Marching Forth!

No army has ever gone "undefeated."  There are countless skirmishes which make up a war, and it is possible to lose a battle but still win the war.  Today felt like one of those losing days in a spiritual sense.  I find an object lesson in my own hands.  On any given day of mechanical insulation, I usually come through without any injuries whatsoever.  Occasionally I will have a scrape or cut, or possibly feel fatigued after a particularly taxing day of work.  As I wrapped duct this morning, I cut my finger on a 20-gauge stud:  it was the kind that make your toes curl!  Someone had taken a grinder to the metal until it was rough and razor sharp.  I felt it before I saw it.  Thankfully it was in a fairly decent spot and not too deep.  When I came home I had several cuts on my hands to clean with my old standby, hydrogen peroxide. I believe we set ourselves up for failure if we believe we will have victory every moment of every sing...

Our church fellowship annually puts on an elaborate play detailing the arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Over the years I have had differing roles either on stage or behind the scenes.  One year I was cast as Jesus.  To say it was a challenge and a humbling experience would be an understatement.  Aside from prayerfully approaching the role and delivering my lines verbatim, the thing I strove for more than anything was realism. Before the opening scene, people are allowed to roam freely through the marketplace, taking in the sights, smells, and tastes of the city of Jerusalem.  In years past there have been live animals, unleavened bread, and it is a perfect time to chat with Pharisees and even Roman guards.  The chatter of the marketplace is broken by a narrator, and then the temple guards bring Jesus before Caiaphas.  As I was being hauled up on stage, I could see the smiles and expectant looks of the people.  In that scen...

Easter is the time of year when special attention is given to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  There is no greater evidence of Christ's divinity, power over sin and death, and love for all people than the cross and the empty tomb three days later.  It is easy to miss the miraculous in the mundane, and familiarity breeds complacency.  We can become so used to hearing that Jesus died for our sins that we don't appreciate fully Christ's sacrifice.  It would be one thing to be God and humble yourself to living in a human body:  it is unthinkable God would become flesh and willingly submit His life to the curse man brought upon himself through rebellion against God.  Jesus suffered not only the emotional anguish of betrayal and rejection, but intense physical pain.  The word "excruciating" is borne out of the terrible agony of the crucifixion process.  That was not the end.  Jesus endured separation from God on man's account - on my account...

We will never glean practical spiritual truth from the Bible until we make it personal.  I can look back over the years and I remember several times God spoke  to me directly through His Word.  I remember the first time I saw myself as Simon of Cyrene, who had come out of his country and was compelled to carry the cross of Christ.  I also remember when the LORD showed me that all men are as Barabas (including myself!).  Though he was condemned to die for his wicked acts, Barabas was spared and Christ became his substitute.  Today I saw myself for the first time as the donkey that carried Christ into Jerusalem during His triumphant entry. God has been teaching me a lot lately about obeying His directives, not just automatically doing things to please people.  It is an easy trap to do what everyone says you should do.  As opportunities have presented themselves for me to serve at church of late, I have felt strangely restrained by God.  It do...

" Keep your treasures on the open palm of your hand.  If you hold something tight clenched in your fist, God may have to hurt you in order to open your fingers and take it from you.  but if it is offered on the open palm of your hand, you will hardly know when it is gone ." Alice MacFarlane, quoted by Isobel Kuhn in her book,  "In The Arena ," page 97. God desires to strip us of every worldly thing that we might have Him.  It is not until we have relinquished our rights and possessions, even the possession of ourselves, before we will desire Him as we ought.  He will never give us what we do not desire to receive.  God does not force peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God upon men.  He gives these things and more to those who seek Him with a whole heart in faith.  As long as we dote upon earthly treasure, we will never recognize that God Himself is the greatest treasure. How content are men to brood in greedy envy over perishable trif...

I heard a preacher say something that had me thinking.  Likely recorded some time in the '60s or '70s, he referred to what he called "textualism."  He defined this as people magnifying biblical text to such high degree that  the God who wrote the text is forgotten.  Instead of shedding light into our hearts and minds, the Bible can be used to obscure with blindness.  The Bible becomes a god in the place of God.  The preacher warned, " The Bible was given for a reason...instead of leading us to God, the Bible can become a substitute for God.  The Bible should lead us to meet God and Jesus Christ in a clear, sharp encounter that burns itself upon our hearts forever !"  Knowledge is a god many run after, and the church is not without this breed. To people outside the church, the Bible is a book full of hard-to-pronounce names and places, is littered with genealogies, has an occasional interesting story, and offers moral advice.  Those who have...

