Marching Forth!

By His grace God has made Himself known to the world.  The living God spoke with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses to whom He gave His law.  Moses emphasised how accessible and understandable God's law was in  Deuteronomy 30:11-14,  " For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  12  It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  13  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  14  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it ." God and knowledge of His laws was not in a far off, inaccessible location found by the wisest or most pious among them.  They did not need to develop technology to launch into space to find answers to life's questions, nor did they need to invent ...

Over the years I have seen many short videos of animal rescues that demonstrate the care and compassion of volunteers as well as the amazing turnaround in once neglected animals.  Listless dogs with mange that had been abandoned, abused or cooped up for years slowly start wagging their tails again, enjoying human contact they once shied away from.  After building trust, aggressive snarling is replaced by a show of affection and submission, rolling over for belly rubs.  Rather than culling these domesticated animals, it is heartwarming to see people give their time, money and effort to revive and re-home them. Pet owners can be guilty of neglect and not provide food, care and attention their animals need for good health and a happy life.  The animal is an innocent victim in this situation, for it could not help being sold,  having fleas, or being chained to a post.  A dog cannot build a shelter to be protected from the hot sun or find warmth on a cold night....

Apollos is described by Luke in Acts 18 as an eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures, instructed in the way of the LORD, fervent in spirit, one who taught diligently things of God and spoke boldly in the synagogue.  These are stellar attributes, but Apollos only had partial understanding of God's ways because he stopped short of the Gospel.  Apollos only knew the baptism of John and thus his teaching was incomplete.  He preached a baptism of repentance that prepared the way to receive Jesus Christ as LORD and Messiah.  While Apollos responded positively to Aquila and Priscilla who explained the way of God more perfectly, it likely resulted in people missing key doctrinal truth required for salvation.  The following chapter illustrates the repercussions of people omitting important doctrines in teaching. Paul encountered believers in Ephesus and asked them if they received the Holy Spirit since they believed.  They responded they were not even aware there w...

" Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  18  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted ." Hebrews 2:17-18 God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and experienced life as a common person.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary, Jesus was carried in the womb and born into this world as a helpless, crying baby.  Whilst we learn often by failure and correction, our righteous Saviour learned obedience by the things He suffered ( Hebrews 5:7-8 ).  He suffered falls, injuries, trials, rejection and grief, yet He continued fervent in prayer and faithful to intercede for others.  Jesus was put to the test in every possible way and has overcome all, our glorious and risen King. The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jesus was in all things like His b...

" I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.  9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, w hich have no understanding,  w hich must be harnessed with bit and bridle,  e lse they will not come near you ." Psalm 32:8-9 During Friday night Bible study we discussed Psalm 32 , and these were standout verses for me that prompted useful conversation.  God promised to instruct and teach His people in the right way to go and would guide them with His eye.  It was not a situation where all the instruction was given beforehand and then, once the examination is passed, His people could fall back on their qualifications.  Instead, God offered a relationship with His people to be lead by Him in real time to know where to go and what to do, a life available to Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our eyes are one of the most expressive, non-verbal means of communication we possess as human beings.  By open...

" So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed ." Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas visited churches they were instrumental in establishing by the preaching of the Gospel, and they appointed or ordained leaders in every church.  Among this group there were those who laboured in the word and doctrine as pastors do to this day, overseers who provided sound teaching from the word of God.  As a newborn baby needs to drink milk regularly, so believers needed to have their faith in Jesus Christ grounded in His word, promises and new covenant.  Christians of a Jewish background were pressured to return to the Law as their measure of righteousness that could never save, and there was no shortage of stumbling blocks facing Gentiles as well. These elders were appointed in every church with prayer and fasting, an acknowledgement that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds ...

Believe it or not, reading the Bible is really fun.  Even if you are familiar with a passage and know what is coming, a person can never predict what God is going to say, what you will discover or how other parts of the Bible connect to amplify the meaning.  It is more interesting and useful than the latest installment of that show you are watching or new season of game you are playing.  The Bible is God's words of life, and blessed is the one who reads, studies, meditates and applies them personally by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Today I read Acts 12  in the KJV and the LORD opened my eyes to something I never noticed before.  Woven throughout scripture are many such passages, where a parallel is presented to compare and contrast.  The major feature of Hebrew poetry is the use of parallelism and prompts the reader to consider personal application to what is said.  The two verses that grabbed my attention concern Peter the apostle in priso...

