Marching Forth!

Following the Good Friday service yesterday, my wife Laura and I had a thought-provoking talk.  It is my practice to ask Laura what God revealed to her for personal application during the sermon.  "It was good," she said.  "But I think it would have been good to talk more specifically about what 'taking up your cross' means.  That phrase is used so often in Christian circles it has almost lost all meaning."  She was absolutely right.  The term has even been adapted into modern vernacular outside the church.  When people face irritating or frustrating circumstances they hate but must endure they say with a sigh, "I guess this is my cross to bear."  The ironic thing is, that's not how Christ approached His crucifixion.  It was no drudgery.  He approached it with fierce determination and willingness, knowing His hour had come.  For the joy that was set before Him Jesus endured the cross and ultimately rose victorious. The sacrifice o...

When the earth was young, a chemist considered the elements and compounds which comprise all living things.  "I know what I will do," said the man.  "I will bring together Sodium and Chlorine, joining them perfectly.  They will be one:  Sodium Chloride, or NaCl.  This unity of 40% Sodium and 60% Chloride will provide flavouring for food, act as a preservative, and will have a long shelf-life." The chemist was excited, as the close bonds between the chemicals were a picture of the intimacy he hoped to share someday with his bride.  "I will make a special place on my table for this salt," he said aloud.  He produced a crystal shaker and poured the salt into the valuable vessel.  "As long as you live, Sodium and Chloride, you shall remain together as one.  What God has joined together let not man separate." Sodium and Chloride were pleased to remain together even as the chemist had joined them.  Had they remained alone, Sodium would ha...

I saw a "Mythbusters" episode during which Adam and Jamie put to test the theory it is impossible for people to walk in a straight line blindfolded.  It was comical to watch Adam and Jamie try walking, swimming, and even driving with their eyes covered.  Try as they might, they never remotely were able to travel in a straight line.  It wasn't long before they literally were walking in circles.  When the blacked out glasses or goggles came off, they were amazed how far they had veered off course.  Even when they constructed a device so they might work together to walk straight, they failed.  The "myth" was confirmed:  without the use of their eyes or ears, they were absolutely lost. At the end of the program, Adam and Jamie walked through thick woods.  Without survival training, Adam was able to walk a fairly straight line.  Harnessing prior training and making use of the sun, Jamie stayed right on target.  Even with bucket on his head ...

"Saving Private Ryan" was an instant classic.  It is a moving film which follows a group of Army Rangers during World War II and their mission to bring Private Ryan safely home.  The plot follows Captain John H. Miller as he leads a team of men through dangerous territory to find Ryan.  It was not an easy task.  It ended up costing many men their lives, including Captain Miller.  As he sat dying on the bridge valiantly held by the Allied forces, his final words to Ryan were, " James...earn this.  Earn it ." Captain Miller and many others gave the ultimate sacrifice to fulfill their orders and bring James Ryan safely home.  Miller pointed to the enormous cost and sacrifice demonstrated by his fellows soldiers as the impetus for Ryan to live a life worthy of it.  At the end of the film, an elderly Ryan stood at the grave of the deceased Captain, wondering if he had done enough.  In my opinion, there is no possible way Ryan could have ever liv...

Looking for a snapshot of genuine faith?  We need look no other place but to Christ.  1 Peter 2:19-24 provides a clear view of this high calling:  " For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed ." We are not saved by our good works, but saved for them.  Ephesians 2:10 says, " For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for go...

" But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away ." Timothy 3:1-5 Paul warned Timothy of a grave danger in the church. It was not that this peril did not yet exist in Paul’s day, but would become more and more evident. The times we are facing today are as perilous as they have ever been. There is hardly anything more perilous than delusion. The Greek word for “ lovers of themselves ” is “ philautos ,” which means “ selfish, self-centred, narcissistic .” After all these sinful attributes are mentioned, the last part should grab our attention: "having a form of godliness but denyin...

