The sermon for July 10th is now available on the New life web-site.
In this sermon, Rozina talks about how our self-beliefs and mindsets stop us from entering into all that God has for us and for succeeding generations.
To listen in your web browser click here, to download the mp3 click here.
The sermon features a Ted talk by Jo Boaler which you can watch here
Bettina Arndt is not your average men’s rights campaigner- in fact she isn’t one at all. In this article she takes aim at the Domestic Violence industry and the way it skews all debate on DV to just one perspective.
From relatingtomen.com
Why you should never give a cent to White Ribbon ~ final
The word is getting out and the ruse further exposed of the White Ribbon campaign in Australia. This Guest Article by Bettina Arndt published today.
For years now, all the key players in our well-orchestrated domestic violence sector have been singing from the same page, happily accepting government money to promote the idea that domestic violence is all about dangerous men terrorizing their partners. Malcolm Turnbull is on record boasting that the government is spending “hundreds of millions” of dollars on domestic violence – a tribute to the grip this powerful lobby group has on this country.
But now a few cracks are appearing. Recently an extraordinary article was published inThe Daily Telegraph, written by Nina Funnell who has built her career on being a domestic violence “survivor.”
In her article entitled: “Why you should never give a cent to White Ribbon,” Funnell took issue with the suggestion that Eddie McGuire should be required to donate $50,000 to White Ribbon as penance for his remarks about Caroline Wilson. Funnell said that she and many other survivors won’t give a cent to White Ribbon which is just a “fundraising club that made some blokes and a whole lot of politicians feel good.”
It’s just a redemption industry, suggests Funnell. “The reality is that much of White Ribbon’s $3.7 million revenue is spent on self-congratulatory feel-good talk-fests and various other empty virtue signalling initiatives.”
Very little of the White Ribbon’s “sorry money” is spent on services like domestic violence shelters says Funnell who has served on the boards of organizations supporting the shelters.
Given that such shelters continue to cry poor, it’s about time someone asked where all Turnbull’s hundreds of millions are going. The answer is not just White Ribbon but the multitude of government-funded domestic violence organizations like OurWatch, DV Connect, ANROWS, Domestic Violence Victoria. The list is endless. What started out as a sensible campaign to raise money for an important cause – providing support for battered women – has morphed into a huge propaganda industry determined to promote a simplistic male-blaming perspective on this complex social issue.
Support for the shelters gets remarkably little attention from the powerful female bureaucrats running these thriving organizations which downplay statistics demonstrating women’s role in family violence and promote the myth that the only way to tackle domestic violence is through teaching misogynist men (and boys) to behave themselves. Never mind that this flies in the face of the huge body of research showing most family violence involves aggression from both partners and that sexist attitudes are not a major risk factor for DV in Western countries like Australia.
Read the full article here
Today I visited Tenterfield on the last stage of my Prayer Journey. I travelled up Killarney Gap Road and encountered a few kangaroos along the way and a total of 6 floodways with small amounts of water over the road.
I stopped at Killarney Gap for a photo, reminiscing my summer bike rides there.
The drive past Killarney Gap was marked by fog as well as the water courses. The fog was patchy but persisted to Glen Innes. Tenterfield itself was quite warm and sunny.
Tenterfield is a very historical town with many old buildings. It is known as one of the birth places of Federation with Henry Parkes making a famous speech at the Tenterfield School of Arts. It is also known as the birth place of singer Peter Allen.
Once again, I prayed God’s blessing on the town. I declared that, although it was famous for its past contributions to the nation, its best days are yet to come. As in many places, the denominational churches are in transition with some older churches having closed in recent years. I prayed that Tenterfield would see a revival that will bring Christ to the centre of the town.
Just out of Tenterfield is this stunning rock
That concludes my Prayer Journey. In 5 days I travelled a total of 3,200 km. The area enclosed by the four towns I visited is about 400,000 square kilometres or about half of the state. I didn’t do this to have a crazy road trip but simply to obey God.
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10.25-37
Scripture
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”
Observation
An expert in the Law asks Jesus what he must do to be saved. Jesus says to him, “You tell me. What does the Law say?” The man replies that the commandment is to love the Lord and to love your neighbour as yourself.
Jesus tells him that if he does this he will have eternal life. But the man wants to justify himself so he asks “Who is my neighbour?”
Jesus then tells the well-known story of the Good Samaritan to explain that the neighbour is everyone we might see in need. Jesus tells the man to do the same as the Samaritan.
Application
The lawyer’s root problem is that he wanted to justify himself, and Jesus would not allow this. He will not allow us to justify ourselves precisely because this covers up our sinful nature which must be brought to Christ for crucifixion.
In the story it is not the religious men who are justified, but the despised Samaritan who shows compassion to a robbery victim.
Good deeds do not make us right with God. However selfless love is a sign that we have moved from a place of self-righteousness to a position of God-righteousness.
While ever we are in a state of wanting to justify ourselves we can never be in a place where God is able to justify us.
Prayer
Father I confess my tendency to want to justify myself. I confess that this is sin and I ask you to grant me the grace to repent of this in order to receive your justification. Amen.
Wagga Wagga is the biggest inland city in NSW with a population of 55,000. This compares to its rival Tamworth which is not far behind at 47,000. The south-eastern point of our prayer journey is only 3 hours drive from Hay, so it was an easier day.
We went up to the scenic lookout to look over the city and pray
Once again I prayed for God’s blessing on this city, for the churches to be blessed and for people to turn to Jesus. I thanked God that this city has been a blessing to the Riverina district and I prayed that it would become a beacon of hope for the nation.
