Our family returned from a busy and profitable week at Camp Kedron last night. It was an amazing week as God did incredible things among the leaders and the campers. Laura and I were "camp parents" and Laura also tackled the role of being camp nurse - a huge job and responsibility. She was phenomenal and I am very proud of her servant's heart and flexibility. There were a few times she had to wake up in the middle of the night to tend to sick campers and she did it with a joyful attitude. After the camp Laura was migraine free too, so that is a wonderful added blessing!
My role was expanded to teaching and leading workshops with the leadership team, and all of them stepped up in a huge way in their discussion groups. Many of the kids were completely transformed by the end of camp, having repented and trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour and LORD. I believe we were all challenged, encouraged, and changed by God's grace. This camp was a tangible testimony of the power of God's love through Jesus and the Body of Christ. So thanks to all of you who have been praying. Your prayers were certainly heard and answered, and may the fruit remain for eternity!
The verses God gave me at the beginning of camp were fulfilled in our midst. For many of us, this was not our first camp and there is always a danger we might look to our experience instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit. Any expectations we might have had were overcome by His miraculous power, grace, and love. Isaiah 43:18-21 reads, "Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.
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Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
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The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.
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This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise." Amen!
20 April 2013
11 April 2013
"Push the Button, Max!"
One movie we enjoy watching as a family is "The Great Race" (with the exception of my wife who finds it "Extremely irritating!") starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk. It is a fantastic and ridiculous showdown between "The Great Leslie" and "Professor Fate" as they race from New York to Paris. Memorable scenes include the epic western brawl in Boracho and the pie fight in Potsdorf. One of the recurring lines in the film is when Professor Fate cackles evilly and barks out the command: "Push the button, Max!" Whenever the hapless henchman pushes the button, only bad things seem to happen!
The line rushed through my mind this morning as we waited to cross the street to catch the bus. When we arrived at the crossing, a woman already stood on the corner, awkwardly close to the button. No matter, I though to myself. She's already pressed the button, and it would be a bit rude to ask her to move aside to push it. It became clear is she had not pressed the button because the green light never signaled for us to cross. Engrossed in conversation, the only reason why I noticed was a single man from the group of ten people that had assembled by then struck out by himself to cross the street. That's the last time I assume someone has pressed the button, I thought to myself. Even if I have to ask someone politely to step aside, I am going to make sure the button is pressed by me or someone else.
There is very little risk in assuming that someone has neglected to press the crosswalk button. The consequence is having to wait for the lights to cycle through again and lose a couple of minutes. Yet there are some assumptions we can make in this life that lead to far greater loss - even loss of life for eternity. Many people pass through this life assuming they are going to heaven. They think that if there is an afterlife for those who are good, they certainly will make the grade. There could be others that assume because they attend a church, own a Bible, and pray over meals, going to heaven for them and their family is a certainty. Perhaps there are some who think because their parents were "good Christians" or because they were baptised or christened as a child, their heavenly booking is approved. But going to heaven is not like waiting to cross a street, where one person pushes the button and everyone else can tag along. Before our bodies die, we must each make a decision to repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation. He is the Way, the only path that leads to heaven and eternal life in the presence of God. If we die before the divine transaction of justification through faith takes place, hell is our only destination.
Jesus has paid the price, but the only way for His divine payment to apply to our lives is through genuine faith in Him. How terrible would it be for a person to assume they are going to heaven when the exact opposite is true! One of the consequences of the day in which we live - one of medical advancement and widespread treatment options - is we are not accustomed in westernised societies to facing death. Television and computer screens are filled with renditions of death, and we become detached to the reality of our mortality. It used to be common to have parents and multiple siblings die young. I was 12 years old before I experienced a death in the family, that of my Grandma Cecil. She lived a full life, and was in her 80's before she went the way of the earth. The finality of death hit me hard. Now about 25 years older, I have seen many people pass away. To some degree, death always seems to catch people off guard in the timing, the means, and our emotional response or lack thereof.
Romans 10:8-10 reads, "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." No one can push the button of belief and faith for you. Have you confessed publicly that Jesus Christ is your LORD and Saviour? Have you based your assurance of salvation upon meeting the conditions set forth in the Bible? When we truly believe something, it will govern the way we live. If we love Jesus, we will do what He says. Our faith is to be demonstrated through our works.
Don't take for granted you are going to heaven. Assume nothing. No one can push the button for you. Should we procrastinate when eternal life or death hangs in the balance? Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The line rushed through my mind this morning as we waited to cross the street to catch the bus. When we arrived at the crossing, a woman already stood on the corner, awkwardly close to the button. No matter, I though to myself. She's already pressed the button, and it would be a bit rude to ask her to move aside to push it. It became clear is she had not pressed the button because the green light never signaled for us to cross. Engrossed in conversation, the only reason why I noticed was a single man from the group of ten people that had assembled by then struck out by himself to cross the street. That's the last time I assume someone has pressed the button, I thought to myself. Even if I have to ask someone politely to step aside, I am going to make sure the button is pressed by me or someone else.
