Marching Forth!

As the New Year begins, many people make resolutions on changes they will make in their lives.  I believe if you have the constitution and willpower to actually keep your resolutions, it's likely you do not need to make them!  With how most people live, instead of saying you have made a "New Year's resolution," you might as well say "I wish."  There is a lot we all wish we could change about ourselves.  Trouble is, it takes a new calender year to inspire us to work for one change we desire or know we need.  And when the resolution has no impact except guilt because we haven't done our part, we sigh, shrug our shoulders and say to ourselves, "There's always next year..."  The devil would love for us to wait a year between efforts at change for the better. Last night I had an interesting conversation about New Year's resolutions.  People were discussing how the New Year is a great opportunity for personal reflection upon the last year. ...

A great temptation we will face as believers is to keep what should be given to God for ourselves.  A perfect example of this is found in Acts chapter 5 when Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the price of the land.  Under the guise of bringing the full purchase price, Ananias laid a part of the total price at the feet of the apostles.  Acts 5:3-5 reads, " But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? [4] While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." [5] Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things ." God has granted all people talents and resources.  As followers of Christ we have the privilege of being led by the Holy Spirit.  Ananias was not influ...

God intends we use every gift, talent, and ability He graciously gives us.  Our heavenly Father never intends the gifts He gives to be restricted to us.  When we receive a Christmas gift or a birthday present the understanding is, " This is for me ."  When we receive any gift from God we are responsible to first give that gift right back to Him for Him to use through us.  This will directly benefit others through the edification of the Body of Christ and glorify God.  What God gives us really isn't for us in the end.  It is for Him! When I read the Bible and God speaks clearly to my heart, it's not like a "Mission Impossible" message that is for my eyes only and will self-destruct after five seconds.  Now I have a responsibility and duty to share with others.  Think about the example of giving God has shown us.  God had an only begotten Son who He sent to be the Savior of the world.  He didn't keep Jesus to Himself.  He created th...

" Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. [4] Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. [5] Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate ."   Psalm 127:3-5 As God does not slumber or sleep, neither does the enemy of our souls.  Satan is actively seeking to pervert the straight ways of the LORD.  He will not stop his assault upon our children.  Men like Karl Marx know that the way to turn a nation is to indoctrinate the youth through media, subversion of morality, the denial of God and the absolute truth of scripture, and the fracturing of the God-ordained family.  God ordained marriage as a union between one man and one woman and this is under fire today even in kindergarten classrooms.  Children are a heritage from the LORD, but many are convinced that killing a child in the womb through abortion is...

Isaiah 54:1-17     " Sing, O barren,     You who have not borne!     Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,     You who have not labored with child!     For more are the children of the desolate     Than the children of the married woman," says the Lord.     [2] "Enlarge the place of your tent,     And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;     Do not spare;     Lengthen your cords,     And strengthen your stakes.     [3] For you shall expand to the right and to the left,     And your descendants will inherit the nations,     And make the desolate cities inhabited.     [4] "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;     Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;     For you will forget the s...

This morning I read 2 John during my quiet time with the LORD.  2 John 1:8 caught my attention:  " Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward ."  Things that grab my attention usually make me think.  Hebrews 12:3 says we are to look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  These verses are not contradictory but complimentary.  Looking unto Jesus ought to be our primary concern and focus, since He is our Savior and Light of the World.  We ought not to be self-focused, but there is a healthy need for thorough self-examination.  We are called to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  We need to take heed to ourselves for the purpose of seeing whether we are in the faith or not, if we are abiding in Christ, and remaining obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading. What struck me in this verse is the possibility of working for something and losing the full reward....

Proverbs 16:3 says, " Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established ."  When we surrender our lives to God's control He guides us in conduct and thought.  The Christian walk is not the avoidance of sin but the active doing of good.  When we are doing good we will not be sinning.  There is no neutral position. One of the things God emphatically showed me during my trip to Australia was the need to have my family established.  To do that I personally must be established by Christ upon His Word and walk in accordance to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.  It is God's work, but I must be willing to allow God to work in me before He can work through me.  For a ministry to be successful in your home country or the foreign mission field, the family structure must not only be intact, but established. Before I left for OZ, a large potted tree at Calvary Chapel El C...

