Q. So, what's this page about?

It is about my faith. I am a Christian.

Q. What the...?

Before you jump to conclusions... read on and then make you decision.

My story

I was brought up with non-believing but great parents who dabbled in eastern religious stuff, I had a go at reading the books around the house when I was bored, trying to get into this but the more I tried to see what people were searching for, the more I got unsatisfied. I was a loner and an easy adapter and joker at pre and high school, I easily fitted in and adapted, having friends with the toughies as well as girls and geeks as friends at an early age.

After my parents soon divorced and our family of 6 broke apart for various reasons, we were forced to choose sides - I chose to stay with my dad (since he was staying locally) but then soon leave and start a life on my own - even if it meant that I had to live on the streets or beach, because at the age of 15 all I was consumed with only surfing, surfing, girls and surfing, and the beach would make a great bed anyway since I was there alot anyway.

It was over this time I found that my passion to do artwork and design became stronger. Now with this added to my vast list of interests above (surfing and girls) and now early 17yrs old I was introduced to a screen printer that needed a designer for his business that printed the majority of surfboard decals throughout Australia for all the famous surfers of the day and their shapers - now legends.

This printer soon become a pastor - so his enthusiasm about this "Jesus" dude was told to me.

Now, back then I just thought christians were just a group of 'do-gooders' that had a crutch - as I saw too many people that said they were christians but their lives were no different from anyone else's, especially when the hard times and the crap times happened.

Well, to cut a long story short, this printer asked me if I'd like to know Jesus, so I thought since he was going to employ me, that I'd better do this to please him and make a good impression, anyway I thought "this Jesus wasn't around anymore so whatever nice pray thingy we were about to do would just be words and a nice if anything emotional mood, whatever anyway.. I was in the good books with my new employer."

Well. that prayer that I repeated after him - that only lasted less than a minute - changed my life to this day.

Q. Why?

Jesus introduced Himself to me and life has never been the same since. I now understand (without anyone telling me) why early christians in the bible, early this century and today chose death rather than deny Jesus as King.

I believe there are things like this that you cannot be taught by mankind or learn - they have to be revealed to you or you have to "KNOW THAT YOU KNOW". The Bible - word of God - is the spiritual fulfilment I needed.
Beacuse it isn't a book of positive thinking people or do-gooders, but it is about people like you and me. but... who called on the name of Jesus in their time of need.

If you look to the actions of man to judge God, you will truly find disappointment. God gave mankind free-will and our actions aren't a reflection of who He is, be it the actions of a preacher, priest, rabi or pastor.

Q. Are you crazy, putting this on your business website?

Well, this is who I am. If I lose business because someone doesn't want to deal with me because I am a "Born again Christian" I understand... even though I think that this thinking is very immature. There are a lot of business people who are sharks and every business needs to be aware of these. Our motivation is to look after people in business as we are the same and know the risks and want to enhance their business with quality work and service. We are in it for the long haul not the get-in and make a quick buck and leave the customer.. which is something I hear far too often from business owners.

Q. Are you going to attempt to convert me or speak to me about your faith?

Hey, view my Privacy Policy in regards to any and all information obtained from this site. I won't attempt to do anything to you beyond what YOU seek out and request from me. The fastest way to turn people away from God is to shove a bible down their throats - Jesus didn't do this so I won't do it. Anyway I have dedicated a website completely to this project called - www.testimonies.com.au - where unique people - as we all are - have unique experiences. This I learnt early, that you cannot put God in a box and say he does it this but not that way. The same with people - everyone is unique and God knows what turns you on and off and is so passionately in love with you. It is that religion has stuffed up how we perceive who God is and what he thinks.

Q. Wow, you're different from what I expect from religions.

Jesus' life was one of compassion and helping people. I try to follow the pattern Jesus laid down in regards to actions with other people. Jesus loved everyone He came in contact with - even those He may have admonished. I love people and find them fascinating even though I may not agree with what they choose to do, say or believe.
When Jesus was asked what is the greatest of the commandments, He laid out two new laws, which encapsulated the other 10 commandments - 'Love the Lord your God more than anything else' and 'Love your neighbour as yourself'. That is how a person who is a christian should operate, with the love for all people as Jesus commanded.

