Marching Forth!

" Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard . "   Psalm 22:23-24 Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ have an everlasting, sure hope.  The world loves to glorify the strong and mighty, those who have great fame and wealth.  Nothing makes the people in the world as disillusioned as when they see their idols tumble down to earth from the pedestals men have created.  People shake their heads in disgust when those rich with worldly things choose death over life to escape their pain.  Give me the wealth of the sports hero, give me the fame of the most popular singer, grant me the power of the most influential political figure, says a dreaming man, and I shall better use it.  What he does not understand is how money, fame, and p...

Years ago, my wife and I often went to San Diego Padres baseball games.  I remember heading to Taco Bell before the game with our friend Josh Jordan and heading to our seats to watch Ken Caminiti, Tony Gwyn, Greg Vaughn, and Trevor Hoffman play ball.  If the Padres were winning in the ninth inning and the game was close, Trevor Hoffman would make his way slowly to the mound as AC/DC's song "Hell's Bells" blared at full volume, the crowd erupting at the first bell toll.  When the "Q" was full, the stadium was rocking!  As exciting as it was to have Trevor close out a game, I found the lyrics everyone sang with happy faces disconcerting:  "... You're only young but you're gonna die.  I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives, nobody's putting up a fight.  I got my bell. I'm gonna take you to hell. I'm gonna get ya, satan get ya!  Hells Bells !"  Speaking for myself, I don't want to go to hell, no matter how cool...

How important it is to seek God's direction concerning our decisions!  This morning I read a portion in Leviticus that spoke of a man in a fight who was heard blaspheming the name of God with a curse.  Unsure of the appropriate response, the witnesses brought the man to Moses.  Leviticus 24:12 said, " Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them ."  As an aside, this may be one the only examples of incarceration in the Old Testament under the Law, and for a reason foreign to us!  The Law was all about restitution, not incarceration.  I love the fact the man was put in a ward not for punishment or in the hope of rehabilitation:  he was placed in custody so Moses and the leaders of Israel might seek the mind of God concerning this circumstance.  Because Moses was not entirely sure of how to proceed in this matter, he sought the mind of God through prayer.  How different would the justice systems look if this wa...

Today is "ANZAC Day" in Australia, one of the most important national observances.  "ANZAC" stands for "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps."  This day is a commemoration of the service of Australian and New Zealand "diggers" who fought in World War 1 in Gallipoli.  It ended up being a stalemate that came at the high cost of 8,000 ANZACs.  Throughout the nation and beyond our borders this sober, proud day has been set aside to remember and honour the memory of the brave fallen and those who have valiantly served their country in times of war.  In Gallipoli the ANZACs did not achieve a victory, but through their courage and toughness in the face of adversity defined themselves with strength and bravery all can appreciate. One of the amazing facts is that the diggers who fought in Gallipoli did not often have the training, supplies, or equipment that was available to others.  In the face of insurmountable odds, they kept going.  According to sk...

Once our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, we cannot read the Bible without marveling at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  The articles and vestments of the Temple, the Law and prophets, the Old Testament appearances of the "Angel of the Lord, and even miracles reveal the power and person of Jesus.  Even as a quality film director uses foreshadowing, God has set the standard with all the foreshadowing of Christ and details of His life in the Old Testament.  God brought one of these instances to mind this morning during a time of prayer. The Bible speaks of a time when prophet Elisha went to Gilgal to meet with the sons of the prophets.  At that time there was a famine in the land.  Elisha commanded his servant to set a pot to boil stew for the men who gathered together.  They rustled up whatever they could.  One man found a vine with gourds on it that were chopped up and put into the stew to boil.  What they did not know, however, is the gourds...

A veneer is a decorative coating to cover something inferior from sight.  My two front teeth, for instance, are covered with veneer crowns.  Due to a skateboard mishap in my youth, my teeth were badly chipped.  Not only was it a bad look, but the sensitive roots were exposed and very painful!  After my temporary caps became yellowed with age, my folks and I pooled the necessary funds to replace them with veneers.  Another common use of veneer is wood veneer which gives glued particle board the appearance of quality hardwood.  A discerning eye can usually pick out wood veneer in seconds, but it is a cheaper alternative to solid wood. Our furniture or teeth is not the extent of our use of veneer, of course.  People do not need to be on stage to wear masks or costumes which hide true feelings.  There can be cultures developed in school, the workplace, families, or even in church that make us feel pressure to keep up the appearance of perpetually be...

Our family returned from a busy and profitable week at Camp Kedron last night.  It was an amazing week as God did incredible things among the leaders and the campers.  Laura and I were "camp parents" and Laura also tackled the role of being camp nurse - a huge job and responsibility.  She was phenomenal and I am very proud of her servant's heart and flexibility.  There were a few times she had to wake up in the middle of the night to tend to sick campers and she did it with a joyful attitude.  After the camp Laura was migraine free too, so that is a wonderful added blessing! My role was expanded to teaching and leading workshops with the leadership team, and all of them stepped up in a huge way in their discussion groups.  Many of the kids were completely transformed by the end of camp, having repented and trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD.  I believe we were all challenged, encouraged, and changed by God's grace.  This camp was a tangibl...

One movie we enjoy watching as a family is "The Great Race" (with the exception of my wife who finds it "Extremely irritating!") starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk.  It is a fantastic and ridiculous showdown between "The Great Leslie" and "Professor Fate" as they race from New York to Paris.  Memorable scenes include the epic western brawl in Boracho and the pie fight in Potsdorf.  One of the recurring lines in the film is when Professor Fate cackles evilly and barks out the command:  "Push the button, Max!"  Whenever the hapless henchman pushes the button, only bad things seem to happen! The line rushed through my mind this morning as we waited to cross the street to catch the bus.  When we arrived at the crossing, a woman already stood on the corner, awkwardly close to the button.  No matter, I though to myself.  She's already pressed the button, and it would be a bit rude to ask her to move aside to...

