28 October 2020
Transgressions Removed
26 October 2020
Love is of God
24 October 2020
Jesus and His Reward
22 October 2020
God Is For Us
21 October 2020
Following Jesus Together
Ten years have passed since the beginning of my adventure in Australia. It seems like a lifetime ago in 2002 I was living in southern California and working in a trade when God suddenly revealed to me while doing yardwork the plans He had for me: "You will preach, and you will be sent." I could accept this easily enough because nothing is impossible with God, but I had many questions which in due time God answered. It became evident Australia was the place God planned to send me long before I knew how He would do it or when. Along the way God has provided encouragement when needed and from unlikely sources.
When I was in the preparatory stages of answering the call to minister in Australia, I was introduced to lives of two missionary women who deeply impacted me and still do this day: Gladys Aylward of England and Isobel Kuhn of Canada. As I read their stories it reinforced the God who called them to China was the God who called me to Australia. The struggles and difficulties I have faced pale in comparison to the situations God empowered these ladies to endure and overcome. I read a biography of Gladys recently I could hardly put down. I sat beside her on lonely train rides in a foreign land where no one spoke English, freezing with cold in the midst of a war, when her expectations of ministry were shattered, when she was made to care for stubborn mules, inspect feet and when she took in orphaned children. It is easy to idolise the vessel God employs to do His work, but all glory and honour to God for doing His miraculous works through His people.
These missionaries and sisters in Christ will always have a special place in my heart because of my connection with them as fellow servants of the living God. They had no idea the way God would use them in the foreign mission field and how they have ministered personally to me these many decades later. Their faith and reliance upon God who guided and provided for them is inspirational, their insights encouraging and obedience always a timely exhortation. Reminiscing of all God has done in my life has a place for the purpose of acknowledging His goodness, yet this is not the season to remove my hand from the plow and look back: I must look to the LORD who has much more He intends to accomplish in these days by His grace. Complacency and self-sufficiency go hand in hand and always lead to sloth and negligence. God has good purposes and plans for all of us to do His work, not just with the apostles in the New Testament or missionaries to China: God calls you and me to follow Him faithfully with great joy wherever He has us as He leads the way.
May our lives provide testimonies which extol and honour our glorious LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, and may the influence of our words and deeds prompt those in ages to come to follow and trust Him too. Isn't it wonderful when we follow Jesus it inspires other Christians to follow Him more closely?
20 October 2020
The Holy Pursuit
The important thing is that we must "press on to maturity" (Hebrews 6:1). Keep on growing. Too many Christians become stuck in their Christian lives--"stuck between Easter and Pentecost," as Dr. Graham Scroggie put it.
I once knew a godly Christian woman who was dying of cancer. She knew she had only a few days to live. Her husband was attending to her needs, trying to make things as easy as possible for her. She said to him, "You must not make things too easy for me. I must keep growing, you know." Her life of intimacy with God had brought her to a state of spiritual maturity in which she was more concerned about growing up into Christ than about her own very real pain and discomfort. We too need to be ambitious to increase in our knowledge of God.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews urged his readers to cultivate such an ambitions, in these words: "Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity (6:1). Dr. Alexander Smellie pointed out that the King James Version renders it, "Let us go on." The Revised Version puts it, "Let us press on." Bishop Westcott prefers to phrase it, "Let us be bourne on."
"The truth is that it needs all three to disclose the verb's significance and wealth. Put them together, and they speak to us of three dangers which beset us as we look to the perfection front. There is the danger of stopping too soon. There is the danger of sinking into discouragement. And there is the danger of supposing that we are alone." How gracious God is to make provision through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, for our being "bourne on to maturity." (Sanders, J. Oswald. Enjoying Intimacy with God. Discovery House Publishers, 2000.pages 114-115)
The potential dangers mentioned by Sanders are real for all who follow Christ. It is easy to stop too soon, to sink into discouragement or imagine we are alone. We are called to press on to maturity and in ministry, looking to God for guidance and strength. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to do all things according to His will. The weakness of our flesh is no hindrance to God's work, for it was in that place Paul discovered God's strength made perfect. The directive given by Joshua to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh in Joshua 22:5 is fitting for believers to heed as well: "...to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." The Christian walk is to be marked by the pursuit of Jesus and cleaving to Him, for He is our Life.
