Marching Forth!

When we ask someone for help, it is typically from a position of being able to do something but needing assistance for the sake of convenience.  We might ask someone to hold a door open so it is easier for us to carry a bulky item through it, or help hold a flashlight so we can see better.  A blind person would not bother asking for someone to hold a light because it would not assist them.  We can ask God for help, not because we realise we are helpless and hopeless in ourselves to accomplish anything good, but to add the little we lack.  It is the blind man who asked for sight whose eye were opened by Jesus, and this is the way we ought to approach God for help:  as a helpless person who must rely upon Him for everything. If we assume we are sufficient in ourselves to do anything God asks, time and experience will say otherwise.  One thing we can do is look for help and assistance from others when circumstances prove overwhelming and difficult.  This ...

As I follow Jesus and read the Bible, I have learned by experience when I observe people exhibit behaviour that seems stupid or ridiculous in light of God's existence and power, I am looking at myself.  I have ceased to make fun or smugly mock people who made poor choices due to unbelief in God or fear of man because I recognise myself in them.  I have also learned if God gives a command, it is because it is naturally contrary to my flesh.  God told His people not to have other gods besides Him because we naturally do; He commanded the children of Israel not to covet because it is a sin as normal to us as breathing. Consider the commands found in  Leviticus 19:17-18 :  " You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbour, and not bear sin because of him.  18  You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD ."  ...

As I met with a brother over breakfast I was reminded by the grace of our glorious God who draws near to us in fellowship.  A small table became holy ground as the scripture was fulfilled, for the LORD Most High keeps His word.  Malachi 3:16-17 reads, " Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, a nd the LORD listened and heard them;  s o a book of remembrance was written before Him  f or those who fear the LORD  a nd who meditate on His name.  17  "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them  a s a man spares his own son who serves him ."  It was enough to move me to tears as I considered the divine condescension of God and He listened in on our conversation.  Though we could not see God with our eyes, with eyes of faith I knew for certain the LORD was in our midst. Isn't it a lovely thing God takes note, not of how wretched and faithless we are, but o...

Regardless of your views of church governance, there is a lot to glean from the leadership of Moses.  While I do not see the "Moses Model" of leadership as the prescriptive pattern for the church today with Jesus Christ as the Head of the Body, we would do well to demonstrate the meekness, boldness and faith he did during our earthly pilgrimage.  When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, we see a man stripped of all aspiration to be known by the Hebrews as a deliverer.  According to the promise and direction of God Moses went back to Egypt out of obedience.  Moses was not a perfect man by any means, but any man the LORD refers to as "My servant" ought to grab our attention.  He was a man who feared God, prayed to Him often, who heeded advice from his father-in-law and delegated leadership roles to others.  He wished all people would prophesy and gave no place to insecurity, that only a select few were worthy to operate in spiritual gifts given by God....

It is wonderful how the LORD chooses and gifts people to contribute to the health and fruitfulness of His kingdom by His grace.  Because we serve the LORD who calls and ordains us for His good purposes, the things He tells us to do may not be our natural inclination.  We can make the mistake of limiting God by our own perceived strengths, and at our best (on our own) we are incapable of doing anything profitable for the kingdom of God.  The almighty God is likely to direct us to do things we cannot do on our own, something out of our comfort zone, so we will learn to seek and rely upon Him for success in faith. Seraiah the prince is a good example of this.  See how he is introduced in  Jeremiah 51:59 :  " The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was the quartermaster ."  A quartermaster was a royal...

Years ago we did some composting and was surprised when our pile of scraps yielded a couple of healthy pumpkin vines.  We did not intend for vines to grow from the seeds thrown there, nor had we thought our discards could result in delicious pumpkin pies.  Even as God created seeds to bring forth plants and fruit after their kind, so He would supply salvation and unrighteousness where it was least expected. In light of the new covenant God would establish through the Messiah Isaiah 61:10-11 reads, " I will greatly rejoice in the LORD , m y soul shall be joyful in my God;  f or He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,  a s a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,  a nd as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  11  For as the earth brings forth its bud, a s the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,  s o the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sp...

At Calvary Chapel Sydney I preached today on Genesis 15 , the passage where God made a covenant with Abram who believed in Him.  He believed God would make of him a great nation with descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth and the stars in heaven despite not having an heir in his old age.  He believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Abram brought the requested animals before the LORD and divided the heifer, goat and ram.  The idea was those involved in the covenant would pass between the animals which had been cut in two united before God as witness to do all they had said.  If they broke the agreement, it was with full knowledge their lives would be forfeit, even as the animals which were divided.  In a trance Abram saw a smoking oven and a burning torch pass between the pieces, an emphatic demonstration by God He would keep His word to Abram and his descendants would inherit the land.  By the power and authority of God it would...

