YERUCHAM or CHAVIVA!

Interested huh?! The title of my blog today means the same thing, and it's something I've been toying with for quite a while. It means "Loved by God" (actually they're Hebrew names meaning "Loved by God" or "Beloved of God" - I'm obsessed with Hebrew names - seriously I think it's becoming an addiction!)



Okay so I digress. Many of you know that I've just started as the Youth & Children's Ministry Co-ordinator (worker/pastor/ministry assistant?!) at Torquay Salvation Army. I started this position on July 1st. I had a baptism of fire - whereby I technically started on June 29th at Transformers Creative Kids Camp - our Divisional Creative Arts Camp. OH MY GOODNESS - what fun I had! I completely fell in love with Western Vic's kids and leaders...seriously - I thought I'd be a Melbourne Central girl forever, but Western Vic ROCKS! Of course we're only as good as our DY (like that Joel?!) - and I have to say, for his first Kids Camp - Joel did a BRILLIANT job!

I left the camp early (taking Chloe & Jack with me) as a group of us from Torquay Salvos were heading up to Hillsong for the week. Tough life huh?! My first day officially at Torquay Salvos was spent travelling up to Sydney. I have to say though, I'm so glad that it worked out this way. Not only was it an opportunity for me to "rest" for a week (though getting up at 6am and not going to bed until 11pm at least is hardly a rest!), but it gave me a chance to get to know the rest of the team more... um... intimately?! (as only sharing a house with them for a week can do!)

On top of that, I was able to hear from some of the best speakers I've ever heard. Bishop TD Jakes (it was like being in Harlem or something hearing him preach!), Jentzen Franklin, John Bevere (loved him the first night, completely disagreed with him the next time he spoke!), Loui Giglio, Gary Skinner and Ed Young were all brilliant. But my favourite? My favourite was a preacher from Singapore, Joseph Prince.

He spoke about grace & love. You know, nice easy topics to get your head around! (haha!)

I'm going to write another time about his sermon about grace, because it really helped me to (a) let go of a lot of the pain I felt from my previous experiences and (b) forgive the person involved! But today I want to mainly focus on the love sermon.

Luke 10:27 says "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself".

It's a popular verse this one, probably one of the 10 most quoted I reckon. The biggest problem I've had my whole life is, how do you know when you are loving God that way? Do you read your bible more? Do you pray more? Do you do devotions morning and night? Do you never miss church? Do you go to church twice on Sunday? Do you join another bible study group? IS any of that really proving that you love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind? And I don't really love myself that much at all (which is in itself a problem, and completely unbiblical but we'll deal with that issue another day), so loving my neighbour as myself isn't that much of a problem, cos I don't have to love them that much... I know people who love themselves HEAPS so that's probably harder for them. And who is my neighbour anyway?

Joseph Prince said the most freeing thing ever at Hillsong... he told us to stop focussing on how much WE love God and start looking at the cross and focussing on how much GOD loves US! Because when we're really secure in a relationship, when we know we are loved, and we can let our guard down, and be the person who we usually are (take off the masks and stand there warts and all), it's a lot easier to love... When we look at the cross, and how much God loves us... so much He sent His Son (a part of Him, God made flesh) to the world to die for all the things I've said and done, for all my sins....not just my sins... but the sins of my neighbour... all the bad things that they have said and done to me that I find it hard to forgive...there at the cross they stand forgiven...because God loves my neighbour (and my enemies) just as much as He loves me... and He loves ME so much He'd die the most brutal horrible awful death imaginable so I don't have to carry the weight of my shortcomings! Man that's love!

The reality of knowing that I am God's beloved. His Chaviva. His Yerucham. His loved one. His Anya. His highly favoured one. Man, that's huge. It makes loving God so much easier. I know that whatever I've done, or continue to do, I am loved. And because of that, I can be Sarah. Warts and All. Princess. Reedeemed. Forgiven. Beautiful. In the eyes of the only man who should matter... I am loved!

Suddenly, I'm finding it easier to love God with all my mind, soul, strength and heart. I'm finding it easier to live according to God's plan. To believe I am worthy. To seek forgiveness for my sins. And more importantly... to forgive those who have sinned against me....which is what Grace is all about. Undeserved forgiveness. Undeserved love. And if my Father in heaven, my Saviour can love me, and show me grace, warts and all...who am I not to show love and grace to those who have hurt me?

Many know that I have "anya" written in hebrew on my wrist... "anya" means "Highly Favoured" in Hebrew. And for the first time in my life... at Hillsong, in that service where Joseph Prince was preaching to 22,000 people... it was just me and my Saviour. He was standing before me telling me that I was loved. I was precious. I was anya. And suddenly, being a Christian was no longer a burden... it was freedom!