When was the last time you were awed by the glory of God?  I firmly believe our view of God is pathetic in light of reality.  Our modern-day approach to God is often as flippant as when we turn on the TV or make our morning coffee.  "Routine" would be a blunt way to put it.  We have sterilized Jesus into a soft-spoken nice guy who always walked around in a white robe with a blue drape over His shoulder.  His fire, passion, and glory have been reduced and simplified into something we think we understand very well. After the children of Israel were delivered with a mighty hand from bondage in Egypt, they experienced the glory of God from afar.  God commanded that all the people be sanctified and wash their clothes.  On the third day, He descended upon Mt. Sinai.   Exodus 19:16-18 reads, " Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trump...

" This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. [29] Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; [30] but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. [31] So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. [32] And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass ." Genesis 41:28-32   Joseph was pulled from an Egyptian prison and was made to stand before Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, and interpret two dreams Pharaoh had during the night.  Joseph was filled with wisdom from God and was able to discern not only the meaning of the dreams, but how to prepare for the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine.  He told Pharaoh the reason the dream was repeated:  ".....

The cheapening of God's grace is not a new phenomenon.  Just because God's grace is freely given does not mean it is cheap.  The display of Christ's love on the cross cost Him His life, and carrying our cross will always come at a cost.  If your Christianity has been obtained without cost, it is worthless.  Many people every year buy tickets to sporting events from scalpers that are fake.  Thousands of real dollars are spent on fake tickets that seem like the real thing.  But when the tickets are scanned at the turnstile, the tickets are proved worthless.  They came at a monetary cost but were not genuine.  Many people believe they have obtained salvation and entrance into heaven, but it will not be until their end when the truth is revealed. The Pharisees spent their entire lives working to fulfill the law through keeping it as best they could.  Every aspect of daily living was carefully examined.  Years were spent reading and memoriz...

I recently heard a song called, "Might be Today."  It is a song of wistful desire, a heartfelt longing to be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  ".. .Might be today I look into your eyes, might be today I see your face.  Might be today you place your wounded hands on my tear-stained face - might be today ."  This song absolutely breaks my heart, but not in the way you might expect.  It breaks my heart because for every person this CAN be the day you look into the face of Jesus, and you need not be caught up into the heavens physically for it to happen.  But the devil would love us to pine for Jesus on earth remaining distant from Him, even when an intimate relationship with Jesus is available to all who believe in Christ, have repented, are born again, and filled with the Holy Spirit. When Jesus told His disciples He would be leaving them, they were sad.  Jesus says in John 16:5-7 :  " But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me,...

" And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. [7] On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask! What shall I give you ?"    1 Chronicles 1:6-7 When I read this passage, the irony stood out to me as never before.  It is ironic because it is in the opposite order of the typical "nominal" Christian.  " Nominal " means, " existing or being something in name or form only ."  There are real Christians, and there are nominal ones.  A nominal Christian asks for a thousand things from God in exchange for the promise of a single sacrifice.  Solomon displays the true order demanded by faith.  He made a thousand sacrifices without the guarantee of receiving anything from God.  Those who know God recognize He is a gracious, generous giver.  Sometimes our sacrifices add up to nothing more than bribes.  Even genuine Christians ...

Today I finished watching the PBS documentary, The War .  Many of the soldiers in the seventh volume testified of the great atrocities they discovered in the concentration camps against Jews, Poles, and mentally infirm.  To their horror and disgust soldiers came upon nude, dead, emaciated bodies " stacked like cordwood ," a testimony to the wicked and barbaric Nazi regime which spread horror and death across the world.  If you have seen pictures or footage of those hellish places, words are almost useless to convey the pitiful and tragic conditions through which any victims were miraculously able to endure.  The human body can only survive so much starvation, torture, isolation, and merciless experimentation by twisted souls. As I thought about what I had only seen of what millions experienced firsthand, my mind went through a progression.  There are people today who say the holocaust never occurred.  That would be as screwy as to say WWII never happened....

Today I saw something that took me way back.  My son, Abel, planned for a friend to come by to play at 3pm today.  From 11am on, there was virtually a minute by minute countdown until his friend's arrival.  Twenty minutes to three I saw Abel's face glued to the front windows, scanning the street for his buddy.  What struck me funny was the fact I had waited at that window about 28 years ago for my friends Jeremy and Donovan, two brothers from our church.  They were older than me and were the coolest guys with the greatest toys. As I watched Abel monitor the street, I considered how preoccupied he had been all day.  He seemed to struggle to find much interest in anything because at 3pm Paul was coming over.  No matter the age, when people are preoccupied they lose focus on other things.  A man preoccupied with his impending divorce finds it hard to concentrate on anything else.  Girls are preoccupied with prom outfits, and guys are preoccupi...

There is nothing as exciting as serving Jesus Christ.  It is the hardest thing I have ever done, but it is by far the best thing.  It is not me who has done anything, but Christ in me.  One of my favorite verses concerning service is found in Luke 17:9-10 :  " Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. [10] So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do ."  I can say the first part, but my duties stretch out before me for the unforeseeable future.  There is nothing more untamed and wild than the path of faith.  It makes the biggest roller coasters in the world seem as childish as a carousel.  Crazier than trying to stay on a bull for 8 seconds, following Jesus Christ is a lifetime of voluntary slave labor.  At the same time, there's nothing crazy about trusting in Jesus as Savior.  I coul...

