Marching Forth!

Today I preached at Calvary Chapel Sydney on 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 .  I have been richly blessed in preparing and considering the truths of that passage.  God gave me deeper understanding of His grace, mercy, and comfort through His Word.  It dawned on me how God blesses us whether we recognise it or not.  We can have confidence Paul demonstrated, that even in our trials He will certainly accomplish His redemptive work. When I think of "good works," I think of sacrificing, serving, or obeying God in some area of my life.  I think of things I choose to do because Christ's love has compelled me.  Yet I am learning sometimes a good work can be our response to situations over which we have little or no control.  It is a good work to endure hard times, trusting God has a plan and purpose He will accomplish despite my ignorance.  When Jesus endured the cross He did a good work.  Jesus did not do this for His own benefit, but His sacrifice accomplis...

The scriptures speak of the necessity of watchfulness in the life of a believer.  Jesus bid His followers to watch for His coming.  We are told many times to be watchful in our prayers, knowing what the will of the LORD is.  Those who are born again have been made spiritually alive, and we ought to remain alert and watchful, not spiritually drowsy and dull.  Good watchmen do more than watch:  they are called to effectively communicate with others.  A watchman on the wall guarding the city is not useful if he does not sound the alarm to warn inhabitants of enemies before their arrival.  A shepherd is careful to observe and know the state of his flocks, and Christians are to watch out for the good of others compelled by the love of Jesus. Watching is good, but the way we watch and communicate is important too.  It seems there are some watchmen whose concerns are so great they feel their knowledge of facts exclude them from following the order laid...

I read a news story I found most illuminating.  Fox News reported a woman in New Hampshire received more than she expected when she visited Burger King.  After driving through to pick up the food she ordered, she realised she had mistakenly been given money intended for a bank deposit.  The article read, "...the couple briefly considered keeping the money, which they certainly could have used. But he says he and his wife are Jehovah's Witnesses, and that "Jehovah sees everything ."  I found this mildly amusing and tragic at the same time. It is true "Jehovah sees everything," but it appears the fear of retribution or punishment for stealing was more a deterrent than loving to do what is righteous and pleases God.  It is sad many people who "fear" God in a worldly sense know nothing of His love, grace, and forgiveness.  God saw this couple briefly considered keeping the money, and the fact they even needed to have a discussion over the dishone...

Some people love the journey, and others are focused more on the destination.  I'm more a destination guy.  The knowledge I will ultimately arrive at my intended destination makes even a long journey tolerable.  As I was cycling for exercise today up and down hills, it occurred to me my goal was not a particular destination on the map, but for the purpose of attaining goals of personal fitness.  I was able to enjoy the journey, knowing I was working towards my goals whether I ever arrive there or not. We make goals and plans, and often they are desires of our hearts given us by God.  We can be so focused on the destination - like setting foot in a mission field - that we face discouragement when the lack of financial support seems to hold us back.  Some people have in their hearts to plant a church, but for some their goal is never realised.  But such efforts are never wasted.  What the Christian must understand is God is faithful to redeem that...

Last night I watched an interesting foreign film called "Castaway on the Moon," a Korean twist on the movie "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks.  The basic plot is after a failed suicide attempt, a floundering businessman ends up on a island in the middle of a metropolitan area.  Unable to swim or successfully call for help, he begins to embrace his simple lifestyle of foraging for food and supplies.  No longer wanting off the island, he wrote "Hello" on a sandy beach.  Unknown to him, his message caught the eye of a solitary woman who lived in the city.  After watching and photographing the "alien" man for a while, the woman decided to contact this man with a simple message in a bottle:  "Hello."  Over the next months they would trade messages back and forth, writing on the beach or sending messages in a bottle. The discovery of someone who cared enough to write personal messages in a bottle for him to find caused the man to grow increasin...

" But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ?" Genesis 22:7 The offering itself is an intrinsic part of sacrifice and worship of God.  Isaac knew from experience an altar, fire, and wood was missing the most important part:  the offering.  God is seeking people of faith like Abraham and Isaac, men who worship Him in spirit and in truth.  Hebrews 13:15 says, " Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name ."  God is the one who supplies the fire within our hearts to offer a sacrifice of praise which is acceptable in His sight. Churches all over the world supply the fire and wood in times of corporate worship.  The songs are prayerfully selected and practised so all can with one voice praise God in unity.  The mus...

First impressions are important, but they are not everything.  Speaking for myself, faithfulness in a friend over the long haul is more desirable over a good first impression.  I cannot count the amount of times my first impression of someone or of a thing was completely incorrect.  We take care to make a good impression upon people.  Have you ever thought of the impression we make on God?  Jesus astonished multitudes which remain to this day, yet scripture reveals He marveled on two occasions:  over the lack of faith of people ( Mark 6:6 ), and over the great faith of a centurion ( Matthew 9:10 & Luke 7:9 ).  Our faith or lack thereof makes an impression on God. God can be impressed.  For example, Cornelius was a devout Gentile who placed his trust in God, was generous with his money in helping others, and prayed always.  Acts 10:3-4 reads, " About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and sayi...

