Marching Forth!

" Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you ?" Judges 6:14 The tasks God calls His people to undertake will always require faith.  These will always be greater tasks than a man can accomplish in his own strength.  The Israelites had been greatly impoverished by the Midianites who brutally oppressed them.  God called Gideon and said to him, " The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour ."  Gideon did not look or feel the part.  He certainly was unable to destroy the Midianites on his own or he would already would have tried to do it!  It was God that prompted him to even consider the crazy notion of massing a force to defeat the mighty Midianites.  It was God and His mighty sword that routed the Midianite nation. God said to Gideon, " Go in this might of yours !"  It was not that Gideon himself was mighty.  Because God was with hi...

I am blessed to be the dad of two budding men aged 13 and 10.  It dawned on me the other day how fast the time is going.  It was depressing to think that in 5 years Zed could leave for university or that my wife and I could have an empty nest in less than a decade.  Whoa.  A lot can change in that amount of time, but it saddened me just the same. Years ago at a men's retreat, the LORD gave me a vision of our Jeep Grand Cherokee.  It was wrecked beyond imagination, a twisted mess of metal.  I just knew my family was in there when the crash happened.  It literally made me cry, thinking about their deaths and what an empty loneliness it would leave inside me.  In that profoundly sad moment, I rejoiced that God did not take my family from me.  He wasn't showing me a picture of the future (we have sold the Jeep!).  But I heard His still small voice tell me that I needed to give them back to Him.  I needed to give them away.  That ...

I love the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.  It is a challenge to all people to boldly undertake tasks bigger than yourself with faith in God for His glory.  While it is true that a chronic problem exists in society of holding low expectations for youth, people of all ages have a propensity to abandon tasks when faced with obstacles.  Christians can adopt an unfounded idea that because God is in us, the Christian life is similar to a cake-walk at a fair:  you have your ticket in your hand, walk around in a circle prompted by happy music, and in a couple minutes you'll have your pick of a sweet dessert.  Christianity is not the life you've always wanted - it is the life God has designed for you to embrace.  It is a life of doing hard things that God does through willing vessels completely committed to Him. In Australia we have a saying.  When someone chooses to do hard things, they are "doing the hard yards."  Everyone loves the ide...

From Wednesday to Saturday I attended the 2012 Envison Conference in Manly, an outreach of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.  The weather was idyllic as we gathered daily for Bible study, worship through song, and encouragement through the fellowship of like-minded believers. Before the first morning session of each day I enjoyed grabbing a coffee and sitting on a bench reading my Bible, watching the waves roll in.  Joggers, walkers engaged in conversation, and people strolling with their dogs passed in front of me on the boardwalk.  Beyond them the ocean disappeared into the distance, a glorious testimony of God's creative beauty.  Countless people enjoy visiting Manly from overseas annually, and others are privileged to call Manly home.  I wonder:  is the beauty lost on people who wake to such beauty every day?  Living in the western suburb of Beaumont Hills, I rarely enjoy mornings at the beach. Even though I appreciated the cool weather and gentle oce...