David Willersdorf's Blog

Faith

2009-01-19T22:26:00.001+10:00

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine..."

Faith: more valuable than gold, more refined and celebrated more than we could ever imagine.

Faith becomes more than words when we go through trials - when God strengthens us to keep seeing His character in the dark hour of circumstance.

When we can keep seeing our hope and inheritance in Jesus, that's when our faith shines true - even amidst the trials.

Open-Minded Revelation

2008-04-14T17:43:00.003+10:00

"Test everything. Hold onto the good."
1 Thessalonians 5:21

A man who ate locusts and dressed in wild skins; a prostitute; a donkey given to speaking - these are some of the beings God chose to reveal Himself through as mentioned in His Word. So why do we have such a problem accepting God's revelation from people whose culture or social standing may be offensive to us?

You may be Conservative with a dislike for loud prayers; you may be Pentecostal with an aversion to quiet prayers; you may be well dressed with an objection of people who smell - don't let that disqualify you from hearing God. God didn't come to earth in the form of an Armani-clad motivational speaker. He chose to come as a carpenter from Nazareth - a hillbilly with a broad accent that some people would have shown contempt for.

There can be great grains of gold in the seas of sand. We can find something from God if we test everything and hold onto the good that remains. We can hold up someone's words against the Bible and hold onto those things that comply. Just don't be so open minded that your brain falls out! Let God speak however He chooses to and you'll be surprised at the great pearls that you will discover.

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Learning To Wait

2008-04-07T08:39:00.000+10:00

"I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'"
Lamentations 3:24

Often in life, we can be distracted by what is going on in the lives of others at the expense of what God can be doing in ours. They have the blessing that we want now. They may even tell us that we must have the same right away. Be careful of asking for something just because someone else has it. God has you on His own path for you. His work in you is not His work in another.
Choose to throw your lot in with God and you will go the quicker route to His purpose. If you can confess, "The Lord is my portion," then the portion of others will only bring out joy in your life. Covet the portion of someone else and you'll be trapped in the snare of jealousy.
Each of us encounters times when we are in a still place with God. These are times of preparation - God settling our spirits. These are the times of waiting. I once wrote a song titled, 'To Wait On You'. When writing it, I did not realise at the time that God would so powerfully answer the prayer that I uttered in its words.

There's rest for my soul
There's time for Your winds to blow
To listen as You speak
There's all the time for this...

To wait on You, to wait on You
To wait on You, to wait on You

Waiting for God means that something exciting is right around the corner. And when He does move, we'll find ourselves saying, "If only I could get some rest!"

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To Wait on You

2008-04-03T07:22:00.004+10:00

There's rest for my soul
There's time for Your winds to blow
To listen as You speak
There's all the time for this:

To wait on You
To wait on You

We lift our eyes to You
We wait for You to move
We listen as You speak
There's all the time for this:

To wait on You
To wait on You

Copyright © 2001 David Willersdorf / Artist Ministries, Inc.

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First-Hand Revelation

2008-03-28T20:50:00.008+10:00

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us."
1 John 1:1-2

Have you given over the rights of revelation? As a worship pastor, I sometimes met people from whom I got the feeling that they wanted me to worship God on their behalf. "We pay your salary so why do you want us to worship?"

Our relationship with God is like a married couple: there comes a time when we no longer need to rely purely on outside sources for our relationship with God. It would be very odd indeed for a married couple to need a messenger after twenty years of marriage! But sometimes we live off second-hand revelation more than we do off our direct line to God.

God has revealed Himself directly to you in a number of ways. First He wrote you a love letter called The Bible. Secondly He placed His Spirit within all those who have come to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is very helpful to have great preachers and also those who can keep us accountable for how we live. But they will not answer to God for your decisions - You will.

Your greatest priority in life should be to let your special relationship with God come first. Ask God what He wants of you. Allow God to reveal Himself directly to you. Who reveals God to you when the preacher and worship leader has gone home? Allow outside sources to inspire and confirm.

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Life is a Travelator

2008-03-28T20:45:00.007+10:00

"Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before You. Each man's life is but a breath."
Psalm 39:4-5

Have you ever been asleep in the back seat of a car? Although you're not actively doing anything, you are still in motion from one place to another. So too it is with life: from birth to the end of life, you are in motion from one point to another. Whether you choose to acknowledge this or not, it does not matter. Like gravity, it is one of the unchanging laws of life: you are born; you live; you die.

We need to live in that constant state of awareness. I watched a movie about time travel where the character went back in time to alter a little decision he had made. The changes to the future consequences of that little decision were staggering. What decisions do you put aside? What might seem important today - work, money, social standing - will seem irrelevant in years to come. The little decisions like whether to withhold a harsh word, to tell someone you love them or to choose to honour God in a decision at work will have active and accumulative consequences that you cannot see.

So how can we live, knowing that time is rushing us from birth to death and that our little decisions can have vast, unforseen consequences in our life and the world around us? There is only one way. We must live each day with God, our Creator. As well as knowing how long we have to live on earth, God also can see the ramifications of each decision we make. He can turn things around for good. He can encourage us to find the path we were designed for. All we have to do is to walk daily with Him, the Author of Life.

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Pocket Change That Changes the World

2008-03-28T19:23:00.004+10:00

I've just today had another letter from one of my Compassion lads. His name is Diego and he lives in Bolivia.

I've been able to sponsor three boys with Compassion Australia. Two I sponsor personally: Diego in Bolivia and Maradona in Rwanda. My third child -- Temesgen in Ethiopia -- is sponsored through my ministry organisation.

Diego writes: "I pray for you and your family every night..."

One time I unexpectedly had some money come in and was able to send a "family gift" to my lads -- just a small amount really. I was amazed to receive some photo's from Diego's mission showing how much he and his family had been able to get. There were wardrobes, goats, shoes, clothes and a rough wooden dining table. I had given so little and they had received so much!

It is such a buzz being able to see so much change in one life through my pocket change and a few letters. And my life has been changed so much through the insights of children who give me a view of God I'm so glad I haven't missed out on!

Sponsor a child now at http://www.compassion.com.au

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Faith?

2008-03-28T19:18:00.004+10:00

A while back I was reading Hebrews 11. It talks about faith. If you're like me, you might expect faith to be like Harrison Ford stepping onto thin air in Indiana Jones III. He closes his eyes, takes a step and later realises that he is now walking on a carefully camouflaged solid rock bridge. He worked himself up into some sort of feeling and acted on it.

In reality I'm finding that real faith is simply relying on God doing what He says He will do because He is who He says He is. The faith part is placing yourself in a position where either God will move, or you will fall flat on your face. It's not as much stepping into the unknown - it's stepping into what you know about God.

That while back when I was reading Hebrews 11, I began a long journey to producing my next worship DVD and CD. At the time I sensed God say to "go for it." Since then there have been obstacles and victories. In some things I've fallen over, in others God has held me on my feet. I think the journey is doing me much more good than the completion of any album!

The only thing separating us from the people in Hebrews 11 is whether we jump out when we recognise God's call. I can't wait to hear God's chuckle when we finally learn through faith how big and loving He is!

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