After I walked my sons to the bus stop today, I kept on walking.  I took the long way home for additional exercise, and passed through a residential area of Kellyville and back to my home in Beaumont Hills.  It was a great time of reflection and drinking in the beauty of the birds, trees, and clouds. For the first time this year, I noticed an autumn bite in the morning weather.  It was also a great opportunity to speak with the LORD, casting cares upon Him.  Towards the end of the walk I happened to pass by an open garage door.  It was organised and stocked with nice things.  Funny, I thought to myself as I looked away:  I have no desire for anything in there.  In that moment I experience unnatural peace and contentment.  I thanked God I did not feel the slightest twinge of covetousness or envy when I saw expensive, great things that were not mine.  I'm so happy God has freed and kept me from sin! Jesus said in Luke 12:15 , " Take heed...

Because "love" these days has become a generic term, God's love can seem vague and nondescript.  Love often is a product of perspective formed according to our judgments.  While some of these judgments may spring from scripture, many assumptions of what love must be come from the wisdom of the flesh.  The flesh cannot know or understand the love of God except God reveal it because it is a spiritually discerned truth.  Hollywood has tried to paint a picture of love through film, but it is woefully lacking.  The message Hollywood is peddling about love is basically this:  love is a feeling of desire consummated in a sexual relationship.  Love has been divorced from God or morality.  Sex has been removed from the context and sanctity of marriage God ordained.  The world's idea of love sticks close to the satanic principle of "Do what thou wilt" instead of the biblical "Do God's will." We see a description of God's love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-...

" Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed ." Exodus 31:16-17 This is a remarkable passage.  From the beginning of creation, God established a seven-day week.  He created the heavens, sea, earth, and all that is in them in six actual days.  God is an eternal being and chose to operate within the confines of time, establishing the orbits of the planets according to a 24-hour day consisting of morning and night.  God created time, seasons, months, and years.  In the Mosaic law, God told His people that the Sabbath day was a sign between them, affirming that God in six days made the heavens and earth and rested on the seventh.   I see no reason to debate and argue about the actual age of the ...

Since Christ has ushered in a New Covenant through His shed blood, the rites and ordinances of temple worship have been fulfilled.  Even if the Temple was rebuilt and the Ark of the Covenant found, it would be an empty exercise.  Instead of the Spirit of God dwelling in the Holy of Holies above the Ark of the Covenant, through the Gospel Christians are made the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Unfathomable access to God and His throne room of grace have been made possible through the indwelling Spirit of God within us through the Gospel.  I am always amazed and grateful we no longer have to follow the letter of the Mosaic law concerning the temple.  God laid down very specific commands and a process of worship that had to be obeyed.  The consequences for disobedience were very severe:  death to the priests who transgressed! Though God is worth all effort and sacrifice, the demands of the law seemed to create an incredible inconvenience to come before the ...

Yesterday I finished the book There Is A God , a book by Anthony Flew.  For fifty years he was a leading atheist and professional philosopher who denied and argued against the existence of God.  He was an adherent to the Socratic principle of "following the evidence wherever it leads."  After half a century of being an atheist, Anthony Flew startled the world by saying he had changed his mind.  The overwhelming array of evidence convinced Flew of the existence of a "God" he describes as " self-existent, immutable, immaterial, omnipotent, and omniscient Being ." (pg. 155) It is a very satisfying thought that Anthony Flew was a man of such distinction and quality in the field of philosophy for fifty years and arrived to a place of believing in God based upon the evidence.  The book primarily interested me because I was curious what earth-shattering evidence would make an atheist change to a deist.  In a way, reading the book was a little anti-climactic....

An article I read the other day still has me thinking.  It was a write-up of a "60 Minute" interview of Tony Abbott, Leader of the Opposition and potential candidate for the Prime Minister role at the next national election.  The article reads, " Mr Abbott, who once trained for the priesthood, said religion would not play a part in how he would govern if he won office.  He said faith was important and had helped shape him as a person.  "But it must never, never dictate my politics,'' he said ."  I frankly admit I struggle with the concept that it is admirable for a man's character and principles not to dictate the decisions he makes in political office.  Looking at the quote from another tack, I wonder if these words can possibly be true.  Politics has the potential to rip the heart and will out of the very people in whose hands rest the power to forge government according to the same faith and values which made that person a fit candidate to lead...

