Here are some photos of my relaxing prayer walk today. It is the first day of two weeks school holidays, so I used it chill out and pray.
Whenever I go up our “rock” I often find myself reflecting about Moses going up the mountain to be with God. Or Jesus having alone time with His Father.
As today is a nice cool sunny day it was especially nice. I feel really refreshed by it 😀
I got asked what the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain is today. It was a genuine question from someone. My answer surprised them.
As a school Chaplain working in a government school, my role is to provide pastoral care to the students, staff and parents. But as it is a government school I cannot talk about my faith.
In this context I cannot speak about God, I cannot share the Bible or offer to pray for people. When I worked as a Pastor this was my go to. I would listen to people, pray and offer encouragement from the Bible.
For me this is so hard and at times very frustrating. When you sit across from someone and see their pain, you just want to pray and offer hope in God. But I cannot do that in my role.
Some days I daydream about what it would be like to work in a Christian or Catholic school and be able to use all the things available to me. To pray or share a passage from the Bible would be amazing.
So the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain in the public system is not being able to be to use my faith in my work. I can be a Christian presence in my school, but I cannot pray or quote the Bible.
What are you passionate about?
This is an easy one to answer. The things I am passionate about are always not far from the surface and easy to see. I have many passions, but one stands above it all.
My faith in Jesus is my number one passion. Since I came to Jesus in July of 1989, my life has never been the same. He changed everything for the better. My heart is to walk with Him all the days of my life.
Walking closely with the Lord drives everything else I do in my life. He is the reason I get up early to pray and read my Bible. He is why I want to be the best husband and father I can be. He is why I am a Chaplain. He is why I have my PASSION websites to reach out with His love.
If it was not for Jesus I do not know where I would be. Jesus has given my life meaning, purpose, strength, hope and a future. He loved me and died on the cross for me. My response is to give my life back to Him each day and to take up my cross as it says in Matthew 16:24.
What am I passionate about? Jesus!
I am reading a book at the moment that contained this prayer from St. Francis Xavier. I thought I would share it…
O my Lord Jesus! Teach me to be generous; teach me to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to toil and not to ask for rest, to labor, seeking no reward, save that of knowing that I do your will.
St. Francis Xavier (1507–1552)
Philippians 1:6 NLT – And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
We are all on a journey of growth. None of us are perfect. None of us are without sin. We all fall short at times. But there are two great things we can be assured of in Christ. Firstly, when we fall short and we confess our sin, God forgives us (1 John 1:9). Secondly, we can know God is still working on us. He is constantly chipping away at our faults and weaknesses and shaping us in to the person He wants us to be. Philippians 1:6 reminds us that God has started a good work in us and He will continue to work on us until Jesus returns. Like the image above, we just need to continue to walk with Jesus and then trust His process.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You that You continue to work in me to bring change and growth. I am thankful that You will continue this work until Jesus comes back. Help me to remember that I am Your work in progress. I pray that I will continue to walk with You each day. Amen.
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