Marching Forth!

When searching D.L. Moody's book Arrows and Anecdotes for a quote, I came across this interaction recorded by the evangelist: " One night, when preaching in Philadelphia, right down by the side of the pulpit there was a young lady, whose eyes were riveted on me, as if she were drinking in every word.  It is precious to preach to people like that; they generally get good, even if the sermon be poor.  I got interested in her, and after I had done talking I went and spoke to her.  "Are you a Christian?"  "No; I wish I was; I have been seeking Jesus for three years."  I said, "There must be some mistake."  She looked strangely at me, and said, "Don't you believe me?"  "Well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus; but it don't take an anxious sinner three years to meet a willing Saviour."  "What am I to do then?"  "The matter is, you are trying to do something; you must just believe on the Lord Jesus C...

People are complex creatures, and we only see a fraction of what is really going on with anyone.  We cannot know someone's past by observing them today, nor can we fully appreciate what challenges people are facing in the present.  They may not even realise what they are going through.  When we encounter people who are troubled or struggling, we can find ourselves facing struggles we never knew existed that the situation suddenly brought to light inside of us.  Being married, having children, working with others, being a deeply flawed person and seeking to follow Jesus combines to profoundly impact our daily lives. The word of God and personal experiences have exposed the ugliness of my own self-righteousness, pride and hypocrisy, and praise the LORD for this.  By His grace He convicts us of sin that works to ruin us and destroys fellowship with Him and others.  He has revealed the folly of a self-centred worldview that viewed the behaviour of my children a...

The apostle Paul worked as a tentmaker to cover his expenses so he could offer the Gospel to the Gentiles free of charge.  He remained dependent on God to provide for all his needs, whether it was through labouring with his own hands or receiving gifts from others.  He wrote in  Philippians 4:15 , " Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only ."  Paul and the church in Philippi shared and engaged in both giving and receiving.  Because we have received all we need through Jesus Christ who is our life, giving is prioritised before receiving.  Yet both giving and receiving have their place in the church and in lives of every believer. Everything we have is a gift from God as Paul explained to the church in  1 Corinthians 4:7 :  " For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if y...

" Here is what I have seen: it is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.  19  As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor--this is the gift of God ." Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 King Solomon understood work and the ability to enjoy the good that comes from it is a gift of God.  There is great diversity in what we commonly call work, whether it be the motion of a body or machine, paid employment, mixing, manufacturing, raising children, fabricating, lifting stock, operating equipment, cleaning or managing a business--and the list goes on.  We are resigned to do what we consider to be necessary work, but if something is "extra" work we can look upon it with disdain.  In my generation many people aspired to earn university degre...

During the long season in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, God taught His people that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  At His command living water flowed from the rock, bread from heaven appeared on the ground, and quail flew in on the breeze.  Though God gave His people His Law, revealed Himself in power and sent prophets to speak to His people, at times they forsook Him for false gods.  When God's people in the northern kingdom of Israel refused to hear and obey His word, He sent a famine of hearing the word of the LORD. Amos 8:11-12 reads, " Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD , "that I will send a famine on the land,  n ot a famine of bread,  n or a thirst for water,  b ut of hearing the words of the LORD .  12  They shall wander from sea to sea, a nd from north to east;  t hey shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD ,  b ut shall not find ...

Just as it is important to eat good food regularly to promote our physical health, feeding on the word of God spiritually is indispensable for spiritual health.  So much of what happens inside our bodies after our food is chosen, chewed and swallowed is done automatically without a thought.  Digestion of food, the absorption and allocation of nutrients, and repair of our bodies is really out of our control.  When it comes to reading and considering God's word, however, this is a conscious mental, spiritual and physical exercise.  We must discipline ourselves to study, apply and put into personal practice what we learn.  We must learn to humble ourselves before our LORD who speaks to our hearts and meditate on what He has spoken to us. One verse, sentence and single word of God is very powerful to deliver truth we need to hear and understand.  You have eaten many meals before today, but it is what you choose to eat today that will provide a positive benefit ...

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is the first step of many as we progress in sanctification.  After being born again by the Holy Spirit and we are exposed to the truth of God's word, we begin to see our need to change--not just in avoiding obvious sins, but in how we process and express ourselves through our thoughts, feelings and actions.  As the light of scripture illuminates our sins and need for repentance, we are also provided directives in how we ought to live.  Over time an embrace of a life by faith in God changes our perspective and we are given the capacity to see everything in a new light. Knowing God makes all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose, our outlook dramatically changes.  Something we only saw as bad before now carries with it good redemptive purposes in the hands of our loving, gracious Saviour.  We observe the transformation in the disciples of Jesus so profound they rejoiced to su...

