Marching Forth!

" Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength ." Deuteronomy 6:4-5 The world is filled with things people love.  As God's adopted children, Christians know their love for God ought to overshadow all other loves, making them even as hate in comparison ( Luke 14:26 ).  But we don't always do what we should, do we?  Our affections should be set on things above, not on things of this earth.  This is a battle we often acknowledge with only half our heart, so filled are we with other loves. "I love God more than anything," we protest.  Those words, at times, may be true.  But we must admit we are very good at justifying ourselves and quantifying love according to our hearts - which are deceitful beyond compare!  Indeed, love is difficult to discern because it is expressed in many ways:  thoughts, words, actions, emotions, and feel...

A sign by the Temple Mount in Jerusalem reads, " The Sages said about it, "The Divine Presence never moves from the Western Wall ."  In the Old City it seems there is a constant flow of Orthodox Jews heading to and from the Western Wall to pray.  Like in the days when the temple Solomon built stood on Mount Moriah as the focal point of God's presence, today many look at the Western Wall as the place to draw near to God. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil separating the holy place from the "Holy of Holies" was rent from top to bottom.  This revealed the Ark of the Covenant which had previously been concealed from the view of everyone but the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.  In the days of the tabernacle when the ark was moved it was always wrapped in skins, hidden from the sight of the people.  Jesus ushered in a New Covenant in His own blood, once for all atoning for the sins of all who will repent and trust in Him.  The need for sacrificing anim...

As I reflect upon my recent travels to Israel, perhaps this picture I took in En Gedi best illustrates the spiritual effect of the trip in my life.  Though arid and dry, Israel is a land of rich soil and fruitfulness.  Barren, rocky places like En Gedi have natural springs flowing through them even in the summer months.  What a glorious truth, that though this world is dry and thirsty Jesus provides Living Water so our thirst can be quenched forever.  In a world of darkness, the Light of the World shines bright.  There is life, light, and refreshment for all those who will seek the LORD with their whole hearts. This morning I read 2 Chronicles 29, the passage where Hezekiah took steps to restore the proper worship of God in Jerusalem.  This restoration and cleansing was required many times during the years the temple stood in Jerusalem!  Hezekiah's father, King Ahaz, had forsaken God and followed after idols.  He defiled the holy place and rob...

As I left a meeting and stepped into the carpark this morning, the lyrics from Bryan Adam's "Summer of '69" went through my head.  It was a bit bizarre, as it has been at least a decade since I heard the song!  Looking back on his life Bryan sings, " Oh, when I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever.  And if I had the choice, yeah, I'd always wanna be there.  Those were the best days of my life ."  If we go through life looking on how things were with regret, wishing we could "go back in time" like Uncle Rico in the movie Napoleon Dynamite , we may end up living alone in a van somewhere.  We cannot go back in time, even if we use the internet to buy a machine - complete with crystals.  When we try to live in the past, we'll never embrace the future. That's one aspect of walking with Jesus Christ I love:  He provides the opportunity for new beginnings.  We don't need to long to return to a past awakening, revival, or mo...

God's Word is amazing how it provides keys to unlock deeper understanding of God and His ways.  The more you read of the Bible, the more you realise it is one book written by a single Author:  God!  There were many men used by God to pen the scriptures, but clearly He inspired all of them.  An example I have been pondering recently is found in the book of Proverbs which relates to what Jesus says in Matthew. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, " Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them ."  I don't know abo...

Jehoshaphat was a king who trusted in God.  He was a man who "questioned" God, but not the doubtful way God's existence is "questioned" today.  Jehoshaphat asked questions of God, knowing God heard his prayers and would honour His promises.  It is not a lack of faith that moved Jehoshaphat to ask questions of God:  it was faith that compelled him to seek God in his time of need. When the Moabites and Ammonites came against Judah and Jerusalem with a massive army, Jehoshaphat's response was to seek refuge in his God.  In response to the invaders 2 Chronicles 20:3-12 says, " And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: "O LORD God of our fathe...

One of the men in the Bible I truly admire is found in 2 Chronicles 18:  Micaiah the son of Imlah.  He was a faithful prophet to God when he faced a lot of pressure to fall in line with Ahab's 400 prophets.  The wicked king Ahab couldn't stand the man!  When Jehoshaphat asked if they could inquire of the LORD before going to battle in Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab quickly produced his 400 prophets.  Their consensus?  "Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand."  We are not told how, but Jehoshaphat discerned these 400 prophets were not speaking for God.  So he politely asked Ahab, "Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?" Ahab was blunt.  2 Chronicles 18:7 tells us, " So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah." And Jehoshaphat s...