Q. So what is it in the 'loving of others' that sets us apart?

It is the love your enemies and do good for those that persecute you that makes a difference. It is easy to love those that love you. It is totally different to love those that give you a hard time or cause you pain.
You see, love is more than words.. like the bible says, "you're a hypocrite (deceiving yourself) if you just say 'God bless you' but do not feed him that is hungry, or clothe him that needs cloths."

Q. So, do you have to be perfect when you're a Christian?

Hardly not. That is what makes the bible so unique... and what stood out to me as different from other books of wisdom... the bible was full of REAL LIFE stories about people like you and me that fail or that missed the boat. It was about what they DID that effected their outcome... it was real!!!.
Anyone who says they are without sin or is perfect is wrong. Everyone fails to be perfect simply because we are human. I am far from perfect, my pastor isn't perfect either. As I grow in my christianity, I find things I do that God detests and I simply stop doing them. The secret is that you can't do this on your own - you have to rely on God to equip you to do this - it's called faith and it's so cool!

Q. What is faith?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". (Hebrews 11:1). This is a simply thing to say but can be a hard one to get around and where alot of people miss it. Faith in Christ is the SUBSTANCE created by the heart of man's spirit AGREEING with the Word of God-which is Christ, this enables man to transform his life for the better by the power of his God's word and His Holy Spirit. Its not of our works but this too is a GIFT FROM GOD!

Q. I've heard this "Holy Spirit" before but what is it?

Jesus said "it is better for me to go so that the Father can send the Holy Spirit to you, He (God's Spirit) will lead and guide you in truth and in all thing" (this basically means that Jesus was on earth 1 man in one palce, where the Spirit of God can be everywhere, at the same time - the dictionary calls this "omnipresent".
You see, God doesn't ask you to do anything without offering to equip you to do it! It's just like salvation, all you have to do is ask for it!…too simple heh!.

Q. So, did you have to give up everything you liked?

No. I still have some vices that I know I will need to rid myself of, however, the things I really enjoy doing, which includes family, surfing, watching TV, more surfing, learning new techniques/programs, etc, all I still do. As I grow as a Christian (which means Christ-like), some of the things I did regularly I do less. Like porno for instance. I had that vice once, but over time I released porno for what it is and how it steals what is rightfully my wife's and it is eradicated from my life. You don't have to give up anything that doesn't conflict with the word of God. Those things that do, you will give up as a Christian simply because the closer you get to God those things just fall off just like the closer you get to light the barkness just vanishes. They won't seem like sacrifices or a loss, but rather a gain as you grow together in your relationship with God. Like I said earlier - God doesn't ask you to do anything without offering to equip you to do it!. God's main concern is that these things don't have CONTROL over you, but YOU have control over IT .

Q. OK, what's your point?

One of the teachings of Jesus was to spread the word and that is what this is for. Wouldn't you if you knew this? It's just like if you won lotto etc... It would be very hard to contain that excitment without sharing it with someone.

Q. Ok, so how can you believe in something you can't see or touch?

Good question. To put it simply - It is a feeling inside - not one of your six senses but a NEW sense indeed, a feeling of peace, contented / unexplainable peace even within the midst of chaos. It can at times be a voice or conversation thing, but more of a sense of the existence of God. It isn't earth shattering but a 'know that you know'- for me anyway, just the peace of knowing Him. For some (like myself) was instant for others it can take time as we are all unique and still have a free will to make decisions.

Q. How can I find out more?

Go to the library or a christian bookstore and get a bible or try these online sources www.e-sword.net or www.unboundbible.org. Try to find one that has studying information in it. A good start is with the New Living Translation, a lot of the bible is referenced to other sections and the full understanding of a passage may take reading a dozen others. (if you have hassles reading the bible, do the next step ASAP, ask God to open His word to you and get baptised by full emersion as this seemly simple act will remove 'scales' off your spiritual eyes).
A very practical thing to do is read the New Testament section starting with the books of the gospel Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - John is a good start to get a grasp of the bible.
Now find a church that teaches from the whole bible -not religious tasks of do's and don'ts as in talked about in Galatians 2:16-23 and seek guidance. I am always open for email, phone or (if you're on the Sunshine Coast) personal contact any time-day or night- and I will do my best to answer questions or help in your faith.

