My Australia Day Prayer

This is the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit
A land of red dust plains and summer rains
And to this sunburnt land we will see a flood
And to this Great South Land His Spirit comes.

- Geoff Bullock

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.

- Jeremiah 18:7-8 (ESV)

As the nation gears up to celebrate the founding of Australia (a day that some indigenous people still observe as "Invasion Day") with BBQs, beach parties and community festivals, it is also a time for us to look back on the achievements and mistakes of the past, where we are at as a nation, and what we need to do in order to ensure a bright future for coming generations. I was watching the 7.30 Report on ABC yesterday, which is starting a series outlining the challenges (and opportunities) Australia faces in coming decades, especially in regards to the rapidly increasing population.
On this day of days, I feel extremely privileged to be an Aussie citizen, to have access to so much material wealth and enjoy so many liberties that are not taken for granted elsewhere. However, this proud land that was built upon Christian values is in the midst of spiritual turmoil, with the god of money, status and self waging a desperate war for the young people and future leaders of this nation. Many have turned away from the Lord and have gone their own way, a way which will only lead to destruction and misery.
OK, that's enough of the gloom and doom. Now the good news. It is so encouraging to see that God, in His infinite might and grace, has not abandoned Australia, and is raising up a generation that is passionate about bringing revival in this nation and His heavenly kingdom coming on earth.
This then is my prayer for Australia:
Mighty Abba Father
I thank you for blessing the nation of Australia with such abundance and wealth, a land of "equal" opportunity where the rule of law is upheld and its citizens enjoy relative peace and stability. But Lord, You know the challenges that we face and You know that many of us have turned and gone our own way, and for this sin we must be punished.
And so it is, O Father, that I pray for this land, that you will turn the hearts of the people back to you, that Australia will once again be known as the "Great South Land of the Holy Spirit".
I pray for our leaders - in the government, the workplace, and in our communities - that You will endow them with your wisdom and compassion to lead this nation in Your ways.
I beseech that You break the hold that Satan has over the minds of many of our young people and reveal Yourself to them.
Finally, I pray for my church and all the other churches in Australia, that You will strengthen us for Your purpose and enable us to move forward in unity.
All this I pray in the mighty name of Your Son the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen

Cheers and Have a blessed and joyous Australia Day everyone!

Jeremy

It's hot and I'm outta here!!

Greetings, dear readers

I hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration wherever you happened to be. For my part, I stayed at home with my brothers watching Shaun Micallef's New Year Rave Party (which was a bit of disappointment in my opinion) and Lord of the Rings on TV. Strangely, Melbourne's free-to-air TV networks did not show Melbourne's CBD fireworks display, which was quite brilliant according to the various eyewitness accounts I heard. There were "fireworks" even before the real fireworks began; Melbourne welcomed the New Year with a spectacular thunderstorm, the likes of which I hadn't seen for years. It was loud - at times the thunder was so close it shook the house! - and it was long, lasting nearly two hours!

Summer has well and truly arrived in Melbourne. After a reasonably pleasant December, we have already gone through a couple of heat waves, and I dread what February is going to be like! Fortunately I plan to be out of the country for most of the month, hoping to return when it has cooled down. Based on previous experience, I'm not exactly counting on that happening though.

Last week, Mum and I went to our local shopping mall to apply for my new passport at the post office, then inquire from a travel agent about tickets to Hong Kong and Malaysia during February. Although I had intended to be in Hong Kong for the actual Chinese New Year (February 14), Mum suggested - with good reason - that I go and spend it in Malaysia first. It will be only time I can really catch up with the maternal cousins that are around my age, because during the year they will either be working or studying in Singapore or in Kuala Lumpur or some other big city in Malaysia. Chinese New Year is one of the few times where they will all come back to Kluang - my Mum's home town - for a few days of merry feasting and catching up.

With that in mind, this is what the itinerary looks like. On 9 February, I will be flying from Melbourne at 5pm and landing in Singapore at just after 9.30pm the same day. After a couple of days in Singapore, I will head in to Malaysia for Chinese New Year celebrations before heading back to Singapore to catch a flight on the morning of 17 February to Hong Kong, arriving at around 1.30pm the same day. I will be flying back to Melbourne on the afternoon of 5 March, having a brief transit in Singapore, and then arriving back home at 7:15a.m. the following day. The airline of choice? Singapore Airlines all the way! Having flown with them on numerous occasions, I can testify that they are truly world-class. Additionally, I have a KrisFlyer membership, so it makes sense to top up on points if I can. And the cost of the trip? The airfare itself was $1,283.00 (Australian dollars unless stated otherwise), and then with travel insurance purchased from RACV costing $198.00, the total added up to $1,481.00, which is a hard-to-beat price for the period in which I'm travelling.

Yesterday, everything for the above-mentioned trip seemed to come together. Not only did my new passport arrive in the mail, but my boss at Big W also approved Leave of Absence! My only other option would have been to resign from my part-time contract and go back to being a casual associate. I still can't believe how gracious God has been and I am so excited about the upcoming trip! (although, to be honest, who wouldn't be?)

And on that upbeat note, I will bid you farewell. Unless something huge happens beforehand, my next post will not be published until I am overseas.

Cheers and God bless

Jeremy