Thought for you.. There's a guy in the Bible called Samuel. He's a guy that loves God and delivers God's messages to His people. He's called a prophet and he has special abilities in order to do his job. Often these unique gifts would allow for heightened perception and knowledge far beyond human capacity. Now one of his jobs was to find the new king of Israel. This king was a young boy called David but Samuel didn't know this yet. All he knew was he had to go to a house to find this new king. Samuel sees one of David's older brothers and immediately thinks "this has to be the new king". The guy is tall, distinguished, mature, strong, good looking. Ticks in all the right boxes. Then God speaks to Samuel and says "No, it's not him. You look on the outside but I look on the heart...". Why am I saying this? Because this is how God wants us to see people. Not for how they look, how popular they are, what they can do or what they give you. Look at people for who they really are inside. And how do you do that? Well, you test the fruit of their heart. Watch and listen and in time you'll see what's in their heart because it will undoubtedly show in their words and actions. Dont be deceived by just the outer shell even if it seems to tick all the right boxes. Learn to see hearts like God does and you'll gain invaluable wisdom for life. Goodnight guys. 

Welcome to my Ninja Training Ground. Hey, can I offer a little bit of advice to those younger than me? For those older maybe you'd agree. Please don't waste your life trying to get people to like you. Don't change just to be popular or to get noticed by "that person". It's called selling your soul and all it leaves is emptiness down the track. This may or may not come as a surprise to you but Im actually very hated for the way I am. I've been accused of being too religious as well as not religious enough. I've been told "I'm too much...just too intense". I've been told I'm not good enough, not tall enough, not young enough just not enough. Here's the thing... Follow me long enough and I'm sure you'll find 10 things to hate about me. But here's another thing... Several years ago before God healed me of depression I was one of those guys who did everything I could to get people to like me. I tried so hard to fit in and fill that hole inside. At the worst part of depression when I considered suicide something remarkable happened... God gave me a gift. Two actually. One was that I stopped caring what people thought of me. I cannot even describe the immeasurable freedom that came from seeing that prison shatter and crumble around me. The second gift was skateboarding. You see, you can't skate while you're worrying about what everyone thinks. Both gifts went hand in hand and every single day I thank Him for both. So what I'm really saying is this... Learn to love yourself the way God does. Don't worry about what people think. God never told us to do that. That's false religion that says that while holding a giant measuring stick at which you can never attain. God on the other hand says... "I love you. You're worth dying for. You're worth saving. You're worth relationship with Me". So go with what God says instead of the cold empty embrace of the worlds opinion. 

Just something God put on my heart last night while I was praying and walking through the mountains. I know there's a stack of people out there that feel like this... Forgotten, discarded, lonely, failures. Here's God's take on what you're going through... "You're not forgotten. Trust My process. I use seclusion to highlight weaknesses that need to be strengthened. Keep seeking Me in your wilderness and you will find Me.  Find me and I will also help you find yourself in all this. Still your beating heart and listen for My voice. It whispers like the gentle summer breeze but holds the power of the rock splitting hurricane. Learn to be still. Learn the ways of My peace even in the storm. Remember those who went before you... Joseph in the prison, Moses in the desert, Ruth in her loss, David hiding in caves. I use these times to refine those I have a special and unique purpose for. Trust in Me. I AM with you." Never forget God loves you. 

Hey, so I was driving to work today and thinking and praying about some things that happened in the past few years. The thing is this... Share your heart and even if you're loved for it - you're most likely also gonna get hated for it too. Wanna know the simple reason why? Because we live in a corrupted, broken world and just about everyone around us is in some type of pain. People so often think, speak and act from that pain and if you present something like happiness, peace, confidence and identity to them - well, it's likely those in pain will try to get you to join them in their pain rather than them join you in your happiness. So is the answer not to share your heart and become guarded with high, towering stony walls? I don't believe so. I believe this world needs an answer to its pain and the only one true answer is JESUS. So when you get hated for sharing your heart - don't let that hatred in to poison you, change you and stop you - instead remind yourself that God's love for you is so, so much greater than any cheap shots that hatred makes. Nothing compares to God's love for you. Nothing at all. Have a great day guys :D 

