Marching Forth!

Have you heard of the term, "Fighting fire with fire?"  To prevent massive fires, small controlled burns are utilised by fire fighters to protect areas potentially at risk.  Burning brush removes the fuel source which could allow a fire to rapidly grow out of control and spread into inhabited areas.  "Back burning" is commonly done in preparation for fire season to reduce risk of damage to property.  Inaccessible areas abound in Australia, and back burning in controlled areas help wildfire prevention and limit resulting devastation. Fighting fire with fire is one way to prevent massive fires, but it doesn't ensure success.  Sometimes even after starting a back-burn in ideal conditions with professionals and equipment on hand, things can flare out of control.  An intended preventative measure can spiral into a complete disaster.  Today I thought about how Christians can try to fight the flesh with the flesh.  It is common to use external methods ...

" And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life ." Genesis 45:4-5 How good it is that God is in control, even when it may seem everything is crashing down around us!  God has the power and ability to redeem and restore, accomplishing His divine purposes no matter how sinister the schemes of our enemies.  After Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, he bore no hatred towards them.  He did not seek revenge, for he understood God was in control.  He did not even mourn being sold into slavery or being thrown into prison.  I would think most people would be grieved or angry to have such things happen to them, yet Joseph begged his brothers - those personally responsible for selling him into slavery - not to be grieved or...

On Tuesdays I teach scripture at a local primary public school to a class of year-six students - that's 6th graders, for those reading from the States.  Over the school term we have grown to have more of a routine.  We usually start with a passage from the Bible and spend the last third of our time in workbooks.  In the workbooks there are crossword puzzles, mazes, fill-in-the-blank questions, and the highly-sought after "find-a-word."  There are days where there seems to be a decent level of understanding, and other days the chore of eliciting reasonable responses is like attempting to pull teeth from a toothless baby!  It is a great consolation to me that God's Word never returns void.  I might be a lousy teacher, but the Holy Spirit isn't! :) Today I asked a couple of questions to the class before opening the scriptures.  It is imperative to connect real life with the things we speak about from the Bible.  I am not interested in merely a tran...

It's been a long week.  My wife and I have been floored with a virus since last Wednesday.  I can't remember if I have ever had a fever for five straight days, and I hope that is the last time!  We were very thankful to have a doctor home visit and have scripts written for both of us for a course of antibiotics.  This is the first time I have missed teaching on a Sunday morning due to illness in almost nine years, which is quite remarkable.  It is not a testimony to my constitution, but to the grace and sustaining power of God. As bad as it is to be sick and exhausted, Laura and I talked about how gracious God has been to our family since arriving to Australia concerning illness.  When moving to a new country there are many new strains one can be exposed to.  Despite the differences, I believe God protected us and kept us healthy.  This is where some become quite cynical:  "Does God only answer your prayers?  What about the people who ...

" After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him ." Luke 5:27-28 Jesus called people to follow Him from many walks of life:  fishermen, a zealot, doctor, and a tax collector.  It is most instructive that in many cases Jesus called people to follow Him when they already had careers and even called them during their work day!  Jesus knew His disciples before He called them, and He no doubt knew their daily routine and working hours.  But He did not wait for a convenient time.  This is always the case when it comes to following Jesus.  Following Jesus means leaving other things behind, and Levi illustrates this well. What I find most interesting in this passage is the order of verse 28 .  Before Levi stood to his feet, he already left all.  His heart was no longer yoked to his career, money, or even his responsibili...

" Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil ."   Ephesians 5:14-16 Sleeping is a necessary aspect of life for human beings.  Though some need more sleep than others, physically we all require a regular amount of sleep to function at our best.  Spiritually speaking, those who have been born again through the Gospel need not sleep.  Our bodies need sleep and rest, but we are called to awake to righteousness and sin not ( 1 Cor. 15:34 ).  A biblical definition of a fool is one who does not believe God exists or lives in a way that does not acknowledge Him or His wisdom.  A wise man is the one who has heard God's Word and obediently applies it to his life.  A fool - being spiritually insensible and asleep - does not walk with this knowledge of God or His wisdom.  There...

" The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, but the way of the upright is a highway ." Proverbs 15:19 During the WORD Bible study on Friday night at Calvary Chapel Sydney, we discussed this verse.  Passages like this can reveal our tendency to filter biblical claims through our experience or current understanding rather than believing the text at face value.  It is very common for us to read an objective statement and accept it because it confirms previously held views.  If we will read honestly, openly, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, God's truth will confront and dash the presumptuous assumptions of the flesh.  A man of understanding seeks knowledge with the intent to apply it to his own life.  Those who are faithful to heed the truth of God's Word will grow, be fruitful, and richly blessed. This verse paints a compelling contrast between the way of the lazy man and the upright.  Proverbs 20:6 says, " Most men will proclaim each his own g...

