Marching Forth!

Paul wrote in  2 Corinthians 1:3-5 , " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  4  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ ."  Paul was no stranger to suffering for Christ's sake, and his experiences joyfully endured demonstrated the comfort He received by faith in Jesus in the most trying times.  What Paul dubbed "light affliction" people who have suffered less would have called soul crushing without Christ who gave him strength.  Our God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation so we might also comfort others.  Compared to a meal set before us, the consolation of our Saviour is the main course while troubles that confront us are a light du...

On the topic of eating meat in markets, Paul said Christians could eat anything with assurance there is nothing unclean in itself--even if the meat was offered to idols.  Yet at the same time, Christians were called to walk in love and be sensitive to what stumbled or offended others.  He concluded believers were blessed not to condemn themselves when their conscience was clear, and those who doubted it was upright to eat meat offered to idols sinned when they ate it:  "... for whatever is not from faith is sin ." ( Romans 14:23 ) The point Paul mades is excellent and relevant for Christians today, for there can be many things we do (or choose not to do!) for reasons other than faith in God.  We can be influenced by who is watching us or who is around us, by our desire to control the image we want to present to others, peer pressure, fear of offending people, wanting to avoid looking foolish, to keep from losing face or to seek to earn favour.  We might be motiv...

I remember years ago in San Diego we had a mayor who ran on conservative principles he abandoned in tears when he fronted the media, and he stated his position on marriage had changed because of the persuasions of a dear family member.  Some might have appreciated the change in his stance, but the complete reversal of his position was a betrayal of his party and those who voted for him.  I believed he would have done better to cite a conflict of interest and resign rather than undermine the will of the people for personal reasons. One aspect of God's character is He is not a respecter of persons--meaning He does not show preferential treatment.  He does not punish the heathen for sins yet find the rebellion of His people funny or ignore their disobedience.   Deuteronomy 10:17-18 :  " For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.  18  He administers justice f...

I have been considering lately how God is faithful to speak to our need.  When God told His people not to be afraid it was because they were inclined to be fearful; God's exhortation to be strong and courageous because He was with them was because they felt otherwise.  While we would be content with God validating our feelings, His wisdom and truth revealed to us transcends them.  By virtue of who our sovereign God is, His promises in his word and who we are in Jesus Christ, He gives us all the encouragement and comfort we need to keep going as we labour for His glory. We see an illustration of this in the word of the LORD through Haggai the prophet spoken to Zerubbabal, the high priest Joshua, and the people of Israel that were rebuilding the temple after a long period of captivity.   Haggai 2:3-5 reads, " Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?...

People can have romantic notions about being more "serious" concerning their relationship with God.  This can include fanciful ideas of prolonged fasts, voluntarily giving up all hobbies for scripture memorisation, or doing something drastic like moving to Siberia.  I have heard people express they would have to pray or read the Bible more if they had a different role in the church, but I don't believe having a role with more responsibility does anything to fundamentally change a person.  God does not require outrageous things of His people, just simple obedience in following His example like it says in  Micah 6:8 :  " He has shown you, O man, what is good; a nd what does the LORD require of you  b ut to do justly,  t o love mercy,  a nd to walk humbly with your God ?" At Calvary Chapel Sydney we spoke about the Rechabites, how they were obedient to their father Jonadab hundreds of years later to not drink wine.  God used the Rechabites ...

The Jewish sons of Sceva (a chief of the priests) took it upon themselves to be travelling exorcists, and this foray into itinerant ministry did not go well for them.  Jesus gave authority to His disciples over unclean spirits, yet these men decided to follow a formula they picked up from the apostle Paul.  We need God and a relationship with Him by faith in Jesus Christ to accomplish anything of value for His kingdom, for without Jesus we can do nothing ( John 15:5 ).  They imagined by invoking the name of Jesus who Paul preached, the demon would comply with their commands.   Acts 19:15-16 says, " And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"  16  Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded ."  There were two different Greek words for "know" employed by the spirit:  that he knew Jesus...