Q. What is baptism and do I have to do that?

Baptism is a symbolic rebirth where you're submerged in water then raised from the water. You will decide on your own baptism after you've been saved. This is something you yourself have to decide to do. It can't be decided for you or by someone else's option. It is also symbolic of submission to Jesus' will; it is the first act of obedience you should do shortly after you're saved. You will also see things in a new light afterwards as if a vail has been lifted from off your eyes.

Q. Does it cost anything?

No. Jesus is free. Eventually, with spiritual maturity, you'll want to give to further the works of God. That is why finding the right church is so important, a nd being a part of this church that reaches into the community - locally or globally and doing your best at what you do.

Q. Do christians live worry free lives because they give or are part of the faith?

We all know that isn't true. We also know bad things happen to good people through no fault of their own. However, the community around a great church makes many of the harsh realities of life easier to bear.

Q. What does being 'saved' mean?

Ah, an easy one - being saved is simply confessing you're a sinner and asking Jesus to forgive you your sins and accepting Him as your personal saviour. That's it. Check out Romans 10:8-11 or Act 16:30-31 for scripture on this.

Q. Sin? I am not a bad person, God would let me into heaven, right?

Wrong. If you have a christian background you're familiar with the 10 commandments, if not - or if you need a refresher - here they are again:

1). I am the Lord thy God.... You shall have no other gods before Me.
2). You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
3). You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
4). Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5). Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
6). You shall not murder.
7). You shall not commit adultery.
8). You shall not steal.
9). You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10). You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

Now, when you stand in front of God on your day of judgment, just take a quick review of these and see which you've broken. For instance, have you told a lie - ever? What does that make you - a liar? Have you ever stolen anything (be it worthless, be it time from your employer, office supplies, etc)? What does that make you - a thief? Did you obey your parents for all time? Doubtful. We haven't even gotten into the commandments related specifically to God Himself - but on those, do you say your god would never send anyone to hell or hell doesn't exist? Then you have created a false god and worshipped it. Do you use God, Jesus, Christ in the place of a foul word? You've taken His name in vain.
If you think you can stand in front of God and say "You're a loving God and a good God, I am sorry for my sins, can I avoid punishment" and it will work - ask yourself this - what would happen in a court of law if you tried that "Judge, I am sorry for what I did, but I'm a good person - even though I am a thief and a liar and a murderer and an adulterer - can you let me free?" Do you think that will work? No and it won't work in front of God who is the ultimate justice and whole judges by the thoughts and intense of the heart - you see where the problem lies - all actions like murder and adultery first start by thinking it first. How can you avoid judgment and punishment? - you see God only made the 10 commandments to show us how we can not save ourselves - they are set as a 'ruler', you see you can not measure something unless you have something to measure it or compare it to.

You see, the bible says salvation is ONLY THROUGH JESUS and that Jesus PAID FOR YOUR SINS and has taken the punishment already for them. He so loved you he died for your sins. Without Jesus, you have to pay for your sins yourself and the fact is…you can't. I say these things not to cause pain and hurt but to share with you what Jesus has done for me and for you (wether you accept or reject it) and so you will avoid pain and hurt on your day of judgment and so you will see why salvation is needed.

Q. OK- but what about evolution and the big bang - don't those disprove God and the bible?

Well, I wasn't around back then, so I have a couple of questions about these theories. We'll start with the big bang.

Put simply (very), this is like saying that my computer with all it's circuitry, workings and potential and limitations was created at one moment after some big explosion and there it was. Let along the human body and soul, the workings and colours of nature and all their workings, the essences of life itself, microscopic life forms, rotations of the planets and it's vastness - and we will know more by this time next year, and what about just a single degree shift more or less in the temperature set for the evaporation point of water would destroy earth by either dryness or dampness. I don't know about you but I don't have that much faith to believe this much about a big bang.

