Awaken Your Dreams

Introducing God Conversations...

2010-12-19T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Awaken Your Dreams is changing its name! We felt that "God Conversations" more accurately reflected the heart of the ministry: "to equip people to recognise and respond to the voice of God"...

Since dreams and visions are one of the most common forms of biblical communication God uses, they will continue to have a major emphasis in my ministry. ‘Awaken Your Dreams’ will remain the name of the Dreams Seminar.
Check out our new website: www.godconversations.com!

The monthly blog is still active but will now be hosted at our new website. Sign up at: www.godconversations.com/blog to recieve the latest article...

The Sounds of God

Have you ever wondered what God sounds like? Is his voice a booming guttural sound? Or is it a soft mystical whisper? What accent does he have? Is he a serious monotone or more like an animated ...

Read on at: www.godconversations.com/blog

With love and prayers for a blessed Christmas and wonderful God-conversations in the coming year!

Tania

The Middle Man

2010-10-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

I love praying for people on my travels. But there are times I get frustrated when people ask me to hear from God for them: “Can you tell me what God is saying?”

There is this persistent idea that it is better to use a ‘middle man’ to hear from God. Instead of going to him directly, you enlist someone ask to talk to him on your behalf. It seems to be a common problem amongst the people of God...

The Israelites used a middle man when they urged Moses to go up the mountain of God for them: "They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." (Exodus 20:18-19)

Peter used a middle man when he asked John to speak to Jesus: Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means." (John 13:21-24)

We seek to use a middle man every time we join the prayer line and ask the pastor or the preacher to hear from God for us.

A middle man is a mediator - someone who negotiates on our behalf. At the time of the Old Covenant, the middle men were known as ‘prophets’; spokespeople who were uniquely chosen to deliver a message from God.

But in the New Covenant, there is no middle man. The gift of the Holy Spirit means that we can now all go to God directly! This privilege is open to all; young and old, men and women – all who call on the God’s name (Acts 2:17,39).

So why do we persist in being satisfied with the use of a ‘middle man’?

Perhaps it is our weaknesses and failures that keep us from openly facing God. We are fearful of what he might say. Maybe we think that others are somehow more eligible to hear from him – we don’t realize that the promise of direct access to God is available to all of us. Or perhaps it is just because we are just too lazy to take the time to listen!

There are times when we need middle men; when we need someone else to carry us into the presence of God. Intercessors pray when we don’t have the words to speak. Others prophesy when our doubts paralyze our walk with God. That is the beauty of the Body of Christ - of ministering one to another.

But when we continually seek God through the life of another person, we will always experience a secondhand relationship. We will perpetuate the misguided belief that someone else is more favoured than us and we will lose the opportunity to develop true intimacy with God.

God’s promise is that we will ALL know him personally – that our faith will not be based on someone’s else’s experience. Don’t miss out on the awe of experiencing God for yourself by being content to use a middle man. Face him openly, allow him to search your heart and then listen as he speaks directly to your heart.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:34)

The Last Thing He Said

2010-09-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

God spoke to me this week. Experience has taught me that when God speaks it is always with considered intentionality. There’s a profound insight to reflect on, a new instruction to follow or some exciting insight about the future. There is always something new. But this time there wasn’t. In fact it was just a repeat of everything he had already said in the last month or two…

But God there is nothing new?
No, nothing new…
So what’s the point of this?
Well, have you done the last thing I said?
Ah sort of, still working on it. But it’s a little bit difficult and I was hoping I you would change your mind?? That maybe you would forget and we could move onto something else?

That’s the thing with God… He isn’t one to change his mind. He’s not easily distracted from his purpose. When he speaks, it’s never in a last minute rush or as a glib afterthought. When he speaks, he means it.

Too often we treat God’s words just like ours.

Our words aren’t always worth remembering. They flow feebly from our mouths with little thought given to consequences. We exaggerate and embellish; we spin and we slander; spouting claims that are half true and making promises we can’t keep.

But God’s words are spirit and they’re life. They have the power to create. Once spoken they are watched over to ensure they fulfill their purpose. They transcend time, overrule circumstances and overtake the generations. They must come to pass, for to fail is to defy the nature of the One who spoke them.

By his words we live.

In learning how to hear the voice of God clearly and consistently, the key is responding to what he says. He means what he said last time! He wants us to listen and obey. His words are sovereignly timed and purposed to bring good to our lives.

So if you are struggling to hear his voice right now, perhaps the first thing to ask is, have you done the last thing he said?

God Encounters of the 21stC Kind

2010-06-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most fun aspects of my job as I travel is collecting “God-stories”. Everywhere I go I hear testimony after testimony of people who have encountered God firsthand in some tangible way. There is nothing like it! People need to experience the living God in supernatural ways today just as they did in the 1st century… Jesus himself said: Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:11-12)

So I thought I would share some of their stories* here. Let’s keep believing for God-encounters - in our lives - and in the lives of others!

Sherida, a Nepalese lady who has recently migrated to New Zealand, was diagnosed with cervical cancer and tuberculosis. She was transferred to intensive care and because of complications, the prognosis wasn’t good. Medications were making her sicker than ever and doctors held little hope for her recovery.

It was on her deathbed that Sherida began experiencing supernatural encounters in the night. One night seven foot angels stood at her bedside, in another she saw Jesus dressed in white robes saying; ‘Do not be afraid’ in Nepalese.

