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The Answer of Faith

Without faith it is impossible to please God, and those who have placed their faith in Jesus will often be challenged to trust God more than we ever imagined.  All who are born again Christians have trusted in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, yet our tendency is to continue to rely on our own understanding, to operate within the realm of what seems possible.  One amazing aspect of our God is He is the God of the impossible, for when there is no human solution He can easily accomplish what we never thought to ask or entered our minds. In the book True Discipleship by William MacDonald, there is a great excerpt credited to C.H. Mackintosh that bears repeating: "Faith brings God into the scene, and therefore it knows absolutely nothing of difficulties--yea, it laughs at impossibilities.  In the judgment of faith, God is the grand answer to every question--the grand solution of every difficulty.  It refers all to Him; and hence it matters not in the least to faith w...
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The Right Reference Point

Recently I was given a great reminder of the importance of our reference point.  I have been working on a small retaining wall lately, and it has been challenging puzzle to solve.  I have spent days and nights trying to come up with the ideal layout, materials and drainage to retain soil as well as keep water from flowing into the garage.  Our soil tends to drain quite well, but when we have a massive downpour the surface water needs a place to go quickly--or else it will rush right into the garage. I decided to go with concrete sleepers rather than a block wall, and it was no small undertaking to find a local supplier with the material I was looking for.  After many trips picking up gravel and concrete, I dug the post holes and encountered some unexpected complications.  The area I was digging into had drainage pipes running through it I needed to be careful to avoid.  I was not able to place posts hard against the footing of the garage because the foundat...
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Follow His Steps

After Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, He explained to them in  John 13:13-15 :  " You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.  14   If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.  15   For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you ."  The things Jesus did as Master and LORD set an example He intended His disciples to follow.  This is not always true for children who watch their dad light a fire or their mother stir frying using a wok on a hot burner.  When Jesus washed feet, it was the task all the disciples figured was beneath them and best left to others.  That was the task Jesus embraced for the good of all, and He commanded each of them to follow His example in humble service of one another.  The fact Jesus has filled Christians with the Holy Spirit means we are able to discern opportunities our flesh cannot, and He empow...
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Ought Not to Be

During the 90's in San Diego, there was an investigative journalist on KUSI named Michael Turko who responded to consumer complaints.  His segment called " The Turko Files " was a big hit, and he was known for shouting, "It ain't right!" as he made waves to set things right.  He was a consumer advocate who brought shady business dealings to light.  Even if those who complained did not receive just compensation, Turko used his platform to expose fraudulent practices and push for justice. Despite laws, written policies, training of employees and aims to provide quality goods and services, mistakes will be made and customers can be short-changed or cheated.  When it comes to business, government, relationships and life in general, there are no shortage of things which could lead us to rightly say, "That's wrong!"  Many times there is nothing we can do to change the past or things that seem unfair to us today--like restrictions or bans on items, ex...
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Prophecy Points to Jesus

I've been reading through the book of Zechariah in the mornings, and it is impressive how often messianic prophecies connected to Jesus by the Gospel penmen pop up.  The fulfillment of biblical prophecy supplies strong evidence of the veracity and trustworthiness of Scripture.  Bible prophecy is not like general predictions people make, who proudly claim they "called it" when they were not specific and ignore the fact they also contradicted themselves numerous times.  In God's word, He provided many statements over a thousand years meticulously recorded for our benefit so we could identify the promised Messiah and Son of God Jesus who is the Saviour of the world.  The New Testament in many places expressly states how Old Testament prophecy was and will be fulfilled by Christ, and here are a few examples. Zechariah 9:9 states, " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salv...
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Resting in the LORD

Slowly but surely I have been making progress on little projects around our house.  There's been ongoing patching and painting, setting pavers, improving drainage and recently I have been constructing a small retaining wall.  Between ongoing maintenance, church-related work and projects around the house, it has been a very busy season of methodically chipping away at tasks with slow, almost undiscernible progress. After I set forms on Saturday to pour concrete, the thought crossed my mind to do a bit of concreting on Sunday afternoon to have a jump on Monday's tasks.  A conversation I had yesterday at church gave me pause, however, as I was reminded how the things we do--or choose to wait to do--can be done unto the LORD.  Growing up, as a family we always abstained from doing physical labour on Sunday beyond going to church morning and night.  This was something I carried over into my working career as a witness for Jesus in the workplace, that when interviewin...
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Lovingkindness and Life

There are certain words that are commonly found in the Bible and nowhere else.  We do not hear people in business, politics or in casual conversation use such words, nor do we see them in advertisements or on signs of protesters.  One such word is "lovingkindness" that describes the faithful love and kindness of God combined at full strength.  As if this is not a sufficient description, we can also observe a plural version of "lovingkindnesses" (which spell check flagged as incorrect!) as found in  Psalm 25:6 :  " Remember, O LORD , Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, f or they are from of old ."   Because God is awesome and words can only begin to portray the vastness of His love, goodness, mercy and favour, lovingkindness is a word that attempts to describe our indescribable God. Last night I was reminded of one of those looping scripture songs that were especially popular in the 70's and 80's taken from  Psalm 63:3-4 :  " B...
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