This Sunday I caught some of the Broncos/Colts football game.  The game was played in Indianapolis and the dome stadium was packed with fans wearing blue and white.  In a losing effort, Brandon Marshall had a record-setting game during which he caught 21 passes and scored two touchdowns.  After his first touchdown, Brandon gave the touchdown ball to a Bronco fan in the stands wearing a bright orange #15 Marshall jersey.  It was moving to see the appreciation of the woman who received the prize ball , clearly overcome with emotion.  I am no Bronco fan but I thought it was a classy and gracious thing to do. The thought struck me:  see how excited people can be over a piece of inflated leather with letters stamped on it.  Am I as outwardly thankful and appreciative as the fan who received the touchdown ball with the gifts my Heavenly Father has given to me?  Am I overcome with emotion as I consider eternal salvation, joy, love, and forgiveness free...

I went out this evening to a neighborhood church to hear a man who has been faithful for many years in God's service, Bill Wilson.  He has been in full-time ministry for 42 years, 30 of which in a rough area in New York city.  He runs the largest Sunday School in the world and is still going strong.  With 160 full-time staff and many volunteers, his ministry not only buses in thousands of children every week to Sunday School, but visits the 22,000 kids who attend Metro Ministries every week outside of church.  This post really isn't about Bill at all but something that he said. He preached out of 2 Cor. 5:14 tonight:  " For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead... "  Most of the message centered out of the word "constraineth," which has three meanings of equal relevance and strength:  1) to be forced to do something, 2) to be kept away from something, 3) and to be kept in somethin...

The old saying goes, " You learn something new every day ."  I suppose there is the potential that you could learn something new on a daily basis, but it is likely we learn many new things every day.  Yesterday the song "The First Noel" was stuck in my head and I wondered:  what does Noel mean?  I looked it up and found out that "Noel" means "Christmas."  Maybe you didn't know that either.  Now there's one new thing you've learned today.  Congradulations! There's a part in the song which speaks about the wise men bringing gifts and says they " offered there in His presence their gold and myrrh and frankincense ."  A thought sprung to my mind as I sang:  if I had gold, would I give it to Jesus?  Would I travel far to give what is precious to me?  Jesus never asked for gold.  Seated now at the right hand of the Father Jesus has no physical needs or financial shortfalls.  He says in His Word, " If you love me, keep m...

This evening I was blessed to share with those in attendance at Calvary Chapel El Cajon about my recent trip to Australia.  The hardest part was trying to compact two months to a manageable size and convey a little of the culture and spiritual make-up of Australia.  Towards the end of sharing time I spoke about waiting for God to reveal the next step.  For a lot of us, waiting is synonymous with inaction or boredom.  If we are waiting in a grocery store line we feel hindered from our purpose of buying items.  A line at Disneyland prevents us from enjoying the ride immediately.  Whenever Laura and I would take the high school group to Six-Flags Magic Mountain, we would often come up with games to play to pass the time.  Most of those games were more annoying than just standing silently for hours! We often see waiting on the LORD at the same way:  annoying and bothersome, our goals and plans remaining incomplete until God moves.  This is not ...

I do not believe there is such a thing as a near miss with God.  From our vantage point things may appear to be close calls, but nothing sneaks past the God of heaven.  Have you ever lost your grip on something breakable but caught it before it hit the ground?  Perhaps your eyes grew big as you breathed a sight of relief, knowing that irreversible damage would have been done.  God's grip never slips.  Nothing outsmarts Him, overpowers Him, or catches Him off guard. Southern California is in the middle of the first winter storm of the season.  Rain has been falling lightly but steadily all day, and the wind has been blowing strong from the west.  As we sat in the house, above the sound of raindrops there was a sudden crash that seemed to hit the house.  Running to see what happened, to my surprise I saw my parent's 90 foot pine tree lying across the back yard.  It had been uprooted by the strong winds, and crushed a wooden gate and wheelbar...

" ...and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, [16] as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. [17] You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; [18] but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen ." 2 Peter 3:15-18 During my morning reading, I came across this passage.  It dovetailed beautifully into the second lesson I delivered this morning in the High School group at Calvary Chapel El Cajon.  Peter was speaking concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ and how we ought to conduct ourselves while He tarr...

