Australia Day

I write this from a chair looking out into the mist surrounding the Sydney airport on a rainy day.  Normally you could see the city scape in the background but today it is hidden in the mist.  Yesterday was Australia Day (I know, my laptop date is one day off!).  And it started as a brilliant day.  By mid-day, there were heaps of people crowded into the public spaces around the water front of Sydney harbor.  Many displaying the flag and celebrating their country.

Every time I spend time here I am taken by how well the Australians live together.  There are people of nearly every race who call Australia home (it's funny to see a Chinese face with an Australian accent!).  Every stage performance that I saw included Aborigines, Australia's truly native people.  But race and color don't seem to be a problem here.  When I look around, I see good attempts at unity and it's a delight to my eyes.

Unity is a difficult thing really.  Perhaps impossible in it's fullest sense (without Christ).  We know that Christ has called us to unity within the Church.  And He told us to live at peace with all men (as much as we are able).

My prayer for this Australia Day is that we, who are Christ's followers, will long for unity.  To be one in Him so that the world will know (John 17).  One of the things I most love about EE is it's unifying force as we all join together to do the work of the Gospel.  Unity.  May it be true in our lifetimes.

Yours in His service,

John

Fighting Evangelism Fatigue

Dear family,

Lee Strobel wrote a great blog on fighting evangelism fatigue.  I think if we are all fair we would agree that his words resonate in us as well.  I've quoted his blog here and given a link at the bottom for the rest of the article.  He offers some helpful tips to staying on task...

May the Lord richly bless you today.

John

"Your brother is an atheist. Your neighbor is into New Age and Tarot cards. Your boss thinks Christianity is based on ancient mythology. The waiter at your favorite lunch spot is a Muslim. Your chiropractor is simply indifferent about God.

"And some days – if you're really honest – you just don't care very much. At least, not enough to initiate a spiritual conversation with them.

"Let me be the first to confess: there are times when I suffer from evangelism fatigue. I know I should care, I know I should reach out to them, I know I should talk to them about Jesus – but my motivation meter is hovering at low voltage.

"Maintaining a high-energy evangelistic lifestyle isn't easy, is it? Sometimes our passion for personal outreach begins to flicker. Call it unspiritual. Call it sin. But let's be honest enough to call it what it undeniably is: very, very real. So what can we do about it? Here are some steps I take when these doldrums hit." [read more]

The craziest things happening right next door....

Take a look at this video.  You will probably find it as amazing as I do.  The issues that we face are not distant from our homes anymore.  We are living in troubled times.  Buses in Fort Lauderdale advertise for young people to call to find out more about Islam...  Protests are happening in our streets...



One thing is sure...  we cannot hide, nor pretend that we are not affected.  We cannot retreat into our Church walls and imagine that the danger will go away if we do not get involved.

The only thing that will change society for the good is the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The only hope for permanent, positive change in our society is for our neighbors, work associates, friends, and family to come to a right relationship with Jesus Christ.  Only then we will have peace.  For He is the Prince of Peace.

If you're on the side lines, it's time to step up.  Get involved in sharing the good news.  Nothing could be more patriotic.

John