The title of this post is loaded and cocked like a high-powered rifle.  Answering "no" runs the risk of limiting God, and affirming it creates the potential of wrongly attributing deeds to God.  God is Almighty and has primarily revealed His character, righteousness, and Gospel through the Word of God.  The times I have heard this statement used, the Bible is the book being referenced.  The Bible is not just "a" book, but His book.  I believe the Bible is exactly what it claims to be:  all scripture is of His divine inspiration, His God-breathed Word ( 2 Tim. 3:16-17 ).  So before we can even fairly tackle the question, we must consider the context of making such a statement.  If we do not first understand the premise, we can arrive at the wrong conclusion. When someone says "God is bigger than a book," it is the premise of the statement that concerns me more than the statement itself.  Atheists or unbelievers are not the ones saying this, ...

During family devotions a few nights ago we read a passage which has remained in my mind and on my heart.  Judges 3:1-4 reads, " Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan 2 (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it), 3 namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 4 And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses ." The children of Israel were not obedient to drive out the nations in the land of promise.  Therefore God told them He would no longer drive them out, and it was not out of spite or frustration.  God had righteo...

John 4 tells of a woman in the city of Samaria who went to a well to draw water.  To her amazement, she met a Jewish man at the well who not only acknowledged her presence, but asked for a drink!  This was quite out of the ordinary.  To put her perspective in her own words, "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans."  She realised quickly that Jesus was no ordinary man.  He was not even an ordinary prophet.  He said in John 4:13-14 , " Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life ."  As Jesus told her of Living Water only He could provide through the Holy Spirit and eternal life, her heart leaped with the incredible possibility:  was this the promised Messiah? She went to the well with a plan to draw water, but in her excitement over meeting and speaking wit...

Today is my first day back in OZ after a relaxing holiday in New Zealand.  It was a wonderful blessing and I was thankful for the opportunity to see the sights and spend time with family.  Life had become very busy and so many things were vying for attention, like pesky flies swarming persistently at your face.  In addition to seeing beautiful countryside and enjoying family time it was a good opportunity to step back and evaluate the way I spend time.  With God's help, I shall jump back into the fray circumspectly and seeking His leading in my life. A fitting passage was one our family read last night.  It is one thing to know you are called by God and even what you are supposed to do.  But it matters little to have knowledge of what you are to do should you neglect to seek God in how to do it.  Judges 1:1-3 is a great illustration of this, something more common than we might think.  The children of Israel did not always inquire of the LORD be...

When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he said it was not a tedious task to remind and exhort them to rejoice in the LORD.  If it was not tedious or irksome ( Phil. 3:1 ) for him to write as led by the Holy Spirit, it should certainly not be tedious to read and study the same Word so we too might hear God speak.  Because I believe the Bible is proven to be literal God-breathed truth, it is rich and exciting in itself.  I wonder when people are driven to conjecture to somehow make the Bible more interesting, as if it was a dull and boring book devoid of power.  The Bible alone contains the words of life, and there is nothing dull about that! Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 with commands, warnings, and exhortations.  He wrote in 2 Timothy 4:1-5 , " I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, e...

There are rich of blessings for all who avail themselves of God's divine exchanges.  These exchanges must be done intentionally in faith according to God's Word.  I have continued to consider something spoken about in the sermon yesterday at Calvary Chapel Sydney, the fact God has placed redemptive value upon our sorrow, mourning, pain, and depression.  When we commit them to God in faith, He gives us a wonderful blessing in exchange. God never promised to keep Christians from pain and sorrow in this life on earth.  In fact, Jesus promised in this world we will have tribulation.  We will all face consequences from sin in this world, and our experiences can be bitter indeed.  Though God does not insulate us from sorrow and pain, we are invited to be those who are casting our cares upon Him because He cares for us.  He has not promised to still every storm, but He offers us peace, comfort, and solace in the storm.  Our role is to admit our pain a...

Jesus called the temple a "house of prayer" ( Matt. 21:13 , quoting from Is. 56:7 ), and when God spoke to Solomon He referred to it as a "house of sacrifice." ( 2 Chron. 7:12 )  Since the institution of the new covenant in Christ's blood, Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Cor. 6:19 ).  This is suggestive of things that ought to mark our lives, even as they did the life of Christ on earth:  prayer and sacrifice.  God does not dwell in temples made with hands, but indwells those redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ.  Consider the implications of believers being the temple of the Holy Spirit as God spoke to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:13-16 :  " When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin...

How natural it is for us to value the gift over the giver!  When speaking about miraculous healings performed by Jesus Christ or Holy Spirit-filled disciples, we can miss the point of the exercise of spiritual power.  The healing of the body was not the end but a means:  a means to demonstrate the power of God so He might be glorified.  People can fall into the trap of seeing the exercise of spiritual power as the end, rather than the glory of God. When we focus on a spiritual gift as an end in itself, we miss the purpose God has in giving and the exercise of the gift.  We are like babies who chew on extension cords, not even comprehending there is power flowing between our gums for a better purpose than our teething.  When Jesus healed a blind man, His disciples asked "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  John 9:3 says, " Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed ...