19 October 2020
Cleansed by Grace
18 October 2020
Christ Who Cleanses
15 October 2020
The Faithfulness of God
It has been 10 years to the day that I arrived in Sydney on a Religious Worker's Visa to serve at Calvary Chapel Sydney as pastor. I came without my family to begin preparing for the adventure of immigrating to a foreign land without any knowledge of how things would turn out. All I can say is God is faithful and provided for our family at every step. For all we gave up there was also gain beyond our expectations. The difficulties and uncertainties were tempered by the greatness of the God who called us and would never leave or forsake us. Just the fact we are still here after all this time is an amazing testimony of His grace and goodness.
It is fitting as I reminisce over the past 10 years in Australia I am struck by the contrast of how much God has done and how little I have accomplished. It is true what the scriptures affirm, that in my flesh dwells no good thing. Anything that resembles good from my efforts is all by the grace and power of God working in and through me, and this favour I do not deserve. How good it feels to give all credit to God for doing the impossible time and time again, and for allowing me and others to be witnesses of His glory even in trials, pain, and trouble. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
Yesterday was a great reminder of the faithfulness of God who hears prayers and provides for our needs. Some might chalk it up to coincidence or wishful thinking, but I am glad to credit God for what only He can do. In the afternoon I heard drops of rain sporadically pelt our roof. The weather has been dry of late and I was not aware of rain being predicted. I said aloud in the company of my family, "LORD, send the rain because we really need it! Make it a flood--not a bad one, but with lots of rain." Moments later hail and rain was absolutely bucketing down to the point I ran outside to cover my car with a thick blanket to protect it from hail damage. This is something I never thought to do in Southern California where hail is rare and rarely bigger than a pea. Laura and I stood looking out on the street from our room, marveling at the volume of water that rushed like a river past our house.
After the downpour, which lasted about 20 minutes, a rainbow appeared across the street exactly in the place it had a day previously. I have never known rainbows to occur in the exact same location and I can tell you where it ends: right on our street! The God who causes rain to fall, makes rainbows appear in the skies, gave us eyes to see them and minds to turn towards Him, the God who was faithful to Noah, He is my God who has been faithful to me all my life. The God who allows the ground to harden and grass to wither in heat also opens the heavens and causes refreshing, life-giving rain to fall. The Almighty God has chosen to make a covenant with faithless people by His grace, and He causes rain to fall on the just and unjust. The God who enabled me to become a citizen of Australia and buy a house will one day welcome me as a citizen of Heaven into the place prepared for me by His grace. In God, His faithfulness, provision and promises I will be content.
14 October 2020
A Powerful Testimony
13 October 2020
Speak God's Word Faithfully
I am amazed how the Bible remains as relevant as ever: the very issues faced by the early church concerning practices, doctrine, liberty and society are ongoing. Seeing the scriptures have been inspired by God for our learning, one might assume the lessons would have been learned by now. Alas, our own lives are a testimony against this idea. Like the children of Israel who saw God's miraculous wonders and did not obey Him, we can be exposed to the teaching of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and remain in darkness.
Psalm 119:105 says, "Your
word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my
path." There are a lot of people who claim to have knowledge to shed light on the true meaning of the scriptures who distort the truth, a practice far more dangerous than outright lies. With the internet it has never been easier to share the scriptures or espouse twisted interpretations of them than today. It is very easy to choose interpretations which suit our own prejudice and bias and to reject wholesale those who do not align with our current understanding. With our feet firmly planted in the truth of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, the light of God's word guides us to a safe haven like a lighthouse does a ship in a stormy sea.
