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Aoccdrnig to rsceearh, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
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Isn't that fun? It maeks yuo wnat to wirte lkie tihs all teh tmie! Well maybe not, but the whole idea of how we read and perceive things is very interesting. The concept of the first and last letters in the right place tells us something important. It tells us that as long as you have the beginning and the end, it doesn't matter what happens in between. What makes this work and what holds the word together is the first and last letter. The first and the last. The first and the last. Sound familiar? The bible mentions the first and the last. In Revelation 22:13 it says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
In life we will never live from the beginning of time to the end of time, only God Himself is the beginning and is the end. We may never be able to comprehend the beginning or the end of time, but that's what makes God GOD! The cool thing about life though is the fact that we can live our life from the beginning [the day we came to Jesus, Romans 6:4] till our last day [the end of our life] and make the most of the in between part of our life. Remember that what matters is the beginning and the end.
Say you are a snowboarder in a race. You put your boots on, strap yourself to your bindings and take a deep breath. The gun fires and you push off with all your strength! Your start is so speedy that you pass the first turn at speeds so high that you overtake everyone on the course. All of a sudden you clip an edge and fall over; 1 - 2 - 3 snowboarders scrape past as you get up and keep going. Another snowboarder boards past you with a little barge on the shoulder. With two turns left of the race you carve through the competition and find the perfect lines. Neck and neck with the final snowboarder the finish line is in sight. You pass the finish line as he/she does and you wait to hear your name through the speakers. After an anxious pause your name is called out in first place. WHAT AN AWESOME RACE!
In our life what matters is the beginning and the end. Paul says it like this, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" 2 Timothy 4:7. It may be a struggle and a fight to get through but finishing the race is what counts! 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize... we do it to get a crown that will last forever."
So no matter where you're at in life, make your life count; make your life matter! Make decisions that count and run this life till the end. Finish the race!

Jono

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What's Driving You?
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You wake up in the morning and what do you do? You go to school? You go to work? What is the reason, what is the purpose and what is your drive everyday? You may be feeling like you're in a flat or stagnant part of your journey in life, like nothing is happening and nothing is progressing. But so many times God allows things to be as they are in order for you to receive what is to come.
Take Abraham for example. God had promised him and said 'I will make you a great nation, I will bless you... And in you all the families will be blessed' [Gen 12:2-3]. Remember Abraham had Isaac when he was 100 yrs old, would you even begin to imagine that God would make a great nation from this family? Let alone test Abraham's faith in sacrificing Isaac as a burnt offering to God [Gen 22].
Well how about Joseph? God gave him a dream that his brothers would bow before him, the nation would bow before him and that he would have some kind of rule over the land [Gen 37]. WOW what a dream! In fact it was such a great dream that this dream lead him to be sold by his brothers, thrown into a pit, bought as a slave in Egypt and put in prison for doing nothing wrong! You would think that his life was not heading in the right direction. You would think that both Abraham and Joseph were not in a place or a position that they thought was what God had promised. But God's promise to Abraham came to pass and made a great nation out of him. Joseph's dream became a reality [Gen 41] as he became the ruler over the land of Egypt. What was it that enabled them to see beyond their current circumstances and trust God to take them to the next level? It was that promise, it was that dream, it was that vision that was implanted into them that was the driving force to believe! What is that promise? What is that dream or vision that is driving you? Never lose sight of what God has promised you. Let that be your focus! So what's driving you?

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New Youthopea Website LAUNCHED!
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It is finally up again! The new Youthopea website has been launched! Watch this space as there will be regular updates of the latest things happening at Youthopea, a weekly word of encouragement and the forum that's filled with hot discussions! Check the site out and let us know what you think!

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Hope Church Picnic - Anzac Day!
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Hope Church is having a picnic on Anzac Day! Details:
Friday 10am
25th April 2008
Parramatta Park
Contact us for more info!