Marching Forth!

In one of the final scenes of "Saving Private Ryan," a dying captain uttered his last words.  Captain Miller had scoured war-ravaged countryside and many men died in their efforts to find and escort Private Ryan to safety.  As his life ebbed away on the bridge, Miller directed his attention to Ryan and said, " Earn this...earn it ."  He exhorted Ryan to live a life worthy of the sacrifice he and others had given to save him.  As the elderly Ryan stood at the tombstone of Captain Miller, he said he remembered those words every day and did the best he could.  But was it enough?  Ryan wasn't so sure. All those who attempt to earn the gracious sacrifice of others will always fall short.  Captain Miller in his dying moments demanded something of Private Ryan he simply could not give.  How could he possibly "earn" the sacrifice of Miller and valiant soldiers who gave their lives so he could live?  What short of sacrificing his own life could e...

The rapid advances in medical treatment and effective medications have changed the world in more ways than we might realise.  We have easy access to tablets of many kinds to relieve inflammation and discomfort, elevate iron levels, and balance hormones.  The accurate diagnosis and treatment of all manner of diseases and illness has prolonged the life of countless children and adults alike.  Physical damage to joints and bones once considered permanent can be restored through surgery.  Because of the access and availability to pain-numbing drugs, pain is often seen as a terrible inconvenience - even a great evil - that we should no longer need to endure.  When the pain hits our thoughts are typically something like, "How can I make this pain stop?" During my reading of Psalm 25 , I was struck with David's quite different approach to affliction and pain.  Our tendency is to try to avoid trouble or misery at any reasonable cost.  Many are so desperate t...

I have begun the process of preparing to speak at a teen holiday camp ( Kedron ) next week.  I have been struck with the simple, old truth of Psalm 23:1 :  " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ."  The Hebrew word translated "want" the Strong's concordance defines as, " to lack, by implication to fail ."  Because the LORD was David's shepherd, he knew with absolute certainty he lacked no good thing.  Having God as his shepherd assured David he would not fail.  Every word of God's promises would come to pass. We are born in this world in desperate want, far beyond our minds can understand.  We are born naked and helpless.  Humans begin life without the capacity to speak, walk, design, provide money, or even see clearly with developing eyes.  Every one of us was born completely dependent on others for food, clothing, physical touch, washing, protection, and training.  Even when we mature and develop, our needs do not lessen.  ...

" Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day ." Psalm 25:4-5 How great is our need as Christians to be taught by God!  Those who worshiped God in the writing of the book of Psalms highly emphasise their desperate need to be taught.  Like babies straight from the womb, as born-again children of God we do not have the natural capacity to know God's will or His ways.  We cannot do the simplest spiritual exercise without God's leading and empowerment. There is a difference between "learning" and asking someone to "teach" you.  It is quite possible to learn on your own.  With our capacity for thought and observation of life, we can learn many sensible things.  We can learn from a book or a television program.  We can learn what to do, and what not to do by observing others.  But this is a far cry from being taught.  When we make a ...

I heard pastor Levi Lusko say in a sermon:  "If the devil can't kill you, he will settle for your potential."  This is true.  Satan is not able to overpower God, nor is he able to destroy the souls of those purchased by Christ as His prized eternal possession.  Since the devil does not own us, God has set limits on what he can do.  But if we willingly yield to satanic suggestions - allowing him footholds in our lives through sin, disobedience, or distractions - we can become mired in sin and powerless to extricate ourselves.  It is not that we are without power through Christ, but we can be clueless of our true condition.  Coddled by a belief system, we can turn a blind eye to our lack of victory, power, and holiness.  We only admit being distracted when we realise we have embraced a substitute for what we truly ought to be doing. As I preached last Sunday at Calvary Chapel Sydney on the second half of 1 Corinthians 7 , the LORD gave me fresh i...

Both the houses we have rented in Australia have shared at least one thing in common:  the lighting has been ordinary.  For non-Aussies out there, "ordinary" means very poor!  There is not nearly enough lights for our liking, and the light fixtures are a hodgepodge of different styles and bases.  The renters before us in both homes used all kinds of different globes:  frosted, clear, and florescent.  Nearly half of the globes of both houses were spent when we moved in, and the others didn't last for long!  Some of the globes demanded too many watts, and others were so dim they were virtually worthless.  Over time we have achieved consistency with the lighting, though in most rooms the light is poor for reading. Last night I noticed our bathroom was much more dim than usual.  The light fixture has three spots for globes, and one has been missing since we moved in.  The globe over the sink went out, which left the bathroom ridiculously d...

I have been blown away of late by this simple fact:  God listens to people.  The prayer of one person has changed the course of nations.  We may think because God is sovereign over all and already knows His complete, ultimate plan, everything is fairly set.  Though God does have a plan, many times we observe in scripture God in heaven listens and heeds the prayers of people who simply pray.  This really is an amazing thing, that lowly man can have an audience with God - and God listens to us when we speak to Him! Think about the powerful and influential men and women in the world today.  No man easily gains a personal audience with them.  You might write a letter to a politician, but it may never even reach their desk.  They have layer upon layer of attendants and handlers to deal with the requests, calls, e-mails, and ideas of people.  Even if you were able have a phone conversation or a face-to-face meeting with a prime-minister or presid...