There is very little risk in assuming that someone has neglected to press the crosswalk button. The consequence is having to wait for the lights to cycle through again and lose a couple of minutes. Yet there are some assumptions we can make in this life that lead to far greater loss - even loss of life for eternity. Many people pass through this life assuming they are going to heaven. They think that if there is an afterlife for those who are good, they certainly will make the grade. There could be others that assume because they attend a church, own a Bible, and pray over meals, going to heaven for them and their family is a certainty. Perhaps there are some who think because their parents were "good Christians" or because they were baptised or christened as a child, their heavenly booking is approved. But going to heaven is not like waiting to cross a street, where one person pushes the button and everyone else can tag along. Before our bodies die, we must each make a decision to repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation. He is the Way, the only path that leads to heaven and eternal life in the presence of God. If we die before the divine transaction of justification through faith takes place, hell is our only destination.
Jesus has paid the price, but the only way for His divine payment to apply to our lives is through genuine faith in Him. How terrible would it be for a person to assume they are going to heaven when the exact opposite is true! One of the consequences of the day in which we live - one of medical advancement and widespread treatment options - is we are not accustomed in westernised societies to facing death. Television and computer screens are filled with renditions of death, and we become detached to the reality of our mortality. It used to be common to have parents and multiple siblings die young. I was 12 years old before I experienced a death in the family, that of my Grandma Cecil. She lived a full life, and was in her 80's before she went the way of the earth. The finality of death hit me hard. Now about 25 years older, I have seen many people pass away. To some degree, death always seems to catch people off guard in the timing, the means, and our emotional response or lack thereof.
Romans 10:8-10 reads, "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." No one can push the button of belief and faith for you. Have you confessed publicly that Jesus Christ is your LORD and Saviour? Have you based your assurance of salvation upon meeting the conditions set forth in the Bible? When we truly believe something, it will govern the way we live. If we love Jesus, we will do what He says. Our faith is to be demonstrated through our works.
Don't take for granted you are going to heaven. Assume nothing. No one can push the button for you. Should we procrastinate when eternal life or death hangs in the balance? Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
09 April 2013
God Created Man Needy
In Shel Silverstein's classic poem The Giving Tree, a little boy grows up with an apple tree who loves him. Though the love of the tree towards the boy does not change, over time the desires of the boy do. A a child he climbed the tree, swung from her branches, made crowns from her leaves, picked and ate apples, and leaned against the trunk etched with his name and the tree with love. As time passed, the boy grew older and did not spend much time with the tree. The tree offered her apples, branches, and trunk which the boy gladly used for his own profit and left for a long time.
There are many aspects to this beautiful poem, but an especially brilliant facet is how the boy was never satisfied or even grateful. In fact, he never thanked the tree for giving everything she could for him. Even as the appetite is never satisfied for long, nothing in this world will give us lasting contentment and satisfaction. Before sin entered the world and death through sin, Adam and Eve had access to all the fruit of the garden of Eden as food. Yet they transgressed by eating fruit from the forbidden tree. Obtaining their desire only added to their sorrows. How many times have people thought they could find satisfaction in a relationship, in money, a career, business success, in stuff, a marriage, in children, an affair, a divorce, re-marriage, pleasure, eating, drinking, entertainment, and collecting - only to find themselves more empty than when they began! They find themselves strangers in their own homes: their dreams fading as their lives slip away, screaming for help behind a smiling face, thirsting for love and acceptance, while the reality sinks in that the very things they spent their entire lives to obtain are hollow, burdensome, and lifeless. People keep falling for the lie that if we just shell out for the latest and greatest thing, find a younger woman, secure the big salary package, or get married we will find the significance we have been lacking.
God made man needy. He created us to need water, food, sleep, oxygen, and shelter. He created us with a deep, insatiable longing for companionship, love, acceptance, and recognition. He put within us a thirst for information, a wealth of creativity, curiosity, and a delight in the beauty of nature. In His wisdom God designed man to have a relationship with Him that no earthly romance, career, money, or pastime can replace. Our desire for intimacy with our divine Creator is quenchable only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. This desire is often masked by other pursuits, and the hubbub of life drowns out and distracts us from this genuine need. Jesus says in Matthew 11:27-30: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." This rest that Christ speaks of is a rest found only in Him through faith. We are all born in sins, and our greatest need is to be forgiven, cleansed from our sins, and reconciled to God. The Door we must pass through to meet these needs is through repentance and faith in Jesus as Saviour. In Him we found profound security, contentment, love, peace, and joy not found in this world. In fact, the more that we invest in things of this world that are passing away, the less contentment and rest we will have.
Just like the tree continued to give to the boy despite his selfishness and lack of thanks, so God gives to all people - whether they believe in Him or not. He gives from the inexhaustible storehouses of the riches of His grace. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus has offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, so all who repent and trust in Him will not go to hell but abide with Him for eternity. Let us be as children who delight to receive all that the Father has graciously provided with thanksgiving. He offers us rest in His shade, a place in heaven with Him forever, a place setting at His banqueting table, and a throne of eternal glory. We are not worthy of such gifts, but let us receive them. May we honour God by giving back to Him our lives and substance as living sacrifices for His glory. Let us remember to thank God for His goodness and gifts unto men! In this God is pleased!