The Spirit of God led my spirit away in a vision to a wide open field. I stood in the middle. A gentle breeze blew across the long flowing green grass. He told me to turn and look to the edge of the field. "What do you see child?" He asked me in an calm yet authoritative voice. I looked and towards the tall wooden log fence I saw a large dark horse. As I studied its form and it's movements I could tell it was dangerous. It's movements were wild and abrupt. It seemed constantly agitated and furious at the same time. "Go closer and see..." The voice told me. As I moved towards the fearsome beast I saw it's eyes. Bright red and bloodshot, bulging from its head. It was truly terrifying to even be in proximity of this animal. It turned and stared at me in disgust stamping thunderously with it's hooves as if to warn me of it's murderous intent. "It's name is Chaos...a wild beast, untamed, savage and beyond reason..." the voice echoed over the now still air. "Now, turn and tell me what you see child..." I cautiously turned my back on this dark fiend and shifted my gaze across the field to the opposite corner. In the distance I could see another horse. From first glace it seemed unremarkable.


As I got closer I saw it was just a normal horse. It's eyes were closed as it stood in the shelter of a small stable. "Go and see..." The voice whispered in a welcoming tone. I slowly walked across the field and entered the old dusty stable. The horses eyes were still closed as it stood motionless - like it was waiting for something. As I got closer it moved its front hoof and gently shifted a wooden bucket towards me. I heard water inside sloshing to and fro. "Did it want me to wash it?" I asked myself. It nodded seemingly to be able to hear my thoughts. I gently grabbed a stiff bristled brush from the bucket and began to wash the sides and back of the horse. It remained perfectly calm the whole time. Motionless. Eyes closed. Waiting. As I finished washing the last inch of the horses front leg and it began to step out of the stable and into the sun. It walked several paces until fully bathed in the sunlight and then it paused just standing there... It turned it's head towards me opened it's eyelids to reveal perfect ethereal blue eyes that gazed deep within me. Then it reared up on it's hind legs and came crashing down to the earth sending every drop of water away from it in an explosion of power. I was totally dumfounded to see that the horse I first considered totally unremarkable now stood before me as a perfect white stallion.


I knew now this was no ordinary horse... this horse belonged to someone truly important. I knew immediately this horse belonged to the King. What happened next left me even more puzzled. This utterly majestic beast then looked at me again then lowered it's stance to a crouching position as if to invite me to climb atop it's back. There was no saddle. Nothing at all. Just a horse I'd never met and me. Yet it remained there. Patiently waiting for me to accept it's uncanny invitation. "What have you to fear child...?" The voice whispered as I slowly approached the white horse. I gently climbed onto it's back and took hold of it's neck trying my best to balance as it slowly returned to it's full posture. Something was different about this horse. It was like it was helping me to ride it. As my weight shifted to the left the horse adjusted it's upper muscles intuitively keeping me upright and in perfect balance. Strange. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before. A synchronicity not from this world. Then it stood there. Motionless again. Like it was waiting for something. I knew what it was waiting for now... me. I shifted my gaze from one corner of the field to the other and instantly the horse responded in a full gallop. It's speed and power was unmatched yet I felt completely safe and at peace.


"It's name is Serenity...." The voice echoed as I put it through it's paces. Nothing phased it. I looked towards the gated fence and immediately it realigned it's position and prepared itself to jump. "Would it even make it over that huge fence?" I thought but was proven absolutely wrong as it effortlessly sailed through the air clearing the fence with several inches to spare. Before me lay an open hillside scattered with rocks and small shrubs. The horse again waited motionless for my bidding. I gazed at a hilltop far in the distance and then uttered the words I was led to form "Ish... Naman... Kichto... Piras!" The horse began at first with a gallop but then unleashed it's full power and speed. I had never in my lifetime seen or felt anything like it. The world around me faded from colour to black and white and the outlines of everything heightened. Such ferocious world bending speed. It's hooves struck the ground in a unique and distinct rhythm that I could hear what could only be described as distant thunder trailing behind me. In only moments of my mind I was there on the hilltop... motionless. I looked down across a shadowed valley and saw hundreds of black horses. They looked exactly like the first one I saw but if it were possible even more menacing. On the opposite side of the valley I saw open fields.


