only 22 years old, married with one child and another on the way! A major shock especially for those within his church. Please pray for Anne-maree, the Australian woman who planted the church up there 10 years ago and her husband (and baby) as they seek God’s direction and depend upon His comfort at this time.

Also, back here at home, one of my youth leaders, Inez is currently in ICU in a critical condition. Her body is fighting a tough battle! She has low blood platelets, causing her immune system to weaken with any infection. Her lungs are struggling and she is not able to breathe on her own.. they tried taking her off the ventilator but her body did not respond well. Her liver and kidneys are also fighting an uphill battle. She is only 17! God calls us to pray for healing.. so join with us! With just one word he spoke the world into creation, and with one touch he healed the blind, the sick, the broken. Do we demand healing? No, but we are asking for healing and calling on God to magnify his greatness and glorify Himself through Inez’s life! So please pray with us.. there are other areas of testing but I know that God is on the move and he is refining us, molding us, growing us and stretching us to be the men and women of God that He has created us to be!

There is much more on my heart to share, but I think this blog is more than long enough for one sitting! Wherever this finds you, may you approach this new day ahead with a deep and unshakable assurance that God is here! Jesus loves ‘showing up’! Thanks to Mark Burchell who preached tonight, he gave 3 examples of God showing up! In the midst of FEAR, he appeared to his disciples in the upper room declaring ‘Peace be with you’.. In the midst of the FIRE, he appeared with Daniel in the furnace as his protector and ‘fire-proof’ shield.. And in the midst of a FIX he showed up in the prison, releasing the chains of bondage and opening the gate to freedom! When Jesus shows up, lives are transformed, chains are broken and hope is restored!

May we trust in the unlimited, unfathomable, unchanging power of God! ‘It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery’ (Gal 5:1)..

BEC*