Marching Forth!

On the theme of rest, last night during a prayer meeting the LORD lead me to  Psalm 116:5-9 which says, " Gracious is the LORD , and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. 6  The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7  Return to your rest, O my soul, f or the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8  For You have delivered my soul from death, m y eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. 9  I will walk before the LORD in  the land of the living ."  The psalmist loved the LORD and cried out to Him knowing he would be graciously heard.  How blessed are the people whose God is the LORD, the Creator of the heaven and earth. The good things God does spring from how good He is.  God is gracious, righteous, merciful, the One who preserves, a Saviour.  In the midst of trouble the psalmist was moved to return to his Rest who is the God who dealt bountifully with him, having delivered his soul from death, ey...

When King Hezekiah was besieged in Jerusalem with the remnant of Israel, the pompous Rabshakeh of Assyria hurled a lot of verbal rubbish as he threatened, cajoled, and mocked.  Nestled in the arrogant boasting and blasphemy there was a grain of truth.  He falsely accused King Hezekiah as relying upon Egypt for help, but his conclusions about those who place their trust in men was dead on.  He said in  2 Kings 18:21 , " Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him ." There is reason why reeds are not used for supporting the structure of buildings.  A gentle breeze moves them and very little effort is required to push them over.  The Rabshakeh compared the king of Egypt to a broken reed damaged beyond repair, and trying to lean on the staff of Egypt--a sturdy stick used to maintain balance and footing while walking-...

Have you ever been in a room or an area so dark your eyes strained to find any source of light in vain?  I think that well describes the condition of many today in the world without Jesus.  Scour the news reports, check that superannuation again, tune into the predictions of professors, and we are left in an unsettling darkness of doom.  For those who are in Christ we have a source of light which comes not by improved circumstances, positive thinking, or forecasts of better days ahead, but in Himself expressed by love, grace, provision, and compassion. For my mates in Australia, it was just in December I remember the bleak reports concerning the drought situation.  Stage 2 water restrictions had just been implemented in NSW and the immediate reports from news stations and the water minister was Stage 3 restrictions were right around the corner.  When rain was forecast caution was urged:  "Don't expect this rainfall to make any impact in our dams or reduc...

" Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers' houses, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here ." Ezra 4:1-2 It is strange that enemies of Israel would seek to help them in building, yet here a tactic the enemy of our souls employs.  The enemies of Israel could not overturn the command of King Cyrus but could be a thorn in their side by close proximity.  If permitted to work alongside God's people they would labour to undermine the project rather than to advance it.  They happily pointed out their allegiance to God and conveniently made no mention of other gods they also worshiped.  Thankfully God's people were in a high point of zeal for the glory of God and the hono...

Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truth, and God uses all manner of things to instruct us today in His ways.  During preparation for last Sunday's message I was blessed to gain insight concerning what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Plain:  " Of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks ." ( Luke 6:45 )  "Garbage in, garbage out," some people say, but the point Jesus made was that it is the rubbish already in the heart of people which expresses itself in our words:  what is hidden in our hearts and heads will be manifested in our thoughts, words, and decisions. I maintain a pool at our house we rent that is surrounded by several palm trees.  Almost simultaneously they all put out pods of flowers and small berries which drop into the pool.  Leaves from an overhanging tree also fall into the pool and the circulating water pulls the debris floating on the surface into a filter.  There is a primary and secondary filter to prevent debris from da...

We have been reading through the book of Ezra as a family and I was struck by the remarkable scenes of the children of Israel returning to Jerusalem at the command of King Cyrus to rebuild the temple.  People were not commanded to go up by heritage alone or lot but according to their willingness.  The LORD stirred the hearts of people to leave the land of their captivity and return to the ruins of Jerusalem to re-establish the worship of God who was their Inheritance.  They were greatly blessed and provided for by God.  It was God and faith in Him which enabled them to overcome their fears. See what Ezra 3:1-3 says:  " And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it ...