When I was a kid, my folks would sometimes take the family to Lake Cuyamaca as a special outing.  We had many memorable experiences on the water, like me dropping the brand-new net overboard and watching it slowly float out of sight (and then seeing the expression on my dad's face!), my mom catching all the fish and laughing hysterically, and the time it was so freezing cold we left after an hour to warm up over breakfast in Julian.  Our chief goal as a family was to "catch our limit."  At Lake Cuyamaca, each person has a limit of five trout.  With five people in our family, we could catch 25 trout!  I don't know that we ever managed that number, but on one occasion we were very close (thanks to Mom - she was unstoppable that day!). Tonight after dinner I read a passage from 1 Chronicles 26 and we have been nightly wading through lists of names and positions of service.  Every night the LORD has shown us new things as we read, even in the genealogies....

I received word this morning my dear Aunt Lynn passed into eternity today at 3:32am.  This came as no surprise to family and friends, but no amount of preparation diffuses the reality separation that death brings.  For most of my lifetime Lynn has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, emphysema, diabetes, and a variety of other ailments.  But through all the hardship and struggle I cannot remember a single time she complained.  Love and selflessness are Aunt Lynn's legacy, a shining example for our family to cherish and honor.  For the last two weeks we had been prepared by doctors she did not have long to live.  Every day she talked, smiled, and laughed among us was a tremendous gift. Last Friday I was driving home and I received a call from my mom.  She said, " If you want to see Aunt Lynn, now would be the time ."  I continued to her house and met with a group of friends and family who gathered to give her comfort, company, and return a little ...

This morning I had intended to post on a completely different subject (which I will soon), but was derailed during my Bible reading this morning.  I was reading over the passage in Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestles with a man until daybreak.  This man is pre-incarnate Christ, who speaks and acts with the authority of God.  Genesis 32:25 says, " Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him ."  My typical morning starts with prayer and reading a chapter of the Bible, focusing on a verse or theme.  The following is my first meditations on this verse which I write in a notebook: When a man wrestles with God, he will be forever altered.  From that day forward, Jacob walked with a limp.  But with the limp came a blessing and promise.  His name was changed from Jacob to Israel, from " supplanter " to " God strives ."  There is no wound sw...

There is nothing that makes me appreciate eating food more than fasting.  Many years ago I began to periodically fast from food in obedience to God.  Jesus was approached by the Pharisees who asked why His disciples did not fast and pray like John the Baptist's followers.  Jesus answers in  Luke 5:34-35 :  " And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? [35] But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those day s."  I am a friend of the Bridegroom ( see John 15:13-15 ).  Jesus was taken into heaven forty days after He rose from the dead.  Interestingly, John the Baptist also refers to himself as a "friend of the bridegroom" in John 3:29 :  " He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled ."...

Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be. I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong, I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more, Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore . How much do you desire a closer walk with Jesus Christ?  Sometimes as we pick up our cross daily to follow Jesus we can hardly see Him with all the dust the wind of life kicks up.  It is likely if you do not urgently desire a closer walk with Jesus you will never have it.  God makes our heart yearn for His presence, having tasted and seen that the LORD is good.  How many of the activities of your life move you toward this goal?  What priority...

I've been told that moving house is one of the most stressful things people face, along with planning a wedding and changing careers.  I'm inclined to agree.  It is one thing to have a house in escrow:  it is another thing entirely to finish the process successfully!  Something always has to go wrong:  people change their minds, finances fall through, dealing with misunderstandings between agents and sellers...there seems to be no end to potential snags and hiccups.  Our house is sold, but we still must contend with the escrow gambit.  A week in escrow generates a month's worth of problems. I was contacted yesterday concerning the inspection report on the house by my realtor.  He played a message from the buyer's agent that did not seem positive.  Does the buyer have cold feet?  Did the inspector exaggerate his findings?  Could my house really be sitting on an aquifer?  I should bottle the stuff and call it East County Perrie...

" A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger ." Proverbs 15:1 Today I saved myself a little pain by obeying this principle.  I was talking with a framing foreman and he inferred my crew had missed insulating two pipes.  The truth is, while the pipes were still under test and had not been released for insulation, the framers covered my access with their track.  The man's just doing his job, I thought, trying to shift the blame to someone else in front of the general contractor.  Another thought sprung to my mind to say:  this man's ignorance is only exceeded by his stupidity.  Whoa!  That's not something I should say, much less think! Later I thanked God He kept my mouth shut.  Death and life are in the power of the tongue ( Prov. 18:21 ).  Growing up I was often admonished to "think before you speak."  We have the power to diffuse a situation with a gracious, kind answer.  We need not mock or scorn as the foo...