When I was at theological college I came to Wagga Wagga for a summer of field education. It was an interesting time. We stayed next to the Turvey Park church in a house which was condemned by the Parish, although it is still standing nearly 30 years later.
The church building was sold to the Coptic Orthodox Church which apparently has huge dioceses.
Tonight we are sleeping in Parkes and should get home about lunch time tomorrow. This will give me time to catch up on some things before completing my Prayer Journey with a day trip to the north-eastern point.
Passage: https://www.biblegatesway.com/passage/?search=colossians+1.1-14
Scripture
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother
Observation
Paul says that he always thanks God for the Colossians because of the faith and love that they have for all the saints. These come from the word of truth, the gospel, which is not only growing in their hearts but is spreading all over the world.
Paul prays for them daily that the Lord will fill them with the knowledge of His will so that they will please Him in every way, that they will be sterngthened in power and giving thanks in all things to the Father.The Father has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His own dear Son in whom we have redemotion.
Application
Paul starts off this letter introducing himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. This was not his idea or ambition, it was God’s will.
We may not be where we want to be in life, but we are where God wants us to be. This is so important to bear in mind in a culture that is obsessed with self-direction and self-fulfilment and is not so impressed with self-control.
I am where I am, doing the things I do by the will of God and by His calling. Like clay being moulded into a vessel for God’s purpose, my attitude must always be “Not my will, but yours be done in me Lord.”
Prayer
Lord I give you my life- mind, body, spirit- to be used for your holy purposes. Let the word of truth grow stronger in me to be seen in a life totally surrendered to you. Amen.
We left Narrabri at 7.30 this morning and drove through rain nearly all the way to Hay, some 800 km away.
Hay was where we started ministry in 1984. We lived in this house which is 100 years old now and is being restored.
Hay has always been a unique place due to its isolation. All through the 20th century its population was stable at 3000. However the Murray-Darling Basin Plan ripped the heart out of the irrigation industry and the town is now down to 2500 people.
When we lived here, Hay still aspired to being a cathedral city. The Anglican church was designated a pro-cathedral and a residence for a bishop was built in the 1800s. The diocese was eventually centred in the much bigger city of Griffith and now the former pro-cathedral is falling down.
The Baptist church looks quite well-maintained.
The railway station is a grand building as befitted the terminus station. Trains no longer come to Hay, but the buildings are well used by the community.
In the park opposite our former home I prayed an apostolic blessing on this town. I prayed for the Lord to restore its former grandeur, to place back the population ripped out of it by poor Government decisions and for all the churches in the town to be filled with people.
Tomorrow is a shorter drive, so a much more relaxed day.
Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos+7.1-17
Scripture
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.”
Observation
The Lord gives Amos two visions of coming punishment for Israel. After each one, Amos intercedes for Israel, and the Lord relents. After a third vision, this time of a plumb line, it is clear that the Lord is determined to judge Israel.
The priest at the temple at Bethel warns King Jeroboam that Amos is propheying destruction. He then demands that Amos goes to Judah to prophesy. Amos replies that he is not really a prophet but a shepherd. The Lord has called him to speak the message.
Application
When God calls a person, it is not always straight forward or easy. Most people of God face challenges to their authority or their calling, particularly when the message they bring is unpopular.
People may demand that we stop or go somewhere else. They may even enlist the governmental authorities to stop our ministry.
When this happens we must find courage in Christ to keep going and to not abandon the call He has given.
With Martin Luther we must say, “Here I stand. I can do no other.”
Prayer
Lord, please help me to see that my worth is not dependent on whether people heed me, but only on my faithfulness to you. Amen.
Today was the first day of my Prayer Tour of Western NSW. From today until Friday I am travelling to some key points on the map to pray blessing on the region and particularly on the churches in the towns.
Today, Tim and I took off early to visit Bourke. Bourke is one of the most remote towns in NSW and the term “Back of Bourke” is a vernacular phrase to describe a remote bush location. It has never been established which is the more remote of “Back of Bourke” and “Beyond the Black Stump.”
For the first time in my life, I have now been to the Back of Bourke and a photo to prove it.
This is the Back O’ Bourke Exhibition Centre, where they have a daily show, which we missed by about 45 minutes, and art exhibitions etc.
The town is located on the mighty Darling River which is looking splendid right now, being full of water after good widespread rains last month.
In the middle of town there is a tourist precinct featuring paddle steamer cruises, coffee shops and the like. The Crossley engine is a fuel oil engine nearly 100 years old, which found its way to a property near Bourke after starting its life producing electricity in Sydney. It has been lovingly restored and now the Shire pays someone to maintain it and run it for a short time each day. Doesn’t sound like much, but there were 50 people watching an old stationary engine turn over. this afternoon.
From the stats on the notice board this engine produces about 138 BHP or 103 kW of mechanical power. The tiny engine powering Tim’s Hyundai i20 produces 55 kW. Engines have come a long way in 100 years!
I prayed by the river for apostolic blessing to be released in Bourke, for the Darling to always be a source of prosperity for the town and for the churches to grow in their love for Jesus and for their neighbours.
Seeing Bourke alive with hundreds of visitors made me realise what potential there is for development of the tourist industry in Narrabri. We are a bigger town with as much history as Bourke (albeit with a much less spectacular river) and we just don’t seem to do anything much to encourage people to stay in town.
Today was the north-western extremity of our Prayer Tour. Tomorrow we head south, again to pray blessing on God’s people.
New Life Narrabri 