Working at Calvary Chapel El Cajon changed my perspective concerning my paycheck.  I had worked in construction for several insulation shops over nine years time and was always paid weekly.  The primary difference was not that I was paid every two weeks (or fortnightly, as we would say in OZ) at Calvary, but the source of the income:  tithes and offerings.  Speaking for myself, when I worked for an hourly wage there was a sense I had worked to earn money.  As a pastor, my salary was paid through God's provision through the obedience and generosity of His people.  This caused me to be very careful with the way I spent money, realizing people had given that money towards God's work. Now I have come full-circle back to being paid weekly in constuction, but my perspective has changed yet again.  I had the most incredible sensation of thankfulness and indebtedness to God for His miraculous provision as I opened my paycheck for the first two days back in t...

While driving home from work today, sport radio stations were covering the Tiger Wood's adultery scandal from every angle.  A talk-show host began thinking by talking (and I quote to the best of my recollection):  "Who really is surprised by infidelity these days?  Maybe we should rethink the whole idea of marriage as a society.  Half of the marriages fail, so maybe we shouldn't teach our kids that you need to be married at a certain stage.  Maybe marriage doesn't work.  I dunno."  I have learned that if I don't know, my mouth should stay shut.  I am not surprised by infidelity.  But to suggest that marriage should be "re-thought" as if the problem is the institution of marriage by God, that is where I firmly stand in opposition. Consider the logic:  because many marriages fail due to infidelity, we should do away with marriage.  Because the standard of monogomous marriage is so often broken, as a society let us remove the standar...

I've been reading a biography of Winston Churchill, an amazing man who understood the meaning of courage, duty, and adversity.  He led Great Britain through World War II and is among the greatest Prime Ministers ever.  When he was made Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill said in his address to the House of Commons, " I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat ."  Churchill did not see himself as a great man, but a man who was destined by God to do great things.  There have been few modern leaders more influential to a nation than Winston Churchill.  We are short on true leaders these days.  There are few who are willing to use their blood, toil, tears, and sweat for the good of others and the glory of God. I'm enjoying working with my hands again.  I wake up around 4:50am and brave the morning chill, arriving at my current job site at 6am.  I've been wrapping duct the last couple of days, some off a 10' ladder and a sciss...

Have you felt like you could do nothing right?  No matter how hard you tried to prove yourself to someone, no matter your sacrifice, effort, or success, it was never enough?  Many people carry the burden of trying to please their parents into their adulthood, feeling like they were never able to satisfy their parent's expectations.  An ache of bitterness and unworthiness remains in the heart with a deep unsatisfied longing for acceptance and love.  This is the tragic end of too many father/son relationships. This is the emotional and relational baggage many carry into their relationship with God.  Perhaps this fuels the need to constantly "prove" ourselves to God so we may experience the love and acceptance we have always craved.  At church this morning, we read the story in Luke 17 of the ten lepers who were made well and the Samaritan who returned, praising and glorifying God.  The thanksgiving and humble thanks of the ex-leper were visible evidenc...

There's something about being wanted that attracts attention.  During World War I and II, this was a poster used to recruit young American patriots to serve their country in the U.S. armed forces.  Uncle Sam looked everyone who saw this poster dead in the face with outstretched finger, saying " You!  I want you !"  It doesn't matter whether you see this picture from straight on or from the side:  if you can see Uncle Sam, he's looking right at you. Now we know that there are certain things which will keep someone from serving in the military:  asthma, blindness, paralysis, disease, or lack of motivation.  The intention behind the sign is to motivate and encourage.  Allow yourself for a moment to be a 19 year old man in a little town with big dreams.  The sight of this sign send a spark of hope in his heart:  could it be true?  I can serve my country in the army?  The government wants me to help?  If Uncle Sam said, "I n...

Throughout my recent trip to Australia my mind wandered to what I might do when I arrived back in the United States.  I knew for certain that the chapter at my life on staff at Calvary Chapel El Cajon was finished.  If you're in the middle of a great book, there's no turning back to "re-live" a chapter you were particularly fond of.  The enjoyment of the finished chapter urges you to anticipate the next.  That is how it has been for me.  The time I spent at Calvary was the greatest chapter of my life, but that chapter is closed.  Now I am looking forward to the next chapter but I'm not capable or allowed to skim to the end.  Page by page the story unfolds, and every page more interesting with unexpected twists and turns. The moment came last Thursday (11/19) when I stepped onto the tarmac of the commuter terminal in San Diego.  That surreal moment was 60 days in the making as I toured and preached in churches and houses throughout Australia:...