But the night that changed everything was when an angel came and fed her with a “very shiny red pill”. When she woke in the morning she immediately felt better. She went to the bathroom and a large ugly black mass fell out of her body into the toilet. Days later, the oncologist reported her cancer free…

A returned New Zealand missionary who works in an orphanage in northern India tells of the children in his home experiencing visions of heaven during times of worship. They see children that have died; they play with animals they have never seen before in life, eat fruit that regrows immediately after it is picked and visit the throneroom of God. Amazingly their stories are validated by the fact that they all tell of the same things. Some of their recollections are straight out of scenes in the book of Revelation – passages they have never read… Their visions and experiences give them hope in an often difficult life in India.

A man I met recently at a wedding shared his story. He was a gangster and a convicted criminal who had no belief in God… until God started speaking to him in dreams:

In this dream my three brothers and I were standing on the front lawn of my parent’s home. It was a sunny afternoon. Then it started to get dark and cold, the wind began picking up and in a matter of seconds a storm engulfed the whole place. Clouds were swirling over the city and a tornado formed, tearing apart city buildings. The tube was getting larger and larger as it quickly moved towards us at a phenomenal rate. I could see cars, whole houses, trees and people being taken up into the tube. I screamed out, "run let's get out here", but I couldn't move my legs. I looked at my brothers, shouting at them to run but they didn't flinch, they just stared at the tornado.

Then a beam of intense bright light pierced through the heart of the tornado and was shining over my oldest brother Risto. I looked at him, he was bright white. He looked happy, then he disappeared with the beam of light into the tornado. Instantly the wind stopped, the tornado dispersed and the clouds started to break apart, changing colours like the rainbow. The sun was shining and my other brothers walked away from me into house.

I shared with my brother Risto about the dream at a BBQ at my parents home on New Year’s Eve. I told him I believed he was in danger of death and to be careful. He said to me, "If the Lord wants to take me that's fine". "What do you mean?" I replied. “That’s rubbish!”

"I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ. If I die, I am peaceful about where I am going. Hopefully you understand one day what it's all about - don't worry it will work out just fine", was Risto’s reply.

Three days later, my brother Risto was killed on police duty. That was the beginning of my journey learning to know that God was real.

*Stories shared with permission

The Law of our Hearts

2010-05-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

“What’s your view on homosexuality?”

It came out of nowhere… a random question in the middle of the day. I looked at my friend – a thoughtful guy with some sort of Sunday School background and leftist persuasions - and quickly realised that no matter how articulate my answer it was bound to be misunderstood.

So instead of starting an eloquent monologue on the theology of natural law, biblical hermeneutics and the ethics of love, I answered with another question: “How do you determine what is right and wrong; what is ‘good’ behaviour and what is not?”

The conversation moved from ethics to philosophy to the notion of absolute truth – “there is some truth out there, but we haven’t found it yet.” And then, “Christianity is just a bunch of rules anyway.”

In the end our conversation never really addressed the issue of homosexuality. It ended with my comment; “Oh if you really knew God and how fantastic he was, you would really like him. You’ve just been around some really bad advertising.”

A lot of people have. Why is it that Christianity is known as ‘a bunch of rules’ when we are the only world religion which has grace at it’s a core? Where the punishment that we deserve for our wrong has been taken by someone else simply because we are loved? Why are we known for judgmentalism* when our own judgment has been removed?

Jesus said the whole law is summed up in two things. Love God and love people. These ‘laws’ are now written on our hearts rather than on ‘tablets of stone’ (2 Corinthians 3:3). In place of a long list of external rules is the person of the Holy Spirit who inspires us to act out of love. We live for others not because anyone is telling us too, but because we want to. It’s a new heart that transforms us and motivates us to walk in grace.

Where the Spirit is absent, we need laws. We revert to hard legalism. We head back to the pre-Pentecost days where rules were needed to regulate behavior. But a quick overview of the Old Testament reminds us that it never worked then. So why do we think it will work now? We were promised something better.

We should be known as the most loving, gracious, non-judgmental people on earth. People who love unconditionally and refuse to throw stones at the guilty; who humbly walk in the Spirit and live undeniably holy lives set apart for his glory. People who love others with such passion and unconditionality that people are drawn – to like our God - and perhaps even to love him.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Cor. 3:3)

*See the research findings of David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyon’s book, UnChristian.

Why does God Show us the Future?

2010-04-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

God showed me the house I am living in now a year before I moved in. The job I am doing today I saw years ago. Some of the people I currently work with, God spoke about before I met them.

We were promised this. When Jesus returned to heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit that we would see the world through his eyes. We would all be able to prophesy and have dreams and visions (Acts 2:16). That means occasionally God will show us glimpses of the future. He will tell us “great and unsearchable things we do not know” (Jer.33:3). This is the privilege of every New Covenant Christian.

But seeing the future is not just to satiate our curiosity for what is around the corner. There are good reasons for why God shows us what he does…

1. So we get to know his heart
When God gives us a glimpse of his plans, it provides something far more than a crystal ball experience. It is an expression of his desires and his will; the things he intends and longs for. When he reveals the future, it is a statement of his purpose: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (Is. 46:10)

2. So we can co-operate with what we see
Having a vision of the future is a thrilling experience. It gives us hope and encouragement for a better future (Jer. 29:11).

But sometimes we assume that the picture we see is a fait accompli. We adopt a fatalistic stance: a kind of “if it is God it will happen” approach. Yet a quick overview of the Bible shows us that not everything God revealed actually happened. Moses didn’t enter the Promised Land; Saul did not retain his kingdom - and many of the Israelites died in exile.

One of the main reasons for God’s acts of revelation is so that we co-operate with what we see. We partner with God to bring “his will to earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). That usually means action of some sort; an agreement with him in word and deed. Faith and obedience now needs to kick in.

3. So we know it's him when it comes to pass
Skeptics I know will often claim answers to prayer as mere coincidences. Things just happened to ‘work out’; the universe came to equilibrium; circumstances turned around ‘fortuitously’.