There are many aspects to this beautiful poem, but an especially brilliant facet is how the boy was never satisfied or even grateful. In fact, he never thanked the tree for giving everything she could for him. Even as the appetite is never satisfied for long, nothing in this world will give us lasting contentment and satisfaction. Before sin entered the world and death through sin, Adam and Eve had access to all the fruit of the garden of Eden as food. Yet they transgressed by eating fruit from the forbidden tree. Obtaining their desire only added to their sorrows. How many times have people thought they could find satisfaction in a relationship, in money, a career, business success, in stuff, a marriage, in children, an affair, a divorce, re-marriage, pleasure, eating, drinking, entertainment, and collecting - only to find themselves more empty than when they began! They find themselves strangers in their own homes: their dreams fading as their lives slip away, screaming for help behind a smiling face, thirsting for love and acceptance, while the reality sinks in that the very things they spent their entire lives to obtain are hollow, burdensome, and lifeless. People keep falling for the lie that if we just shell out for the latest and greatest thing, find a younger woman, secure the big salary package, or get married we will find the significance we have been lacking.
God made man needy. He created us to need water, food, sleep, oxygen, and shelter. He created us with a deep, insatiable longing for companionship, love, acceptance, and recognition. He put within us a thirst for information, a wealth of creativity, curiosity, and a delight in the beauty of nature. In His wisdom God designed man to have a relationship with Him that no earthly romance, career, money, or pastime can replace. Our desire for intimacy with our divine Creator is quenchable only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. This desire is often masked by other pursuits, and the hubbub of life drowns out and distracts us from this genuine need. Jesus says in Matthew 11:27-30: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." This rest that Christ speaks of is a rest found only in Him through faith. We are all born in sins, and our greatest need is to be forgiven, cleansed from our sins, and reconciled to God. The Door we must pass through to meet these needs is through repentance and faith in Jesus as Saviour. In Him we found profound security, contentment, love, peace, and joy not found in this world. In fact, the more that we invest in things of this world that are passing away, the less contentment and rest we will have.
Just like the tree continued to give to the boy despite his selfishness and lack of thanks, so God gives to all people - whether they believe in Him or not. He gives from the inexhaustible storehouses of the riches of His grace. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus has offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, so all who repent and trust in Him will not go to hell but abide with Him for eternity. Let us be as children who delight to receive all that the Father has graciously provided with thanksgiving. He offers us rest in His shade, a place in heaven with Him forever, a place setting at His banqueting table, and a throne of eternal glory. We are not worthy of such gifts, but let us receive them. May we honour God by giving back to Him our lives and substance as living sacrifices for His glory. Let us remember to thank God for His goodness and gifts unto men! In this God is pleased!
08 April 2013
The Field of Sharp Swords
"And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.
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Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
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So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.
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And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon."
2 Samuel 2:13-16
This event illustrates the destruction of division. During this season in Israel's history, the nation was divided between allegiance to David king of Judah and king Ishbosheth who reigned over the remaining tribes of Israel. Generals Abner and Joab gathered at Gibeon, situated on opposite sides of a pool of water. Abner suggested the men have a bit of fun. Joab agreed. Twelve men from each side were chosen to compete in a wrestling match of sorts. It was not long before tempers flared, swords flashed, and twenty four men lay dead in pools of their own blood by the hands of their fellow countrymen. What a great tragedy! In this moment of violent passion it appears these men forgot they were brothers.
These men had lost sight of who their enemy was. Philistines had invaded the land, yet the division between the house of David and Ishbosheth led to brother killing brother. Divisions in the Body of Christ have led to numerous battles and infamous killing fields. Like Abner and Joab, we can fall into the trap of setting ourselves in opposition to others divided by practice or interpretation. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this ought not to be! If pride begins to take root in our hearts, we are not far from a fall. God has given us a sword to stand fast in faith and to earnestly contend for the faith, not to mercilessly attack men created in the image of God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:2-3, "I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?" The massacre at the Field of Sharp Swords was a result of the flesh. Our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Our battle is not against people of differing beliefs and practices within or outside the Body of Christ. Our battle is against Satan, a foe defeated by the shed blood of Jesus Christ we by God's grace have also overcome.
For those with ears to hear, let us consider Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." Mere men cannot fulfill this task: we need the power of the Holy Spirit filling and anointing us to walk in such love. Jesus says to those who cause division, "Put your sword in its sheath!" The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword intended to reveal the thoughts and intents of our hearts, not for the purpose of devouring one another. Let us be peacemakers. Those who live by the sword also die by the sword. We are one body in Christ. What God has joined, let not man attempt to separate. May we mourn all manner of division and seek restoration by God's grace.
This post is not for others to heed: it is for you alone. It is not ammunition to condemn others. It is not a sharp sword to point out faults and further cause division. It is an exhortation that we might labour to be peacemakers and those who unite instead of sowing discord. James 3:13-18 reads, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
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