Live long enough and you will have experiences that supply beneficial lessons God can use to live wisely.  Today I had one of those moments when a situation provided insight beyond the surface and speaks spiritual truth. When I went to change the batteries in my favourite torch, I noticed the lack of the familiar rattle of the batteries inside.  To my surprise the alkaline batteries over a year had swollen in size and were stuck fast in the aluminium housing.  Try as I might, I could not make them budge.  Tapping the end of the torch on a piece of wood making use of gravity had no impact, and grabbing the end of the battery with needle-nose pliers popped the circular end off!  I could see the end was blackened and oily, welded tight to the torch all around.  This was not a good sign. So I did what many people had before me:  look for posts on the internet by people who had the same issue and succeeded in fixing the problem.  This led to me drillin...

In the book What's Wrong With Human Rights,  David Cross makes a strong case the zeal for standing up for human rights is a religious one born of the tenets of humanism.  Those who would paint religion, "social constructs" or politicians as the cause of all conflicts have ignored and dismissed the sinful bent of their own hearts.  Cross sums up the introductory chapter of his book in this way: " A right is an entitlement conferred on a person by another who has the authority to give such entitlement.  In order for foundational and innate human rights to be legitimate, they must be conferred as part of our creation.  Some have argued that God has indeed given universal basic rights simply as part of our human existence, but this cannot be supported by the Bible.  Some have argued that such rights are a self-evident aspect of human development, which must be enforced by law, in order to bring justice to the world.  However, the Bible says that it is only...

Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian may not be a household name, but he stands along with Abraham, Moses, David and Jeremiah as people of faith in God He called by name.  Ebed-Melech was a eunuch who was in king Zedekiah's house in Jerusalem.  We are introduced to him in Jeremiah 38 when he went to the king out of concern for the prophet Jeremiah who had been thrown into a dungeon.  After he appraised the king of the inhumane and woeful conditions Jeremiah faced, the king commanded Ebed-Melech to take 30 men to haul Jeremiah out of the pit to be kept in the court of the prison. It was not long thereafter Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem and besieged it.  With no hope of overcoming his adversary, king Zedekiah attempted to flee by night and was captured.  The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah, put out his eyes, burned the king's house and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.   Jeremiah 39:15-18 reads, " Meanwhile the word of the LORD had come to J...

It may be from a movie, old TV show or personal experience but I recall a time on the playground when a classmate took offence at what was said.  "Take it back!" he shouted, doubling up his fists to show he was going to take action against the offender.  If he took back the unfounded, snide comments made about a family member all would be forgiven, but if he refused to back down from the offending statements there would be hell to pay.  Even if the offended person lost the fight, at least he demanded a reckoning for the rude and inflammatory words. While physical violence is in no way a godly response to offensive statements, there is a simple principle demonstrated we in recent times can neglect.  When a lie is told publicly, it ought to be refuted publicly face-to-face--not out of personal offence but of love of the truth and others who can be misled by it.  In a conversation I shared with a friend recently he spoke of the desire I share to see those who make ...

Tonight as a family we read through 2 Peter 3 that speaks of coming judgment which will result in the elements of the universe being on fire and dissolving in fervent heat.  It will be part of the God-ordained process of ushering in the new heavens and earth where righteousness dwells.   2 Peter 3:14-15 reads, " Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;  15  and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you... "  It is evident faith in God is to completely shape our view of the future as something to be looked forward to rather than dreading. Nowhere in scripture are believers urged to dread what the future holds when our good God holds us close continually.  When I was a kid people would employ descriptions of a future state to put people in fear of punishment or bei...

I enjoy illustrations from real life, and these can be found in the scriptures, our own experiences and those of others.  Recently I read an illustration that reminded me of a past experience and caused me to consider the jarring effect grace can have on our lives--in the best way.  I smiled as I came across this story in Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman: "During my senior year at the Christian high school I attended, Mr. Hollingsworth was my chemistry teacher.  He did something a little unusual for our last final of the year.  He had been reading an article by Charles Stanley on the grace of God and wanted to show us what grace looked like.  He handed out a test to all of us that we knew would be difficult.  We had been preparing for this test for several months.  Before we began to take the test, he told us, "I want you to read through the entire test before you begin to take it."  As we read through the test most of us realized we were in trouble....

Recently images were released that were captured by the James Webb Space Telescope which cost about 10 billion dollars over two decades.  Superior to the Hubble telescope, the hope of scientists is images it collects from deep in space will lead to new insights and discoveries.  The NASA website puts it this way:  " Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it ."  On an ABC radio program yesterday during a news segment a reader said the telescope will provide the "explanation for life itself."  These sound like grand ambitions indeed.  I'm no astronomer or astrophysicist, but I have the sneaking suspicion the more we discover the more unanswered questions we will have.  And how many scientific discoveries were the means of overturning what we previously thought we knew to be true? Wouldn't it be ironic if answers and ...