When God speaks the future and it then unfolds before us, there can be no doubt of his hand. Those who have heard him speak beforehand get a bird’s eye view – a front-row seat to his sovereign ways. There is nothing like it! As witnesses of his glory, we can only worship...

Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? …"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. (Isaiah 43:9-11)

Stairway to Heaven

2010-02-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

He was a young man of great potential. With the legacy of his famous forefathers and a powerful destiny on his life, his future was bright. But a life of deception and family dysfunction leaves him confused and desperate, fleeing a murderous brother and exiled from his homeland with only a stone for a pillow.

Jacob was the second-born son of Isaac and Rebekah and inheritor of the great Abrahamic promises, but he had never personally experienced the transformational encounter of his father’s God or embraced the holy lifestyle required of a great leader.

It all changed in one night. For the first time Jacob encounters the presence of God. And it happens in a dream.

He sees the skies opening before him. Angels climb a stairway that reaches far into the heavens. He hears a voice speaking to him; calling him to his future. These were not second-hand promises passed on from his father, but a direct invitation to divine relationship – a gateway to the presence of God.

The dream changes Jacob’s life. He had gone to sleep feeling lost and alone; alienated from God. He wakes up knowing God’s presence and seeing past the natural circumstances. Surely the Lord was in this place and I did not know it (Genesis 28:16). For the first time, he makes a genuine commitment to follow God and takes the first steps towards his destiny. He meets God in a dream!

Tertullian one of the early church theologians of the 2nd and 3rd centuries (AD.160-230) – the man famous for his writings on the Trinity – made this statement: “Nearly everyone on earth knows that God reveals himself to people most often in dreams.”

So is the potential of our dreams. Jacob’s dream revealed a gateway to heaven and a meeting place with Almighty God. The dream rolled back the curtain separating the natural world and unveiling the spiritual realm. Today God still wants to reveal himself to us. Like Jacob he wants to show us our futures, give us vision beyond our current circumstances and call to us personally in the midst of our everyday lives. Let's be people that are awake to these life-changing revelations of the night!

God is Better than Santa

2010-01-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

At one of many Christmas parties this past season, I heard a great story told by a local Preschool teacher. One of their end-of-year activities was to write letters to Santa asking for what they wanted for Christmas. A new Cinderella doll… A puppy dog to play with. The teacher modelled the exercise by writing her own Christmas letter... “Dear Santa, for Christmas I would like a beautiful diamond ring.” They signed off their letters, drew pictures of their gifts and carefully pinned them to the display wall for all to see.

On the final day of Preschool, one of the parents presented a small parcel to the teacher in appreciation for all her hard work and dedication. The teacher thanked the mother, happy to add another gift to her growing pile of chocolates and body lotions. But this gift was unlike the others. It shocked her to the core. There in the carefully wrapped box was a diamond ring, a perfect gold-set solitaire of the highest quality. 'Santa' had granted her wish!

The story got me thinking. The teacher received because she asked. If she had not asked, there would be no diamond ring gracing her finger.

It reminded me of one of Jesus’ more radical statements. “You do not have, because you do not ask God…” (James 4:2)

He gives us what we ask for. Why? Simply because that’s what loving fathers do. Ask any parent. Knowing their child’s heart, they search the department stores for the right gift; the one thing that will make their child’s face light up with joy. How much more the Father-heart of God?

Last year I asked God if I could have more outdoor adventures. Not long after I was paid to go skiing and hiking. At 17 I asked God if I could return to Switzerland one day. Years later, it was the scene of my first ministry trip. More recently I asked God if I could have a home with a bay window. The next day a friend received a prophetic dream of my future home. The key feature: a bay window.

The only qualifier to this outlandish statement of Jesus’ is that we ask with the right motives (James 4:3). So… is my heart aligned to kingdom purpose? Am I willing to use my gifts to bless others? Am I open to him saying 'no' or 'wait' for reasons that are for good, even if I don’t know what they are right now?

So with our motives in place, ASK away!!! As we begin a new year; as we dream and plan for 2010, I encourage you… Dig deep into your imagination, search the pool of your desires and ask! Ask your loving Father for what you need… and for what you want. God is so much better than Santa.

How did he know it was God?

2009-11-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

… An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt. (Matthew 2:13-14)

It looks so easy. Joseph falls asleep one night, has a dream and hears God telling him to leave… Yes that’s right, pack up the manger, wrap up the newborn and take your wife on another long donkey ride to a land on the other side of the desert.

So next morning he gets up, tells Mary over breakfast and heads off to Egypt... Just like that.

Easy. Joseph hears from God and catastrophe is averted. Because of this little episode, our Christmas cards show Jesus alive in Mary’s arms and we sing songs heralding his birth. Christmas pans out the way it was supposed to.

But here’s a simple question. How did Joseph know the dream was from God? How did he know it wasn’t just something sparked by his vivid imagination as he slept; a crazy apparition brought on by the stench of strange animals at his bedside… a paranoid idea because of the spicy lentils he ate the night before? There were no logical reasons for the radical departure; no tangible signs indicating danger. Yet Joseph confidently follows this strange voice of the night and baby Jesus escapes the murderous hand of King Herod.

Would it be that easy?

Have you ever heard one of those stories about someone who thought they heard from God, but they actually didn’t? Then there is all the damage and fallout from that. Or perhaps you’ve been one of them! You’ve thought you heard from God, you’ve made steps of faith and then the circumstances backfire. How do we know if we are hearing from God or not?