I am convinced unless God was entirely good, loving, gracious, and merciful there would be no possibility for humanity to survive.  If there was a shred of greed, selfishness, pride, or arrogance in God it would only be a matter of time (and God is eternal!) before He wiped us off this planet like we sanitise surfaces of unwanted germs.  Even in times of difficulty and trials He remains good.  Our natural tendency is to turn away from or against the God who is our only source of hope, healing, and salvation to worries and fears. In correspondence with my mum today she referenced Psalm 103 and what consolation is found there for all!  When I read through God's Word I mused to myself, who can say it better than God Himself, the One whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting?  Now matter where or when we live, we exist in the peak season of God's mercy.  What an exhortation it is for people hungry for God's blessings to place their focus on blessing ...

The Bible is filled with exhortations to trust God, and our faith is made evident through our actions.  What may seem a very inconvenient time might provide a great opportunity to make good on our "good" intentions.  God never promises believers a life of ease and convenience but that He will supply all our needs according to His grace. I was reminded of this as I continue to read through 2 Corinthians.  In chapter 8 Paul told the Corinthian church about the churches in Macedonia, how they were afflicted and in poverty but gave generously to help meet the needs of others in the church who were struggling.  The previous year the Corinthians expressed their desire to give, and though they had far greater resources to draw upon than the Macedonians they never fulfilled their intentions.  After using the Macedonian church as an example, Paul wrote to the members of the church in Corinth in  2 Corinthians 8:7-8 :  " But as you abound in everything--in fa...

" Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death ." 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 Everyone knows what it feels like to feel sorry, to experience regret over mistakes we were personally responsible for.  We have also felt sorry for people because they were going through a difficult trial or season we had nothing to do with--or felt sorry because we realised we were powerless to change the situation.  The Strong's Concordance connects the Greek word translated sorry with distress and sadness.  Paul distinguished between a godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world.  While sorrow could be generally called a transient grief or a "bad feeling for everyone, the following results help identify what sort of sorrow we ha...

I am grateful I attended a Bible-teaching Christian church as a kid.  But my experience shows even a church that systematically teaches through the Word of God has limitations:  my understanding!  I grew up with a lot of misunderstandings about God and the interpretation of scripture not due to bad exegesis but my own legalistic folly.  I read the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings of Christ as a new law to be followed by the letter and somehow missed the whole " Love one another as I have loved yo u" which was only possible by being born again through faith in Jesus and walking in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus exposed His disciples (and all people) as judgmental, sinful rascals:  we tend to judge others before we judge ourselves.  He questioned them in  Matthew 7:3-5 , " And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  4  Or how ca...

Regardless of the state of the world, Christians can peaceably rest in the comfort and goodness of God.  Australia has recently experienced drought, bushfires, floods, an economy reeling from the impact of COVID-19, not to mention the risk of infection from the ongoing pandemic.  I do not know if my generation has ever experienced such upheaval that affects daily life.  Billions have been wiped from the stock market and for those who find security in savings the future looks increasingly grim and bleak.  It is situations just like this which illuminate the blessings God graciously gives those who trust in Him with contentment and freedom from fear, worry, and hysteria.  We can rejoice knowing in the supreme confidence God loves us and is in control. Followers of Jesus Christ are not strangers to trials and difficulties faced in this life and have continued to joyfully thrive.  On the heels of informing the Corinthian church he and fellow believers were t...

King Hezekiah is proof the apple doesn't resemble the tree it dropped from, a perfect example God can make godly men regardless of their godless environment.  There are few kings in the history of Judah as wicked as Hezekiah's father Ahaz, yet Hezekiah prepared his heart to seek the LORD.  When he became king he immediately made sweeping changes to purify the land of idolatry and to restore the worship of the one true God of Israel. Hezekiah left behind a legacy of far greater enduring value than gold or silver but the testimony of a life devoted to the praise, worship, and service of God.  After preparing the Temple to accommodate the worship of God and the storage of sanctified things, he ensured priests and Levites throughout the land were provided for from the offerings obediently brought by the people.  See what  2 Chronicles 31:20-21 says about this king who faithfully served the LORD:  " Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was ...