I knew what I had to do. I had to pass through them. As I began my decent the dark horses immediately sensed my presence and began the chase. While my horse was graceful and fluid they were the complete opposite. Their overly muscular legs while enormously powerful seemed to hinder their speed somewhat. What they didn't have in speed though, they made up for in sheer madness and aggression. They charged entire trees sending them splintering and shattered large rocks in their stride. The ground was left split in a wake of destruction as they poured themselves over the landscape. "The forest..." The voice guided me. I knew that's where I needed to be. As I weaved in and out of towering pines and oaks my horse effortlessly shifted it's posture and weight to counter-balance me. This truly was an amazing animal. It's ability to read me was nothing short of astounding. I glanced over my shoulder to see the dark rabble forging a path through the forest albeit not with the speed and agility the white horse possessed. I saw a clearing up a hill with sunlight peeking through and headed for it at full speed. The dark stallions increased their pace matching mine with only seconds between us now.


Then I saw it... the chasm. A giant split in the hillside with no end. "Do not fear child..." I heard the voice reassuringly say so I shifted my gaze to the sunlit fields across the divide. The world again faded it's colour and this time even sound was bent to a still whisper. Effortlessly the white horse sailed the unseen torrents of the wind and in perfect balance landed the other side totally un-phased. I looked back and saw the dark horses stamping and breathing out disgust, hatred and malice at their inability to cross the ravine. Now standing in the field atop the majestic stallion the voice of God asked me "So what did you learn My child...?" I learned to trust your peace God. That despite appearances peace is greater than chaos and that God will always make a way.

[ Isaiah 54:10 - Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you. ] 

Get back up soldier.

I know you're hurting, I know you have wounds, I know you have scars...

I saw their actions of hate. I know their words cut deep. I know injustice was dealt.

But I know what I made when I made you... I made a soldier for My Kingdom.

Get back up. You're not done yet.

Get back up Soldier!

Stand, not in your strength - but in Mine.

Get back on your feet and I'll help you stand.  The battle belongs to Me.

I will bind up your wounds, restore and heal all your pain. I will strengthen weak hands, I will make weak knees like the mighty oaks of old.

Open your ears and listen to the drums of war... They beat for you child. The hosts of Heaven look on eagerly. They watch to see if there is another who will stand...

In your day of trouble you will call my Name and I will answer you with Power, with Strength, with Majesty and Might. I will display openly the power of my redemption.
I will outfit you with divine armour. I will equip you with a broad impenetrable shield to deflect all of your enemies attacks. I will give you a sword - made not from this world - wreathed in My perfect undying Holy fire. My voice will ignite a blaze in you that no one can quench. Fear me - and I will make all your enemies fear you.

I will stand beside you and roar on the battlefield scattering your foes like ants in the rain. I will turn every weapon and every scheme that the enemy sends against you on their own heads.

Get back up Soldier... Because I AM with you!

You will be victorious because in victory you give Me glory.

Stand child... You Are Loved.

[ Proverbs 24:16 - A just man falls seven times and rises up again... ] 

Can I encourage you as your brother in Christ? Test all things.

[ 1 John 4:1 - Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ]

Jesus warned us that in the last times there will be many false teachers and false prophets...

Don't just assume that because someone talks "about God" that they are sent from God. Test the "fruit" of their life.

Do they call sin as it is - or do they cleverly excuse it so as not to offend and create a larger crowd? Don't be fooled, God is often not in the crowd.

Do they merchandise "the gospel" and get rich from the house of God? Keep in mind Jesus had no house or any possessions and the disciples that became the apostles (sent ones) that carried the gospel to us the gentiles also were so often penniless.

Remember the statement "Silver and Gold I do not have but what I do have I give to you... In the Name of Jesus - Rise up and walk!" Jesus drove out of the temple those making gain from God's house. Riches and Corruption are so often synonymous.

Do these heralded teachers help set people free and show them the truth? Do they expose the evil that so often exists in us as the demonic entities they are that need to be cast out as Jesus clearly instructed - or do they treat it just like the world does? As emotional or physiological conditions? Do they reveal the true nature of so many diseases that plague us in our 21st century western world? Or are they just popping pills like the world and blatantly ignoring the power of the Name of Jesus to heal?

Do they really see what's going on in this world today or are they the "blind leading the blind" as Jesus called the false leaders of His day?

Do they attack any and all forms of holiness and right living and instead promote corruption and a misunderstood perversion of God's Grace? Remember... Grace enlightens us to live better, not stay the way we are. Do they teach and live transformed lives and show they are the 'New Creations' that Jesus spoke of?

