Marching Forth!

" A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another ." John 13:34 Jesus commanded His disciples they love one another as He had loved them.  His faithfulness to love was seen daily and culminated with Jesus demonstrating His love for all people by dying on the cross for sinners.  The greatest loves we experience in this world are mere hints and shadows of God's love.  Because love is of God it is impossible those who do not know God could express or experience such love apart from Him.  It is more than feelings, affection, desire and acceptance because only in God is love fully manifested as  1 John 4:7-8 says:  " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love ." The worldly concept of what love is as an ideal falls woefully short of the reality.  Dr. Gary Chapman ...

" And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. " Revelation 22:12 Woolworths has a program called "Everyday Rewards" which allows shoppers to scan a card to "earn" rewards.  For me, scanning my card for purchases saves a small amount of petrol and provides a $10 credit I can use to buy groceries.  It is relatively painless trade-off which provides benefits which are better than nothing. :) Jesus told His followers He is coming quickly and His reward is with Him.  Upon Jesus' return to earth He will establish His kingdom, will judge His enemies and reward His servants.  The words of Christ give me cause to pause and wonder:  do I value Jesus and the rewards He offers by His grace as much as He loves me?  When I was young in the faith, the idea of reaping eternal, heavenly rewards drove me to service and self-denial, but at the core of this was selfishness.  I wanted to be a standout; I wanted ac...

It is interesting what motivates people.  Many sports teams employ "bulletin board material" of negative comments from an opposing team they will soon face to motivate athletes to make their opponents eat their words.  Knowing the odds are stacked against a team or player goads them on to try even harder.  The underdog doesn't always win the game, but when they do you can be sure they will mention it.  During interviews we have heard things like, "No one gave us a chance to win today..." or "We proved all the haters wrong."  After the Houston Astros eliminated the Minnesota Twins from the MLB playoffs, shortstop Carlos Corea said, " I know a lot of people don’t want to see us here. But what are they going to say now ?"  Believing it is you against the world can motivate people to try that much harder to prove others wrong. I have observed a similar sentiment among Christians as well.  Some identify with the biblical imagery of being a soldie...

Ten years have passed since the beginning of my adventure in Australia.  It seems like a lifetime ago in 2002 I was living in southern California and working in a trade when God suddenly revealed to me while doing yardwork the plans He had for me:  " You will preach, and you will be sent ."  I could accept this easily enough because nothing is impossible with God, but I had many questions which in due time God answered.  It became evident Australia was the place God planned to send me long before I knew how He would do it or when.  Along the way God has provided encouragement when needed and from unlikely sources. When I was in the preparatory stages of answering the call to minister in Australia, I was introduced to lives of two missionary women who deeply impacted me and still do this day:  Gladys Aylward of England and Isobel Kuhn of Canada.  As I read their stories it reinforced the God who called them to China was the God who called me to Australi...