Marching Forth!

I've been reading through the book of Zechariah in the mornings, and it is impressive how often messianic prophecies connected to Jesus by the Gospel penmen pop up.  The fulfillment of biblical prophecy supplies strong evidence of the veracity and trustworthiness of Scripture.  Bible prophecy is not like general predictions people make, who proudly claim they "called it" when they were not specific and ignore the fact they also contradicted themselves numerous times.  In God's word, He provided many statements over a thousand years meticulously recorded for our benefit so we could identify the promised Messiah and Son of God Jesus who is the Saviour of the world.  The New Testament in many places expressly states how Old Testament prophecy was and will be fulfilled by Christ, and here are a few examples. Zechariah 9:9 states, " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salv...

Slowly but surely I have been making progress on little projects around our house.  There's been ongoing patching and painting, setting pavers, improving drainage and recently I have been constructing a small retaining wall.  Between ongoing maintenance, church-related work and projects around the house, it has been a very busy season of methodically chipping away at tasks with slow, almost undiscernible progress. After I set forms on Saturday to pour concrete, the thought crossed my mind to do a bit of concreting on Sunday afternoon to have a jump on Monday's tasks.  A conversation I had yesterday at church gave me pause, however, as I was reminded how the things we do--or choose to wait to do--can be done unto the LORD.  Growing up, as a family we always abstained from doing physical labour on Sunday beyond going to church morning and night.  This was something I carried over into my working career as a witness for Jesus in the workplace, that when interviewin...

There are certain words that are commonly found in the Bible and nowhere else.  We do not hear people in business, politics or in casual conversation use such words, nor do we see them in advertisements or on signs of protesters.  One such word is "lovingkindness" that describes the faithful love and kindness of God combined at full strength.  As if this is not a sufficient description, we can also observe a plural version of "lovingkindnesses" (which spell check flagged as incorrect!) as found in  Psalm 25:6 :  " Remember, O LORD , Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, f or they are from of old ."   Because God is awesome and words can only begin to portray  the vastness of His love, goodness, mercy and favour, lovingkindness is a word that attempts to describe our indescribable God. Last night I was reminded of one of those looping scripture songs that were especially popular in the 70's and 80's taken from  Psalm 63:3-4 :...

When women went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint His dead body, an angel asked them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"  After His decease they noted the correct location where the body of Jesus was laid, yet because He rose from the dead they were looking in the wrong place.  It struck me how people can do a similar thing in their desire to hear a word from the LORD.  Our modern mindset can be to view something "old" as outdated or unsupported and the "new" is superior.  People easily become bored with the familiar, and they look to something new to grabs their interest.  God forbid we would take this approach with the Bible, the timeless word of God! Looking back upon the history of Israel, God revealed Himself to the Jews and gave them His Law.  Though afraid when His presence appeared at Mt. Sinai, their awe and fear of the glorious living God seemed to wear off quickly.  We observe when people like the high priest Eli or King Saul refused ...

When my dad worked in construction, it was common for him to take weeks off work during the year to pack up his tools and help repair and rebuild homes destroyed by hurricanes in the south with International Relief Teams .  He paid his own airfare and took unpaid leave to bless and help others pick up the pieces after hurricane Andrew and Katrina.  One might think my dad thought much of himself with all the time, money and comfort he sacrificed to use his God-given talents to help others near or far in Jesus' name.  He didn't.  In fact, he told me about a time he was convicted over an alarm clock of all things. Best I can recall, there was a trip he went on with IRT when he either forgot his alarm clock or it wasn't working properly.  He never had a "smart" phone to use as an alarm, so he was annoyed to be without it.  In the midst of his frustration, he shared with me how the LORD gently spoke to his heart:  "You don't trust me to wake you up?"  ...

During the reign of King Darius in Persia, God-fearing people who resettled in Bethel sent word to the prophet Zechariah with a question:  should they continue to fast on the 5th month as they had while in captivity in Babylon?  We are not told precisely what their motive was that prompted this question.  Perhaps fasting seemed unnecessary since they were back in the land of their inheritance.  Would God be displeased if they left off this tradition they had kept dutifully for decades?  Was there any benefit of fasting any longer? Zechariah 7:4-7 states, " Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,  5 "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me--for Me?  6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?  7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through...

Humility and meekness are characteristics of God's people who are led by the Holy Spirit in wisdom.  Jesus humbled Himself by coming to earth in the likeness of mankind, made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant.  Serving was a way God demonstrated His active love that gives with the good of others in mind.  On the night Jesus was betrayed, He girded Himself with a towel and washed the disciples' feet and provided an example we all should follow.  Then Jesus gave His own blood on Calvary's cross and demonstrated His love for sinners--for you and me--by dying to provide atonement.  God is exalted and glorious above all, and all authority and power is His, yet He always remains humble and meek at the same time.   James 3:13 says, " Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom ."  In Jesus we observe One who has all wisdom and understanding,...

Our God shall supply all our need according to His riches in glory, for He is faithful ( Phil. 4:19 ).  Sometimes we need conviction, rebuke, encouragement and help, and God is able to provide wisdom and strength for the day.  I must have needed encouragement from the LORD while reading His word today, and that is what I received from Him today in abundance. I was reading Zechariah 4 and the passage where God said it was not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit a mountain would become a plain.  The task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem--which might have seemed as impossible as shifting Mount Everest a mile to the east--would be accomplished by God's grace through Zerubbabel.   Zechariah 4:8-9 says, " Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:  9 "The hands of Zerubbabel h ave laid the foundation of this temple;  h is hands shall also finish it. Then you will know  t hat the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you ."  The found...

