New Church – [ urban assault mix ]

For those of you who didn’t know I am one half of a Christian experimental electronica project called “Digital Prayers” We’ve recently started doing shows and we have just been in the studio recording our newest track titled “New Church” This track is a prophetic call to the church as a whole to be more sensitive to the flow of the Holy Spirit within the church. I could go into more detail but the lyrics really do speak for themselves.

UPDATE ::: After some feedback we have made some adjustments to the track to smooth out a few things .. this is now version 2.. enjoy.

What really matters ..

Today more then ever I am reminded that next to God, there is nothing more important in this life then your friends and your family. Whether we lose touch or move to another country like I did its so important to try to maintain the relationships with those really close friends that made you who you are today. Even if its a quick phone call or a quick chat online. These are the friendships that shapped us and got us through a lot of our troubles.

On Monday a loyal and trusted friend passed away after years of on and off health complications. I had only just chatted with him a few weeks back and he was telling me how he wasn’t doing so well and that the doctors couldn’t figure out what was going on this time. I tried to reassure him and told him he would be ok because I had seen him pull through health issues like this in the past. So I never thought for a second this would be the last time I would ever get to talk to him.

I’m glad I spent that afternoon with you last year when I was back in Canada. We always could hang out after years apart and it would be like we never missed a day. You still never let me live down that “little green men” episode in your basement so many years ago. You even brought it up in our last chat. Your passing made me take stock of whats important. With all the stressing I’ve been doing lately .. with all the “stuff” going on in my life right now I’d really started to lose sight of that simple art of hanging out with good friends.

I’m sitting here in a cafe reading the goodbye messages on your facebook page .. not at all surprised at the amount of people that love you and will miss you dearly. Your passing has taught me an invaluable lesson .. I’m no longer going to let life’s stuff or distance get in the way of what really matters.. friends. We had some awesome times back in the Parkwood youth group days and even beyond.

I remember when I used to work the night shift in security and we would talk all night on the phone. Sometimes about serious things and sometimes just to keep each other company. We were just teenagers when we met. You were skinny little kid with purple fingertips and purple lips because you hadn’t had your first heart transplant yet. What I loved about you straight away was that you never let your health issues get in the way of a good time. You were always cracking jokes .. sometimes even at your own expense. You made everyone smile.

Your funeral was only a few hours ago and for the most selfish of reasons I did not come. I know that I could not have handled being there. I just still cannot believe your gone bro .. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve shed many tears over your passing and I will likely shed even more. I know in the end you got yourself right with God and knowing that your up there with Him now only makes it a little bit easier. Of course I’d still rather you we’re down here with us. I will never forget you Scott .. I love you bro!

My prayers are with Craig and the rest of Scott’s family .. may God extend his grace to all of you.

You can share your memories of Scott on his facebook memorial page found here ..

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Scott-Janisse-Memorial/186897778056891?sk=wall

Poll: Is man made religion holding back the modern church?

25 things you might not know about me [ 2011 edition ]

1. I believe there is nothing greater then my Gods grace.
2. I thank God for my wife everyday.
3. My ultimate home is where my family is .. but God might have other ideas.
4. Unlike my sister I would rather have a dishwasher then do the dishes.
5. I believe country music is of the devil
6. I’m a good friend because I tell it like it is.
7. I am a member of the facebook group “I secretly want to punch slow walking people in the back of the head” – Dont hate .. is has over a million members!
8. American Idol auditions are the funniest thing on tv hands down.
9. My favorite ice cream is peanut butter and chocolate.
10. I think instant coffee should be outlawed.
11. I believe gambling is really just a tax for stupid people.
12. People who are anti (insert country name here) are racist.
13. You cannot set limitations on a God who knows no limits.
14. I hate it when people ask me .. is that an accent you have? No! its just the way I talk!
15. The Big Bang Theory is the funniest tv show EVER!
16. My breakfast of choice is a double shot latte.
17. I believe 911 was a terrorist conspiracy not a government consipracy.
18. 3 people tagged in this note have changed my life with positive words.
19. After eleven years living overseas I still get home sick.
20. My two nephews are the coolest kids on the planet.
21. My favorite food is anything Italian
22. I believe retail is the best form of training for going into full time ministry.
23. I have a moderate road rage issue.
24. I find it sad that good customer service is becoming a lost art.
25. The customer is NOT always right.

