WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE?

This is the title of a well known hymn written in 1877 by Frances Havergal. Below are the verses and chorus to this wonderful hymn:

Who is on the Lord's side?

Who will serve the King?

Who will be His helpers,

Other lives to bring?

Who will leave the world's side?

Who will face the foe?

Who is on the Lord's side?

Who for Him will go?

By Thy grand redemption,

By Thy grace divine,

We are on the Lord's side,

Saviour, we are thine.

Not for weight of glory,

Not for crown and palm,

Enter we the army,

Raise the warrior psalm;

But for love that claimeth

Lives for who He died;

He whom Jesus nameth

Must be on His side.

Jesus, Thou hast bought us,

Not with gold or gem, 

But with Thine own life-blood,

For Thy diadem;

With Thy blessing filling

Each who comes to Thee,

Thou hast made us willing,

Thou hast made us free.

Fierce may be the conflict,

Strong may be the foe,

But the King's own army

None can overthrow.

Round His standard ranging

Victory is secure,

For His truth unchanging

Makes the triumph sure.

Chosen to be soldiers

In an alien land;

Chosen, called, and faithful,

For our Captain's band;

In the service royal

Let us not grow cold;

Let us be right royal,

Noble, true, and bold.

Who is on the Lord's side? This was a crucial question asked by Moses to the children of Israel, as recorded in Exodus 32:26. Moses had been on Mount Sinai for forty days in the presence of the Lord, receiving instructions from Him concerning various laws and detailed instructions on building and furnishing the Tabernacle. The children of Israel became impatient and restless because of their perceived delay in Moses' return to the camp, so they foolishly pleaded with Aaron to make them an idol to represent God to them.
After instructing the people to bring anything they had, made of gold - earrings, ornaments etc., Aaron fashioned the molten metal into a golden calf.

When Moses challenged Aaron about the idol worship, he sought to justify himself by saying: "Do not let the anger of the people become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
"For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
"And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let him break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."
No wonder Moses was angry with the people, because of their unrestrained idolatry. He made a proclamation at the entrance of the camp: "Whoever is on the Lord's side - come to me." And the sons of Levi gathered to him. The children of Israel paid a high price for their idol worship that day, as the sons of Levi went through the camp and put to death around 3,000 at the edge of the sword because of their rebellion against the Lord.
We can look back at the history of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament and perhaps wonder at the apparent harsh judgment of God against a people who often were stiff-necked and rebellious.
The history of Israel in the Old Testament is filled with periods of obedience to the Lord's injunctions, followed by periods of disobedience to his decrees, outright rebellion against God with much idol worship, resulting in terrible consequences for the people as the hand of God was removed from the nation. The majority of the kings of Israel and Judah were evil, given to blatant rebellion and idol worship, even though the Lord had warned them of terrible consequences of disobedience to his decrees.
Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings that would follow obedience to the Lord, followed by a much longer list of the curses which would result from disobedience.
Thankfully, we today live under a different dispensation - that of grace, not of law as was the case with the children of Israel under the old covenant.
However, that does not mean that we are free to disobey God's Word to us, which has been given for our benefit, that we might fulfil God's purpose for our lives. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to become more Christlike as we allow the Word of God to renew us from within, we, as followers of Christ are being changed, as the Bible says, from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
When the Lord God made man, He gave him a free will. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, Paul reminds the readers that there were serious consequences for the sins and idolatry of the children of Israel. He says in verses 11, 12 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, a recounting by Moses of God's holy laws, Moses lays before the people a clear choice: 
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,
in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you go to possess.
"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live." Deut 30:15,16,19
You might be reading this, and be thinking that God must be an egomaniac, a control freak, that we have to obey His laws or else suffer undesirable consequences. The reality is the Creator God is a God of love, whom the Bible says "is not willing that any should perish [in his or her sins], but that they should all come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
The old hymn quoted above "Who Is On The Lord's Side" is a rallying cry for Christians to take a clear stand for the truth of God's Word today. The language of the hymn seems rather outdated now, and archaic, but the call to alms for followers of Christ to be fully committed soldiers of the Cross is as relevant today as when it was written 140 years ago. Persecution of Christians has long been the price one has had to pay for following Jesus in communist and many Islamic nations, but increasingly today in the twenty first century, to be a wholly committed, uncompromising Christian in the Western world is becoming a very unpopular entity with those caught up in the cultural distortions of the age. 
Whether it is in relation to marriage, sanctity of life before birth or approaching death, creation verses evolution, and a number of other social and ethical issues - those holding to a Biblical worldview are having to count the cost of being a true disciple of Jesus Christ in an increasingly hostile world, where they are labelled as homophobes, bigots, and other terms of derision.
"Who Is On The Lord's Side?" is not only the name of an old hymn, but a question each person, including those who claim to be Christians, must answer today. 

VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS

"Comfort, yes, comfort My people!"
 Says your God.
"Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
 That her warfare is ended,
 That her iniquity is pardoned;
 For she has received from the Lord's hand
 Double for all her sins."

 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
 Make straight in the desert
 A highway for our God.
 Every valley shall be exalted
 And every mountain and hill brought low;
 The crooked places shall be made straight
 And the rough places smooth;
 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
 And all flesh shall see it together;
 For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

The voice said, "Cry out!"
 And he said, "What shall I cry?"

"All flesh is grass,
 And all its loveliness is like the flower
 of the field.
 The grass withers, the flower fades,
 Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
 Surely the people are grass.
 The grass withers, the flower fades,
 but the word of our God stands forever."

O Zion,
 You who bring good tidings,
 Get up into the high mountain;
 O Jerusalem,
 You who bring good tidings,
 Lift up your voice with strength,
 Lift it up, be not afraid;
 Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" Isaiah 40:1-9 NKJV

The prophet Isaiah spoke these words about 700 years BC, foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist, the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Prepare the way of the Lord;
 Make straight in the desert
 a highway for our God." John said this of himself when asked by priests and Levites sent by Jews from Jerusalem to ask who he was.

The ministry of John the Baptist was that of a forerunner preparing the way for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. His voice was lifted up calling his listeners to repentance from sin and wickedness, and to be baptized by full immersion in water as an act of surrender to the will of God for their lives. In lifting his voice in preparation for the ministry of Jesus, John said of Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease." 

Jesus commenced his earthly ministry following His baptism by John at the Jordan River, in order "to fulfill all righteousness" as it says in Matthew 3:15. The next three years of Jesus' life were attested by healings and outstanding signs and miracles, deliverances from demonic oppression, and most of all by lives transformed by the power of the Good News of Jesus the Messiah, the Savior of the world. As it says in Matthew 4:16 "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned." (a prophecy of Jesus fulfilled - spoken some 700 years BC by Isaiah in chapter 42:7).

Following his death on the Cross at Calvary, and His triumphant resurrection from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations. He told the group of disciples who were committed to following His teaching that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them; and they would be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8.
The first century church grew exponentially as the apostles and their converts moved from Jerusalem literally to the ends of the then known world. The apostles came under quite severe persecution, which became a catalyst for their moving out from Jerusalem to all parts of the then known world. The apostle Paul, writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, warned that: in the last days perilous times will come. He went on to list the characteristics of godlessness which would be seen in men (and women) in the last days, when, to be a Christian would bring much opposition from wicked men. In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul says to Timothy, and to us today:..all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
Just as the prophets in the Old Testament, and indeed John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus' ministry, called people to turn from sin and wickedness, and from idol worship, to  follow the living God, more than ever, today there is a need for Godly men and women to lift their voices to declare the Truth of the Word of God - to stand boldly for righteousness and righteous causes. I read recently, where in America, surveys had shown that ninety percent of church leaders were silent on some of the looming social issues of our times, such as sexuality from the Biblical perspective, and associated with that, issues such as same-sex marriage, and homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. Bacause of the lack of teaching on these topics, something in the order of forty seven percent of Christian youth and young adults say they support same-sex marriage. 
Today, we live in a world which is becoming increasingly either secularized by the philosophy of secular humanism, where man is the central point of reference for society - or being threatened by the rising tide of Islam's doctrine of world domination, either by violent force, or by stealth. Either way, the voices of anti-Christ sentiment appear to be taking centre-stage in a world gone mad, aided greatly by the foolish and naive spouting of politically correct politicians and media pundits.
Here in Australia, the issue of redefining marriage continues to be pushed by the Australian Labor Party, the Greens, and other minor parties and independent politicians, along with the majority of the Mainstream Media. The  push by radical homosexual activists themselves for redefining marriage, and gender identity has been taken up by large corporate bodies, who somehow must see the promotion of this cause as enhancing their public image, with no regard to the effects this push will have on children caught up in these unholy unions of men with men, and women with women.
Thank God for the voices in the wilderness speaking boldly on some of the issues facing the nation, from a Godly perspective, in order to push back the rising tide of darkness and depravity seeking to engulf society. Voices such as Vision Christian Media, Australian Christian Lobby, some of the smaller political parties, such as Australian Conservatives, Rise Up Australia Party, as well as individual Christian Liberal Party politicians - and other ministries such as Australian Heart Ministries, and social commentator, Bill Muehelenberg. There are others, but many of the churches remain largely silent, perhaps for fear of losing some who might be offended by the Truth.
Now is not the time for those who know the truth to be silent. John the Baptist was called "a voice in the wilderness." He ended up losing his head, because he was not afraid to speak the truth. God never promised that the Christian life would be a bed of roses, but He does expect all who know the truth to proclaim it, without compromise.
Keith Green, a young man who, through his music, and life lived for Jesus in full surrender, and who sadly was taken from us before he reached the age of thirty, wrote a song called "Asleep In The Light", really a wake-up call to the church. Its message written around forty years ago, still is relevant to the church today:
                    God is calling,
                    And you are the one
                    But like Jonah, you run
                    He told you to speak,
                    But you keep holding it in.

