Christmas With The Chosen Marathon

The Birth of Jesus from My Utmost for His Highest-His Birth and Our New Birth

His Birth and Our New Birth

By Oswald Chambers "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." —Matthew 1:23 His Birth in History. “…that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of— He is a Being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate— God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord’s birth was an advent— the appearance of God in human form. His Birth in Me. “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). Just as our Lord came into human history from outside it, He must also come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a “Bethlehem” for the Son of God? I cannot enter the realm of the kingdom of God unless I am born again from above by a birth totally unlike physical birth. “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a command, but a fact based on the authority of God. The evidence of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that “Christ is formed” in me. And once “Christ is formed” in me, His nature immediately begins to work through me. God Evident in the Flesh. This is what is made so profoundly possible for you and for me through the redemption of man by Jesus Christ. share this devotional with a friend Wisdom From Oswald Chambers The attitude of a Christian towards the providential order in which he is placed is to recognize that God is behind it for purposes of His own. Biblical Ethics, 99 R

Friday Flashback-Canon 814xls super 8 movie camera review

Dr. Neil T. Anderson – Restored Hope – Overcoming Addiction

More from the Wayside Chapel by Jon Owen

Dear Inner Circle, For us, one of the lessons of 2020 has been that nothing is inevitable outside of risk, courage and effort. A few weeks ago this note was penned in the sadness and silence of our empty community cafe in Kings Cross. Our kitchens have been twice as busy this year, serving takeaway food and sending out our teams who travel all over the city in vans packed with freshly-prepared nutritious meals. Since COVID-19 hit in March, our cafe dining area had remained empty, a space normally bristling with life that had been marked by its absence. With the recent easing of restrictions, the planning has been on in earnest to re-open the cafes in our Community Service Centres in Kings Cross and Bondi. The path of least resistance would have been to continue our hiatus for at least another few months, but the call to community isn’t a call to comfort, it’s to connection. This note is being written in the new controlled chaos and joy of our re-opened cafe. Our visitors may now be greeted by staff who sign them in, sit at tables that are safely-spaced, and served by our kitchen staff from behind perspex screens, but they all know this is a minor inconvenience compared to the freedom of returning to their own safe space. Our mission is about creating community, it was quite a sight to behold as reunions filled our spaces in Kings Cross and Bondi, emanating enough colour and light to bring hope into even the most despairing of hearts. On the first day of re-opening our cafe, one of our much-missed regulars who we haven’t seen since the start of lockdown ambled in. He quietly informed us that we had re-opened on the day of his 66th birthday. Trish, our tireless Cafe Manager, reassured him that we had indeed re-opened just for him. She then hustled hard to throw an impromptu party. Normally tears are appropriate for the poor-quality singing that follows but as no singing occurred, the sight of this man being surrounded by familiar faces all emanating love was enough to bring those present to tears. I’m not sure if blowing out candles will ever be considered acceptable again, so with a clap of his hands the single flame was extinguished but a renewed sense of hope was born. For many of us, Christmas will look a bit different this year. For people experiencing homelessness, Christmas will be especially tough and lonely. There’s a lovely fellow who pops up at Wayside every year in the month before Christmas. He’s got his fair share of challenges but his heart is full of nothing but gold. He said that he’s drawn to Wayside at Christmas because the joy and goodwill that pours through our community at this time of year drowns out his own painful memories of Christmas. He was sad to hear that Wayside Chapel won’t be able to go ahead with our usual large-scale Christmas Day Street Party in Kings Cross due to COVID-19 restrictions but he was heartened to learn of our plans to create Christmas cheer for people in our community who are in need. Over the seven days before Christmas, including Christmas Eve, we will be hosting daily community lunches in Kings Cross that will capture the spirit of Christmas with freshly-cooked meals for people experiencing homelessness and isolation. These lunches may not have the usual fanfare of our street party, but they will still be served with a big dose of love and the gift of good company. You can find out more about our other Christmas activities here. We need your help to bring some joy to our community this Christmas. We will be recording a Virtual Choir performance of a secret song to be shown at our ‘Week of Christmas Spirit’ community lunches and on Wayside’s social media on Christmas Day. If you love to sing, we’d love you to participate by submitting your own video! The first 30 people to email media@thewaysidechapel.com with “Virtual Choir” in the subject line will be sent a link with specific instructions on how to record and submit your performance. Thank you for being a part our virtuoso Inner Circle, Jon Jon Owen Pastor & CEO Wayside Chapel Donate to Wayside Chapel's Christmas Appeal Protecting your privacy is important to us. Personal information collected from our subscribers is held in a password-secure database and used in accordance with Wayside’s Privacy Policy. We do not sell personal information to third parties. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Privacy Officer at mail@thewaysidechapel.com.

Goolwa South Australia Part 1.

 We have earlier this week stayed at Goolwa in South Australia with our good friends Anne and Dave.We were in Port Elliott having lunch yesterday when we were alerted to the fact that Adelaide and South Australia was in a full Covid 19 lock down from 12o'clock last night.We called in at a supermarket on the way home where chaos reigned  because of the rush from shoppers.

Nonetheless we had a marvellous 3 days away and here are some pics.

We visited Port Elliott, Milang,Victor Harbor,Clayton and Goolwa.

We were last here 3 years ago.

Port Elliott

"Plum Pudding", Port Elliott

Tern,Port Elliott

Horseshoe Bay,Port Elliott

Horseshoe Bay,Port Elliott

Pied Oystercatchers, Goolwa Beach,

Australian Reed Warbler, Goolwa

Dead Tree, Port Elliott

 

More from Oswald Chambers

“What Is That to You?”

By Oswald Chambers

Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.

Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

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More from the Wayside Chapel Kings Cross

Dear Inner Circle,
Some of our nation’s brightest minds gathered last week to hear various CEOs talk about “Leadership through Crisis and Chaos”. It was an honour to attend the seminar and hear from some incredibly talented people, but I couldn’t help but think that I witness outstanding leadership at Wayside all the time. It comes from people who will never claim to be experts, make a name for themselves or earn a pot of money from what they do.
Walking towards our building yesterday morning, I saw a young woman who had overdosed. A few people had gathered around and in a display of undiluted compassion, they were begging the woman to stay awake and fight for life, until an ambulance could arrive. To make this scene even more dramatic, the woman’s boyfriend, who’d also had a shot and was beginning to panic about living in a world without his girlfriend, produced a needle and proclaimed that he was about to take a second shot so that they might leave this earth together. Some of our Wayside angels demonstrated more leadership and skill than I’ve ever contemplated in any think tank. A couple of staff quietly walked with the man into a near-by alley and without taking any control away from the man, helped him imagine a better day than this one. I’ve never been to a seminar that taught how to harness the imagination of someone whose imagination has all but died. It was one of those powerful moments, more easily overlooked than recognised, when the man saw something in the faces of our people, dropped his second needle, and became responsive to the loving faces around him.
 
How easy on the surface to judge people in such a moment. Yet who of us really sees what we’re looking at? This young man was taught from 10 years old, how to conceal and sell drugs by people who “rewarded” him without ever loving him or even seeing him as anything more than a means to their selfish ends. Our Wayside staff walked alongside this man yesterday because they believe that where there is a pulse, there is hope. Our vision of ‘Love Over Hate’, asserts a better future even when ALL the evidence seems contrary. We know full well that ours is a stand of faith, even when a more rational response for others might be to stare, shrug shoulders, and walk away.
 
What our Wayside workers know is that it’s not hard for a person to fall into a hole so deep, that they can feel like nothing from within remains. Sometimes hope has to be caught rather than conjured. Our workers leap into deep holes and without fairy-stories or false promises, they’ll hold a hand and gently walk with someone to a new day – one tiny step at a time.
 
Anyway, you’ll think I’m talking about an exceptional day but it was just yesterday and like most days, I’m learning about leadership through crisis and chaos from within our walls and on our streets.

Thanks for being part of our Inner Circle,
 
Jon
PS – Long Walk Home starts next Monday 26 October! For those who have signed up, THANK YOU! We have been absolutely blown away by the support, and love seeing all your photos in your fluro shirts. For those who haven’t, there’s still time. Donate to our visitor Josh, or join the movement yourself; and walk 28km over 7 days between Monday and Sunday next week. Your support will send a message to people experiencing homelessness that they are not alone and not forgotten. Sign up here.

Jon Owen
Pastor & CEO
Wayside Chapel

Long Walk Home 2020
Protecting your privacy is important to us. Personal information collected from our subscribers is held in a password-secure database and used in accordance with Wayside’s Privacy Policy. We do not sell personal information to third parties. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Privacy Officer at mail@thewaysidechapel.com.

Passing of Kevin Lewis , West Torrens Cricketer

I am posting this as a tribute to the late Kevin Lewis who died suddenly on 3/10/20.

Kevin was a highly successful cricketer with West Torrens Cricket Club in Adelaide District Cricket.

Here is a notice from the Adelaide Advertiser and some pics I have in my archives featuring Kevin. 

  "The West Torrens Cricket Club is deeply saddened by the passing of Club great Kevin Lewis. Lew played State Cricket, took 476 A Grade Wickets, was Curator, Coach and instrumental in the Club’s move to Henley.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with his family.

Publication: The Advertiser

Adelaide"

 

 The 100 not out group at the West Torrens Centenary dinner. Kevin is front left

Star players of the Cricket Club at the Centenary including Kevin.
 

More from Oswald Chambers

 

 

The Key to the Missionary’s Message

By Oswald Chambers

He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. —1 John 2:2

The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God. Look at any other aspect of Christ’s work, whether it is healing, saving, or sanctifying, and you will see that there is nothing limitless about those. But— “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”— that is limitless (John 1:29). The missionary’s message is the limitless importance of Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and a missionary is someone who is immersed in the truth of that revelation.

The real key to the missionary’s message is the “remissionary” aspect of Christ’s life, not His kindness, His goodness, or even His revealing of the fatherhood of God to us. “…repentance and remission of sins should be preached…to all nations…” (Luke 24:47). The greatest message of limitless importance is that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins….” The missionary’s message is not nationalistic, favoring nations or individuals; it is “for the whole world.” When the Holy Spirit comes into me, He does not consider my partialities or preferences; He simply brings me into oneness with the Lord Jesus.

A missionary is someone who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master. He is not to proclaim his own point of view, but is only to proclaim “the Lamb of God.” It is easier to belong to a faction that simply tells what Jesus Christ has done for me, and easier to become a devotee of divine healing, or of a special type of sanctification, or of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But Paul did not say, “Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me,” but, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). And this is the gospel— “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

We are all based on a conception of importance, either our own importance, or the importance of someone else; Jesus tells us to go and teach based on the revelation of His importance. “All power is given unto Me.… Go ye therefore ….”  So Send I You, 1325 R

 

Rolling on the River(Murray) Our Proud Mary Cruise

We recently completed a 2 nights ,3 day cruise on the Proud Mary passenger boat on the Murray River in South Australia.

We had our own individual  cabin and our good friends Anne and Dave did the trip with us.

The staff were excellent as was the food and service.

You can do 2 day and 5 day cruises.

Here is a link to the Proud Mary website.

 https://www.proudmary.com.au/

I will be doing a youtube video on this trip soon.

Here are some pics.