We live in a world where we experience toxic or poisonous fumes, chemicals and plants.  In recent times referring to people, a workplace or a relationship as "toxic" has become widespread.  Our mental and spiritual well-being are easily thrown off kilter by our own toxic pride and love of self only Jesus Christ can deliver us from by His grace. If the air is polluted with toxins, the risk and danger to our health does not eliminate our need to breathe.  So how can we navigate the toxic behaviour and attitudes that can spring up all around us--even within us?  A situation Paul experienced on the island of Malta provides a good example.  Paul, fellow prisoners, Roman soldiers and sailors were shipwrecked and came ashore the island of Malta.  As Paul and others gathered sticks for a fire  Acts 28:3-6 tells us:  " But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand....

I like how God says it like it is--whether we want to hear it or not.  Yesterday  Joshua 13:1 coaxed a smile and chuckle out of me:  " Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: "You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed ."  When Moses was old and advanced in years God told him to call Joshua and present him before the LORD, one chosen by God to lead the children of Israel into the land of promise.  There is a time for God's service to pass the mantle to another person, and there is also a time (as in the case of Joshua) to embrace new tasks according to God's command. I have heard it said you cannot teach old dogs new tricks but humility, grace and obedience to God are all things God's people are called to grow in.  Even as Joshua was directed by God to walk where he had never gone before, even in his advanced age he was called to do things he had never done before:  to divide the la...

" Blessed is every one who fears the LORD ,  w ho walks in His ways ." Psalm 128:1 There are plenty of things in the world which can move us to fear.  These rational and sometimes irrational fears often spring from negligence to consider God, His promises and power.  People who believe in the existence of spirits seek to placate or protect themselves against them.  Charms, amulets and crystals can be utilised in superstitious occultic practices to wield power to benefit the user by warding off evil, attracting wealth or emanate "good" energy.  In the world people's practices and beliefs differ, but fear is a common enemy we all face (or try to avoid!) in various ways and degrees of success. I watched a comedic foreign film where one character was a eastern religious stereotype who did everything he could to placate deities for personal benefit.  Though he didn't receive any measurable benefits from his religious habits and piety, he imagined the key to suc...

" Many are the afflictions of the righteous, b ut the LORD delivers him out of them all.  20  He guards all his bones; n ot one of them is broken ." Psalm 34:19-20 It occurred to me recently that I have not given the miraculous preservation of the bones of Jesus on the cross just due:  how many times have bones been broken in innocuous or routine ways?  People have broken bones playing games like hide-and-seek and dodgeball!  Others have broken bones while working, accidentally kicking a table or falling down.  God allowed His only begotten Son Jesus to be cruelly tortured and crucified, yet all His bones were preserved.  He was beaten and battered beyond recognition, yet Jesus did not suffer a broken jaw, tooth, orbital bone or rib--because God's word cannot be broken. John cited this Psalm after witnessing the death of Jesus on the cross and observed the breaking of the legs of the criminals crucified beside Him.   John 19:33-36 reads,...

I was reminded of a situation that occurred when I was running work as a foreman on board the U.S.S. Nimitz.  I gave an experienced apprentice a list of spaces with the required materials needed to finish covering hot copper-nickel pipes.  Several hours later, I was surprised to see them wandering around without tools or material.  It turned out they were going to all the spaces and determining what materials were needed!  They spent hours "formanizing" when they were supposed to be installing insulation.  Needless to say I learned by 10 wasted man-hours one does not give a list on a clipboard to an apprentice because he misinterprets it as a promotion from working on the tools--and nothing of value is accomplished. There were people in the dockyards who were skilled at making work last, if you understand my meaning, and I would number those fellows among them.  I imagine those two imagined it might take them all day to find 10 spaces and determine what mat...

The Jews were chosen by God and given His Law that was to govern their lives.  It contained the proper order of the worship of God, the designs for the tabernacle, priestly vestments and furnishings, outlined blessings for those who kept the Law and the curses for breaking the Law.  The authoritative word of God given to Moses and the people gave them the ability to know and assert objective difference between what was right and wrong.  The 10 Commandments were important commands and prohibitions in the Law of Moses that numbered more than 600. Paul wrote in  1 Corinthians 8:1 , " Now concerning things offered to idols: we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies ."  The Law identified the fashioning, worship and possession of idols to be a sin punishable by death.  It was very easy for Jews to look upon Gentiles with contempt for being given over to idolatry in their ignorance of God and His law.  What the Law did not exp...