I increasingly appreciate the power of God to reveal Himself and to protect us from error. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, people prophesied falsely in God's name and shared dreams which contradicted the word of God spoken through him. In a land rife with error Jeremiah did not try to censure or oppose all the error which floated around. God spoke in Jeremiah 23:28-29: "The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD. 29 "Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" There is a difference between the word of men and the word of God even as chaff is separate to wheat. Chaff is the thin, papery and indigestible covering of grain which blows away in the wind and is lost forever during threshing. Wheat can be planted, produce a crop, be ground into flour to make bread and sustains life. Chaff and wheat grow together yet are fundamentally different.
God's word is not threatened, undermined or undone by dreamers and false prophets. God does at times speak through dreams and through prophetic utterances, but His word spoken faithfully and rightly divided provides all people need to thrive. God compared His word to a fire that consumes, a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. Prophets spoke God had not spoken to, and they ran when He had not sent them. They were spiritual plagiarists and forgers, repeating lies rather than speaking God's word faithfully. God was against the false prophets and would hold them to account. The exhortation given to Jeremiah is a fitting one for those who fear the LORD today: we have His word and let us speak God's word faithfully. It is implied we would also walk according to it in the fear of the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:32 says, "Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says
the LORD, "and tell them, and
cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not
send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,"
says the LORD." Better to stick to the truth revealed through scripture than to rely on dreams for guidance. There were reckless prophets before Jesus, and those promoting falsehood remain to this day. If we will profit and cause others to do so, let us be those who seek the LORD and speak His word faithfully. There are many who recklessly lead others to err, but what is the chaff to the wheat? Should we cease from sowing grain to pursue those who scatter chaff? God's word is good and satisfying for our souls, and we ought not to become weary of feeding on it, following and sharing it.
12 October 2020
The Life-Giving God
Often God does not answer our prayers in the way we expect. Because we believe there is no time like the present for God to do His miraculous works we can become disillusioned and complacent when nothing good seems to happen. So many of our problems stem from a perspective which focuses on the problems rather than God who is sovereign, powerful and glorious. We forget God operates outside of the confines of times to accomplish His purposes which are far greater in scope and impact than our requests give Him credit for.
Baruch was a man who feared God who was troubled and dismayed with the state of Israel. Life was hard and the word from the LORD was not uplifting in the slightest. When it seemed life could not be any worse, life became exponentially more so! After Baruch wrote the words of woe dictated by the prophet Jeremiah he thought, "Woe is me! The LORD has added grief to my sorrow and I find no rest." A child of God who feels and says this often has neglected to consider the goodness of God who graciously speaks to us and brings comfort to our hearts. The fiery trial we beg God to bring to an end may be permitted to continue, and the exercise of faith in looking to the LORD will work to refine us through it.
God had a word for Baruch and for those who find rest elusive in Jeremiah 45:4-5: "Thus you shall say to him, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh," says the LORD. "But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go." Baruch was looking for rest where none could be found, in the cessation of judgment from the LORD upon a rebellious, faithless people marked for judgment. God pointed out how Baruch's lack of rest came from striving to seek great things for himself when he could have been best served seeking God. God would tear down what He had built like a builder does an unsafe, condemned house from its foundation to make a habitable structure again.
Israel would go into captivity and there would be great adversity, yet God would give Baruch life wherever he went. In Jerusalem, Babylon and along the way God would be a loving Father to Baruch. It may not have been the life Baruch would have chosen for himself, but it was better than he or anyone else deserved. Has not also God been gracious to us through Jesus Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life? In Christ we are protected and preserved in all seasons of life because our souls have been redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus who died on Calvary and rose from the dead so we can live forever. We have a life to live beyond the boundaries of this earth in the presence of God forever! Isn't He the great One we ought to seek, the God who is with us and will never leave or forsake us? The God who gave us life knows how to live to the full, and this abundance is ours in Jesus Christ alone.
10 October 2020
Encouragement from Discouragement
I spent the majority of this week speaking at a teen camp, and it was a fruitful time. It was a blessing and privilege to have the opportunity to teach young people about God as we studied Psalm 1. Much prayer and study went into preparation for the delivery of messages and answering questions. The LORD didn't just speak through me but spoke to me, and told me exactly what I needed to hear when I needed it most.
