Where to from here?...

You like that picture? I only add pictures to try and make it a bit more interesting.

This one though does kind of represent, visually, were I stand at the moment.

The problem is when I stand at these points God reminds me of something...always!
It is very inconvenient!
He reminds me of this...I sometimes take teams of people with me to Cambodia. We have conducted two large youth camp events and because I am far from being 'youth' I have, on these occasions, taken some real youth with me.
I have always prompted some preparation for their trip by encouraging them to write down their testimony, how they became a Christian, because this is always a good place to start when sharing the gospel. Nothing better than a story of how you personally have been impacted by Jesus! So they do this and ultimately a day will come when God will say 'so and so' is sharing today. When I turn to 'so and so' and tell them that God says they are up today mostly they turn to jelly!
I then share with them that it is my experience that when we feel like jelly the best thing is to clutch our piece of paper, our written down testimony, and head for the front. I tell them that I can categorically assure them that when they get to the front Jesus will be there. And He always is! I have seen jelly turn to solid rock of truth and revelation before my very eyes, many times!

So what has this story got to do with me?
As I stand at the crossroads waiting on the breakthrough I am absolutely convinced is coming, in Jesus name, I feel as if God wants me to head toward the front, trusting that He will be there! But how can I do that?
I don't have....

I haven't been well for a couple of days and so I have had a lot of time to think. For years now we have been sharing Jesus in rural Cambodia via little gospel rallies, celebrations of Jesus. Many, many thousands of people have become Christians, many have been baptised and many churches planted. Along the way we rejoice that many acts of 'deed' have accompanied the 'word' in fulfillment of our mission statement... (www.cambododiawtl.org.au)
I rejoice in that.

I like history. Always have. It was one of my favourite subjects at school. I was thinking today and I thought about my brief understanding of the history of Cambodia. A developing nation saw the rich, mainly gathered in the city, receiving the benefits of education, and investment. The poor, on the other hand, remained desperately poor. They lived in the country and resentment grew. Ultimately a revolution happened and the poor rose up and the desperate result was that millions of Cambodians died, mainly the educated and rich, at the hands of their own people. That was the Khmer Rouge revolution.
They say that history repeats itself, and there are many examples of that phenomenon down through history.
Today investment pours into Cambodia by the bucket load. Phnom Penh, today, is unrecognisable from that which I first saw in 2001. The rich get richer. Often they still consider themselves poor but this just amplifies to me the insatiable desire they have for wealth, as if wealth equals life. The cars they drive are a prime example. I am considered rich because I am western but I could never afford the vehicles they easily afford!
Meanwhile the poor remain poor. I am so glad that God's direction for WTL is clearly toward the poor, not toward those who just think they are poor. Please do not misunderstand that statement. In some respects you need to be closely acquainted with Cambodia to understand what I say fully.

As I considered this I was somewhat alarmed. The raw material is there for history to repeat itself.
God forbid!
I then saw a revolution. I saw why I am called to preach in the provinces because it is from there that the revolution will come. This will not be a revolution brandishing AF47s, and hoes, and death pits, and torture and torment but a revolution of the love of Jesus. The banner of the Lordship of Christ will be raised first in rural Cambodia. And we are an integral part of that. I believe it! I am called to share Grace. I am called to have the people sit down, that is a position of rest, a position of peace. The coming revolution will be done sitting down receiving the King!

Then why am I standing here at these crossroads?

Money! God has promised financial breakthrough. Yesterday a friend of mine posted a comment on Facebook questioning the morality of some arch that is proposed to be built in Sydney. Reports apparently vary but the price tag of this arch is put at either $3,000,000 or $9,000,000 depending on which paper you read. I reflected on what I could do with $9,000,000!
Financial breakthrough. We don't see it yet. All we see is a very high wall, and the gates are shut up tight. All we see is an approaching enemy hell bent on destruction. But we do hear a voice which says,

'The Lord said..."See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. You shall march..."' [Joshua 6: 2 - 3]

We hear...

'"You need not fight this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, o Judah and Jerusalem, Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you."' [2 Chronicles 20: 17] 

Does anyone know what the name Emmaus means? It was to Emmaus the the two disciples were going when Jesus came and joined Himself to them but they didn't recognise Him. I don't want to get into a study of this story but the truth is that these two disciples were certainly downcast, unsure, questioning. Apparently, according to the oracle, Google, Emmaus means 'an earnest longing' and there were hot springs there. So did they need a bath, or were they earnestly longing for the answer? Not sure but for me at this moment that isn't really the point. The point is that as they went Jesus joined Himself to them and went with them. Ultimately they 'saw' Him...what a revelation that must have been! Their earnest longing must certainly have been satisfied...but...if they had never set out on the road to 'Earnest Longing' they would not have had the revelation of the only One who can satisfy earnest longing.

I want to step on the journey. I believe the Lord wants me, and my team in Cambodia and in Australia, to begin. To start. To head for the front. To begin the journey to Emmaus...

Then why am I standing at these crossroads?

I have no real idea why I have shared this. Maybe it will help you. Maybe you can help me. Maybe God will use it to prompt something in someone...I have to believe in the promise of the provision of God. I really have nothing else I can do!

Here's another nice picture to finish with...I like this one because WTL is the road, the avenue, God says, that we must walk down into the fullness of His plan. WTL means 'Way, Truth, Life' because Jesus is our centrepiece, we follow only Him...but here I stand...