Brisbane’s 2011 floods [ video ]

Today I got a chance to head down to the edge of the Brisbane river to check out the damage. As of right now the death toll is at 12 with 67 people still missing. Please pray for the families who have lost loved ones and for those who are still missing loved ones. These are the worst floods Brisbane has seen since the last serious flood in 1974.

If you want to keep up to date with whats happening regarding the floods in Brisbane the following websites are great sources of news updates and further video footage.

http://www.couriermail.com.au

http://www.news.com.au

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au

Here are a few pics I took as well ..

Why racism is NEVER acceptable

Recently the assistant coach of the New South Wales Blues camp made some racist remarks which offended another player on his team. That player, Timana Tahu took a stand and walked away from the New South Wales Blues camp giving up a huge opportunity to play one of the biggest rugby league games of the year so that he could make a very valid and immensely big point. Racism in any shape or form should never ever be tolerated. Whilst I am an Australian citizen I did grow up in Canada and in the ten years I have lived in Australia I have noticed that some Australians fail to see the importance of stamping out racism. Last year a lot of Australians were stunned to see how offended Harry Connick Jr. took such great offense to the the Michael Jackson dancers who had painted there faces black for a performance. What some Australians clearly fail to see is that racism in any shape or form is offensive.  Racism tears apart the fabric of what Australia stands for. There can be no excuse or acceptable circumstance where racist comments can ever be acceptable. I’ll leave you with this quote.

“Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

2010 so far

I just realized we are half way into 2010 and I havent posted anything. Well .. In early January I got a call from my brother that my dad had taken a turn for the worse in his battle with cancer and that I should get home. So I had my wife book me a flight and then I made a call to my dad to tell him I love him. I’m so glad I made that call because he died about 3 hours before I arrived back in Windsor.

I’ve lost a few people in my life and I’ve seen a lot of death working in hospitals when I was younger. When I walked into that hospital room and realized that my dad was gone my life suddenly changed.

What I can tell you is that life is short .. to short to waste. If your passionate about something, go for it.

Which leads me to the new experimental electronica band I’m in called Digital Prayers. When I was asked into this project in Febuary I had no idea what I was getting into. Fast forward a few months and we are now writing and recording new tracks on a weekly basis and the writing process in this project is like nothing I have ever experienced before. I wont get into to much detail now but be sure to check out our official blog at dgtlprayers.com as I will be posting a blog about my experiences in the writing process so far. To make a long story short, being involved in Digital Prayers is what has kept me sain since my dads death. All I can say is God is awesome!

What does your facebook profile say about you?

I know I’m gonna step on a few toes by writing this but I felt it was something that needed to be addressed. I have noticed that people treat facebook like its Las Vegas .. its almost like “what happens on facebook stays on facebook”, but we all know thats not true. Now, I am a self confessed social networking addict and facebook is my main drug of choice. What I’ve noticed is that people tend to unintentionally reveal more about themselves then they realize. I love to browse through my friends photos to see what’s going in there lives .. its like a window into ones life. One thing I have noticed is that every now and then I see photos of someone at a party with a beer in there hand looking a like they have had more then two or three. These are people I know as Christians and while I have many friends in the church with many different views on drinking alcohol I tend to take the stance that getting drunk is a bad thing. So I pose these questions: What do your facebook photos say about you? If Jesus came back today and decided we would all be judged based on our facebook photos would you be nervous?

Understanding who we are in Christ.

I am by no means a perfect Christian or someone who thinks he’s got this salvation thing locked down, but one thing I have noticed is that a lot of Christians do not have a clear concept of who they are in Christ. Now I’m not underestimating the devils capability to take ones fears and use them against them to cause that person to fall or question there faith because its happened to me and I’ve seen it happen to countless friends. For me, one of the key elements of faith is understanding who you are in Christ.

The more I begin to understand who I am in Christ, the more I find myself doing things and saying things that I would have never imagined. Now, I’ve always been the kind of Christian who would rather be a casual witness then one who preaches on the street corner. My mission field of choice is the local espresso bar and to those of you know me that comes as no surprise all. Talking is a natural gift of mine.. my wife says I love the sound of my own voice .. I don’t know .. maybe I do or maybe its just the evangelist in me. Either way my gift of the gab seems to pay off when it comes to chatting to complete strangers about God. My point to all of this is that when you begin to understand who you are in Christ your faith begins to grow and your confidence grows alongside it. God gave his Authority to Jesus and since Jesus is in us we are also given that authority. But for the skeptics here’s a few key verses ..