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory , a boy named Charlie and four other children found golden tickets which promised them a lifetime supply of chocolate.  Shortly after their find they individually were accosted by Albert Slugworth, owner of a rival chocolate business, who offered a great sum of money to the one who gave him an "everlasting gobstopper" so he could discover the secret formula.  During the tour of Wonka's factory, the four remaining children were offered everlasting gobstoppers--on the strict condition they kept the gobstopper to themselves--to which they all enthusiastically agreed. As the tour progressed the children where whittled down to Charlie alone as they all disobeyed the warnings of Wonka which led to bizarre problems, like falling into a chocolate river, swelling up like a blueberry, tumbling down a chute, or shrinking to the size of an action figure.  Charlie and his grandpa were the only ones that managed to make it to the e...

The LORD blessed me with the opportunity to grow up in a family with a dad and mum who feared God and set an example of walking in love.  To some my parents seemed "strict" because they restricted us from freedoms others enjoyed and held us kids accountable to obey them, do chores together as a family and  provided ways to earn money through work rather being given an allowance.  If we wanted a toy, wristwatch or fishing reel, we needed to learn discipline to save up for it.  All my childhood, youth and adult life, by the grace of God I have enjoyed the love and support of my parents who cheered me on and supported me through all seasons of life. My parents demonstrated their love for their children in practical ways:  carting me to and from baseball practice, paying for dental work, investing time and effort in our schooling, playing games with us and disciplining us when needed.  Whether I was pitching or at bat, I could hear encouragement coming from the...

Simple questions can have complex answers.  The Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand, yet walking according to the truth of the Gospel every day is hard.  It is easy to become a Christian, and it is hard to be one at the same time.  Yet in all these difficulties we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ Who loves us.  The yoke of Jesus is easy and His burden is light, yet we can struggle to even stand because of our human weakness, to remain alert to resist the devil and to flee from temptation to sin. We did not likely come to faith in Jesus at the first because He answered all our deep musings and theological queries:  we came to Him because He drew us to Himself by grace, opened our eyes to our sinfulness and that He is the Son of God and Saviour of the world.  As helpless, lost and desperate people we trusted in Him, asked for forgiveness and salvation.  We might wonder, how can I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit?  The...

To people who value their personal freedoms, the rise of a totalitarian government that oppresses and subjugates citizens is a genuine concern.  More movies than I can count present a societal hellscape with enough connection to reality to be chilling and frightful viewing that illustrate the dangers of unchecked power.  Whether it is annihilation of humanity through time-travelling cyborgs fueled by artificial intelligence ideology, government overreach by power-hungry people employing surveillance or harsh punishments or the use of unwitting human bodies to produce energy, the common threat is the subjugation of the human will--with any concept of God being strangely absent. In many of these these science fiction and dystopian scenarios, the citizens are a blend of personalities:  those who have been conditioned to submit, those blinded and deceived to imagine the government acts for their best interest, some who will betray their fellow citizens for personal benefits, ...

" Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,  2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,  3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious ." 1 Peter 2:1-3 God designed the milk of a mother to supply all the nutritional needs of a newborn baby for health and growth.  Peter urged believers of all ages and levels of spiritual maturity to lay aside sin and to feed on God's word as a newborn baby drinks milk. While there are obviously more than two camps when it comes to feeding babies, the most common and large groups seems to be scheduled or "on-demand" feeding.  Some adhere to a more strict schedule concerning feeding, while other mothers feed their baby whenever he or she seems hungry.  From what I was told, with me my mother adopted the "on-demand" feeding style and resulted in me growing very fat and happy.  The story goes my mum was rebuked by a pediatrician f...

A lot of our connections and interactions in our modern day are transactional:  I pay for goods or a service, and the other party responds by providing it.  I bring stocked items to an associate, I pay money and then the items become mine.  People come to my door asking me to support a charity by contributing money they will use to further their aims.  What is never discussed is I will be placed on a mailing list that will likely endure long beyond my natural life.  The depth of our involvement with people is strictly transactional until we make things personal.  First we recognise an associate, begin calling them by name, or engage in conversation about something more significant than the weather. It is entirely possible, because of modern society and personal desire, that we can dumb down the relationship God desires to have with us to one of merely a transactional nature.  Many adopt a formulaic approach to avoiding future judgment and receiving ble...

People who fear God will respect and observe the authority He has sovereignly put in place.  I read an article recently a school teacher was pepper-sprayed by a student after he confiscated her phone.  While I do not know anything about the student or what transpired beforehand, behaviour like this primarily demonstrates a departure from the fear of the LORD.  The student could profess faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD, yet at face value this assault on the teacher is an affront to the God who rules over all.  Brothers and sisters, we must be circumspect not to do the same. When Paul was brought before the council and was ordered to be struck on the face by Ananias the high priest,  Acts 23:3-5 tells us what happened next:  " Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?"  4 And those who stood by said, "Do you revile G...