What we believe has a major impact on what we do and how we live.  If I truly believed valuable gold coins were being sold in a shop for a fraction of their value, I would purchase all the stock I could.  But if believed them to be lead adorned with gold spray paint, I would not consider buying a single one.  While the cruel dictator rules with oppression the people feign reverence in the presence of his person and images.  Yet when they believe the cruel dictator is dead and beyond power to torture and murder them, they celebrate without fear when statues are torn down and images desecrated.  As beliefs in our minds are lived out, so spiritual realities have a practical impact on our decisions daily. Paul wrote in  Romans 6:8-11 :  " Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.  10  For the death t...

We have a tendency as human beings to ascribe honour to what is undeserving and not give honour to whom it is due.  We credit a person with being a good teacher when it is Jesus Christ Who teaches them.  I have been to "holy sites" in Israel that are crawling with people (literally crawling!) to venerate slabs of stone believed that were  supposedly touched by the body of Jesus.  In the church I attended in my youth, effort was to prevent kids running or wearing hats in the sanctuary because it was "God's house," a place set apart for worship and ministry of the word.  It was easy to think being in that room meant you were closer to God than somewhere else--like in a movie theatre, bowling alley or video game arcade. There were occasions in the scripture where the LORD told people to remove the shoes off their feet because they stood on "holy ground."  With childlike understanding I imagined Moses and Joshua happened by chance to wander onto a patch of...

" Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law ." Romans 3:31 The Law of Moses is good when used lawfully under the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ, for by Law is the knowledge of sin.  Unless there is a righteous standard in force that holds man accountable before God, there would be no righteous judgment of grace possible.  The Law's power to condemn a Christian has been nailed to the cross, even as our sin has been destroyed forever by atonement in Christ's blood.  We have been justified by faith and held to a higher standard than that of Law.  The fact Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill does not mean "Law-plus" for the Christian.  No one but Jesus ever kept the Law or even came close, nor does God call Gentiles to to live as Jews.  This was clearly established in the early church when Jewish believers were pushing circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses as necessary for s...

" But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD ; I say, "You are my God."  15  My times are in Your hand; d eliver me from the hand of my enemies,  a nd from those who persecute me ." Psalm 31:14-15 With our busy schedules, meetings and deadlines it can feel like we are being governed by time.  The word "inconvenient" can suggest an unwanted obligation to waste effort and time.  It is inconvenient to be in a rush to be on time and then be stuck in traffic or have a flat tyre.  It is disappointing to need to cancel and reschedule an appointment or party because someone is ill--and who knows when people will be able to set aside time to gather in the future. Today I was lamenting the timing of a unexpected illness in our household that impacted my plans for the day.  But then I remembered this scripture when David said of God, " My times are in Your hand ."  Since God is sovereign over all and my times are in His hand, despite the inconvenience of resc...

" And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage ." Acts 28:15 As Paul's voyage continued towards Rome, brethren who heard of them came quite a distance from Rome to meet with them.  Instead of being content to wait until Paul and those who travelled with him arrived, they took the initiative to introduce themselves and extend a gracious welcome.  Paul responded by thanking God and he took courage.  Their difficult voyage over many months was finally coming to an end and God had been faithful to bring them all safely to Rome as He promised. A popular worship song begins, " Everyone needs compassion... " and I think it is also true that everyone needs encouragement--even a bold and hardy fellow like Paul.  Webster defined "courage" as " Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties ...

" The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  17  For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread ." 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Jesus Christ is the Head of the body, the church which is comprised of all nations, tongues and tribes of all the earth who trust in Him.  By the offering of Jesus on the cross for sinners He perfected forever those who are sanctified, set apart as people holy unto the LORD.  The worship of believers and receiving of communion together was an act of unified worship that illustrated the spiritual reality Jesus makes possible by the Gospel. As I considered the broken bread and cup partaken of during a communion service, it struck me that it was the same for everyone in attendance.  It was not only for the pastor but all parishioners; the rich do no receive a double portion, nor do believing...

When I went to university, the questions people asked and beliefs they espoused revealed a worldview completely different than mine.  In one sense I felt unprepared for the questions because at the core they denied fundamental beliefs my outlook was based upon.  Answering the question directly--instead of answering the questioner--put me in the position to always answer incorrectly and face the wrath or ostricisation of people I hardly knew and thus would likely never stick around for me to have the opportunity to explain why .  The result was a "for" or "against" mentality where deviation from secular, humanistic values was unacceptable and thus freedom of expression was stunted. During my time in public and tertiary education I encountered many respectable teachers and professors who were open to a vast array of liberal and conservative perspectives.  But as time went on the pursuit of objective truth (if it existed at all) lagged far behind the pursuit of self-ex...