Ipswich Region Community Church

If God is, and is good, how come the world is so bad? This, in essence, is the problem of pain. God is, yet so is evil, horror, injustice and random devastation. The title of the book, 'Rumours of Another World' always makes me think of something to come. The greats of history dreamed of better things to come - Abraham never tired of searching for it, Moses saw it but never walked in it, David wrote about it and Paul was absolute about it. God always point us forward not back - encouraging us to make our world a little better.

Encouragement is the love language of God so is it our language as well? Moses is given an assignment that would place fear into the heart of the bravest soul. Yet God gives him two companions (Aaron and Miriam) to share the journey. That's what friends are for - to encourage us on our journey. The whispers of the encouraging friends are priceless as are the encouraging whispers of a God that truly cares for us through encouragement.

The faster we travel the more of a hurry we are in - the journey God takes us on builds depth, character and trust. Moses was the shepherd but it was David who penned the great shepherd's psalm. The psalm portrays who God is and the journey that He alone can take us on together with the pace He wants us to pursue that journey.

When God gets our attention there is always a purpose to the meeting, unfortunately we attempt to downsize the meeting Again using the burning bush experience of Moses we see the purpose that God has for Moses. Yet Moses has "every excuse under the sun" to reduce his role in God's future plans. How many of us are just like Moses, we shrink wrap and bonsai God attempting to have God live in a small billabong when He is larger than ocean waters.

Christianity Open Day Message from Sunday 16th September 2007