“When the world caves in, still my hope will cling to Your promise
When my courage ends, let my heart find strength in Your presence.”

If I’m being honest, I feel like I’ve sat down one too many times in the last number of years to pen a blog about tragedy.  This life can be so unpredictable; there is devastation and sadness wherever we turn.  Yet, what this new song “Glorious Ruins” declares is that out of the devastation, out of the heartache and pain – that when we are at the end of ourselves, we can cling to the promise of God, and find courage in His presence.

The scenes out of Oklahoma this week have been haunting.  Its heart wrenching to watch as people walk - very literally - out of the ruins, out of the ashes and the devastation left behind by a destructive tornado.  Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of the United States, dealing with the aftermath of this natural disaster.

It is at Easter, a time most sacred and central to our Christianity, that we often watch or hear of the re-enacted story of Jesus crucified.  We listen intently as that day in Jerusalem plays out; characters such as the Roman soldiers, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Jesus himself very much taking centre stage.

Yet this year, I stopped for a moment to wonder of another character who only briefly makes an appearance in written history - yet changes this story completely.

A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming from the fields to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus.”
(Mark 15:21)

Simon the Cyrene.

A man who by all accounts was simply entering Jerusalem for other business, but was caught up in the crowds watching as criminals passed by on their way to condemnation. 

Oh what an exhilarating ride momentum can be! Just like the adrenaline of an amusement park ride, the ebb and flow of a giant roller coaster – when you are riding momentum it seems like 'anything could happen and it probably will!'

Momentum speeds up progress and propels you forward in a way best described in the Amplified Bible's definition of the word 'blessed': "Blessed, happy, fortunate, and to be envied!"

Momentum is a friend to every leader who is consumed with the cause of Christ and His Church. Conversely, a lack of momentum is the catalyst of great frustration and duress, and often produces striving or disillusionment - neither of which will ever lead to momentum. It is at times like these that the frustration we feel over lack of momentum is only exacerbated by acquaintances or peers who make it all look so easy as they ride on the wings of the momentum we so desperately crave.

A GLOBAL PRAYER MOVEMENT

(Gifts, nations, prayer, paper-birds, waterfalls & melting snow)

When I felt compelled to create the 2012 'Colour GIFT', my hope was that it would be more than a pretty book that sat on a shelf or coffee table. My hope was that it would visually position the daughters of planet earth before our caring eyes. In the same way that they are not hidden from His loving eyes, I felt they needed to be tangibly positioned before ours. And so with a handful of friends we went about researching the regions of the earth, the nations within and the challenges the women of these nations face.

I have discovered that prayer is not a lame response to the problems of the earth. It is THE most powerful response. Prayer makes a way for God's goodness and answers to prevail. Prayer pushes back the darkness and makes a way for Light to prevail. Prayer takes authority in the spiritual realm, allowing natural authorities to make inroads. It has been said that "all it takes for evil to prevail, is for good men to do Nothing". I believe the same can be said of prayer - all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men and women to never pray!

So I know it's rude to eavesdrop, right... but it's also hard to NOT hear a conversation when the people at the table behind are talking rather loudly.

So here I pen this quick blog in LA. Brian is beside me, breakfast consumed and quietly immersed in his own world of emails, questions and Instagram - forever scrolling for glimpses of grandbabies and the people we love and miss. A pod of dolphins are within view, not far offshore. Maybe twenty or so playing in the cool Californian waters, while a handful of hopeful surfers sit waiting for waves that aren't exactly happening.

It was in 1999 when Bobbie and I were given the opportunity to do something - which for us at that time was a bold and innovative step. We were asked to take on the leadership of my parents’ inner-city church in ADDITION to the church we were already pastoring in the Northwest of Sydney - Hillsong Church.

Bold and innovative because although today in 2013 there are countless models of incredible multi-site churches, back in 1999 it was totally new territory in which we knew of few, if any, role models to look to for guidance.

“Silent Night, Holy Night, All was calm, All was bright.”

Everyone knows the words to this famous Christmas carol.  During the holiday season you could hear this beautiful hymn sung over and over again in shopping malls, church services, park concerts – there is something so comforting, so beautifully seasonal about familiar Christmas songs.

Yet the words of this one carol have played repeatedly on my mind this particular year.  SILENT night. HOLY night. All was CALM.  It paints a picture, doesn’t it? A simple birth, in the most common of environments, under a starry sky….PEACEFUL.  And I don’t know about you, but when I think of this holiday season for me and my family I would probably use words more like ‘busy’, ‘hectic’, ‘tiring’… to describe the schedule we keep during the month of December.

We hope you are having a great week!

It has been brought to our attention that fraudulent emails are being sent out using a false email address for Pastors Brian Houston. We believe these originate from overseas and are one of many scams used to obtain money from unsuspecting individuals under false pretences. If you happen to receive any such email please delete. We have reported this to the relevant Government Authorities and working to avoid such issues in the future. Emails from our church will always come from a Hillsong email address.

The above image is of a fun red journal that has the numbers 365 etched on the cover. Inside are 365 blank pages, except for the individual number of each day in the corner. A few of us in Sydney carry these around with well-loved bibles.

I'm not so clever as to write profound thoughts or revelations EVERYDAY, but the art of penning the things that are important or "of revelation" is a good discipline. Life is fast, our minds have much to absorb, so to commit to paper the "defining stuff" is possibly more critical than we realize.

As I opened this journal today it occurred to me anew that to us each day is a blank page, but to GOD it is already written and recorded in heaven. Not one day is unseen, no circumstance a surprise. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows the design of our lives and the potential of our existence. He knows what He has purposed for each day, and His mercies and grace (should the day be grand or challenging) "await and abound" toward us.

How profound and how sobering that we (in this generation and time in history) get to "finish what so many before us began".

It was noonday. They were tired from the journey and they were hungry. His friends leave him resting beside a well as they go in search of food. In the heat of a Middle Eastern day, the Son of God opens a conversation with a woman - a woman he culturally isn't supposed to speak to. What unfolds is beautiful and impacting for her personally, for the people she shares life with, and for us.

When his disciples return he continues to teach them and says of the harvest, "... one person plants, and another harvests. I sent you to harvest a crop that you did not work on. Others did the work, and you get to finish up their work".