It’s comforting to know that this is not a new question. The ancients themselves had the same problem and the good news is that God anticipated we would ask it: You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?’ (Deuteronomy 18:21)

God has answers for our concern. His promise that we will be able to recognise his voice… Like sheep who know the voice of their shepherd, we can discern his voice and follow it. Listen to Signed, Sealed and Delivered on the CD Series: “God’s Curtain Calls” to find out more. You can purchase it here. A great Christmas idea!

The Dreamers of Christmas

2009-11-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at the outskirts of the crowded city. Their sandaled feet were dusty and swollen from long days walking through an endless wilderness. The young couple glanced about searching for a place to enquire for lodging. Unfamiliar sounds and foreign tongues added to their disorientation. A restless baby cried hungry for milk while his mother rummaged through their hastily packed belongings. The anxious expression on their weary faces hinted at their concerns: How long would they be here for? When would they return to their homeland?

I imagine the small talk as the weary travelers were introduced:
“Greetings! You’ve come a long way. Where are you from?”
“From our home in the land of Israel.”

“Whose family are you of?”

“The tribe of Judah.”
“And what brings you here to Egypt?”

Have you ever wondered about the locals’ reaction to Mary and Joseph’s story? One mysterious dream led them to completely relocate to a foreign country. In the Greco-Roman world of the first century, it wasn’t unusual for gods to speak in dreams. This was nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

Like Mary and Joseph, it was a God-dream that led me to move to an unknown city some years ago. At the time I found it exciting. God was speaking so clearly and specifically! But when I began to share my story with others, eyebrows were raised and brows furrowed with concern. I realized I had been quickly labeled; placed in that box where all fringy mystical types go…

So I stopped telling people the real reason why I was moving. They didn’t seem to get it.

God-given dreams are found all the way through the Christmas story. The gospel writer Matthew records five of them. Apart from a dream, the baby Jesus would have been murdered! In fact, some of the most pivotal moments in biblical history began in the middle of the night while someone was sleeping.

So why the negative response to a contemporary parallel of Mary and Joseph’s experience? Why the gap between a beloved biblical story and our own spiritual reality?

A look back over our shoulder tells us why. At one time in history hearing from God through dreams was the norm. The prophets of the Old Testament heard from God through dreams regularly. The early church valued them for direction and revelation and the early church fathers all wrote of their dream experiences.

Then came the Enlightenment. A new emphasis on intellectual rationalism led church leaders to relegate dreams and visions to the archives of library shelves. Translators even left out references to dreams and visions made by the early church fathers in their English editions!

To our modern Western ears, talk of dreamers and dream interpreters seems to fall perilously close to New Age practises. But our fear of being deceived or getting it wrong has led us to abandon one of the most popular forms of God’s communication. In fact the ability to hear from God through dreams and visions is one of the key distinctives of the new covenant (Acts 2:17)!

There is no doubt hearing from God through dreams has its risks. But God has given us his Word, the Holy Spirit and his church as safety nets for us. With the right tests and accountability, we can experience the transforming and powerful dynamic of hearing God’s voice speaking into the very details of our lives through dreams. This is our inheritance as new covenant Christians. Are you ready to hear from him? Be ready for him to surprise you with his creative messages of the night!

Your Two Stories

2009-10-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

There are two stories being written over our lives. The story everyone sees and the story only you and God see.

The story that everyone sees is the one that is written on bios and resumes. It’s the one we tell at parties and interviews. She planted a church, worked in missions, has a Masters level qualification, speaks in churches around the world…

But there is another story. One that is equally dramatic, but far more hidden. One that is rarely told on stages or recorded on public memos. One that is usually only whispered in quiet moments, revealed in tucked away café corners and sometimes never told even to ourselves.

Yet it is the one that matters most.

It’s the story of our dreams, our fears and our unspoken struggles. The internal journey of our thoughts and prayers. A plot line that is often more difficult to write, but which defines who we are and all that we do. If we ignore it, it will soon write its own story… and ultimately it will be the story that everybody else sees.

It was the story beneath Joseph’s life that really mattered. His rollercoaster ride of failure and promotion from slave to Prime Minister would make headlines, but it was the internal drama of faith and loyalty that wrote the final climax.

The successes of Abraham’s life may be loudly acclaimed around the world, but it was the long painful tale of five altars atop a lonely mountain that would produce them.

I may have made some significant achievements in my life, but it has been the God-moments of revelation and conviction with God that have defined them.

What story are you writing today? Are you more concerned with the outer story of achievement and performance and image? The outer story can masquerade and embellish, but the inner one never can. The inner story always tells the truth and will pen the final story in the end.

Let’s be people that give more attention to our inner story. This is the one that is of greatest concern to God and it is the only one that matters.

Three Inner Story Questions to Ask Yourself:

What area of my life do I need to be honest with myself right now?
What is God speaking to me about?
What accountability partners am I able to entrust my inner story to?

Counsel of the Night

2009-08-02T00:07:00.000-07:00

The M2 motorway was its usual frantic pace that morning… Cars backed up like dominos too closely together. Drivers with dead-pan faces staring at the bumper bar in front of them. I smiled at the queues, feeling slight twinges of guilt at my smugness as I sped freely in the opposite direction. It was a 45 minute trip from inner Sydney to the outer western suburbs but I didn't mind. Driving to work gave me time to prepare myself for the day. It was the beginning of a new year and I had much to think about.

Your job is about to change. I said it to myself over and over, processing it like a slow eater trying to savour the food before swallowing it. I had been working as the Academic Dean at a ministry training college for nearly four years. Weekly lectures, course design, assessment standards and myriads of paperwork consumed my days. It was hard to imagine anything different. The race had been on to keep up with the burgeoning student numbers and I had loved the challenge. But lately things were settling around me and I could feel the itch of change.

