Marching Forth!

At Calvary Chapel Sydney we have a Tuesday morning prayer meeting from 6 to 7:30am open to all who desire to attend.  After I started the coffee and sat down to read the Bible before the meeting, I looked towards the front door.  On a table near the entry sits a green, thriving plant.  I my experience, plants do not stay green on their own!  My best efforts to keep green things green and growing typically produce dismal results.  Over the past couple months I have seen different people from the church checking the condition of the plant, watering it, and clearing away the ants which on a daily basis find it again and again. Taking care of the plant is no one's job and yet is a job always done.  As far as I know the care for this plant is not governed by sign-in sheets, a planned roster, or even word of mouth.  Amazingly this living plant looks a million times better than most of the plastic plants I have seen in churches or office buildings.  Be...

Yesterday after church service many of the ladies from our church gathered together for yum cha at a local restaurant.  Not to be left out, some men went over to North Rocks for a meal at Nando's.  I had never been to Nando's before and were treated with some delicious spicy chicken.  I ordered extra hot chicken and added extra-extra hot peri-peri sauce...it was a welcome amount of heat for a spicy food enthusiast as myself. While we waited for our party to arrive, we were greeted by a Nando's employee offering chicken wings to people who passed by.  Most people who walked by were happy to enjoy a sample or two.  Occasionally there was a person who was not interested, but the bearer of wings did not seem to mind.  He continued to happily hand out samples and vouchers:  why should he be ashamed to offer quality meat for free? As I ate my sample I thought about the parallels of evangelism.  Jesus is the Bread of Life freely offered not just to s...

Yesterday I received word that one of my friends and co-laborers at Calvary Chapel El Cajon has passed into eternity:  Mark Peters.  His time of difficulty has passed, having recently been diagnosed with cancer. Having been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, Mark undoubtedly now rejoices in heaven.  My grief is great, not because Mark has gone home but that I was unable to visit him as he lay dying.  I will not be able to attend a service to memorialize his life.  Though God is a present help and comfort to me, presenting a tangible testimony of my thoughts of Mark in the presence of his family and friends is unobtainable. Hence the impetus for this post:  let me tell you a little about my friend Mark.  The thing which struck you immediately about Mark is that he was real.  His faith and love for God was real.  He had not had an easy life by any means - there had been many struggles along the way, but God br...