                    Oh, can't you see it's such sin?
                    The world is sleeping in the dark,
                     That the church just can't fight,
                     'cause it's asleep in the light.
It is time for you and me who make up the church of the living God to:
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:1,2

TRUTH IS A PERSON

Over a number of years, the Readers Digest have published lists of the most trusted professions in Australia, as well as compiling a list of the most trusted individuals. When I searched online, I found the list of 45 most trusted professions, published in 2011. I would imagine the list would not have changed very much since then, in the public perception of trustworthiness. 

At the top of the list were paramedics, firefighters, pilots, rescue volunteers and nurses in positions 1 to 5. 

At the other end of the scale of trustworthiness were taxi drivers, real estate agents, car salesmen, politicians and telemarketers. Having been a taxi driver in Hobart, the southernmost capital city in Australia - for over fourteen years (Is it really that long? Time flies when you are having fun - or more to the point, as you get older) - my boss has had me laughing at times, when directing my reverse parking at his yard into awkward spaces, he has called out: "Trust me, Pete! I'm a cab driver". 

Having said that, it is clear that looking at the list of professions, the perceived levels of trustworthiness are generalizations. As a cab driver - I have just recently hung up my keys for the last time, I think - many of the cabbies I have known have been hard-working, decent people just trying hard to make an honest living. Also, our recent experience over the past twelve months as we have had our house on the market, and subsequently sold and bought another house, to which we have moved just recently - dealing with three real estate agents, lower on the list of professions than taxi drivers - has been a very happy one, and we could say without a shadow of a doubt that we trust these three agents implicitly. 

As to the list of most trusted individuals, I personally would question some of the choices at the top of the lists, but that is another story.

The reality is that, in the second decade of the twenty first century, honesty and trustworthiness seem to be character qualities that do not always appear to be in ample supply. It used to be said that a person's word on a matter was their bond. In other words, if a person said he would do something for you, his word could be trusted - at least in the majority of dealings with reputable people and organizations. That, obviously is far from reality in our present times.

With the advent of personal computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and other readily accessible communication platforms, using the internet to host a myriad of social media sources, the potential for users to fall victim to a host of online scammers and cyber-criminals of varying degree and sophistication is mind-boggling and not just a little bit scary!

Add to the online scammers, the criminal telemarketers preying on the elderly, in particular, who use fear and intimidation techniques to attempt to catch them unawares, and in turn, by deceit and lies, to fleece them of financial assets - all the while, presenting as bona fide representatives of organizations such as the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink (Department of Human Services), and Telstra. We have had bogus calls from people purporting to be from all of those bodies just mentioned. The "Telstra" one has been almost on a daily basis lately - and usually with voices from overseas call centres. So frustrating! The really upsetting thing is that, no doubt, there would be numbers of people who fall for these scams and suffer financially, physically and mentally in the process - and it would seem they can do nothing about it!

Then there is the "fake news" phenomenon spurned by the Presidential campaign in the USA last year, and since the installation of Donald Trump in the White House - with some of the major US TV networks and newspapers deliberately presenting stories as fact, when in reality, oftentimes they are nothing more than attempts to denigrate him as a person in ways that cannot be substantiated by the truth.

