Like this:

My favourite album these days is by Hillsong – Saviour King. That is one epic album, to which I have known people come to Christ because of the songs on the album. One song in particular sticks in my head these days:

In Your Freedom

I search for You God of strength
I bow to You in my brokenness
And no other King could have so humbly come
To save my soul and heal my heart
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me
And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need
I pray to You God of peace
I rest in You my cares released
I have nothing more than all You offer me
There is nothing else that’s of worth to me
And I love You Lord
You rescued me
You are all that I want
You’re all that I need
In Your freedom I will live
In Your freedom I will live
I offer devotion, I offer devotion

It brings to mind discussions I have had lately with many people, including my roommate who is organising a night of prayer and praise in September. What should the format be? As organisers, what do we want people to feel? What is the goal and objective?

These are all good questions but my heart begs for a night of pouring out of emotional content through prayer, something I feel this church I go to isn’t very strong in (generally speaking). But that’s fine, every church has strengths. BCPC is especially strong with doctrine and teaching. Seriously, this church has some serious players who can discuss scripture with you to the nth degree. Whilst it’s true that the mind and heart are symbiotic (ie. the mind motivates the heart and vice versa), I believe it is the holy spirit that convicts the heart and thus motivates the mind. Which is more powerful – the mind or the heart?

Ever since coming back from north america, I feel that I have gotten back into the old ways of being careful with emotions. Partly it is due to the environment here in Sydney. People are much less likely to open up for some reason, and like the osmosis effect I do the same. God has granted me some amazing opportunities to be around a diverse group of people – I hang out with adults from 18 to 30 somethings. When I question the youth I sense a longing to be more connected with God and each other. When I question the more mature, I sense opposition to change but yet a willingness to try. So what are we waiting for? The fear of dropping this veil of security is understandable, but from personal experience it is like living a life half full when you can truly experience the grace of God with the support and love of the community growing together spiritually. If the goal is to be like Jesus, then surely this is the right step to take?

On a totally separate note, I write all of the above after drinking some homemade Vietnamese coffee. I bought the coffee and filter from Bankstown, thanks to my viet friend who took me for a personal tour of Bankstown. Wow, that place is amazing. You can go to places where only viets are there and apparently it’s like being in vietnam. Anyway, this is my homemade attempt:

This stuff is strong! But the taste is like a drug I want another cup! I recall first drinking it in a vietnamese cafe in Montreal a few years back, and everytime I go to that place for lunch I ordered that. Talk about being wired on caffeine. Maybe that’s what I’m on at the moment…

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