Marching Forth!

I am constantly amazed by the wisdom of God in His Word.  It is deeply profound, yet very simple.  The Bible is not so much something to be explained by men, but to be read, believed, and obeyed as the Holy Spirit teaches us.  How much of Christ's teachings oppose what man naturally thinks!  Take this teaching of Jesus found in Luke 16:10-13 , for example: He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?" 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. In our natural state, we are convinced that we can be slack in the small things but faithful ...

" Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire ." Hebrews 12:28-29 Last night when driving home from church, I was reminded that God is a holy God.  He is flawless in character, beautiful in perfection, fierce, infinite in power, and a consuming fire.  Every example I can give in comparing God to man is woefully lacking.  He is like molten gold in comparison to dung, flowing lava that consumes chaff in an instant.  We are made of corruptible elements of earth, while God is unchanging, timeless, and a supernatural Spirit.  No man dare stand before Him, and only fools believe they can fool Him.  If a man should think twice about attacking the Leviathan mentioned in the book of Job, who can fight against God? In a day when personal rights are embraced and protected more than ever, the pride and arrogance of man...

In many cases, making comparisons is a path which leads to sin.  Comparing ourselves against others will move us to be self-righteous because we see ourselves as better.  We can also become envious and jealous because we don't measure up.  It is a product of our fallen nature:  humans delight in gossip, lies, back-stabbing, or cutting each other down with words.  When I am compared with another person in a positive light, I instantly feel uncomfortable.  I know it is only a matter of time before the same person compares me with another person negatively.  I find comparing is a hair's breadth from judging, something God tells us not to do.  Matthew 7:1-2 says, " Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you ." Paul was clear in his words to the Corinthian church concerning the danger of unwise comparisons.  2 Corinthians 10:12 read...

" Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy ." 2 Chronicles 8:11 Solomon was a man endowed with great wisdom from God.  Unlike most men, his wisdom lessened with age.  After God granted his request for wisdom to govern God's people, the report of his great wisdom reached far and wide.  But as he grew in affluence and power in a land without war, he let his guard down.  Moral lapses gave way to abominable idolatry.  He multiplied wives and horses to himself, and ended being a great fool because he ceased to seek after God with all his heart, soul, and mind. Most of us have heard about sins of commission (sin willfully committed) and omission (good left undone).  One of the ways we justify sin is when we grant sin accommodation.  Marrying the daughter...

A few months back I shared how God had blessed me with an opportunity to play baseball.  After suffering a shoulder injury and not making the school team at 15 years old, I walked away from the game for good - so I thought.  21 years later, I had no idea that I would be called by God to be a pastor, move to Australia, or take up the game of baseball.  My first season back in the game playing for the Rouse Hill Wildcats came to a wonderful conclusion Saturday as we beat the Castle Hill Knights in the Grand Final 15-5.  We are the "premiers" of the Sydney Metro Baseball league, H-Grade.  Much of our team had never played baseball before, much less play in a Grand Final.  Here's a team picture, each of us with our engraved trophy mugs - complete with a handle! Left to right: Randall, myself, Gav, Liam, Cam, Keith, Trav, Paul, Donna (scorer), Kyle, Pete, Pat, and Stacy  I thank my teammates for a great season, and most of all I thank God for enabling m...

Repentance is a theme which has been running through my mind for the last month or so.  This morning in prayer the LORD showed me PVC fittings and pipes for irrigation in my mind.  I found this most bizarre.  Why would I suddenly be thinking of irrigation?  As I prayed for wisdom and understanding I thought back to when I laid the pipes to irrigate my front yard.  After I dug trenches according to my set of drawings to the prescribed depth, I began to fit the pipes together without glue.  When every length of pipe had been cut, after every coupling, elbow, riser, and sprinkler head was in place, I began to glue the pieces together. The glue was a dark blue colour, suitable for wet or dry applications.  In a very short time the glue set strong enough to handle the water pressure.  But the way the glue is applied is key.  Glue must be liberally applied to the inside of the coupling as well to the clean-cut end of the pipe.  Quickly the p...

As I was reading through the book of Numbers last night, I came to the portion where Moses commanded the people to keep the Passover at the appointed time:  the 14th day of the first month.  Men approached Moses with an important question.  Certain men had been deemed unclean by the Law because they had come in contact with a dead body.  However, they desired to keep the feast and offer the appropriate sacrifice to the LORD - but were unclean.  Numbers 9:8 reads, " And Moses said unto them, "Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you ."  God spoke to Moses and told him that those deemed unclean under ceremonial Law could keep the Passover on the 14th day of the second month, as long as it was carried out in precisely the same way as it should have been done a month earlier. What struck me about the passage were the words of Moses when faced with this dilemma.  If I was in a situation like Moses, I would have said somet...