The impetus for this post was born out of a discouraging situation. During one of the talks I misspoke when talking about the boab tree and off the cuff related the tree's incredible ability to store water to a camel. Of course camels do not "store" water in their humps and thus it was an awful analogy--one I would not be allowed to forget. A camp film was made which one camper was asked about what he thought about the talks and he did not hold back: "He botched the talk," he said with a frown. "Camels don't store water in their humps. It's fat." When I saw the footage I was disappointed an off-handed comment would be so distracting and send the wrong message. Everyone had a good laugh, and it was certainly awkward for me.
Later I was praying and a bit discouraged about my mistake, how it likely (at least for one person!) took away from the impact of the Gospel. Before bed I felt led to continue reading through the scriptures and arrived at Psalm 7. Though I had read through this copy of the Bible many times I discovered something I never noticed before: a typo at the end of chapter 7 that ended with a colon instead of a period.
Out of discouragement God brought encouragement! I had not noticed the typo before and it took nothing away from the meaning of the passage. In a similar way my error was not a hindrance in any way from people receiving the truth of the Gospel because God's word is living and powerful. I also found encouragement that the publisher had made a punctuation error but God still chose to use them to print His word. God chooses to use imperfect people like me who make mistakes and He is able to redeem even our failures for good, to humble us and instruct us concerning our need to rely upon Him. Isn't it amazing God chooses to use flawed people? We are all undeserving of the privilege to serve Him as He keeps refining and sanctifying us along the way. Jesus doesn't wait until we attain an arbitrary level of skill before connecting us as a functional, fruitful member of His Body the Church: by grace we are saved through faith, and we walk by faith despite our failures.
How glad I was to hear a report at the end of the week that many campers chose to follow Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour! All glory to Him who does wondrous things even when we miss the mark. We are fools to place our confidence in ourselves, experience or preparation: we are wise to continually rely upon God to lead us and make our feeble efforts fruitful according to His glorious design.
07 October 2020
The Joy of Waking Up
There is much about our lives we take for granted. The fact we fill our diaries with plans suggests we expect to live and undertake future activities. The reality is our future is wholly in the LORD's hands and we may not rise from our beds: one day our bodies will lay down never again to rise. It is good to recognise the sovereignty of God who sustains us as James exhorts us in James 4:13-15: "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
Did you see that? If the LORD wills, we shall live! Our lives on earth and for eternity depend upon the God who is our Life. We do not know what will happen tomorrow, yet we are secure in knowing God who gives strength for the day and everlasting life through faith in Jesus. David was a man who learned to trust and rely upon the LORD in many trials. When his son Absalom rebelled to usurp the throne, the threat upon his life was so intense David did not know if he would live to see tomorrow. He wrote in Psalm 3:4-6, "I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around." For a lot of people the ability to fall asleep is a far greater concern than waking up. Every time we are wakened from sleep we can rejoice (though it may feel inconvenient!) because God has graciously sustained us.
David also wrote in Psalm 4:6-8, "There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7 You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." There were many in David's day who wondered when they would ever see any good. The year 2020 has copped a lot of hate because of the fires, drought, floods, a global pandemic and financial recession. But remember believer, the LORD has lifted up the light of His countenance upon us. Despite trials, strife and uncertainty God puts gladness and fullness of joy in the hearts of those who fear Him. We can lie down in peace, sleep and be awakened because God has made us to dwell in safety. There is no doom or gloom in our God who is the Light of the World! Praise Him for His faithfulness. We can rise joyfully because our LORD and KING is risen!
06 October 2020
The Mundane and Miraculous
04 October 2020
Built on Love
During a visit to Israel years ago our group went to an ancient "tel" which is an artificial mound of accumulated rubble that was inhabited by successive victors. It was common for those who sacked a stronghold to break down the clay structures and rebuild on top of them, effectively wiping the previous civilisation from the map. Archaeologists determined the tell we toured had at least 24 layers, a depth of destruction and loss through the violence of conquest. It was ironic that the victors were nowhere to be found as the mound was a ruin of its former glory which passed away long ago.