Stopping For The One

Experiencing how God's love transforms us to love others

Tag: Holy Spirit

Digging Deep

Sometimes it doesn’t seem like much is happening in my life. I want to see some action! I long to see greater tangible evidence of the Holy Spirit working in my life, bringing about blessing to others in the world.

Continue reading

Flooding Los Angeles with fire from the Azusa Revival

Revival is easy because it’s God’s idea. All you have to do is say “yes” and he says, “I can work with that!”

If you were to come up to me a year ago and prophesy that I would be standing on a bench in the middle of a well-respected university in LA (UCLA), to preach the gospel to passers by who pretended they couldn’t see or hear me, I don’t know if I would have believed you. The very idea would have offended my insecurities and fear of rejection that I had worked so hard to hide and protect.

Continue reading

Breathe
Breathe on us now
Open your mouth
And speak the word that heals this broken ground

Say
Say what you will
As we are still
And we breathe in the very breath of God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsqq5vJ1LU4

Listening for the whisper

When I changed workplace at the end of 2014, my commute changed from sitting in seemingly-endless Sydney traffic (or standing on a train) to a pleasant drive through mostly rural areas. I was initially struck with how my daily travel changed from looking at cars and breathing in fumes to fresh air and enjoying views over green hills, cows, sheep, goats and horses (and the odd alpaca). As I drove this new route, I noticed a stretch of bush where many bellbirds were calling.

I love bellbirds. While being a little unremarkable to look at, they have a beautiful, crystalline bell-like call that carries clearly over the air. The sound of many bellbirds in the bush calling out on a clear day is something that resonates within me and reminds me of home.

Continue reading

Stopping for the one?

Last year, our Senior Pastor had been to one of our sister churches and had heard one of their visiting speakers use the phrase “stopping for the one”. This was the first time I’d consciously heard that term, and it stood out to me. Sometimes a phrase just leaps out at you, and this one has definitely embedded itself in my mind.

For the last year I’ve been turning this over in my mind, examining it for the gold held within. I started noticing it come into use by a few speakers, but it stuck in the back of my mind and wouldn’t be silenced. I’ve been wrestling with the text — the Biblical meaning of meditation.

Continue reading

A transformed heart

This afternoon, I had a tangible reminder of how much God has changed my heart.

I was heading home after a quick trip to the local stationery warehouse when I saw a woman walk up to the traffic lights to cross the street. She was thin and gaunt, with telltale marks of a long history of addiction. Her gait was awkward and unsteady, her eyes sunken, her skin and hair dried up from what looked like years of substance abuse. She was actually the spitting image of one of the meth addicts on Breaking Bad. A mere skeleton of who she was created to be.

Continue reading