Marching Forth!

This morning in church the words of Jesus Christ in Revelation 3:20 was read:  " Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me ."  The immediate context is Jesus addressing the church in Laodicea concerning their lukewarm condition.  When this passage was read, a picture popped into my mind:  Jesus, standing at the door of a church building knocking while everyone inside ignored the sound of His voice caught up in their own plans. The Laodicean church thought they were on fire, but they were of the kind Paul wrote about in 2 Cor. 10:12 :  " For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise ."  Yet it would be wisdom to consider and judge ourselves according to God's standards.  Physical life is evidenced first by inner ...

In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy said, " And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country ."  How the climate of America has changed!  Modern culture is saturated with seeking the most benefits with the least cost.  Between social programs, government grants, welfare, and medical insurance, there are many potential benefits of living in America.  But when is the last time I asked, "What can I do for my country?"  Unfortunately if I even tried to ask I would likely be directed to an 800 number with an automated voice response.  Since the days of President Kennedy, the implications of "country" in America has become synonymous with "government."  Country is more than government, just like church is more than a building. After dinner, our family typically reads a chapter from the Bible.  Tonight we read this in 1 Chron. 16:28-29 :  " Give to the Lord, O families of...

This morning I had "Awesome God" stuck in my head.  " Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love:  our God is an awesome God ."  I could hear an orchestra playing along, a symphony of praise raising up to God in heaven.  Like cannons were used in the recording of the 1812 Overture, I imagined howitzers firing off at the crescendo.  I wonder:  do the angels sing songs written by men?  If I could imitate the songs of angels I certainly would!  A song should never fire us up more than our excitement concerning the God of whom we sing. How awesome is our God!  He has created the universe with a word, at whose face the world will flee.  In Rev. 20:11 we read, " Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them ."  Earth and heaven cannot hide from God, and neither can those who inhabitant them.  T...

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written:  "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."  [37] Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. [38] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [39] nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ." Romans 8:33-39 How easy it is to pass quickly over well-known passages of scripture!  We are always the loser when we fall into...

As I was working on the twelfth floor of the new dorm on UCSD, I had an inclination to look toward the north.  Because of where I was in the building, I could see south easily but the north only had a small window.  " What's the point of looking north ," I asked the LORD, " when I can hardly see anything ?"  It struck me that looking towards the north is like trying to see my future.  Looking south is like looking at my past, a panoramic view of the ocean and La Jolla spread from a high vantage point.  Yet looking north all I could see was a big concrete wall with a small square window.  A wide, wild future lays in front of me but I only have a tiny window through which to see.  My future is there sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, but it will always be elusive.  It will always be ahead of the present. Needless to say, the way we see and the way God sees are very different from each other!  I am reminded of God's words in Jeremiah 29:11 :...

This question greeted me in bold permanent ink as I closed the outhouse door on the jobsite.  As a rule, I never respond to questions written on bathroom walls - especially when God is involved!  It is a bad witness to damage property in God's name, and more horrible still to degrade His holy name with the depictions of racism, hatred, and sexual perversion found inside some construction site outhouses.  "Jesus loves you" written among that filth is a fitting example of the bright light Jesus brought to this earth.  But the grandeur and glory is lost when His name becomes graffiti.  He deserves people who live out that truth rather than writing it in hiding. The temptation to respond on the bathroom door with pen and ink was over before it began, yet the question begs to be answered just the same.  Is God an angry God?  How can I know what angers Him?  Psalm 7:11 says, " God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day ."  T...

" Time heals all wounds ," the cliche goes, and I couldn't disagree more.  This assumes all wounds can be healed.  In fact, time has no ability to heal in itself.  Our bodies have been designed to repair themselves over time, but time has no magical qualities in itself to heal.  It amazes me how often cliches and proverbs are casually said without thought of their veracity.  Take the slogan, " What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas ."  It is ironic Las Vegas is called "Sin City" and the last part of Numbers 32:23 says, " ...be sure your sin will find you out. "  I'll save this for another time!  Back to wounds, it is not only the elderly that struggle with unhealing wounds:  children, singles, parents, and grandparents have the potential to carry not only physical wounds, but emotional wounds that no amount of time could possibly heal. Wounds are more than baggage.  No medicinal treatment, herbal remedy, or surgeon's scalpel has the ...

Make Me Thy Fuel From prayer that asks that I may be Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee, From fearing when I should aspire, From faltering when I should climb higher, From silken self, O Captain, free Thy soldier who would follow Thee. From subtle love of softening things, From easy choices, weakenings, Not thus are spirits fortified, Not this way went the Crucified, From all that dims Thy Calvary, O Lamb of God, deliver me. Give me the love that leads the way, The faith that nothing can dismay, The hope no disappointments tire, The passion that will burn like fire, Let me not sink to be a clod: Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God. - Amy Carmichael (quoted from Start Where You Are , Swindoll, pg. 187)

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed hopeless?  Bad situations often become worse.  It is easy to be burdened under stress and trials which churn out turmoil without end.  Perhaps you have been in an abusive relationship, as a child or an adult.  Maybe a loved one is dying with a terminal illness or you have been diagnosed with one yourself.  Your expectations have been crushed, your hopes shrouded in frustration and disappointment.  Hopelessness occurs when we measure our abilities against a scenario and find them wanting.  We are faced with the reality that we do not possess the power to create change in another person or situation.  How can we live in the face of our frailty and failures? In the Bible the Answer to this question is given.  To this day, leprosy remains incurable yet treatable.  In the days of Christ, it included grotesque disfigurement of the body, living in isolation with others who were suffering...

I've been watching "The War," a WWII documentary that aired on PBS some time ago.  I recognize the names of many of the places battles were fought from the ships I worked on in the shipyard like the Belleau Wood (WWI) Tarawa, and Peleliu.  The focus of a good part of the fourth DVD was concerning the battle of Peleliu.  An airstrip on Peleliu was heavily defended by the Japanese and the Major General of the 1st Marine Division believed the battle would be over in four days.  Though there was an intense offshore bombardment from battleships, cruisers, and carriers for days before landing on the beach, the Japanese positions remained virtually unharmed.  Of all the battles in the Pacific, it had the highest casualty rate for the U.S. armed forces.  What some thought would be quick and easy took over two months and with 1,794 Americans killed and 8,010 wounded. As I watched the tragic history of the battle unfold, I thought of the spiritual warfare involved...

Today as I was insulating pipes at the UCSD northern housing development, a smile spread across my face.  When we work as unto the LORD, there is no drudgery in it.  I realized working in the trade for me is a labor of love.  It is not that I love fiberglass clogging my pores, hitting my hardhat on pipes, or cutting the dickens out of my knuckle with a sharp hanger strap:  I love the job my God has given me to perform.  I want to please Him and be about the business He has granted to me as steward. I thought to myself, I don't have to do this.  There's a lot of easier things I could be doing, things that are more comfortable and less strenuous.  Have you ever had to wear a hardhat, a respirator (dust mask), and safety glasses at the same time, climbing up and down a ten foot ladder hundreds of times a day carrying knives and cutting fiberglass?  It's a strange life, but one I wouldn't change because it's what God has given me to do.  It fee...