Let's go a litte deeper - from what I can recall in science class, the state of objects, without external force, is rest. In other words, things don't change unless an outside force affects them.
Second, from what I can recall again - everything expands and cools according to the space available until all energy and matter exist without motion (zero kelvin). So, given those two bits of info we have to determine if the universe had a start. Did everything always exist forever? If so, if everything existed for an infinite amount of time, everything would have gotten to zero kelvin a long time ago. Therefore, my first question is, Did the universe have a start? If so, what caused it to start? Even if we don't know what exact scientific method caused it to start or put things in motion - what existed to put the force that started the universe in motion prior to the start of the universe? If the universe didn't have a start, why aren't we still at zero kelvin? Not that this disproves the big bang or points to the existence of God, however, I haven't yet found a plausible explanation as to why the universe would 'start' without a cause or force acting upon it and, exactly where did the big bang matter come from?

As for evolution, the claim all species came from prior species. This assumes that life came from non-life. This also assumes intelligence came from non-intelligence. The records we use to examine evolution have to do with skeleton remains fossilized. We have over 250,000 fossils of which we have 5 of a species that was reptilian and had feathers as the only example proven and put forth as evidence of evolution. To the contrary, we have over 249,995 examples of proof of extinction with no evidence of evolution. Furthermore, we have proof of over 300,000 animals popping into existence for a few hundred thousand years and then becoming extinct - no evolution to bring them into existence and no evolution to match their departure. Now, to be specific, we aren't talking natural selection nor micro-evolution, we are talking a species evolving into one or more other species. To start the mess, they claim some primordial goo, electrically charged, could make the basic building blocks by random. Issues with this include utter inability to make any example work in which the environment isn't seriously modified to represent a world that never existed on Earth. (for instance, the atmosphere when the goo was supposed to be made in to building blocks was toxic to all carbon based life)

Next issue is the complexity of life; even the single cell life form's DNA is amazingly complex. For life to simply form out of randomness makes the lottery seem like a sure thing (10 to the power of 60 or 10 with 60 zeros behind it, most lotteries are 1 in 49 million - not that's only 6 zeros) Furthermore the sequence of information stored in the DNA can fill volumes of text, if any of it is out of place, out of sequence or incorrect, the organism isn't alive. Some recent claims of life coming from outer space simply move the issue of how life can come from non-living material and intelligence and come from inanimate objects isn't explained, it is just moved to another planet. The claim that clay or ice prove patterns can exist in nature is true, however, the complexity is the problem, the pattern in ice or clay is simple (say, on an information comparison, it would say the sky is blue - it would fill a book up with that information repeated a million times. DNA in informational terms is comparable to a 26-volume encyclopaedia, index, and maps.) Again, this doesn't point to the existence of God or disproves evolution, it just leaves some problems that I can't see explained away without evidence. I think it does point to an intelligent creator behind life.

Q. Ok, then why do bad things happen, people die, starve, etc if there is a good God?

Ah, I've heard this question often. God provided mankind with freewill and pretty much every single bad incident that happens can be traced back to a point where a person made a choice. Sometimes the choice is made by someone else (like, for instance, a drunk driver killing an innocent bystander), sometimes the choice is made by the person in trouble (using narcotics, smoking, bad diet) and sometimes it is just being in the wrong place at the wrong time (in the path of bad weather for instance). The existence of freewill insures bad things will happen, as we all have to choose the paths we take - if we were all forced to choose the safest path or the path the follows God, we wouldn't have freewill. Additionally, we are no longer perfect because of sin. This means our bodies suffer the corruption of the sin in terms of disease, sickness and injury.

If you want to go to the next simple step to see for yourself.

Let's begin! repeat and mean these words out loud

"Father, I come to you in the powerful name of Jesus.
I surrender my life and destiny into your hands.
I ask you to forgive me of all sin, wash and cleanse me so I am as white as snow in your sight.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit and power so I am able to do the great things you have planned for me.
Teach me and guide me in all truth, protect me and my family.
Use me and prepare me for your purpose.
I declare openly, as from this day Jesus is Lord and King of my life. I have been bought with the price of Jesus' blood.
I am now Yours.
Thank you.. in Jesus name"

Congratulations. You are now part of God's family.
you have just begun a new life. so things are about be revealed to you that you never saw before, so don't freak out, simply ask God to lead you, show and teach you. Contact me if you like for more info.