Here in Australia, where I live, the mainstream media also has been guilty of presenting "fake news" and for political advantage, only presenting a one-sided appraisal of individuals and political parties.

Respected American author, philosopher, and pastor, Francis Schaeffer, who is remembered for establishing the L'Abri community in Switzerland, said of truth:Today not only in philosophy but in politics, government, and individual morality, our generation sees solutions in terms of synthesis and not absolutes. When this happens, truth, as people have always thought of truth, has died.

We should not be surprised that truth and personal integrity are dwindling commodities in today's world. The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. NKJV
Speaking of the rebellion of Satan, when as the angel, Lucifer, he lost his place in the presence of God, Revelation 12:9 tells us: And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan,who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Paul the apostle says in 2 Timothy3:13 But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Lies and deception entered the human race when Adam fell into sin in the garden of Eden. 
Jesus, in John's gospel, chapter 8, when stating His divinity to a group of Pharisees, who virtually were accusing Jesus of being an illegitimate child, says to them: "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.
You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
Which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?
He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." John 8:42-47.
In stark contrast to Satan, the father of lies, Jesus Christ said of Himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me." John 14:6 He was saying to His disciples, and directly to Thomas, in reply to a question from him, that He Himself was the embodiment of Truth.
Earlier in John 8, the chapter quoted above, Jesus defends his self witness to being the Son of God, as He says in verses 29,30 "And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
Then Jesus made an astounding claim, which proved to be true for those who put their trust in Him at that time, and still proves to be true today in the lives of those take the Living God at His Word - 
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31,32.
I love what the Director of the Bible college I attended in New Zealand said of that verse: You shall continue in My word, and you shall know the truth, AND THE TRUTH SHALL BE IN YOU A LIBERATING FORCE!" 
Jesus re-stated this truth concerning Himself, in verse 36, where He said: "If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."
Back in the eighties, I remember hearing the testimony of Barry McGuire, who had a huge hit in 1965 with the protest song "Eve of Destruction". He said he went around to a friend's place one night to "smoke dope". On the coffee table was a copy of "Good News For Modern Man", a popular version of the New Testament of the Bible, with the famous stick drawings. He said in his gravelly voice: "Hey, I'm a modern man. What's this all about!" He took it home and began to read it, and he could not deny it was the Truth. That was the beginning of a transformed life as he encountered the Jesus of the Bible in the twentieth century - the God who still makes people free from the power of sin and its consequences.
As a Christian, I am far from perfect. At times, I have been guilty of not representing the Truth in my life. I say that to my shame, but daily I seek to follow the One who is unwavering in truth and integrity.
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead, calls to you today: I am STILL the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
Those who all their lifetimes have sat in darkness and the shadow of death have seen a great light - and their lives have forever changed as they have encountered the Person, who is Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ!!

Although this present world has been corrupted by the lies and deception of the evil one, I have read the back of the book and we win! The book of Revelation paints graphic word pictures of the final judgment of Satan and his hordes - to deceive the nations no more. Jesus Christ will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, pictured in Revelation 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True....

Tessa's postscript: When our daughter survived a high bridge plunge, she survived. Unconscious, somehow she could breathe. Although the water was very cold, her body temperature did not go below 30 degrees Celcius. Below that temperature, brain damage could have occurred (so we have been told).
The Truth is her survival was a miracle.

For information on how to become a Christian, here are a couple of suggested websites to help point you in the right direction: livingwaters.com
and vision.org.au
On the vision site, click on the "Grow your faith" tab, then Looking for God?

E N L A R G I N G  YOUR TENT

The year was 1977. I was in my second year of study as a live-in student at Christian Life Bible College in Lower Hutt, near the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. The desire to be in this location to further my knowledge of God's Word, and be more equipped for Christian service was birthed in my spirit a couple of years before when I heard the Director of the college, Frank Houston speaking during a ministry trip to the Gold Coast. He spoke of the Bible college, and his passion to see men and women prepared for Christian service over two years of study, and then to go out on fire for the Lord - not necessarily as pastors, but in whatever ministry, to be prepared and passionate for the Lord.