Our Bible study last night ended with an exhortation in  Psalm 98:5-9 :  " Sing to the LORD with the harp, w ith the harp and the sound of a Psalm,  6 with trumpets and the sound of a horn; s hout joyfully before the LORD , the King.  7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, t he world and those who dwell in it;  8 let the rivers clap their hands; l et the hills be joyful together before the LORD ,  9 for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world,  a nd the peoples with equity ."  God's redeemed people and the earth are to praise God with great joy, for God is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with equity.  The songs of praise flowing from God's people will rise to heaven accompanied with the roaring seas and rushing rivers. Why is there such praise and gladness?  Because the LORD is coming to judge the earth in righteousness and the people with equity.  Without ...

Paul wrote in  2 Corinthians 1:3-5 , " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  4  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ ."  Paul was no stranger to suffering for Christ's sake, and his experiences joyfully endured demonstrated the comfort He received by faith in Jesus in the most trying times.  What Paul dubbed "light affliction" people who have suffered less would have called soul crushing without Christ who gave him strength.  Our God is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation so we might also comfort others.  Compared to a meal set before us, the consolation of our Saviour is the main course while troubles that confront us are a light du...

On the topic of eating meat in markets, Paul said Christians could eat anything with assurance there is nothing unclean in itself--even if the meat was offered to idols.  Yet at the same time, Christians were called to walk in love and be sensitive to what stumbled or offended others.  He concluded believers were blessed not to condemn themselves when their conscience was clear, and those who doubted it was upright to eat meat offered to idols sinned when they ate it:  "... for whatever is not from faith is sin ." ( Romans 14:23 ) The point Paul mades is excellent and relevant for Christians today, for there can be many things we do (or choose not to do!) for reasons other than faith in God.  We can be influenced by who is watching us or who is around us, by our desire to control the image we want to present to others, peer pressure, fear of offending people, wanting to avoid looking foolish, to keep from losing face or to seek to earn favour.  We might be motiv...

I remember years ago in San Diego we had a mayor who ran on conservative principles he abandoned in tears when he fronted the media, and he stated his position on marriage had changed because of the persuasions of a dear family member.  Some might have appreciated the change in his stance, but the complete reversal of his position was a betrayal of his party and those who voted for him.  I believed he would have done better to cite a conflict of interest and resign rather than undermine the will of the people for personal reasons. One aspect of God's character is He is not a respecter of persons--meaning He does not show preferential treatment.  He does not punish the heathen for sins yet find the rebellion of His people funny or ignore their disobedience.   Deuteronomy 10:17-18 :  " For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.  18  He administers justice f...

I have been considering lately how God is faithful to speak to our need.  When God told His people not to be afraid it was because they were inclined to be fearful; God's exhortation to be strong and courageous because He was with them was because they felt otherwise.  While we would be content with God validating our feelings, His wisdom and truth revealed to us transcends them.  By virtue of who our sovereign God is, His promises in his word and who we are in Jesus Christ, He gives us all the encouragement and comfort we need to keep going as we labour for His glory. We see an illustration of this in the word of the LORD through Haggai the prophet spoken to Zerubbabal, the high priest Joshua, and the people of Israel that were rebuilding the temple after a long period of captivity.   Haggai 2:3-5 reads, " Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?...

People can have romantic notions about being more "serious" concerning their relationship with God.  This can include fanciful ideas of prolonged fasts, voluntarily giving up all hobbies for scripture memorisation, or doing something drastic like moving to Siberia.  I have heard people express they would have to pray or read the Bible more if they had a different role in the church, but I don't believe having a role with more responsibility does anything to fundamentally change a person.  God does not require outrageous things of His people, just simple obedience in following His example like it says in  Micah 6:8 :  " He has shown you, O man, what is good; a nd what does the LORD require of you  b ut to do justly,  t o love mercy,  a nd to walk humbly with your God ?" At Calvary Chapel Sydney we spoke about the Rechabites, how they were obedient to their father Jonadab hundreds of years later to not drink wine.  God used the Rechabites ...

The Jewish sons of Sceva (a chief of the priests) took it upon themselves to be travelling exorcists, and this foray into itinerant ministry did not go well for them.  Jesus gave authority to His disciples over unclean spirits, yet these men decided to follow a formula they picked up from the apostle Paul.  We need God and a relationship with Him by faith in Jesus Christ to accomplish anything of value for His kingdom, for without Jesus we can do nothing ( John 15:5 ).  They imagined by invoking the name of Jesus who Paul preached, the demon would comply with their commands.   Acts 19:15-16 says, " And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"  16  Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded ."  There were two different Greek words for "know" employed by the spirit:  that he knew Jesus...

I was recently reminded of this verse in  James 5:16 :  " Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much ."  Forgiveness by God is not earned through confession alone, nor should we credit particular words of a prayer for healing:  it is the righteous, holy and just God who forgives and heals.  Rather than seeking a person we view as righteous and placing our trust in their access to God, we ought to humble ourselves by obeying God who has spoken to us in His word, the LORD who hears and answers prayer. The final verses of a chapter I read last night connected observance of the Law of Moses with righteousness in  Deuteronomy 6:24-25 :  " And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.  25  Then it will be righteousness for us, i...

The miraculous things Jesus did were connected with His claims of being the Son of God, the Messiah sent by God to be the Saviour of the world.  Early in the public ministry of Jesus, a Pharisee named Nicodemus made this observation in  John 3:2 :  " This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him ."  Jesus turning water into wine and healing the sick were signs that pointed clearly to the fact He was not an ordinary man of Nazareth.  We look for signs to help us navigate to our intended destination.  The preaching of Jesus concerning repentance and the Kingdom of God, combined with His righteous life and miraculous power, directed people to conclude He was either indeed the Christ or a charlatan.  His conduct on the cross alone signaled to a Roman soldier Jesus was surely a righteous man.  Jesus rising from the dead (just...