Australia Day 2011 saw 100,000s of people in every Capital city, every town and village gathering together to celebrate the birth of this nation. People from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, those born here and those who immigrated from other lands, proudly stood under the Aussie flag cheering and waving, glad to be a resident of this great land. But amidst the celebration thoughts were also directed to those who have suffered so badly from the natural disasters that have swept the country in particular those devastated by the floods in Queensland and Victoria. , and now more recently those who have lost homes in the wake of cyclone Yasi. We thank God that this cyclone did not take lives as many feared. We as did many other Christians around the country prayed for God’s protection over people lives and I believe those prayers were definitely effective.

We live in a vast land, with one of the worlds most diverse landscapes, a land that offers it’s people so much, we enjoy freedoms and opportunities that those in other regions know little of. The freedom to travel, to work, to worship and pray, access to education and state of the art medical services. With those privileges also come responsibilities. As Christians I believe we have a responsibility to pray for our leaders, both in business and government. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior. 
We should be contributing actively to the improvement of our society, cooperating with those around us and carrying a concern for the future of the nation beyond our own immediate concerns.

But for us as believers I believe we can go further. We have the privilege, honour and duty to stand with the authority and power that has been given to us by God, to stand as co-labourers with Jesus in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, in particular to Perth. We are citizens of Australia, but more than that, we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Eph 2:19-22 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…. built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. It’s the reality of the Holy Spirit living within us, living through us in power and wisdom that truly sets us apart from other residents in this land. As we have faith to believe in this amazing gift and grace on our lives, we can stand as examples to all of the goodness and love of God. Proud citizens of Australia but prouder citizens of The Kingdom of God.