Matthew 11:27 “My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Psalm 8:6 “You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things”

Zechariah 10:12 “I will make my people strong in my power, and they will go wherever they wish by my authority. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

Colossians 2:10 “and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.”

.. And here’s my favorite ..

Revelation 2:26 “”To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, I will give authority over all the nations.

With any position of authority comes great responsibility. The Authority we have as Christians in the name of Jesus is not to be taken lightly. If I try to claim authority over a place or situation that is outside of the will of God things are going to go wrong. 2 Corinthians 10:13 is pretty clear on this .. “But we will not boast of authority we do not have. Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us, and this plan includes our working there with you.” In other words you can’t go out to the clubs and have a few beers and expect to be covered under the Authority of God. His hand of protection may be on you but unless God has clearly spoken to you then its highly likely God doesn’t want you hanging out in clubs drinking. When we step outside of the will of God we open ourselves up to a wide variety of drama in our lives. As for me I’m all about having as little drama in my life as possible and I think overall a little bit of common sense applies here as well. In other words if you go to a club and get punched in the face don’t go blaming God for it, there’s a good chance he didn’t want you there in the first place.

To unlock the freedom found in understanding who we are in Christ Jesus is what leads us to the understanding of true freedom. Freedom is irrelevant if it is found in temporary situations. The only true freedom is the eternal freedom that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Everything else is temporary. The banks, the automotive industry, the oil industry, the economic recession. It is all a pathetic spec of nothingness in comparison to the grace of my God. My whole life God has been teaching me a never ending lesson on trust. And so far what I’ve learned is that the more I trust in Him, the more I put my faith in Him, the more I understand the Authority I have in Christ. Ten years ago I knelt on the floor of my bedroom in total despair and confusion. I got on my knees with the determination that I was not going to get up until I was healed of the pain I was going through. I was healed that night and after I got up I made a deal with God to always put my trust in Him. That next morning a phone call changed my life and since then I’ve been to places I never would’ve imagined, and I am without a doubt a very blessed man, and its all because I trusted in the Authority of the name of Jesus.

So you basically have two options. You can go about doing things your way and trusting in your own ideas, or you can take a risk, let go and let God. Put your trust completely and utterly in Him and everything else .. and I do mean everything else will work out. Maybe not the way you thought it would, but I can tell you from experience that Gods way is the best way.

Find yourself wanting more?

Find yourself wanting more.. ?

I don’t know what disturbs me more, the state of the world or the state of Christian music. Why do we have to water down the message of Christ? Why do we have to water down the songs we write so that we don’t pigeon hole ourselves as “Christian artists” If you’re reading this and thinking that this is all starting to sound like a rant well you’d probably be correct. If you don’t want to be challenged spiritually then this is right about the time where you can go and update your facebook status because I am about to get brutally honest about an issue that’s been on my heart for a few years now. This issue resurfaced for me a few weeks ago when I decided to start putting pen to paper for a long overdue solo hip hop project I’ve been talking about doing for ages. More and more I find myself only listening to music that really challenges me in my faith walk. I’ve simply had enough of watered down Christianity.

Two years ago I was in my local Christian music store searching for something new and fresh and I found the cd of a new rapper from Tennessee named Lecrae. I listened to the cd in the store and was blown away by the boldness of his lyrics. I was blown away by his passion for Jesus and even more by the fact that he made sure his music was all about Jesus and not about him. When I got home I jumped online and checked out his label and to my amazement I found even more rappers that were just as good and just as bold for Christ. I discovered the “116 movement”. It’s based on the scripture Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.” What an awesome example to set for a generation of youth that are being torn in so many different directions. There’s never been a better time than now to bring a clear and concise message of hope, a hope that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That really is the bottom line here, so why is it that we can represent Jesus at Church on Sunday but when we hit the stage the next night were more concerned about selling records then speaking the truth and speaking it clearly. We are too concerned that we might offend someone with the message of Christ. Have we become so politically correct that we’ve forgotten who our God is? Have we forgotten His promise that if we stay focused on Him everything else we be taken care of?

I’ve seen the “what is Christian music” argument battled out on Christian forums for years and for me there is no excuse for luke warm Christianity. If you’re a believer and Gods given you musical gifts I believe you should be using those gifts to glorify God. Right now there are more than a few Christian bands on the secular scene that have thousands of fans that aren’t even aware that the band members are Christians. They spout watered down “positive” lyrics so they can “appeal to a wider audience” And then the bands that are speaking the bold truth get trashed by fellow believers for playing at secular venues? Would you prefer they only present the gospel in church? That doesn’t even make sense! Newsflash! The unsaved don’t go to church.