Frank Houston, originally a Salvation Army officer, had encountered the Holy Spirit and the added dimension of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit through a fiery extrovert evangelist in Auckland, Ray Bloomfield. Ray had mentored Frank in the early years of his Pentecostal experience, and had encouraged him to expect the gifts of the Holy Spirit to operate in his own ministry. By the time I arrived at CLBC in Lower Hutt, Frank Houston had been successfully pastoring Christian Life Centre in that city for some years, and had risen in the "ranks" of the Assemblies of God" (AOG) in New Zealand to become the national General Superintendent of the movement.

In his own words, he said later that "he thought he had it made". As well as his pastoral leadership of his local church, the national leadership of the AOG movement, and his leadership and lecturing input of the Bible college, he had travelled widely overseas conducting evangelistic meetings, seeing many hundreds of people come to salvation through Jesus Christ. Many physical and emotional healings, and deliverance from demonic oppression were also hallmarks of his ministry, as was other gifts of the Spirit, including the word of knowledge and prophecy.

Then in early 1977, something happened which would set him on a new path of adventure and fulfillment in the work of the Lord. His wife, Hazel was away with friends in the South Island of New Zealand. One night, while sleeping, Frank had a dream. He dreamed of Sydney with its familiar sights - the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the beaches. He awoke during this time, and he could still see before his eyes in vision form the same sights of Sydney, Australia.

The Lord then told him to read Isaiah 54 - the whole chapter. In his own words, although he had read this chapter many times before, he could not remember what was in it. He opened his Bible and began to read, and, as he did, the Lord spoke to him from every verse. The Lord spoke to him, and told him He wanted him to go to Sydney and pioneer a church there. Verses 2 and 3 of that chapter spoke to him in particular: "Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants shall inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited." NKJV

 The next day he shared this with his church board and elders. They had a 
witness in their spirits that it was of God, and later that year, Frank and Hazel moved across the Tasman to Sydney to begin a whole new chapter of their lives in ministry in Australia. At the age of 57, he said they were like a couple of kids, having to go out and rent a building for meetings, to buy communion glasses and other necessary items for the infant church.

Eventually, they were able to secure a permanent church building in the inner-city suburb of Waterloo, where the church grew to a congregation of a couple of thousand, which in those days, was huge for Sydney. Frank and Hazel had been joined by a small team of several families from Lower Hutt in establishing the work in Sydney - including their recently wed son, Brian and wife Bobbie Houston.
Brian and Bobbie commenced Hills Christian Life Centre in Baulkham Hills, a north-western suburb of Sydney. The church was to become what is now Hillsong Church, one of Australia's mega-churches with multiple campuses across Australia and around the world. In 1986, the first Hillsong Conference was held, an annual conference drawing thousands from Australia and overseas, featuring high-profile ministries as well as well known Christian worship artists.

One could argue that, if Frank Houston had not obeyed the vision to move to Sydney and answer the call of God at that time to step out by faith into the "unknown", that Hillsong Church with its phenomenal growth and impact over the last thirty years - just may not have been.

Fast forward to 2017, and my wife Tessa and I live in southern Tasmania, and are in fellowship at a vibrant Pentecostal church at Bellerive, on Hobart's eastern shore. Part of the vision for this church this year is based around Isaiah 54:2,3 quoted above - about ENLARGING OUR TENT, and SPREADING THE CURTAINS WIDER IN 2017, so that individually and together, we can grow into all that the Lord has for us.

Our lives, as Christians, do not have to be the "same old, same old" year after year, where we feel that we are just going through the motions. Yes, faithfulness to God will mean we have to persevere at times doing what we know is right in God's sight, as we walk in obedience to His Word. We may go through periods of dryness spiritually, where we find it hard to hear God's voice and sense His direction. It is in these times, that we need to hold on to the promises of God - to walk by faith, regardless of what is going on around us - knowing that, in His time, He will bring us to times of breakthrough and renewed blessing.
"Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43: 18,19
Psalm 138:8 says The Lord will perfect that which concerns us.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon Me, and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity....Jeremiah 29:11-14a.
God's vision for our lives is far greater than most of us can imagine. That is why most personal prophecies given to Christians are not condemning of our sins and failures - but they most often speak to who the Lord sees us becoming. He sees our potential for growth, and for enlargement of our capacity to host the Holy Spirit's power and fruitfulness in our lives. My wife and I are now in our sixties, but, speaking for myself, I do not want to retire - but to refire in the purposes of God that we be fruitful in life and ministry in this season of life. We want to ENLARGE OUR TENTS as part of the church community corporate vision and purpose where we are planted!