Do they invite the world to come to know Jesus and give them the true message of salvation in all its bloody, gruesome details? Do they tell the full story that Jesus came to save us from our sins? Do they teach about a Jesus that came to destroy the works of the devil? Do they even mention the devil at all?

Have they used "God's love" as a catch-all to include everyone in their thronging congregations? Is the church a place or prayer or is it a rehearsed stage show run by polished actors?

Are they "friends" with the world and do they look, speak and sound just like the world? Or have they "come out and become separate" as God asks and expects us to be as His children? Remember... Jesus said "Be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy"

Look for the money trail my brothers and sisters. The love of money is the root of all evil. Where the money flows the evil grows...

Ask God for wisdom and He will make it very easy to see. He can guide even a little child to avoid the harm of this corruption.

It's now sweeping the globe at an alarming rate. Nearly everywhere I look now in the Church this infestation of corruption has spread like a cancer eating away at the souls of men and women. It always has links. Pray and God will reveal them to you.

This is not an excuse to become cold, cynical, negative, suspecting, harsh Christians who tear down everything - instead it is a call to become wise and discerning. Remember, the Bible says "do everything in Love". Test things for your own sake and for the ones you love so you don't get caught up in this and get hurt.

And if you don't think it's going to hurt - trust me when I say I've seen where this leads and what it let's into your life and your home. These things won't stop with just you, they'll keep destroying until there's nothing left to destroy. Your finances, your relationships, your children, your future, your peace, your sanity and even your lives.

I dont write these things to scare you, I write them because even though I've never met you I care about you in the love of Christ. I want no gain from you and I get nothing for writing this. I am simply a servant of God and I obey when He asks me to write to you.

I want no one to suffer the things I have seen presently and things to come.

Ask God to open up your spiritual eyes and He will.

Trust in Him alone as so many of the Psalms tell us.

God loves you.

Hey brothers and sisters, Just want to share with you a Psalm that really encouraged me. Last week I was really struggling with some unanswered questions and unresolved scenarios and I prayed before bed for God to help me. It wasn't a long eloquent prayer - just a simple cry to my Father in Heaven for help.

I was woken up by His voice at around 3am and was clearly told to read Psalm 86. I immediately did so and it was precisely the answer I needed from Him. My mind was put at ease, my heart was still and my body became at peace.

We serve an amazing God who loves and hears us. If you need Him... Call out to Him.

He wont give you the same answer He gave me - instead He will give you the answer that's perfect for you.

God loves you.  

Be still... And know I AM God. 

I've been on a bit of a journey the past few weeks. A journey that's revisited some of the most painful experiences of my life. Not really a journey I wanted to take or one that anyone else would sign up for but now I understand God's purpose in it. You see, He has a plan in everything and has the ability to use everything for our good. It displays His sovereignty over all things - even in chaos. So... This journey has come to a conclusion. I was woken up at 3 am New Years Day and knew I wasn't going to be getting back to sleep because there was a question that needed to be answered. On my phone I have 3 daily Bible verses that I look at every single day the very first thing when I open my eyes in the morning expectantly wanting to hear from God. They are three completely different apps and always three completely different verses... But not today. The first one I looked at really hit me. It was exactly the answer I needed. I checked the second verse and today it's the same as the first. So then lastly I checked the third and... well it different than the others. But then I realized it was displaying yesterdays verse so I hit refresh.

That's right. The third verse was exactly the same. Take what you want from that but I knew in my heart exactly what it meant. Now the question at the end of my journey was this... "Mark, what is the answer to pain?" I knew the answer immediately because of what God's done for me in my life so many times before. It was simple. The answer to pain is... Love. The answer has and always will be Love. It was love that rescued me from all the pain of my life but somehow I'd got lost and overwhelmed in the pain again and forget the way out. The way out isn't a person, it isn't a drug, it isn't money, it isn't sex. The way out isn't down here. The answer is inside you. In your heart. The answer is Love because you are loved by God for who you really are - not what you've done or whats happened to you. It's Gods love that saves us from our pain. Thankyou God for hearing me and helping me out of my pain yet again. Oh and that verse is below. Happy New Year. God loves you.

[ Isaiah 43:19 - Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. ]