My mind replayed the short but vivid dream I had just after Christmas. I had seen myself travelling on a train. I had fallen asleep and when I woke up, I was on a bus. We had changed vehicles.

I knew the dream was from God. It had that clarity and distinctiveness peculiar to God-given dreams. Vehicles move you along; they help you progress and often represent careers or ministries in dreams. There was a change from a train to a bus. Realisation dawned in the light of the morning. My job was about to change.

The Ultimate Counsellor
Some days it feels like we are the proud masters of our destiny. We take out insurance policies, invest in superannuation and carefully research our decisions in order to control risk and protect ourselves. But the next day we are struck by the woeful limitations of our humanity. In an instant our job changes, a relationship fractures or the stockmarket plummets, and we are struck again by the extraordinary unpredictability of our lives.

God stands outside of universes and timezones yet he is able to zoom in on our own private worlds with all its odd frustrations and struggles. He knows what will be, what cannot be and what needs to be. He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) – our yesterdays and tomorrows, yet somehow in the deep vaults of his knowledge, he knows the quirkiness of my personality, the hidden longings of my heart and the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7).

In the midst of unpredictability, God longs to speak into our situations with a voice of constancy and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is described as a counselor (John 16:7). Like the scene depicted in the ancient Garden, he wants to walk alongside us and talk to us in the cool of our days (Genesis 3:8). He is like a best friend, yet so different to your best friend. One word from God can instantly bring clarity and calm to any situation.

Perhaps we underestimate how much he cares about our problems – so large in our eyes, so minute in his. Is that why we don’t always invite him in? The letter of James says we don’t have wisdom because we doubt he will give it (James 1:5-7).

God is concerned with the intimate details of our lives. He loves us that much. We just need to ask. And when we have asked, we need to listen for his answer. He speaks in surprising ways.

The Vehicle Changes
It took little time to find a car-park that morning; most staff were still on holidays. In my office were remnants of the previous year; a few stray assignments, old timetables and forms. I checked my diary. College was out for two more weeks. I loved this time of the year: plenty of time for catch-up coffees and planning. My day was a quiet one: meeting-free apart from an appointment with my boss at 4pm.

Later that day my boss and I met in his office. We sat at his oval desk and chatted about the holidays. Eventually the conversation turned to plans for the New Year. As part of our ongoing development, we were restructuring the College. Then the announcement: My job needed to change. I listened silently, looking into my coffee cup; finally digesting the information that I had been chewing on the previous few days. We discussed a few details and eventually he stood, signalling the meeting was over. He looked into the air for a moment and then made his concluding statement; “You know; it's like we're been on a train, but now we've changed vehicles!”

My job change was effected immediately and marked the beginning of a larger shift for my ministry. But through all the transition and upheaval that followed, there was no doubt that God's hand was guiding and directing my life. His voice had prepared me with peace and understanding no earthly counsellor could give.

But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or hear his word?

(Jeremiah 23:18)

Home of My Dreams

2009-06-03T22:55:00.001-07:00

A Miracle Home
There is a story I love to tell. It began in the middle of the night a few years ago. In a dream I saw myself being shown around a grand and spacious house. The scenes were vivid – a wide entrance hallway lined with shiny marble tiles, imposing white columns and classy French windows… I didn’t realize it at first, but God was showing me my new home.

A month later that strange vision spectacularly and unexpectedly manifested into reality. I was being shown around a home and it was just as I had seen – better still, it came with a gardener, ‘pool boy’; even a red Ferrari in the garage! No, I wasn’t able to drive the Ferrari, but I could live there rent-free; all expenses paid for over a year while the owners were overseas on business. I moved in immediately breathless with gratitude.

In the early mornings I would sit at the breakfast table coffee in hand, gazing out the window to the swimming pool and tennis court. With worship music playing loudly, I would ponder the God who fulfils the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). I would marvel in awe at his miraculous provision and relish the sense of being loved by a father who delights in giving his children good gifts (Matthew 7:11).

In fact I would often quote those Bible verses when sharing the story with others. People loved hearing it.

But there is another story. Not one I have told as frequently and perhaps not with the same captive audience. A similar story yet different.

Another Dream Home
It happened a few years later. Our rented home was being sold and my flat-mate was moving interstate. Once again I found myself uprooted and disoriented with those familiar feelings of insecurity returning like an unwanted guest. Not only that, it was right in the midst of an overcrowded rental market and my income was unreliable and tenuous. How would I find a home?

I shared my dilemma with a friend over and she kindly offered me a place to stay for a few weeks. I was thankful for the safety valve while I looked for somewhere to live. Where would it be? Trudy lived on the edge of notorious Kings Cross where the streets are crowded with a gritty, noisy mix of the homeless and trendy and where every night is party night. Far from the quiet leafy upper-class suburbs I was used to on the other side of ‘The Bridge’.

After our coffee together at a local café we wandered through her flat. Her home was a typical inner Sydney terrace; one of many squeezed tightly between rows of seventies apartment blocks and quaint art-deco buildings. It was simply furnished with a compact kitchen and single bathroom coming off a long dark hallway. Through the kitchen at the back of the house was a small room used as a study area.

It was the back room that caught my eye. I stopped; struck by a vague memory. As I looked at the tiny alcove with its brown laminate cabinet and uncluttered bookshelf, familiar images from another dream crystallized before me.

I hurried home to check the words which had been carefully transcribed in my journal over twelve months earlier: “I saw you living in a tiny room like an alcove opening onto a kitchen. It had a plain wooden bookshelf. Like a student’s room.”

But this home was so different to the other one. Could this be from God?

