Marching Forth!

Over the years I have watched shows that chronicle the experiences of people who have sought assistance with a hoarding problem.  Slowly stuff and clutter accumulates in the house to the point the movement and activity of the homeowner is severely restricted.  Rooms become impossible to enter, basements fill, and stuff begins to spill into the yard.  Quite often by the time television crews are on the scene, the house has become dangerous to the occupants and nearly impossible to traverse.  Mould, vermin and spoiled food create an environment that becomes increasingly unpleasant and unhealthy. Another thing I have noticed when a house is full of stuff, maintenance of the house itself become impossible and is neglected.  The desire to acquire, preserve and save things ends up being thwarted by all the things accumulated that are inaccessable and exposed to fouling by pests and water damage.  Leaks in the roof are not able to be fixed, and plumbing repairs ar...

Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses their brother after he married an Ethiopian woman.  The passage says ominously, " And the LORD heard it. "  Because he was a meek and humble man, Moses did not say anything to defend himself from their attempts to publicly undermine his God-given leadership role.  God is patient and longsuffering, yet in this case He acted quickly by summoning all three of them to appear before him at the tabernacle.  The LORD descended before them in a pillar of cloud and stood in the doorway, and He commanded Aaron and Miriam to step forward. Numbers 12:6-9 tells us God's words:  " Then He said, "Hear now My words: "If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD , make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.  7 Not so with My servant Moses; h e is faithful in all My house.  8 I speak with him face to face, e ven plainly, and not in dark sayings;  a nd he sees the form of the LORD . Why then were y...

When facing tragedy and loss, we can be overwhelmed with hopeless feelings to the point we can refuse comfort.  We observe this in the life of Jacob after his eldest son Reuben presented the special colourful coat Joseph wore that was torn and soiled with blood.  There was no mistaking the coat, for Jacob had given it to his son who was at the time 17 years old.  The destroyed state of the coat caused Jacob to assume the worst.   Genesis 37:34-35 reads, " Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.  35  And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him ." Because Joseph was precious to His father, he took no comfort from his sons, daughters and grandchildren.  He was determined to grieve the loss of his son presently and perpetually, for the death of Jos...

Have you experienced being overwhelmed, when everything seems too hard and you've had enough?  When we feel this way our tendency is to feel lonely, disillusioned and like we ought to quit.  If you have felt this way as a Christian, you are not alone.  Elijah was a man who feared God, who was protected and miraculously provided for, whose prayers were answered, and saw God work wonders firsthand.  Yet after he received a death threat from queen Jezebel, he left his servant behind ventured alone into the wilderness.  He prayed to God he would die and said, " It is enough!  Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers !"  It was all too much for Elijah. 1 Kings 19:5-8  reads, " Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat."  6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.  7 And t...

God has given Christians the Bible, the indwelling Holy Spirit and fellowship with other believers to help guide our thinking and conduct.  God does not trample the freedom He has given people with unique personalities to consdier what God has said and express their own convictions.  Looking back, I can say there were times I had very strongly held convictions I do not have any more because studying the Bible and conversations with Christians changed my mind.  I realised there were many considerations I was ignorant of in forming my theology, convictions and personal practices, and fellowship with other Christians is vital to avoid an internal echo chamber that repeats lies and unbalanced views we once believed. I was saddened to hear reports of a man who rushed through security who allegedly intended to assassinate President Trump, joining a growing list of those whose foiled murder plots have come to public light.  Based on current reports, it seems the man was mot...

This morning I was struck with a phrase I found in the King James Version of  Hosea 12:4-5 that speaks of Jacob wrestling with a Man near the Jabbok river crossing as the day began to break:  " Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;  5 even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial ."  Jacob prevailed over the angel by refusing to let him go, even after his hip was permanently injured by the touch of the Man's hand.  As Jacob wept he begged for a blessing, and the angel (who seems to be much more than an angel) replied in  Genesis 32:28 :  " And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed ."  God changed Jacob's name to "Israel" which includes God's name, meaning "God strives" or "one who struggles with God." Before Jacob...