TESSA's Postscript: When I was seven or so, a few girls locked me in a garden shed. I could see mum's head through a tiny window as she searched for me.
Of course, that fear crippled me. 
One day I got a bike for Christmas and found freedom - so don't be locked up small by fear. Let the perfect love of Jesus set you free to reach up tall and touch the stars!

C H A N GE

For I am the Lord, and I do not change... Malachi 3:6
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
God is not a man that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or Has He spoken, and it not come to pass? Numbers 23:19
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights, 
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
The grass withers, the flower fades, 
but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting,
You are God. Psalm 90:1,2
If we are faithless, He remains faithful 
- for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

The above quoted verses from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and numerous other verses which could be quoted bear testimony to the unchanging character and divine attributes of the Living God. The God of the Bible, expressed as the triune God - Father, Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit - can be fully trusted to be true to His character, and to fulfill His word. 
The Bible further tells us that "God is Love" 1 John 4:8
and also it says that "God is light" in verses such as 1 John 1:5 where it says: This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.
Unlike some other so-called gods of other religions, the One True God is not capricious, His character has not, or will ever change. He is not vindictive. 
He is both a God of Justice and Mercy.

Although God's nature and His character never change, those who would be His disciples must change. The Bible tells us clearly that man is separated from fellowship with God by his sin, as it says in Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came to earth to be born a baby, grow up into manhood, all the time living a sinless life - then die a cruel death on a Roman cross - as the Word of God states in 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 5:8 declares But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Just as a human being starts life as a helpless baby, and in the course of time, grows through various stages of childhood, then into adulthood, all the while maturing physically, mentally, intellectually and socially - with the proper nurturing and tutoring, so too the child of God goes through various stages of growth, of CHANGE.
At the point of salvation, a Christian is born again by the Spirit of God, his or her human spirit being re-created by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul put it this way: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Every Christian starts his journey of new life in Jesus as a spiritual "baby", feeding on the "milk" of God's Word. Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 1 Peter 2:1,2.
The writer to Hebrews, believed by many to be the apostle Paul, talks about those who lack spiritual maturity, who come to still rely on milk, instead of solid food (spiritually speaking) because they have not progressed from the first principles of the faith as expressed in Hebrews 6:1,2. 
Through daily feeding on God's Word, through study and meditation on the Word of God, through prayer, fellowship with other believers, through praise and worship, both alone and in a corporate body - and through sharing by way of bearing testimony to the goodness of God in our lives, we grow through stages into a place of spiritual maturity, all the while remaining teachable that we may continue to grow. 
The goal of the Christian life is not to change for the sake of change, but to be transformed into the image of Christ in us - to become more like Jesus.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17,18.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1,2.
The fact that through the redemptive work of the blood of the Cross of Christ, "we have been accepted in the Beloved" - we are now sons and daughters of the Most High God by God's grace, does not excuse us from the need to change more and more into becoming more Christlike -"But speaking the truth in love [in all things - both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head - Christ." Ephesians 4:15 AMP
Back in the 70's, when the ministry of the Teacher was being restored to the Body of Christ as part of the Charismatic Renewal, I remember one well-known teacher, Bob Mumford saying that one day he was having a conversation with the Lord, in which he said the Lord told him: "Mumford, you and I are incompatible - and I don't change." The inference was that Bob Mumford would have to change. I am sure the Lord was not condemning him in that statement, but making a point that God, in His love and wisdom desires for our benefit that we grow up into spiritual maturity, that we might obtain the full benefits of a life committed to Jesus, that we might in turn be able to nurture others and see them grow into Him as well.

