Marching Forth!

Sometimes I see ads for a free game claiming to be "the most addictive game" on the internet.  I wonder how that could be seen as a positive thing.  Perhaps it is because people don't see a problem with addiction or actually invite addiction to things they enjoy.  Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:12 , " All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any ."  Paul decided he would not be brought under the power of any outside influence of the world.  He would only allow himself to be influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit. Addiction could be defined as making a need out of the unnecessary.  It is a passion which has become an controlling obsession.  Alcohol is not required for life to be sustained, but many people cannot think of facing a day without it.  Drugs, Ipods, cell phones, energy drinks, television shows, social networking sites, the internet, and countless...

" Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel. [22] And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel ." Ezra 6:21-22   There is no debate that our world is one in severe moral decay.  Some would say that man is basically good:  according to God's law man is completely wicked.  Nothing wholesome or pure comes from a man's heart in his natural condition, being born into the sin of Adam and reaching new depths every day in willful depravity. We need not think long before we can recall something horrible done by other people.  Our own conscience smites us for our faults and we cannot claim perfection for a single day.   Last "Bible N...

As a kid my new clothes were often someone else's old ones, and I was always excited to have them.  Sometimes we would receive a bag of gently used clothing from a church friend or a cardboard box would be shipped from my cousin up north.  Some of my favorite clothes did not come from a store, but from the kindness and generosity of friends.  My brother, sister, and I always enjoyed searching for new treasures to wear. Our family recently sold our old car and bought a much newer, hopefully much more reliable vehicle.  Before we sold it Laura and I talked about the potential of donating it to a charitable organization.  I started thinking about the distinction between an "offering" and a "donation."  Our new car made the old one expendable.  At our fellowship the ushers pass bags to "receive tithes and offerings."  Tithe literally means "10 percent" and an offering is to be the best of the first-fruits which are most treasured.  A donation i...

When I was a kid, baseball was my favorite sport to play.  As much as I loved tracking down fly balls during practice, I could never seem to get my fill of hitting.  No matter how much I wanted to hit, however, at some point fatigue placed a limit on quality swings.  After a while the hands would become sore and blistered, and the bat began to feel heavier and heavier.  My dad always cautioned me about fatigue leading to bad habits.  Compensation for pain and soreness leads to a complete breakdown of fundamentals.  This is true not only in baseball but in the spiritual realm as well. I ran cross country in high school and was blessed to have good coaching.  People may not think there is much "form" to swinging a bat or running, but there certainly is!  Though everyone may have distinct running styles, there are basic fundamentals common to every good runner:  pace, the degree of the bend of the arms, the posture of the back, arm swing, brea...

Last Friday I attended a patriotic production at Abel's school.  Kindergarten through grade three were involved in singing, dressing up in costumes of American historical figures, and reciting lines.  Abel was J.F.K. and wore a cute little suit for the occasion.  I was impressed with the kindergarten classes which recited the Preamble to the United States Constitution verbatim, a feat which I did not do until eighth grade!  I memorized it during Mr. Kennedy's history class at Emerald Junior High during a single class with the assistance of the School House Rock jingle!  " We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, promote domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do proclaim and establish this Constitution of the United States of America ." Listening to these five and six-year-old children recite the Pre...

Last night as I went to bed I thought about the difference between resting and relaxing.  Relaxing our bodies after a hard day's work is a gift from God.  Enjoying an uneventful weekend can be a great blessing to help us recover.  But when it comes to spiritual matters, when we relax we invite ruin upon ourselves.  Did Jesus ever tell his disciples to relax?  NO!  Relaxing is synonymous with lowering your guard, becoming careless, the justification of inactivity.  This is spiritual suicide.  When a warrior relaxes his hand on the hilt of his sword it can be easily knocked from his hand.  If a watchman relaxes his guard he will become distracted or maybe fall asleep.  Relaxing gives opportunity for Satan to overpower us.  The devil wants us to take it easy and relax concerning obedience, holiness, and actively seeking God with our whole hearts. If you were to "rest," in our modern vernacular we have the sense of doing something min...

Have you ever been irritated by interruptions?  It is natural to want to obtain our goals easily according to our plans.  Today I intended to go on a short run.  Not even two minutes into the run, I "ran" into a friend.  My plan to complete the run in a timely manner was thwarted.  The run was finished in due time, and God blessed me with a wonderful time of fellowship as He moved upon both our hearts in a time of prayer.  It was clear to both of us God had ordained that time for us to talk and share.  Even through the run had been interrupted for half an hour, we parted rejoicing. It is not always so easy to see God's hand at work in the little interruptions of our days.  When I worked at the church office it never seemed to fail:  there were always interruptions, but God always miraculously provided enough time to fulfill my responsibilities.  How good it is to know that God sits on the throne in heaven, Jesus stands at His right han...

When Jesus walked the earth He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief ( Is. 53:3 ).  Because His love is without limit, His suffering is beyond our ability to comprehend.  When the Father placed the sins of the world upon Christ as He hung on the cross Jesus cried out, " My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?"  Jesus knew from before the foundations of the earth were established He would reveal His love and grace through His death upon the cross.  He also knew a vast majority of the people He suffered on behalf of would hate and reject Him.  Jesus was compelled by His love and obedience to the Father to suffer, die, and rise again. A servant is not above his master.  The doctrine of suffering is real, and it is also real unpopular.  Peter states in 1 Peter 4:12-13 :  " Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; [13] but ...