In Shel Silverstein's classic poem The Giving Tree , a little boy grows up with an apple tree who loves him.  Though the love of the tree towards the boy does not change, over time the desires of the boy do.  A a child he climbed the tree, swung from her branches, made crowns from her leaves, picked and ate apples, and leaned against the trunk etched with his name and the tree with love.  As time passed, the boy grew older and did not spend much time with the tree.  The tree offered her apples, branches, and trunk which the boy gladly used for his own profit and left for a long time. There are many aspects to this beautiful poem, but an especially brilliant facet is how the boy was never satisfied or even grateful.  In fact, he never thanked the tree for giving everything she could for him.  Even as the appetite is never satisfied for long, nothing in this world will give us lasting contentment and satisfaction.  Before sin entered the world and deat...

" And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise." 15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon ."   2 Samuel 2:13-16 This event illustrates the destruction of division.  During this season in Israel's history, the nation was divided between allegiance to David king of Judah and king Ishbosheth who reigned over the remaining tribes of Israel.  Generals Abner and Joab gathered at Gibeon...

At Calvary Chapel Sydney, we've been moving through 1 and 2 Samuel on Sunday mornings.  In the passage this week, Abner, the general of the Israelite army, offered to help unite the kingdom under David's rule.  David was pleased with the arrangement, but made one stipulation:  Abner would not see his face until David's estranged wife Michal was restored to him.  About ten years earlier, David fled from his father-in-law King Saul.  Saul then took David's wife and gave him to a man named Phaltiel.   2 Samuel 3:14 reads, " So David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines ."  David placed a higher priority on his wife being restored to him than uniting the kingdom under his rule. When David demanded his wife back, he cited the bride price that he had paid to betroth her to himself.  Saul, hoping that the Philistines would kill David, told David...

This morning we called for a meeting after church to discuss recent developments concerning our visa for residency in Australia.  To make a very complicated story short, it came to light this week that there had been a mistake on the nomination form lodged over seven months ago.  We were made aware of legislation passed in November that did not help our cause.  We submitted the application portion of the visa process about a month ago, not knowing yet that the nomination could not be approved in the current state.  An immigration agent called me and a fellow board member, suggesting that we withdraw the application because a withdrawal is better than a refusal.  This was done and here we are, exactly one week from our 428 Religious Worker's visa running out, no bridging visa, and with the prospect of applying again at full price - with a price tag of just over three thousand dollars.  And you know what?  I'm not mad, worried, or freaked out.  It i...

God has provided the scripture so we might know Him, be instructed in righteousness, and convicted of sin so we might repent.  Because of the conscience God has placed within us, both Christians and non-Christians often seem confident in their knowledge of right and wrong.  Premeditated murder, rape, and stealing are obviously wrong.  There might be some who disagree by their actions, but the vast majority of people spanning nations and cultures of the world universally agree.  Laws are created to set limits, protect the innocent, and punish lawbreaking offenders.  The Bible goes way further than providing a list of "do's and don'ts," but ferrets out the sin that breeds in the human heart not governed by man's external laws:  sins like pride, covetousness, envy, and greed.  Unless the Bible had called these natural tendencies sin, I never would have known! James 2:10 reads, " For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is ...

Samson is not often seen as a spiritually perceptive man.  Because he was a man the Spirit came upon with power and made him strong, people look at his life as a tragic waste.  He loved Philistine women, visited harlots, and ate honey from a swarm in a lion's carcase!  Yet despite his many flaws and foibles, I still contend he had rare wisdom for one simple reason:  he knew his weakness.  When Delilah asked him the secret of his supernatural strength, he knew that if his hair was cut he would be " weak, and be like any other man ."  He tried many times to throw her off the scent, but after she pestered him to the point of death it says in Judges 16:17 :  "... he told her all his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man ." People use the common phrase, "You don't know y...

While walking on the footpath this morning, my sons and I heard a warning "honk" from a cyclist who promptly whizzed by.  There wasn't much time to react.  Instinctively I moved towards the left, creating as much room as possible for the rider to pass on my right.  In doing so, I gently bumped into Abel and almost pushed him into the bushes!  As we walked and talked about how funny it would have been to see Abel dive headlong into the bushes and disappear, I was reminded of a time when that happened to my brother.  And it was totally my fault. I recounted the story to my sons.  Since my parents were highly involved in church ministry, we always were among the first to arrive at church and the last to leave.  For years, my brother and I would religiously play football by ourselves or with friends before first service, between services, and after second service.  We literally wore out ball after ball playing touch football on the lawn, in a dirt l...

Paul exhorts believers in Ephesians 4:15 to speak the truth in love.  God's love looks very different than what passes for love according to man's selfish standard.  Because we love people, we ought to tell them the truth.  We know the adage rings true:  the truth can hurt.  Sometimes we don't want to tell people the truth because we are afraid of offending them.  When I am faced with this dilemma, I admit that the battle is not so much about others.  My natural tendency is first to consider myself:  what others will think of me, how uncomfortable I am, or countless other self-absorbed rationale.  Those are tendencies I must confess as sin and forsake as I follow Jesus.  It is the love of Christ which should compel Christians to speak the truth in love because we deeply care about others more than ourselves. The message of the Gospel and the cross is a most offensive message.  1 Peter 2:6-8 says, " Therefore it is also contained ...