As I drove back from the shops this morning, I saw a couple of tradesmen by the side of the road holding a string taut in preparation to dig holes for a fence.  The simple straight line is a valuable tool utilised by many trades to ensure fences, courses of block, bricks and tiles are installed properly.  Once the dimensions are measured properly, a chalk line is a trustworthy guide for framing, roofing and cutting materials.  When done accurately, builders can have confidence to follow the line and obtain quality, professional results. Like a builder is confident to follow a straight chalk line, so the Christian can have total confidence in the word of God to guide us to live wisely.  When it comes to marking a line, it is possible to make mistakes.  I have learned (by trial and error!) synthetic string needs to be stretched very tight because over long distances it can begin to sag.  There is no such risk of human error when speaking of God's word, for it...

People from all around the globe tuned in the watch the historical coronation of His Majesty King Charles III in Westminster Abbey.  Over 2,000 people were invited to the momentous ceremony with royals, dignitaries and celebrities in attendance.  I suspect only a fraction of the people who witnessed the proceedings would have been permitted to have a brief chat with King Charles.  Just being there on the occasion was an incredible privilege only a handful of people on the planet could claim. I suspect there are only a small percentage of people in the United Kingdom who have ever seen King Charles up close in person, and a vastly fewer amount who have conversed with him.  With so many subjects, royal engagements and security concerns, it makes sense interactions with the king are invite only.  A man of his prestige, wealth, fame and influence is exceedingly rare, carrying with him traditions which have been passed down for over 400 years.  It is simply not ...

When Jesus was accosted in the Garden of Gethsemane by a mob led by Judas, Peter lashed out with the sword and sliced off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest.   John 18:11 tells us, " So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me ?"  I find the response of Jesus revealing and inspiring.  Jesus knew without a doubt His betrayal, arrest and ultimate death on a cross was ordained by God and would be redeemed for God's good purposes. It is a common tendency in troubles to place blame on others.  God confronted Adam about his sin in the garden and he blamed God for giving him Eve as wife; she blamed the serpent for tricking her.  They did this to avoid responsibility for their sins, a vain attempt to justify themselves before God--or to suggest others ought to bear more guilt than them.  Because Jesus had not sinned, He could have justly blamed the devil for taking possession o...

Most people who have sung " Jesus loves me, this I know " have much to grow in our appreciation, acceptance and giving of God's love.  How can we comprehend the eternal, infinite love of God in a moment of time?  God's love is not like the love of mankind which is limited by degrees and according to personal preferences.  Like there can only be one winner of a grand final, our love is doled out in a complex pecking-order based upon loyalty, sense of obligation, consideration of a person's relationship to us, and what we know of them.  We are limited in what we can say and do with the time we have, fettered by geography and availability.  In contrast, God's love is eternal and infinite.  Being one God revealed in three Persons, He is able to completely love an infinite amount of people--and demonstrate fullness of love all at one time. Jesus prayed to the Father in  John 17:22-24 and revealed God's will:  " And the glory which You gave Me I have g...

In the ancient world, the Jewish nation was unique because of their God and His laws delivered to them through Moses.  They exerted themselves to keep His commands and even went beyond the letter of the Law with traditions embraced for millennia.  The lives of the people were governed in ways foreign to many people today, impacting everything from the clothing they wore, how they harvested their crops, what was considered clean and unclean foods, marriage, the observance of feast days and the Sabbath.  The Law contained blessings and curses, directives for necessary worship of God and the punishment of evildoers.  The Jews who kept the Law were very particular about avoiding anything unclean and maintaining a blameless image according to their traditions. When Jesus ministered in Israel, He preached about the kingdom of God and did countless signs to show the truth of His claims.  For instance, after a paralysed man was brought to Jesus He said to the man, "Son,...

The command of Jesus to His disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Him is vital to this day.  By faith in Christ we can deny our fleshly feelings, desires and identity, and in doing so we embrace being the new creation God has designed us to be.  No longer is our primary loyalty to our own family, friends or feelings but to Jesus Christ our LORD we seek to follow, glorify and please.  For much of our lives we were slaves to sin and ourselves, and coming to Jesus for salvation, forgiveness and righteousness ought to shift our allegiance and identity to Him. Sam Allberry expressed this necessary shift in the lives of those who are born again.  As someone who has experienced same-sex attraction, Allberry realised he was more than his sexuality and Christ's command was for him and all other believers.  He wrote: " And as someone in this situation, what Jesus calls me to do is exactly what he calls anyone to do.  Take another well-kno...