From the Bishop of DNWA, June 2013

Posted on May 27, 2013 
Filed under Australia

Bishop Gary Nelson DNWABishop of North West Australia, Gary Nelson, shares the latest from his diocese…

BISHOP’S REFLECTIONS

Over recent weeks I have been thinking about being thankful. A friend Peter sees thankfulness as one of the attitudes that can transform our lives. I’ve appreciated his reminder about thankfulness as an essential mark of being Christian. At times it’s easy to take people for granted, or just expect our situation to remain stable and fulfilling. But Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says:

… give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Don’t have to wonder about God’s will for us at this point! Christians should be leading the way in thankfulness. 

As I turn to the Bible thankfulness just keeps jumping out at me. Psalm 100 is a great call to give thanks, recall how it begins: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

The psalmist challenges all the earth to acknowledge the LORD, the king who rules the universe. Without God’s blessing and grace we would never exist in the first place! In v.3 the psalmist provides a reason for our thankful response:

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

We know the covenant God, the Creator, our shepherd who cares for his people. How could we not give thanks!

The psalm continues on with its encouragement to praise and thank God in v.4f. And it ends with another amazing reason why we should thank God:

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

As Christians we know the Lord’s goodness; we’ve experienced his enduring love and faithfulness. How? In and through the Lord Jesus who died and rose again. So how’s our thankfulness going? I try to thank God each time I pray; I am seeking to thank (at least) one person every day to help me develop a greater thankfulness in my life.

So thanks to everyone who regularly prays and supports us. Thanks to our great God who saves us in his Son, Jesus. May we grow in our thankfulness.

NORTH WEST CONCERNS

Jeremy Rice resigned as dean of the Cathedral at the beginning of April to pursue a chaplaincy ministry at the local hospital. The Cathedral’s parish council has just decided to continue with Bishop Gary as acting dean and use the resources for a youth minister. Please pray for someone with the gifts and experience we so urgently need to join the Cathedral team.

Bill and Jackie France have completed a wonderful time in Broome as locum and the Mildenhalls have returned from their extended leave in Sabah. We’re very thankful that the Frances will be returning to serve as locum in Exmouth from July- December.

We are very appreciative of our partnership with BCA. Please pray with us for ministry in Paraburdoo/ Tom Price parish. May you join with BCA and the North-West in asking our heavenly Father to supply a gospel hearted minister to serve in this area.

– From the Bishop – excerpted from the June 2013 issue of Northwest Network (2.1MB PDF). Plenty of fuel for your prayers.