I was listening to a Calvary Chapel Radio app and heard pastor Brian Broderson speaking.  As he recited a verse with which I was familiar, the LORD illuminated it in a fresh way.  Hebrews 12 begins, " Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God ." This verse illustrates the purpose and intentionality of the Christian walk.  It is not simply a life of sin avoidance, but of running the race set before each one of us just as Jesus did.  He endured, and since the Holy Spirit has regenerated and filled Christ's followers, we can persevere to the end.  If we skim through the passage, we might think the wr...

I love when God opens my eyes to catch glimpses of His plan in the Bible.  Through Old Testament prophets God spoke of a Messiah who would save His people from their sin.   The New Testament begins with the Gospels by hailing Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of this divine promise.  Because He came in humility cloaked in humanity, He was rejected by the very people He came to save.  The Jews were looking for one who would rule the nations with a rod of iron, yet that fulfillment is still to come when Jesus is revealed to the world the second time.  Jesus came as a servant of all, and died to set sinners free.  Jesus rose glorified three days later, proving He is exactly who He claimed to be, a message harmonised with the angels who announced his birth to disciples who followed Him in faith.  He is Immanuel - God made flesh - our Peace, my LORD and my God. In the opening chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John addresses the letter to seven chu...

We are in a spiritually healthy place when our thoughts, words, and deeds are moved by faith in Jesus Christ.  In this day of relativism and theological revision, it is imperative Christians ground themselves in the Word of God to know truth from error.  Error is not always obvious and requires discernment through the Holy Spirit.  As someone who believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God to be taken literally whenever possible, the scriptures form my theology.  Even though God and His Word have not changed, I have changed over the years.  My understanding has expanded as I have worked to put the scriptures into practice by faith.  After being justified by faith in Christ, the sanctification process has been embraced in varying degrees in my life.  This means change, a transforming work of being moulded more into the image of Jesus.  This means a change of heart, mind, and life for the better! I cannot stress the importance of living our liv...

I have heard many people speak of revival over the years, and often it sounds something like this:  "What we need is revival."  "Do you know how long it has been since there was a true revival in our nation?"  "Wouldn't you love to take part in a revival?" As I have been thinking about "revival" in the last few days, there are a couple of misconceptions I feel important to clear up.  Revival starts with God's people, not with the world.  Revival carries with it the idea that something was once alive and has stopped breathing, or the heart has ceased to function, and revival is necessary to continue living.  When we see the deeds and hear the words of those who fear not God, revival is not what they need initially:  they need regeneration, salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, to be born again! For all the times I have heard people lamenting the lack of revival, not one time have I heard someone say, " I need revival."  This i...

Our identity dictates whose approval we seek.  Growing up, I was raised in a home by both my parents.  Because I identified Mark and Darla as my parents and I was their son, when they gave me tasks to perform I needed to ensure the end results met their standards.  I might have thought the bathroom was clean enough, but their approval is what mattered.  If I cleaned a window for half an hour, time spent did not grant me their approval.  Should the glass remain smeared and streaked, it would not be acceptable.  I sought the approval of my parents so I could move on to something fun! If our identity is in Christ, it is imperative we seek His approval and walk in the way that pleases Him.  History proves God's people often lose sight of their identity in Him.  It is often written of the children of Israel and certainly applies to God's people today, that they did what was right in their own eyes.  Though God brought them out of bondage in Egyp...

"No rest for the weary," goes the cliche.  Now wait a moment, Mr. Cliche maker.  Clearly when coining your phrase you did not consider the words of Jesus when He said in Matthew 11:28-30 , " 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 ."  No amount of physical rest will eliminate weariness or the certainty of future aches and pains.  But rest for the soul!  Life has a way of sucking the "life" right out of us.  When our souls become weary of the drudgery of life, the emptiness of religious activity, the pain of rejection, fear of uncertainty, weighed down with guilt and shame due to our sin, Jesus bids us come to Him.  The life Jesus offers to all who receive Him is abundant for eternity. The words of Jesus are ironic.  When we think abo...

In our day, the statement "It's not about you" certainly will raise eyebrows and hackles everywhere, both within and without the church.  I suspect this is because I have been raised in a cultural platform which says everything is about me!    In a society that stresses the potential and value of individuals, that I can be whatever I want to be as I follow my heart, even the suggestion that my life is not about me may seem repulsive, offensive, and ignorant.  But the scriptural truth remains undeterred, gleaming ever brighter in a world darkened with humanism.  God created all things for His good pleasure, and we exist by His grace for His glory.  Our existence is all about God. The greatest joy for a human being created in the image of the Almighty God is to know and serve Him.  Yet when we present the truth of the Gospel, it can be done in a way which emphasises personal benefits and gifts we receive from God more than the worthiness of God Hi...