July 2009

30 Pieces of Silver

As many of you are aware, our family is embarking on a journey of faith. After seven good years of ministry at Gosnells Baptist Church, we have stepped out in faith to serve God's Kingdom as missionaries with Youth Ministries Australia, the youth arm of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia. It has been two weeks since we finished at GBC and already we are amazed at what God is doing.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to travel with Kym Edwards (the Youth Pastor from Thornlie Church of Christ... and good friend) to Adelaide to join the YMA crew there, as well as many others, for the opening of Immerse HQ, the Adelaide office for YMA. We shared vision, lots of great conversations and some good food. During the course of the weekend, God reminded us that He is working for us. You can read one such story here.

But I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me today. As we gear up for Immerse West (12-17 July at Fairbridge Farm) there are many things that need to be pulled together, gathered and planned. One such item was 2 litre bottles of craft paint. I put up my hand to grab it as I had the time to do so. Easy job I thought. Know right where to go to get it I thought. Will take all of 15 minutes I thought. Well, after 4 hours and 193 km's later... I had no paint. Three shops didn't sell 2 litre bottles any more. Two shops did... but had sold out. One shop had only one bottle of orange left (we don't need orange) and one shop suggested I try all the shops I had just tried. AHHHHH.... I thought. Actually, I won't tell you what I thought but I was not happy.

Disgruntled and a little frustrated, I set off for home with no real idea of what I was going to do. Suddenly, I remembered that one of the shops I had visited had suggested I try their other branch. I wasn't expecting much but I thought, what have I got to loose. I found the shop and to my surprise, it was right opposite the yard of a guy I used to work for several years ago. I went into the shop and guess what... they had what I wanted. It cost more than I wanted to pay but at this stage of the game I didn't really care. As I was coming out of the shop, I wondered if the guy I worked for was still there. On the spur of the moment I decided to go and have a look. Sure enough, he was still there. We chatted for a while I shared with him about what we were doing and about Immerse.

But this story only gets better. One of the items that I needed to get for Immerse was 30 silver coins (to illustrate the 30 pieces of silver Judas betrayed Jesus for). I was going to settle for 30 washers, but it turns out that my old boss, a generous and faithful Christan man, was able to make 30 silver coins for me, right there and then. How awesome is that! But that's not all. I was there for no more than 45 minutes and by the time I left, not only did I have 30 silver coins... I had a job.

Once again, God has shown that He can make the seemingly impossible, possible. Despite my frustration and dispare... He is able to put me in the right place at the right time to have the right conversations with the right people. The irony of it is this... that just like with Judas, God is bringing about His Kingdom despite my attitude.

30 silver coins... the price of a slave. Having young people get a deeper sense of God's love for them... priceless. Can't wait for next week.

Thailand Update

One of the exciting things that Youth Ministries Australia is doing is happening right now in Thailand. Follow this link to visit the mission trip blog and be ready to see and hear about how God is changing young lives and transforming hearts.

30 Pieces of Silver... Part II

There is so much to share with you about what came out of Immerse that I have been holding off on sharing it until I have had a chance to process it myself. Over the next few weeks, I will endeavour to put my thoughts and reflections into words. To start with , let me give you a quick update on the previous post…

Thirty Pieces of Silver… Part II

The story of how I got hold of the ‘silver coins’ really humbles me. I am still amazed at how God pulled all that together. But it is the stories that come out of what the coins were used for that really gets my attention. So many people at Immerse were impacted in some way when they encountered this part of God’s Story. Basically, the coins were a part of one of our ‘participation’ experiences. Immerse participants were invited to hold a few coins in their hand and contemplate what it meant for Judas to betray Jesus into the hands of the authorities. One of the comments that I heard over and over as we talked about that experience was this… “How much less have I betrayed Jesus for...”

When you stop to think about it, 30 pieces of silver was not that much, maybe about a months wages. Judas betrayed his teacher and friend for a months wages. Now I don’t know what you earn in a month… but think about it!

Now think about what it cost God to restore the relationship between you and Him.