NO LONGER A BABY

We are at the end of yet another year, and on the threshold of the year before us. Christmas celebrations have come and gone. We remembered once again the incredible provision of Almighty God for the redemption of Man from the eternal consequences of sin and rebellion towards Him - by sending His Son in human flesh to be born as a baby in an unlikely setting for a king - a dirty, dusty stable. As Rick Joyner of MorningStar Ministries states in his book "The Harvest": That The Lord Of Glory would choose such a place to make His entry into this world is one of the more profound revelations of his message to man..................Human reasoning would never lead us to a stable to find God. The only way He could be found was by revelation; only those who were led by the Spirit would come. That which is born of God is usually found in a place that is repulsive to the pride and presumptions of carnal men. As the apostle Paul stated it: "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He may nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
Jesus did not remain a baby. That baby grew up to be Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, who after three and a half years of ministry to all who would receive His ministry - words of Life, physical and emotional healing, deliverance from demonic oppression and many other works and miracles, some recorded in the Gospels, many more unrecorded, according to the apostle John in Jn. 20:30,31 and Jn. 21: 25 - was condemned to death on a cruel Roman cross, the sinless Son of God, fulfilling the will of the Father in dying an agonizing death in our place, taking the penalty for our sins, in order that we might be reconciled to God the Father . Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
If that was not good news for us in itself, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, conquered the power of death and hell, rising triumphantly from the grave on that first Resurrection Sunday.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not only recorded as actually taking place, in the Bible. There have been scholars who have set out to disprove the resurrection of Christ, only to conclude, after honest research, that the events recorded in Scripture are historically verifiable. Two such scholars of note are Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853), a law professor at Harvard University, who became one of the forerunners of the discipline known as Christian apologetics - and Frank Morison, who also set out to disprove the "myth" of the resurrection, only to come to the conclusion, like Simon Greenleaf, that the Biblical record of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was true.
For forty days following His bodily resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to multitudes of people, including the eleven remaining original disciples (Judas Iscariot, the twelfth, betrayed Him and took his own life). At one time, he appeared to five hundred at once ( ! Corinthians 15: 6). After commissioning the disciples, and telling them to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father,  the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. On the Day of Pentecost, an annual Jewish feast commemorated fifty days after Passover, while waiting in the Upper Room, the 120 gathered were filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving the gift of speaking in other tongues - a gift which is still available to Christian believers today, along with other gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Jesus said before His ascension to Heaven that"You  shall receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses" starting from Jerusalem and spreading to the farthest corners of the earth. The power to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, bringing in the hearts of the hearers, a conviction of sin and the need for repentance is part and parcel of the equipping by the Holy Spirit of the believer in Jesus. The ministry of Jesus in the world and in the Church continues unabated today through the lives of Bible-believing Christians who have taken Jesus at His word to "Follow Me, and I will make you disciples of men". He said to his disciples in John 14:12 that the works He did on earth they (and those who followed them down through the Church age) would do and greater works than these they would do, because He was going to the Father.
Down through the Church age over the past 2,000 years, millions upon millions of lives have been transformed, many radically, by the same Resurrection power of the Holy Spirit which raised Christ from the grave. The dead are being raised to life today. Miracles of healing and provision are occurring all over the world, where the name of Jesus is proclaimed as Lord. You won't hear about these happenings in the secular media, but they are happening. JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER!
As we enter a new year, with all its challenges personally, as well as nationally and internationally, while darkness is increasing in this sin-sick rebellious world, let those of us who claim Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord consecrate ourselves afresh to live uncluttered, and fully committed lives to honour and glorify Him.
If you are reading this, and have never made a commitment of your life and will to Jesus Christ, please know that, as you come to Him with a repentant heart for the sin and rebellion in your life towards God, He will cleanse you from sin as you call upon His name, and acknowledge His death on the Cross in your place as the means to your salvation. Just as Jesus rose from the dead after three days, you too can know the power of the Holy Spirit to help you live a new life in Him. It is not an easy life. The true disciple of Jesus will face persecution, but know that God is dwelling in you by His Spirit to enable you to be strong for Him in any and every circumstance of life. For further help in becoming a Christian, may I suggest: www.vision.org.au, the Vision Radio Network in Australia, part of United Christian Broadcasters. Click on the Resources tab at the top of the page, then from the drop down menu, click on Christianity. God Bless you. I pray that 2015 will be a year of you knowing in increasing measure the goodness of God in your life, and one of fruitfulness in His kingdom.

FAITH OR FEAR?

THE CHOICE IS OURS!

It's good news week.
Someone dropped a bomb somewhere contaminating atmosphere
and blackening the sky.
It's good news week.
Someone's found a way to give
the rotting dead a will to live, go on and never die..............

These are the opening words of a one-hit wonder song from 1965 called "It's Good News Week" by British band "Hedgehoppers Anonymous".

Or, who can remember the classic hit from Barry McGuire "Eve Of Destruction" - from 1965
The eastern world it is explodin', violence flarin', bullets loadin', 
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan river has bodies floatin'

But you tell me over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away
There'll be none to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy

But you tell me over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.........