When I worked for a union shop as a mechanical insulator, I was nominated by my peers to be shop steward.  This volunteer role was structured to be a liaison between the workers and the union to resolve conflicts between the shop and workers.  If the shop violated the collective bargaining agreement to the detriment of the workers, should the shop refuse to address the grievance it fell to me to contact the union so they could step in and resolve the issue.  It wasn't long until I was called upon to act in the best interest of workers who were being taken advantage of. In my idealistic youth I imagined the union brass would be keen to stand up on behalf of members who were ill-used by their employer.  I discovered quite the opposite, that the union laboured to keep good relations with shops by ignoring issues raised in the fear they shops would go non-union.  During a conversation with a union business representative it was evident he lacked any desire to fol...

Do you enjoy trying to find the perfect gift for someone?  When I wasn't sure what to buy I used to enjoy walking through the shops for ideas.  With enough time and persistence I would nearly always be excited with what I found and look forward to giving it away.  There have been gifts given which were appreciated nearly as much as the giver hoped, but it is especially fun to see people pleased with what they have received.  Some are tough to please, yet many people derive more joy over the person who gives them a gift than in the value of the gift itself. That is one remarkable thing about God:  though He is perfect, literally has everything, and has the loftiest standards, He is pleased with humble things.  Visiting royals presented King Solomon lavish gifts of gold and precious jewels, spices, the best of oil and wine, and exotic animals--that hardly made a dent in the goods he already acquired.  What could a common person afford to gift a king, ...

What I learned in English class rings true for interpreting the Bible:  keep the main thing the main thing.  Though some are always on the lookout for "fresh" interpretations to support what is not explicitly said, I believe the deepest meaning of the passage is often in plain sight.  It takes the Holy Spirit and humility to sit quietly and listen to discover profound truths God delights to reveal. This happened for me the other day as I read 1 Corinthians 13 , a passage familiar to many believers.  When I have heard people teach on the second half of it they often wade into debates and conflict concerning whether tongues and prophecy are valid in the church today (which is ironic because  chapters 12 and 14 explicitly affirm they are) and what childish things we are to put away.  To use this chapter to debate these topics hijacks the passage from the context and clear meaning of the text which is profound in itself. On the heels of exhorting peo...

My wife works at a Christian bookstore and occasionally brings home one for me to read.  I am convinced King Solomon's claim was spot on when he wrote, " Of making books there is no end ." ( Ecclesiastes 14:12 )  It seems easier than ever to write a book too, as these days anyone can print their own book without an editor or publisher! Anyway, I have started reading one of these new offerings on the subject of mentoring.  The premise of the book seems biblically sound, but there were times I felt good reasoning somehow led to incorrect conclusions.  My mind followed the track of logic until the final word of a paragraph!  Here is an example of what I mean: Every man is living out "The Story of Me."  And I have yet to meet a man who wouldn't love to be the hero in that story--if only he knew how to do it.  But here's the catch:  information alone can't turn him into a hero.  Nor can technique.  Nor can a strategic plan or a set of g...

" The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing ." C.S. Lewis (from "The Weight of Glory") There is longing in every human heart because God created us needy.  We are carried in the womb for 9 months and emerge needing to be washed, fed, and carried.  Young children are completely dependent on their parents for love, provision, protection, nourishment, and training.  Unknown to little ones (and many older, independent folks too) is we have spiritual needs which outweigh the physical ones which are signaled by our bodies like hunger, thirst, and fatigue:  the need for forgiveness and redemption by God because we are sinners. C.S. Lewis touched on a unique aspect of the human condition:  an appreciation of the arts, of music, pageantry, and beauty.  Our taste in clothing styles, music and cuisine differs, b...

I enjoy metal detecting as a hobby.  A few years back I bought a quality detector which has the ability to "discriminate" between various metals on a scale from 1 to 99.  The readings correlate with a change in tone which helps a detectorist (also called a fossicker in AUS) to choose quality targets.  I don't want to spend a lot of time digging up bits of foil or rusty nails when I could be digging coins.  Even with discrimination the depth and size of the object can give a signal that sounds better than reality.  My detector has the ability to completely silence a custom range to prevent digging up scrap iron or tiny bits of foil which saves a lot of time. While I was digging through sand today I considered how Jesus had the power to discriminate, to know the hearts and minds of people without them uttering a word.  He could have gone only to the people who would be open to discussion or willing to believe, but He didn't.  Jesus actually did the op...