It was pouring rain the day I moved in. I edged my car into a tight spot in the darkened alleyway careful not to disturb the woman crouched over on the edge of the gutter. A flurry of cooing pigeons landed in the tree above and released a spray of white and yellow liquid that narrowly missed me as I emerged from my newly polished car. The lady in the gutter barely looked up as I struggled to cradle the pile of cardboard boxes in my arm; my jewelled sandals slipping on the slimy concrete.

That night as I settled onto the thin foam mattress which almost covered the entire floor of the study, I tried to force the image of my old bedroom with its queen size bed and expansive built-in robes from my mind. My clothes now hung on a plastic wheelie rack in the corner; the rest stashed in boxes over three locations in Sydney. I tried not to think of the tranquil view of Middle Harbour from the balcony where we sat the night before or the white marble double bathroom that I once had all to my own. And when I woke up next morning to the raw screeching of a domestic argument echoing through the back laneway, I tried to forget the sweet twitter of birds that used to signal my mornings.

The God of Mansions and Mattresses
God does not always give us what we want. Have you ever noticed that? The God of Good Gifts sometimes allows long periods of unemployment, extended times of loneliness; worrying financial pressures and seasons of mattresses on the floor. Times when the luxuries of life are more of a memory than a reality.

Through his high and lows, the Apostle Paul learned a great truth. He called it a secret; a life transforming principle that enabled him to be content with both abundance and shortage.

Paul learned that God provides all our needs and gives strength in every situation, whether we have much or whether we have little (Phil. 4:13,19). It is in the midst of want, we learn the secret that he is all we need. We learn the grace and discipline of thankfulness that comes from him alone. We learn to trust in a Father who loves us consistently and completely whether he gives us gifts or not. He is the God who provides both mansions and mattresses on the floor.

I love the fact that Paul learned… Perhaps it took a few experiences and a bit of time to fully grasp this great truth.

Nowadays I have come to appreciate my new home and the raw edginess of city-life; I’ve become accustomed to wearing earplugs each night and have found a place to park my car where frangipani flowers rather than pigeon droppings fall. But mostly I am learning the great secret of contentment. His provision is always sufficient even when it comes packaged in unusual ways. Whether in places of grandeur or simplicity, He is all we need.

Into the Fear Zone

2009-03-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

The bags were stuffed full ready for an obscene five o’clock start next morning. I fidgeted with the zip, checked and re-checked my list. I was nervous. Six days of hiking with a 15kg pack in the wilds of Kosciusko National Park. It had been nearly 20 years since I had braved the camping scene. Would I be able to cope without my Blackberry and coffee-maker? What if my lower back gave way in front of everyone? Most importantly, could I handle squatting behind the gumtrees?

You know it well. The dubious feeling in your stomach; the disastrous scenarios created in your mind… that overwhelming pull to be anywhere else but where you’re supposed to be. Whether it’s starting a new job, learning a new skill or just embarking on a hiking trip into the Australian bush, our fears have the uncanny power to pull us out at the last minute with a rush of magical excuses. How much easier it is to stay in your ‘zone’ – the place where moments are predictable and there are no what ifs.

New experiences have an irresistible air of excitement to them. But they also strip you of the familiar and expose you again to the raw material of who you are. Without the security of your known abilities, your tried and tested roles or the comfortable rhythm of your regular environment, you are forced to find yourself again.

When We Step Out
One component of my ministry is to teach seminars on how to hear God’s voice. I love my job – and to be honest, I don’t find it difficult. I have been in fulltime ministry for fifteen years and the church-world is second nature to me. I think and speak Christianese fluently. I know the worship songs word for word. I can kick into the lingo of all the different denominations in a flash.

But recently I decided to take my seminar into the secular world. In a way it was an experiment. Increasingly people are seeking God outside the confines of traditional church. Could I help them find Him in a local community college?

I haven’t been that scared in a long time. Facing that motley group of spiritual seekers was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Would the trainee psychologist who had an answer for everything show me up with his font of knowledge? Would the ex-Mormon who mythologised the supernatural and was well versed in the liberal theology of Bishop Spong ask me a question I couldn’t answer? Or the lapsed-Catholic who now attended a spiritualist church challenge me with experiences I couldn’t explain?

Too late now. I was forced to plunge straight into it; to ignore my fears and do it anyway. Trust God and do it afraid. I was on my toes the whole day and arrived home totally spent.

That experience no longer scares me now. I discovered I could do it. In the midst of it I worked out what to say and if I didn’t know what to say, it didn’t matter. And when the grey-haired lady in the purple and blue silk dress who had played organ as a young woman but had left church disillusioned twenty years earlier commented afterwards; “Now I realise God is alive after all”, my original fears seemed irrelevant and not worthy of any recognition at all.

God’s Call to the Unknown
Following God means we constantly find ourselves in the fear zone. The Holy Spirit seems to delight in leading us to places we have never gone before (Josh. 3:3,4). His knowledge of our innate potential causes him to urge, beckon and even push us beyond the boundaries of safety and into a position of trust. In the fear zone, we meet ourselves and God in a new way.

I think of my mum who bravely learnt to swim at age 63 when she couldn’t even put her head under water, a friend who left the airport terrified and trusting as she flew out to carve out a new market in India for her company, my trainee student who overcomes her shyness greeting new people in the church foyer every week. Confronting their fears and doing it anyway.

I am not sure the feelings ever go away. Growing in God means we will find ourselves in a never-ending cycle of facing fear and finding faith.