I came across an interesting verse during our family's Bible reading after dinner.  It's a verse that has struck me before, but I couldn't escape it even as I went to bed.  Let me give a little background:  Jeroboam was king of Israel and had led the people into idolatry.  He had a child named Abijah (meaning father, i.e. worshiper of God ) who became sick.  Jeroboam asked his wife to disguise herself and visit the prophet of God named Ahijah (meaning brother, i.e. worshiper of God ).  God spoke to Ahijah who was blind and told him that the wife of Jeroboam would come in disguise.  Interesting, isn't it, that the one who was blind would be so spiritually perceptive? Ahijah pronounced a stern judgment against Jeroboam and all his descendants since he had done more evil than all the kings before him through his idolatry and casting God behind his back.  Concerning the child Abijah, the prophet said these words to Jereboam's wife:  " Arise the...

I am the first of three children born to my parents.  My mom told me how horrified she was when a group of medical students walked by when she was giving birth and someone yelled out, "Look, she's crowning!"  and they looked in with their clipboards in hand.  I can't remember if it was me or one of my siblings, but my mom was very annoyed at one of the nurses because right after birth the nurse strongly flicked the newborn's feet with her fingers to make the baby cry.  Strong crying ensures that the lungs are clear of fluid and that life-supporting oxygen is reaching the brain.  Although crying is not desirable in a baby at 2am, it is almost a comforting sound to a mother and father to know, "He's breathing.  He's alive."  How devastating is silence at birth! I know many people close to me who have suffered miscarriages or given birth to stillborn children.  How horribly painful and depressing to have a baby forming in the womb with all the exc...

One of the most common questions I am asked about Australia is, "What are the biggest differences between Australia and the States?"  This is a difficult question to answer because everything is very similar yet everything is a little different.   A common misconception is that people assume that Australia is the same as the United States because they speak English.  People also believe that Australia is a Christian nation because America is.  These are both false assumptions and the longer you live in Australia the more clear this becomes.  But because inquiring minds want to know, here are my top five differences between the States and Australia in no particular order: Australian people have an insatiable appetite for American news, especially politics .  When I met new people, one of the first things people would ask is about President Obama or health care reform.  Australians care more about American politics than most Americans by far! ...

During my time in AUS, I've had a lot of unique experiences.  Today I ate kangaroo and crocodile for the first time, and experienced a game that I have to shake my head with a smile and say, "Only in OZ!"  It's called Furyball, and I made a video to share a little slice of country life in Canberra.  Enjoy the action!

It is a great challenge to wait upon the LORD expectantly.  We find a great deal of comfort with schedules, future plans, meetings, and appointments.  We find joy in looking to the future and saying things like, "This time next year, we'll have a baby" or "A month from now, we'll be living in our new home."  There's a certain amount of joyful expectation for me to say, "In five days, I'll be back in the States."  I know I have a ticket for a plane departing to LAX next Thursday, so this isn't a stretch.  If by God's grace I manage to be at the airport at the right time, I have a seat reserved for me to go home. People love to predict.  Watch any pre-game NFL program and listen to the commentators posture and argue concerning game predictions.  Every single week ESPN has predictions of the points each player will score.  It seems that predictions seem to give a sense of control in the outcome, even though they do not affect the sco...

" He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. [5] As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything.  [6] In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper either this or that, or whether both alike will be good ." Ecclesiastes 11:4-6 One aspect of following Jesus Christ in faith is not knowing exactly where He is heading.  We know that all things work for good to those who love God, but we often don't know how He will make good of a situation.  It is not until much later we begin to recognize the hand of God leading, guiding, and protecting us.  During my evening reading last night, I came upon this verse and was very blessed.  I have been asked many times by people in OZ how the LORD is leading me in future decisions:  if I have a sens...

I read an interesting book recommended by Bob, my host in Sydney.  He has a lovely family:  Jacqui his wife, Samuel (7) and Kate (4).  The book is called "Already Gone" by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer which claims the teaching in most churches today does not answer fundamental questions and doubts that people have.  Children are taught Bible "stories" and emphasis is not placed on their historical, scientific, and archaelogical fact.  When kids continue to go through school, they are bombarded with scientific "facts" which often contradict a Biblical worldview.  Due to these doubts not being directly addressed from the pulpit or Sunday School classes, many people leave the church during their college years on in their 20's.  Since I have worked with youth for many years and have seen the staggeringly high attrition rate among "churched" youth, this book did not come as a surprise or shock. Darwin's "Origin of Species" published in...