I love it when God blows my mind through His Word.  Have you ever seen a war movie when flashbangs are thrown into bunkers to disorient the enemy?  It's like I'm down in the dark bunker, and God just drops a single verse which explodes with light that dazzles and amazes.  Instead of displacing dirt or confusing me, God's Word brings clarity as He continues to erode the natural way I think and gives me God's perspective on practical matters.  God's wisdom is so foreign, but my soul cheers to own and live it out myself.  Keep 'em coming, LORD Jesus! Last night I read 1 Chronicles 12:16-17 and all I could say was "Wow!"  The verse reads, " Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. 17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, "If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the ...

The lyrics of a classic worship song go, " More love, more power, more of You in my life ."  Often this is an echo of my own soul to God.  As much as I desire this request to be satisfied, this occurs in a way not addressed in the song.  When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit spiritually regenerates the one dead in sins and begins to reside within.  We do not receive only a fraction of God, but the Holy Spirit in overflowing fullness.  As we mature, we recognise our natural poverty of soul and our God-given supernatural hunger for more of Him grows. To ask more of God's love, power, or presence insinuates He has not given us all, or He is in some way "holding out" on us.  This is not the case.  The fact is, it is always we who are holding out on Him.  It is useless for us to beg God to dole out more love toward us from His infinite stores.  We must submit more of ourselves to receiving and walking in His love obediently by loving oth...

I love how God uses simple things to declare spiritual truth. This morning I saw a small beetle hanging motionless in a spider's web. Seconds after noticing the bug, a spindly spider with a large abdomen slowly climbed down to its prey. I sat spellbound, wondering what was going to happen. Would the spider wrap up the bug? Would it slowly eat the beetle or lay eggs in it? Much to my surprise, after moving around the beetle a few times, the bug fell to the floor. The spider skillfully crept back to its hiding place out of sight. That was anti-climactic, I thought to myself. How silly it seemed to go through all the trouble of spinning a web only to fumble your food to the ground and forget about it! But then it hit me: cutting loose the dead beetle was deliberate. One of the aspects of a effective web is to make it virtually unseen. A bird will seldomly fly into an obvious trap, nor will a beetle crawl into the mouth of a bird. A spider's web is nearly invisible u...

“ A nd the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good .” Genesis 1:12   In the beginning God created plants which brought forth seed after their own kind.   In simple terms, the seed of each plant is produced in the fruit.   Fruitfulness increases future fruitfulness as more plants grow to maturity.   Seeds produce plants which grow more plants which will bring forth additional fruit of the same kind.   Over the years, plants have been “engineered” or genetically altered to improve aspects of the fruit.   Seedless watermelons and mandarins, sweeter corn with more kernels, and firmer tomatoes are all examples of such efforts.   Whilst many of these engineered crops have various benefits, in many cases they are rendered unable to reproduce themselves.   The alterations have made seedless watermelon...

During recent months I have been cycling for exercise and to strengthen my surgically repaired knee.  These days I am on the lookout for new routes to try.  While I usually stick to the bike paths, it is fun to take on new roads and challenges.  I have often quipped Jerusalem and Riverstone have some similarities:  regardless which way you came from, it seems you always "go up" to Riverstone!  Pushing hard up the hills provides a welcome challenge, but I still prefer racing down them! The other day my sons and I went fishing with a good friend.  We headed down Boundary Road to Wiseman's Ferry, and the scenery was beautiful.  Cows lounged under the shade of spreading trees, and green fields stretched out for kilometres.  "This would be a good place to ride," I thought to myself.  There wasn't a true bicycle lane, but there seemed like enough room to comfortably stay out of the way of passing traffic.  The gentle rise and fall of the ter...

Yesterday I was reminded of when Joseph and Mary took Jesus to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem for the first time.  After the days of the feast were completed, the passage in Luke 2 says they left with a company of other people.  They traveled for a day, assuming Jesus was somewhere with the people of the group.  When they realised Jesus was not in the company, they hurried back to Jerusalem to seek Jesus.  If you have ever lost a child even for a short time it is worrisome, but how much more when you have been entrusted to raise the Son of God! Luke 2:46-49 states, " Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously." ...

" The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inner depths of his heart ."   Proverbs 20:27 This verse was in my Bible portion I read this morning and God has used it to illuminate me today.  The scriptures say God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).  Jesus is the Light of the World, sent to bring light into the darkness.  Psalm 119:105 compares God's Word to a lamp which lights our path:  " Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path ."  The Proverbs passage above in the KJV calls the spirit of a man "the candle of the LORD," something which we commonly call "the conscience."  Even as a flickering light shows us where solid footing is free from obstructions, so the conscience illuminates our hearts, minds, and motives.  It is not a pleasant experience when our conscience brings sin to light according to God's Word, but it is for the best.  In the end it is fruitful and a great blessi...