Out of the Fear Zone
It was the final morning of our hike. The tents were being rolled up for the last time. There was dirt deeply embedded under my fingernails and I had blood blisters on both my big toes. But during the 50 km trek, we had heard the brumbies gathering near our camp at moonlight, canoed in a sun shower on the lake and retraced history on the steps of the famous Hume-Hovell track. As I sat there in the misty dawn breakfasting by a cowpat and brushing away the bullants gathering at my feet, I realized how unafraid I was. A lot had happened in a week. I still craved a hot shower but the reward was overwhelmingly worth it.

Louis Vuitton Promises

2008-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I had a series of God-dreams that funnily enough featured suitcases. I was travelling on different vehicles carrying my suitcases and God began to speak to me again about my future…

In suitcases we carry all our personal belongings and the things we need on life’s journey. God showed me that the suitcases represented the promises and plans he had for my life. In the dream he was giving me luxury designer suitcases. The very best; custom-made plans… The Louis Vuitton of promises! For those who are uninitiated in the fashion world, Louis Vuitton makes suitcases that are the top of the range and they are very, very expensive!*

2008 has been a bit of a Louis Vuitton year for me. Promises that I have carried in my heart for a very long time are starting to coming to pass and it has been amazing to watch. After farewelling a wonderful five-year-long season at Hillsong College, my ministry Awaken Your Dreams was birthed at the beginning of the year. We celebrated with a group of close friends and supporters at a launch party hosted by the newly formed AYD Board.

The year kicked off with a Young Adults camp by the beach with Bayside Church in Victoria. Feedback was encouraging as so many commented that they understood clearly how to hear the ‘sounds of God’ often for the first time. It was also wonderful to be able to minister across denominations during the year with the first of my seminars; The Other Side of the Conversation given at Grace Church (Church of Christ) in Nunawading, Melbourne.

The Awaken Your Dreams seminar was fully developed this year. As a half day workshop, it gives a biblical basis for hearing the voice of God through dreams and visions as well as guidelines for discernment and interpreting symbolic messages. One person asked, If God spoke so often to people in dreams in the Bible, how come I have never heard this before? Great question! We are missing out on one of God’s most powerful and creative methods of communication. He still speaks in dreams today. Within days of the seminar, I heard from three different attendees that they had just experienced supernatural dreams.

Of course the highlight of the year was my first overseas trip to Germany and Switzerland where I spoke in five different churches teaching seminars and preaching. I was doing my all-time favourite things - speaking on the topic I love and hiking in the Swiss Alps in between! It was a truly custom-made experience designed for me - the very best God gives.

When I was 21 years old, I prayed a radical prayer giving my life completely to God. At the time I feared that if I gave him everything, I would somehow lose out. My life would be a disappointment. How wrong I was! How unfounded my fears... God is a Louis Vuitton God. He gives the best. He already gave his best at Christmas time two thousand years ago. How will he not graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Thank you so much for all your love and support and friendship this year which means so much. May you know his very best this Christmas!

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32).

*This message is abridged from a new CD series to be released early in 2009.

In the Heart of Switzerland

2008-10-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

During a seminar, Michael shared a dream he had. He was walking inside a grand cathedral. In the shadows at the side was a confessional. There he looked up and saw a beautiful woman hanging on a cross. The image became imprinted firmly in his mind as the dream ended.

He explained to me that at the time he had fallen madly in love with a girl. The dream revealed what he was slowly becoming aware of. His girlfriend had taken the place of Jesus in his heart.

The Jewish Talmud says that; An uninterpreted dream is like a letter unopened. God may be speaking to us, but we do not recognise it. Maybe it is because we do not know how he speaks, or perhaps it is because we are just not listening. The "Other Side of the Conversation" seminar aims to help people hear the voice of God and understand what he is saying.

It is wonderful to hear the testimonies of people as they learn more of God's desire to speak personally to them. God longs to speak into the very depths of our hearts and he is a masterful communicator!

In Switzerland I have been graciously hosted by Barbara Wyss, one of our Hillsong College graduates. She has worked tirelessly to build a church in her home village. While quaint church steeples prominently mark most village skylines, sadly not so many are filled with thriving congregations. Kirchberg is an exception! They have been welcoming and open - even as they listen to an Aussie preacher for the first time.

Along with Barbara, a number of other swiss graduates have taken the input and training they received in Sydney and are serving in the churches of Zurich, Winterthur and Lausanne. Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking to them at the 'Swiss Connection'. It is inspiring to hear their God-stories and encourage them to fulfill their dreams.

In between preaching and teaching seminars, there has been plenty of opportunities to enjoy one of my favourite countries in the world... We have walked the cobbled streets of Berne, explored the Emmental countryside and eaten copious amounts of cheese fondue. The Autumn colours are dazzling.

A highlight was our trip to the mountains. Our home for three days was a country chalet nestled in a deep valley with cows grazing at our doorstep. Unfortunately during our stay the cable cars were closed and our amble on the peaks turned into a 6 hour mountain hike. But the aching muscles were worth it for the views.

Handy Tip: Do not go hiking in the Swiss Alps on the day you are preaching - and - always smile sweetly at passing farm tractors...

My first overseas ministry trip ends this weekend after speaking in one of the 'state' churches and a Bible College in Zurich. As God promised it has been a gift and I haved loved every minute of it!

A Pinch of Reality

2008-10-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a promise from God that looks like it will never come to pass? Perhaps you have seen it in a vision or heard it in a prophecy. Or maybe it's a deep desire conceived in a moment of insight.

For the last 15 years I have carried around a little suitcase bulging with exciting promises from God. But through the course of time those divinely inspired words have been threatened, attacked and stolen… There have been times when I have sat alone at night wondering if God really had the power to fulfill them.

This week I began to see my promises turn from inspired words into stunning reality. I am pinching myself. After years of prolonged waiting, is this really happening?