The 1960's was a tumultuous time with the Vietnam War looming large on the landscape throughout the decade. Early in the 60's the Cuban Missile crisis was a cause for much fear and foreboding. This was the time of the Cold War. 

Fast forward fifty years, almost - to 2014. Guess what? The world news is not only still bad, but it is getting worse. The threat of communism seems largely to have gone, although new tensions have arisen between Russia and the West. In the intervening decades, we have seen numerous wars in Africa, Asia and parts of Europe with untold casualties and misery. We have seen economic crises on a grand scale. There have been catastrophic natural disasters in many parts of the world, again leaving trails of destruction and human misery. There have been disease pandemics or threats of the same.
As of writing this, the Ebola threat is increasing, creating fear in many, not only in the West Africa nations hit most by this deadly virus, but in countries around the world where there is a growing fear that travellers from these affected areas may return to, unwittingly be bearers of this terrible infection, from which those affected have a very high chance of not surviving.
The scourge of the evil ideology of radical Islam has taken prominence as the major protagonist threatening world peace, even though Islam is touted by its followers as a religion of peace. Peace to the Muslim, at least, to the radical Muslim, is submission to Allah, their false God - forced conversion to Islam, or death to the infidel as the alternative. Oh, what peace!?!?!
Perhaps what should be an even greater cause for fear is the god of Political Correctness that the majority (apparently) of our politicians at a federal and state level, as well the bulk of the MSM (Main Stream Media) bow down to, bending over backwards to not offend Muslims, and the other radical main player today, the homosexual activists, who are waging a relentless war against the traditional definition of marriage and the nuclear family unit, headed by a mother and father, as in woman and man. Ultimately this is a Satan-inspired war on Christians and the eternal unchanging Word of the Living God. As the Apostle Paul proclaimed in Romans 1, the sin of homosexuality is "exchanging the truth of God for the lie, and worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. (Homosexual practice). END OF STORY!
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God, speaking prophetically of the times in which we are living, said in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24: "Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming,'I am the Messiah'. They will deceive many. and you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4-14 New Living Translation.

For the true Christian, a modern day disciple of Christ, who takes the Bible, the wholly Holy Spirit-inspired Word of the Living God as his manual for living - this is not a time for fear, for giving in to dread or terror. This is the time we have been born for, when the world is in the deepest darkness, we as part of the Body of Christ, the Christian Church have been called and equipped to shine like the stars in the universe, to march forth as an army with banners, proclaiming : Jesus Is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The Christian is not to fear man or circumstance. We are to fear God and Him only - Godly fear being reverent awe of the One who has saved us from Satan's realm of darkness that we might be bearers of Light drawing the lost to our Saviour.

King David boldly proclaimed in Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; 
                                                                           Whom shall I fear?
                                                                           The Lord is the strength of my life;
                                                                            Of whom shall I be afraid?

                                                                            Though an army may encamp against me,
                                                                             My heart shall not fear;
                                                                             Though war may rise against me,
                                                                             In this I will be confident.
                                                                             For in the time of trouble,
                                                                             He shall hide me in His pavillion;
                                                                             In the secret place of His tabernacle
                                                                             He shall hide me;
                                                                             He shall set me high upon a rock. (vs.1,3,5)

The prophet Isaiah wrote encouraging the people of God:
                                                                           The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
                                                                            Let Him be your fear, 
                                                                            And let Him be your dread. Isaiah 8:13
Again in Isaiah 35:3,4, the prophet writes: Strengthen the weak hands,
                                                                            And make firm the feeble knees.
                                                                            Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
                                                                            "Be strong, do not fear!
                                                                             Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
                                                                             With the recompense of God;
                                                                             He will come and save you."

God is calling forth an army of worshipping warriors, who are full of faith in the Living God, whose lives have been ransomed from the clutches of Hell by the blood of Jesus who died on the Cross of Calvary and rose triumphant from the grave, and ascended in victory over hell and death to be seated at the right hand of the Father, to ever live to make intercession for the saints - the true followers of the Lord, soldiers of the Cross who walk by faith, knowing that their lives are in His hands. 

I don't know about you, but I want to be a part of that army of believers who runs to the battle, and not away from it in cringing fear - but full of faith in the One who is able to "rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 NIV.