During my second of three trips to Australia, I witnessed Jessica Watson embark on a voyage intending to circle the globe unassisted.  It was yesterday I saw the news clip on cnn.com she successfully returned to the Sydney harbour after 210 days at sea.  Jessica was welcomed by thousands of people at the Opera house and was cheered by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd himself.  When called a hero by some of her admirers, she humbly brushed aside the title.  She said in her speech, " I don't consider myself a hero.  I'm an ordinary girl who believed in her dream...you just have to have a dream, believe in it, and work hard...anything really is possible ." First of all, I must say I am quite impressed by Jessica's accomplishments.  To sail a 34' yacht around the world unassisted is amazing.  Not being a sailor I wonder things like, "What happens when you fall asleep?" or "What kind of non-perishable food was she eating for 210 days?"  I am als...

2 Chron. 31:21 says, " And in every work that he (Hezekiah) began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered ."  Hezekiah was king in Jerusalem who re-instituted proper temple worship in Judah.  He succeeded Ahaz, who was a monster of iniquity.  Ahaz filled the temple with rubbish, sacrificed his own children, set up altars to false gods inside the temple and in every corner of Jerusalem, and literally boarded up the entrance of the temple so no one could worship the One True God.  Even though Israel was not under Hezekiah's rule, when the Passover drew near he sent runners throughout the territories so they might come to Jerusalem for the feast.  Since the days of Solomon there had been not been so much rejoicing in the land. For King Hezekiah, there was no halfway in serving God: " ...he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered ."  There is a correlation...

Here is an excerpt from Isobel Kuhn's "Second Mile People (pages 37-39):" " Oswald Chambers says, 'The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, tut those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly.  Those are the lives that mould us.'  A great mistake is to think that a Spirit-filled man or woman must always be casting sermons at people.  Being 'filled with the Spirit' (which is a first qualification of Second Mile People) is merely a refusing of self and a taking by faith of the life of Christ as wrought in us by His Holy Spirit. 'Many who claim by faith this fullness, and who, up to the measure of their light, are yielded and obedient, are disappointed and perplexed because they are aware of no particular manifestation.  They expect a glowing sense of power...But let us take to heart what others have pointed out, that the Spirit's chief wor...

Forgiveness is something I have been thinking a lot about lately, especially how God forgives us.  When Peter asked Jesus, "How many times should I forgive my brother?  Up to seven times?"  I have read the rabbinic teaching of that time said it was good to forgive three times.  Jesus replies in Matthew 18:22 ,  " I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven ."  Peter no doubt thought forgiving someone seven times was very generous, but Jesus demonstrated grace and forgiveness beyond Peter's wildest expectations.  Jesus never told His disciples to do what He had not already done.  The fact is, He has forgiven me more times than seventy times seven.  God does not limit His forgiveness quota at 490 of course, for His capacity and desire to forgive is limitless.  The sins of the entire world were placed upon Christ on the cross, and His blood cleanses us from all sin. A sister came up to me today at church and shar...

"So all things are working for the Lord's Beloved; Some things might be harmful, if alone they stood; Some might seem to hinder, some might draw us backward; But they work together, and they work for good. All the thwarted longings, all the stern denials, All the contradictions, hard to understand, And the Force that holds them, speeds them and retards them, Stops and starts and guides them, is our Father's hand." - Anonymous ( Ascent to the Tribes , pg. 65) How good is it to know God is in control of all things!  He allows circumstances to occur which may not make sense to us, but we can know He works all things out for our good.  Following Jesus Christ is not like a natural chemical reaction which is predictable and exact.  For those who are born again through faith in Christ we have been freed from death row, having been incarcerated because of our sin.  Every Christian has been automatically drafted into a spiritual battlefield opposing Satan and the evil forces...

Failure has been the greatest catalyst for positive change in my life.  It is healthy in to recognize our failures so we might learn from our own mistakes.  Satan would love for our failures to paralyze us with self-focus and drown us in despair.  As we mature in Christ, we will begin to view our conduct, attitudes, and words more closely according to God's perfect standard.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of sins we did not even recognize previously.  God allows us to fail so we might recognize our failure and decide once and for all to forsake sin. Today I failed terribly, almost a perfect storm of circumstances which took me off guard.  But to the God who controls the elements, such an scenario was allowed so I might see myself as the failure I am on my own.  I am still heartbroken and grieve over it, even as Peter wept bitterly after denying Christ.  I drove to a new jobsite today and parked my truck near some employees at the plant.  Whil...

Yesterday I finished reading Isobel Kuhn's "Stones of Fire."  It is a tale of her ministry in China among the Lisu people.  Through the story she weaves the concept of God's people as precious gems in the hands of a master lapidary.  Here are three paragraphs I would like to share which introduce different chapters in the book.  We ought not to think it strange when we are faced with trials and difficulty.  This is God's way to mold us into vessels He can use for His glory. " Diamond dust mixed with oil is the only abrasive used in polishing precious stones.  It is put upon fast rotating wheels called "skaifs" at 2,500 revolutions per minute, and the gem held firmly against them.  A quick succession of hard, unconquerable particles pressed against the jewel will polish it.  The spiritual counterparts, as God brings them into human lives, are sharp and painful events that follow fast one upon another, all of them irresistible, which cannot be pu...

Today I took a little morning run, an attempt to work off a kilo (2.2 pounds) or so I must have carried into Australia and an additional one I carried out.  It was a bit warm at the beginning of the run, and by the end I was panting like a dog lying in the sun!  As much as I detest pain caused to my body through running, it is not without many benefits.  I found that not only does it increase energy, burn fat, builds and tones muscle, but to my surprise it aids in my digestion immensely.  No need to go into all the details of how I know, but five servings a day of whole fiber cannot do what a 15 minute run does. This made me consider how digestion works.  The digestive process begins with a choice and technique.  A key to good digestion is first to choose good food.  The second step is to chew food thoroughly and completely so the body can extract nutrients and benefit from them.  The rest of the digestive process is taken care of according to t...