Hong Kong is a bustling international city strategically placed as a gateway into China. For two days I had the privilege of spending time with Pastors John and Sandra from the Vine Church. I trekked through the legoland of highrisers in the CBD, learnt about the city's people and history over a meal of minced pigeon and watched a spectacular display of fireworks across HK Harbour for Chinese National Day. It was one of those very special divine appointments!

From the steamy bustle of Asia I arrived at pristine Zurich airport where Freimut Haverkamp was waiting in the early morning with a welcome Starbucks coffee in his hand… He and his wife Jo lead an amazing church in Konstanz, Germany. It was so wonderful to witness the miracle of God's favour on a church planted from scratch by two of our College graduates. Lakeside Church has the fingerprints of destiny all over it to be a nation changer.

There were lots of inspiring God-chats while driving through the fairytale countryside, eating Black forest cake in the Black forest (it’s only proper) and exploring the historic old city of Konstanz where the legendary pre-former Jan Hus was burned at the stake for his teaching.

But the highlight was teaching a dreams seminar on Sunday evening to a packed church. I had the chance to briefly practise my High School German and then there was lots of self talk; “Speak s-l-o-w-l-y” (how does a woman do that?) as I was being translated for the first time. It is the ultimate privilege to inspire people to a more intimate walk with God and help them understand what God is saying to them.

Yes it is real isn't it? God, you really do what you say…

It is worth the long wait. Keep carrying your promises. God is not a man that he lie. What he has spoken, he will do!

Dream Come True

2008-09-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

I was 17 years old when I first visited Switzerland. There was something about that country of towering peaks and sweeping valleys that captured my imagination like no other place I have visited.

Since then Switzerland has become a source of inspiration and sort of a symbol of my life dreams. So it is sweet poetic irony that I am leaving for Switzerland tomorrow! But then again, is it surprising that the God who is the Giver of our deepest desires should choose Switzerland to be the destination for my first overseas ministry trip? He loves to give us exactly what we long for!

I will be overseas for 3 and a half weeks, visiting a church in Hong Kong, then onto Switzerland with a couple of side trips across the border to Germany. During that time, I will be preaching and teaching in churches through my ministry Awaken Your Dreams. I will also be spending some time in the mountains writing!

I know that my trip is God-ordained - sort of a meeting with destiny. Though you may think I may not need it in a place like Switzerland, I would love your prayers for ministry effectiveness and for God's purposes to be fulfilled! While I am away I will be updating my blog as well (my latest technological feat). To subscribe you can click on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) button below. (For those techno novices, once you subscribe to a blog with your email address, it cleverly feeds blog entries into your inbox whenever there is an update!)

Thanks so much for your friendship and support!

A Taste of Life on the Road

2008-08-21T21:58:00.001-07:00

My suitcases are way too heavy… I thought as I lugged them around Melbourne airport. I'm going to have to get better at this.

Further note to self: Do not forget woolen socks when visiting Melbourne in the dead of Winter.

The suitcases are unpacked now and it is good to reflect on the first official trip with my ministry. Preaching to the enthusiastic and bubbly Hope Generation Youth church and inspiring old friends at Brighton Christian Church... Helping out with a wedding of friends from my former church. Rich moments hanging out with longtime friends and family. Most of the time with that exhilarated feeling of; 'I was made for this!' swinging to panicked moments of; ‘What was I thinking?!’ Gone forever is the 9-5 predictability of my old life.

One of the highlights was conducting the 'Other Side of the Conversation' Seminar at Grace Church of Christ. This seminar aims to equip people with the ability to hear from God in a clearer way. With 80 registrants; young and old, men and women from a church of 300, there is a hunger to be in conversation with Almighty God. A wonderfully warm congregation came together on a Saturday afternoon with thoughtful questions about the things we ponder on most when hearing from God.

Planning is in progress for my first overseas ministry trip. This one is to the land of my dreams. Literally. Switzerland has always captured my imagination and my heart’s desire. It is just like a loving Father God to orchestrate his purposes in ways we love! And then to provide the way there. But that is another story…

Dr Phil and the Psychic

2008-08-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know you don't watch daytime TV (or would never admit to it), but I just happened to flick it on the other day - to that all-American show Dr Phil. For those of you who are unitiated, Dr Phil is much-loved, slightly bald psychologist who counsels people live in front of millions over a myriad of deep-seated issues ranging from family conflict to weight loss to sexual abuse. I love his down-to-earth commonsense approach to problems although I still wonder how he manages to get so many people to expose their lives on national TV. But that's another story.

On this particular episode, he was hosting an 'expert' - a newly published author promoting his book - a beginner's guide to ghosts - or something to that effect. After a few guest testimonies about their spiritual experiences, the expert psychic begun to do readings in the audience. Usually spot on, he soon had people in tears as he finished his reading with "God bless."

Dr Phil is respected for his Christian and moral values. He wasn't passing judgement or providing analysis. In fact I am not sure what his purpose in having a psychic on the show was. I just wondered: How did a psychic get to be on Dr Phil?

Here's what I notice: More than ever, exploration of the spiritual realm is becoming mainstream. Our rational scepticism is being rapidly abandoned for spiritual experiences from a higher realm. Magazines and TV shows are full of options. Who wouldn't want to know their future? Who wouldn't want to tap into other powers; to receive spiritual guidance?

Yet there is a God in heaven who offers the ultimate spiritual experience. Who longs to communicate directly to us and offer personal counsel far superior to any spirit. Why go to a pyschic when you can consult with the God who is sovereign over all spirits and who knows everything? Why seek light and understanding in unknown places when there is a God who knows you better than anyone?

Go to a loving, holy and all-powerful God you can trust your future to. He is the best option.