I hate ranting all the way through a blog without offering a solution. So if your into hip hop and you want to be seriously challenged in your faith then check out a few of these artist links.

Lecrae: Http://myspace.com/lecrae

Trip Lee: http://www.myspace.com/triplee116
The Ambassador: http://www.myspace.com/ambassador215

Shobaraka: http://www.myspace.com/shobaraka

Flame: http://www.myspace.com/flame314

Step bold or don’t step at all.

Peter Graham.

Misplaced faith and insane expectations, the search for the perfect church.

What are you looking for in your church? If you go to a large church like I do it wont take you long to find someone who isnt happy with the way things are going in the church .. They feel left out and neglected .. They feel like outcasts. They are seeking the love of the people in the church they attend. But are they putting that love and acceptance of the people above there relationship with Jesus? A friend of mine asked me a serious question today .. “how do we keep people satisfied in church, to take their mind off them being fed, and to reach a hand out to those who need help themselves.” .. It was that question that inspired me to write this blog.

The question is not so much how to keep people satisfied in church so much as it is about how to get people to the point in there faith walks where they realize the following .. Salvation is not found in the church or its people. Salvation is ONLY found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Once people begin to understand that and walk in it then church becomes less of a place of stress and acceptance and more of a place where they can relax and connect with God. Once they are relaxed and focusing on Him they are more likely to be able to walk in the flow of the Holy Spirit and then they will automatically start building the relationships they were previously to distracted from building.

The Bible does not say seek first the church and the acceptance of its people .. it says this .. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – matt 6:33. God allowed me to place my faith in people and in return those people failed me time and time again .. but it wasn’t so much the people at fault .. it was more that I was looking for the perfect friendship when really .. that can only be found in Jesus. Once I realized that I should’ve been relying on Jesus first he then sent me people that I could rely on. Gods got a funny sense of humour like that. Sometimes he has to sit back and wait for us to be obedient before he can move. I’ve always told people how vitally important it is to maintain a solid personal and devoted relationship with Jesus but I wasnt applying it to one of the key areas of my life .. fellowship. If I am in true fellowship with Jesus everything else flows .. if we’re not in true fellowship with Jesus we tend to displace those deep inner desires for fellowship, love and salvation on people and not Jesus and it always leads to heart ache and bitter disappointment. But for some reason ever since I set foot in Australia I had been diverting my need for salvation onto people instead of Jesus.

I even dragged my wife out of the church we were called to be at in the desperate search for what was right in front of me the whole time.. JESUS! Rather then go into the ugly details I’ll skip to the chase and let you know that were back where we’re supposed to be and quite content.

So .. feeling invisable in your church? feeling unwanted or unloved? maybe they are legitimate feelings or maybe your displacing your need for salvation on people who are just trying to keep themselves a float much less be your saviour. Maybe just maybe Salvation is meant to be between you and Jesus and once you realize that you begin to develop and grow in your relationship with Jesus .. and in turn you begin to walk in the natural flow of the Holy Spirit and suddenly you start making friends and church becomes something you look forward to again. More to come! stay tuned.

Joyful Noise – Flame feat. Lecrae & John Reilly

Some awesome in your face Christian hip hop.

Choosing my words

Ok so I’m four days into 2009 and getting ready for some big changes. At the moment I am looking at a few different on-line Bible colleges so I can study and still work full time. So as I sat down to write this I felt God telling me to read James chapter 3. It turned out to be an interesting read considering all the changes going on in my life at the moment.

I don’t usually do new years resolutions but this year I am going to make a serious effort to be less negative. I’m supposed to be a light to this world .. not just another complaining pessimistic babbler. So it was interesting for God to direct me to sciptures about controlling the tongue right off the bat. Gods sense of humor never ever fails to amuze me. I think its hilarious when God shows you something in His Word that so obviously applies to your life you just find yourself saying “duh” I know this .. I should know this! Why doe’s God have to continually remind me of these things. Well, I am just a sinner saved by grace and its not like at some point I am going to not need God anymore. After all .. faith is ALL about trusting Him.

Have a read of this segment of James chapter 3 .. even if you’ve read it before just read it again…

James 3

Controlling the Tongue

1 Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.^[b]

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.

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Intereseting word! Oh yeah .. you have to apply it to your life now .. I am going to give it my all. Why? Because I am making the choice to speak life into people .. the life found in Jesus.

Back soon.. peace.