When speaking of Christian ministry I have heard many people say, "God doesn't need us."  I agree with the statement.  He loves us and has chosen to use people as His instruments and vessels - along with angels, storms, plagues, and even donkeys.  It is a good mind set to keep as we abide in Christ:  God doesn't need me, but I really need Him!  He is able to raise up servants of Abraham from stones if need be.  That being said, He has opened the doors of heaven and invited all who will repent, believe the Gospel, and enter by faith.  God has given Himself to those who obey Him in the person of the Holy Spirit.  God is the one who makes us useful and profitable for His glory. As I was reading the scriptures last night, I saw this truth illustrated in wonderful fashion.  Jesus had risen from the dead and Peter announced to fellow followers of Jesus:  "I'm going fishing!"  It sounded like a good idea and they all went along.  Th...

From the moment God began to establish our family in Australia, I have looked upon it as a permanent move.  When it comes to serving God in a foreign field, there can be an overwhelming amount of "unknowns."  The timing for visa approval, God's provision of money, and the administration of paperwork are just a few of them.  There is much that lays outside our ability to directly control.  The stress level of our lives has been greatly eased through committing those things into God's capable hands.  The call is to be casting our cares upon Him, and God helping us we do.  We are called to be faithful to do our part, and God will be faithful to fulfill His Word.  We sow the seed, and He will make it grow. We came to Australia over two years ago on a tourist visa.  While in country we applied for a 428 Religious Worker's visa and a bridging visa was issued.  It was later approved and allowed us to stay in country for two years.  After the ...

In my back yard growing up, we had three fruit trees:  plum, apricot and peach.  The plum and apricot trees produced the sweetest, tastiest fruit of their kind.  The peach tree was almost always a disappointment.  It didn't produce nearly the volume or the quality of fruit as the other trees.  One year, however, the peach tree was absolutely loaded with fruit!  I remember talking with my mom about what a wonderful harvest of peaches we would have.  Before the fruit was ripe, I remember the shock of going outside and seeing our prize future harvest lying on the ground:  the tree had fallen over!  It was obvious what had happened as it lay wilted on the ground.  The trunk had been eaten out from the centre by termites or a type of borer insect.  The exceptionally large amount of fruit the tree produced that year caused it finally to give way.  That was the end of that tree and fresh homegrown peaches for us! As a kid, I wasn't ...

Ichabod Spencer is a pastor who served in the New York region in the mid 1800's.  There is a man who knew much about bringing anxious souls to faith in Christ.  We are told after we are born again to " be anxious for nothing ," yet the church would profit greatly from this sort of anxiousness!  Unless a man is anxious about his condition apart from God, his hypocrisy, the sins of his lips and heart, and the eternal damnation which awaits him, it seems he does not believe in God, hell, or judgment at all!  It is a foolish thing for Christians to seek to ease the concern of anxious unbelievers by offering the comforts, grace, and love of God to those who have rejected Him.  There are few things worse a Christian can do than by easing the conscience of one who is under conviction by the Holy Spirit.  Leave them under God's conviction, direct them to obey God's Word, and intercede for them in prayer.  Only then will they flee to Christ in desperation and b...

Throughout the history of the church, heretical views and doctrines have wormed their way into the minds and hearts of Christians.  The only defense the church has against such doctrines is the perfect, entire Word of God.  Heresies are doctrines of demons which gain strength in hearts and minds that oppose the unchanging truth of scripture.  "Heresy" is defined in the Webster's 1828 dictionary as, " A fundamental error in religion, or an error of opinion respecting some fundamental doctrine of religion...The scriptures being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrine is heresy ."  The Bible is not a platform to support man's opinions or confirm his beliefs:  it is meant to shape them completely according to God's righteous standard.  Unless scripture is the sole basis for my belief, I build upon shifting sand. In the New Testament, many of the books were written as letters to confront heresies which threatened the health and ...

" Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings . " Revelation 10:10-11 The Word of God is filled with sweetness.  To know that it has been written by God to reveal Himself to us is a remarkable privilege.  How humbling the thought, that God would write such a personal letter to us!  Studying the Bible is not to be limited to gathering information or refining theological doctrines:  it is all about transformation of our lives.  Unless the Word of God makes a practical difference in our lives through stripping away of falsehoods, revealing Christ, renewing our minds, and changing the way we live, it has not accomplished its purpose. In the passage concerning John and the little book, it was not enough for him to hear it read.  He needed to consu...