Marching Forth!

On the radio today I heard a song by Lady GaGa called, "Born This Way."  The song begins in unassuming way, even mentioning God as the Maker and Designer of man.  The chorus states, " I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes I'm on the right track, baby I was born this way ."  There is nothing wrong with rejoicing in the marvelous creation of God.  David says in Psalm 139:14, " I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well ."  It is true that God makes no mistakes, and even Paul affirms " by the grace of God I am what I am " in 1 Corinthians 15:10 . God makes no mistakes, but man certainly does!  And this is the problem with GaGa's philosophy and humanistic theology:  man is born on the wrong track because all men are sold under sin.  In Romans 7:14-15 Paul writes, " For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. ...

At Calvary Chapel Sydney we have a Tuesday morning prayer meeting from 6 to 7:30am open to all who desire to attend.  After I started the coffee and sat down to read the Bible before the meeting, I looked towards the front door.  On a table near the entry sits a green, thriving plant.  I my experience, plants do not stay green on their own!  My best efforts to keep green things green and growing typically produce dismal results.  Over the past couple months I have seen different people from the church checking the condition of the plant, watering it, and clearing away the ants which on a daily basis find it again and again. Taking care of the plant is no one's job and yet is a job always done.  As far as I know the care for this plant is not governed by sign-in sheets, a planned roster, or even word of mouth.  Amazingly this living plant looks a million times better than most of the plastic plants I have seen in churches or office buildings.  Be...

Yesterday after church service many of the ladies from our church gathered together for yum cha at a local restaurant.  Not to be left out, some men went over to North Rocks for a meal at Nando's.  I had never been to Nando's before and were treated with some delicious spicy chicken.  I ordered extra hot chicken and added extra-extra hot peri-peri sauce...it was a welcome amount of heat for a spicy food enthusiast as myself. While we waited for our party to arrive, we were greeted by a Nando's employee offering chicken wings to people who passed by.  Most people who walked by were happy to enjoy a sample or two.  Occasionally there was a person who was not interested, but the bearer of wings did not seem to mind.  He continued to happily hand out samples and vouchers:  why should he be ashamed to offer quality meat for free? As I ate my sample I thought about the parallels of evangelism.  Jesus is the Bread of Life freely offered not just to s...

Yesterday I received word that one of my friends and co-laborers at Calvary Chapel El Cajon has passed into eternity:  Mark Peters.  His time of difficulty has passed, having recently been diagnosed with cancer. Having been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, Mark undoubtedly now rejoices in heaven.  My grief is great, not because Mark has gone home but that I was unable to visit him as he lay dying.  I will not be able to attend a service to memorialize his life.  Though God is a present help and comfort to me, presenting a tangible testimony of my thoughts of Mark in the presence of his family and friends is unobtainable. Hence the impetus for this post:  let me tell you a little about my friend Mark.  The thing which struck you immediately about Mark is that he was real.  His faith and love for God was real.  He had not had an easy life by any means - there had been many struggles along the way, but God br...

Our family has just moved into our new rental home, and so much has been happening both at church and with the moving process.  About 85% of our things have been taken out of boxes, and books primarily remain packed.  Our new house will not have an operational land-line or Internet connection until February 10th, so our daily routine is to go somewhere so we can hurriedly check e-mails, do our banking, etc.  Needless to say, blogging will be nearly impossible for the next couple weeks! Where do I begin in explaining the "hecticity" of our lives right now?  Saturday night we were in a car accident (everyone ok, we were not at fault) so the back of the car is smashed in.  The back window exploded and is now covered with cling wrap and tape (not pretty, but effective!) which greatly limits our carrying capacity!  I am happy to say that the car in front of us which we hit suffered very minor damage, just traded a little paint.  Two of the five cars ...

While driving down Old Windsor Road I saw a company name written on a vehicle which interested me:  it read something to the effect of "Inner Alchemy Massage Therapy."  Alchemy is a fascinating subject because it has never been successful.  Like Rumpelstiltskin turned straw into gold in the fable, people through the ages have tried to use chemical or occultic means to change worthless or cheap metals into valuable ones.  No matter how many chemicals a person adds to lead or tin, it will never become platinum or gold. The company name I read illustrates the fact man thinks that by stimulating the body or mind with religion, philosophy, or exercise, he can purify himself.  Is it possible that a massage of muscles can increase the value of my soul?  This is a far stretch!  And why, if man believes himself naturally good (which he is not - that is why we lock our doors, protect our personal details, and buy pepper-spray), do we need any "inner alchemy" a...

People are dynamic and unique, and no two share the same personality.  To claim to speak for all people is simply impossible, though we all share similar needs and natures.  As I was cleaning a pool this morning, I was thinking about atheism, a belief system that claims "there is no God."  There are some who might claim this is an oversimplification, but the basic premise is the assertion God does not exist. There may be many reasons that brings a person to this stance.  Atheism stands in defiance of God and places self as a substitute.  The allure of atheism for many is there is no right or wrong, no Supreme Being that must be contended with, no judgment, and no hope of life after death.  In this world a man can become like God, doing what is right in his own eyes without eternal consequence.  This was the same advice and argument present by Satan to Eve in the Garden of Eden:  Genesis 3:4-5 reads, ". ..You will not surely die. 5 For God k...