One of my sons was doing a school assignment which involved making "trading cards" with challenging words.  He chose "colloquial" for one of the words.  For whatever reason, I find the word does not roll simply off the tongue!  Easier for me to define than pronounce, a "colloquialism" is an informal, commonly used word or term of phrase.  Colloquialisms can be slang, and they are often understood by local people yet sound completely foreign to others who speak the same language.  Australia is rife with colloquial terms which remain relatively unknown by other Australians.  Being an American, it's always strange when I use a colloquial term I have picked up over the years and a true-blue Aussie looks at me funny, totally unaware of what the septic just said.  There, I had to say it. :) I find it interesting when a colloquialism has what I will call "crossover."  This is when a person uses a colloquialism which carried no special significance...

On United States money it is written, " In God we trust ."  There is a truth to be gleaned here:  whatever you trust is your god.  There is One God (capital G), but there are many lesser gods in this world.  There are many idols people look to in place of God but are powerless to hear, speak, or save.  It is ironic that atheists reject a belief in the existence of God to the end they might be god themselves.  People want to claim absolute "control" of their lives and deem themselves masters of their own destiny.  But how much control do we really have?  We cannot keep the sun from rising, and a day will come when we cannot keep our hearts beating or our lungs breathing.  Will laws stop lawbreakers?  Will political discussions ensure peace?  Will signing a treaty remove hatred from a man's heart?  We are not masters but servants, and every day we must decide who or what we will serve.. Psalm 33:12 reads, " Blessed is the nati...

As I drove home from the discipleship course at CC Sydney last night, for some reason the idea popped into my head of the heroin addict who decided he was finally going to quit for good - he just wanted to get loaded one more time.  No sense in letting those drugs already purchased go to waste!  But it would turn out to be the last time shooting up, because it caused an overdose which led to death.  In light of the ultimate result we might see that decision to use drugs "just once more" as pathetic and foolish.  The fact is, that is the picture of the natural condition of every person in the world when it comes to sin.  We are all born sinners, and completely addicted to it.  We are born into this world like drug babies, hooked on sin.  We are rebellious degenerates who simply can't say no.  For us it's always, "Just once more."  Even when we say, "Never again!" it's not long before we are back at it like we never quit. When our eyes are op...

I love it when God illuminates a scripture in a fresh way.  Yesterday I was reading the Bible waiting for my number to be called in the Medicare office and read Galatians 2:20 in the King James Version:  " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me ."  There is a subtle difference from the New King James I found most illuminating.  I point this out not for the purpose of pitting one translation over another, but it shed light on another facet of God's truth I had not yet considered.  The New King James Versions reads, " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me ."  I do not believe one of these is "right" and therefore the other is ...

" Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices ." 2 Corinthians 2:8-11 In his prior letter to the church in Corinth, Paul had exhorted the church to take seriously their responsibility to discipline a member of their fellowship who was living in sin.  The purpose of church discipline is not to punish or humiliate people, but for their ultimate restoration to a close relationship with God and his people.  The man repented of his sinful lifestyle and was truly penitent.  Paul exhorted them to forgive and comfort the man.  He urged them to " reaffirm your love to him ."  This is a lovely benefit of bei...

Walking is an activity.  To do it requires intentional movement:  standing up to our feet in an upright position and putting one foot in front of the other.  Walking is a fundamental development of human beings, and most of us learned to walk before speaking!  One of the key contributors to illness later in life is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.  Through neglect and increasing obesity, even walking can become an unbearable chore.  There is a spiritual parallel for Christians to consider:  walking with Jesus is not a passive choice, but an intentional activity.  It is very possible after a passage of time our walk has been reduced to lounging and reclining upon plush sofas of familiar theology.  Unless we are intentional about walking with Jesus daily, every one of us can become spiritually flabby, senseless, and unhealthy - despite the breadth and depth of our knowledge. One of the potential dangers for every Christian is we can becom...

At church this Sunday we sang the words, " We raise up holy hands to praise the Holy One, who was, and is, and is to come ."  As hands rose throughout the congregation, my heart filled with joy.  The act of raising holy hands is one of faith, for not one person can claim personal perfection.  Our holiness is not our own, but the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.  David was right when he wrote in Psalm 24:3-6 :  " Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation ."  There is no man who can claim sinless perfection but One:  Jesus Christ.  It is by His grace we lift hands now made holy, washed from sin in the pure blood of the Lamb by faith. Raising hands during prayer and worship is not intended to draw att...