Years ago I heard an illustration in a sermon that made me smile because it agreed with my experience.  He talked about taking his dog for a walk and how the dog pulled on the lead, eager to smell everything and explore everywhere.  "I've got plans!" the dog was saying in his head.  The pastor said this can resemble us at times, thinking much of our plans when going on a walk was God's plan all along.  It is the person walking the dog who knows their route and destination.  Even if the dog is a reason to go on a walk it is the walker's decision to bring them along for the journey. We can have all sorts of plans, ambitions and dreams, and these are not bad in themselves.  What the child of God is wise to realise is God has plans and purposes for us we never imagined, and sometimes if we were told the circumstances or trials due to lack of faith we would face we would dread and seek to avoid them!  Peter wrote to beloved believers in  1 Peter 4:12-1...

" I have made the earth, a nd created man on it. I--My hands--stretched out the heavens,  a nd all their host I have commanded ." Isaiah 45:12 Many times God identifies Himself in scripture as the God who created all things, and thus He has supremacy over all things that were, are and will ever be.  It is strange to me, bizarre even, when professing believers deny this foundational and simple fact of God's character by ascribing to Darwinian evolution as an explanation for the origin of man, the earth or the universe.  God says He is the Creator also says He is the LORD, a Saviour and King.  In allowing His status as Creator to be undermined, all the rest can tumble along with it.  Either God created the feathers and behaviours of ducks, geese and eagles to be different from one another, or we must credit the blind, dumb chance of evolution. God often told His people to remember what He had done, and in remembering His work in creating the world and birthing t...

We are blessed beyond words God graciously chooses to make Himself known.  He is unapproachable in glory yet revealed Himself to us that we fear Him and walk in His steps.  There remains a lot of misconceptions and erroneous caricatures of God which persist to this day, that He is ruthless or bloodthirsty, that He takes pleasure in punishing evildoers.  We humans have a tendency to project our own faults on others, and God is not excluded. See what the LORD said in Jeremiah 26:2-3  " Thus says the LORD : 'Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.  3 Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings .'"  Being a righteous and just God, the sins of His people demanded judgment.  ...

God's word is more than a treasure we hold with our hands or read with our eyes.  It goes to work on our hearts and minds, revealing the reality of God's goodness to people who were once blind and in spiritual darkness.  It has power to cleanse our minds from error as we drink it in and works to strengthen our faith as we heed it.  It reveals plainly spiritual and practical realities that were in operation long before we were  made aware of them.  Paul said he would not have known sin except by the Law of Moses, and we Gentiles would not have known or recognised Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah without God's word. It is remarkable how God chose to inhabit human form and come to earth to seek and save sinners Himself.  It was incredible enough when He thundered and spoke from Mount Sinai; it was wonderful how He spoke to Elijah in a small, still voice.  Yet God did more than stoop to behold us in our condemned state, for He became one of us.  H...

There are things in life that do not resolve well on their own.  Without medical intervention there are a myriad of health problems which persist until they are intentionally treated.  I remember my Granddad had cataracts, which is a clouding of the lens in the eye.  It progressed to a point while driving he struggled to make out whether the light was illuminated green or red!  After submitting to a surgical procedure, he was able to see clearly.  With the advances of technology, what was once a risky operation with common poor outcomes is now safe and very effective. As cataracts are a condition which progress over time and cause blindness, so it is spiritually with pride.  If left unchecked, pride progressively leads to the destruction of people and nations--and pride does not appreciate being checked!  Even as cataracts are often a result of the ageing process, it seems success and prosperity can play a role in feeding and coddling pride.  At o...

The circumstances depicted in Genesis 13 are good for us to consider:  will we lift our eyes and take for ourselves, or will we wait on the LORD who bids us lift our eyes to receive all He has provided for us?  How good it is to realise all we need for life and godliness is in Him alone! Conflict broke out between the servants of Lot and Abram because the land where they settled was not able to support all their flocks and herds.  Abram humbly approached Lot and pleaded that he separate from him, and offered him first choice of where he desired to go.  Lot lifted his eyes and saw the Jordan plain was well-watered, and it was likened to the garden of Eden God made to flourish before the flood.   Genesis 13:11 said, " Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other ."  Lot chose what appeared to be the best choice, and they separated from one another. Genesis 13:14-15 reads, " And the LOR...

The Law of Moses is a shadow of the new covenant of the Gospel Jesus would usher in through His death and resurrection.  Like a living, breathing person differs from a human likeness enshrined in a wax museum, so Jesus Christ excels all prophets and rulers who preceded Him.  The Law prepared God's people to receive God's forgiveness and love they could not earn or ever deserve. Last night I was struck with the stark contrast between the prayer and desires of the prophet Jeremiah under the covenant of Law and Jesus who instituted the new covenant in His own blood.  Consider the prayer of the prophet in  Jeremiah 18:19-23 :  " Give heed to me, O LORD , a nd listen to the voice of those who contend with me!  20  Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You  t o speak good for them,  t o turn away Your wrath from them.  21  Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, a ...