Marching Forth!

During a conversation today a co-worker of mine remarked, " It seems like the world is running away from what it really needs ."  I told him that statement is more true than we can know.  The world is on a rampage of rebellion against God.  Christians are not called to be highbrow "goody goodies" who stand in judgment of the world.  Whoever is of the world has Satan as father, ruler, and master.  Those who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ are now alive to God.  One thing that will mark a true believer in Christ is that we no longer walk according to the model of Satan's self-seeking rule.  Ephesians 2:1-3 says, " And you He (Christ) made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, [2] in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, [3] among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfi...

Sometimes I hear "Christianese" which causes me to wonder if we comprehend the doctrines of scripture.  A song commonly sung in evangelical circles repeats, "I want more, I want more of you Jesus" and people often pray, "Lord, we need more of you in our lives."  A foundational truth of Christianity is that Jesus Christ has become a sacrifice for sin and has risen from the dead so we might be born again through the Holy Spirit's power.  When we confess our sins, repent, and trust in Jesus as Savior and LORD, He sends the Holy Spirit without measure who regenerates us and dwells within us.  Technically therefore, we have the same Spirit who dwelt in Jesus Christ to the full.  We cannot have more of Him because He has given all to us.   John 3:34 says, " For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure ."  We see that we have all of Christ as the song goes, "All of you is more than enough for al...

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is unlike anything that world has ever seen.  When the Gospel was presented by Jesus, it was not accompanied by an advertising campaign.  Unlike many other pagan religions of the time, it was not sexually driven or marked by drug use.  It was not forwarded by political influence, nor advanced through military prowess by Christ's disciples.  The Gospel did not hold promises for financial gain, nor boasted promises of fame, acceptance, and power.  It was quite the opposite:  Jesus said that all who repented and trusted in Him would be forgiven of their sins and inherit eternal life - with the understanding they were choosing a life of humility, servitude, rejection, being hated, misunderstood, persecuted, tortured, imprisoned, and even murdered.  The world must marvel that Jesus had any followers at all.  But those who have left all to follow Christ understand that a relationship with Him is the most real thing they have e...

On every jobsite I work, many systems comprise every project.  The electricians run wires and connect circuits; iron workers build the steel structure, pipe fitters weld steam, chilled water, and heating pipes; plumbers connect condensate drains and domestic hot and cold water; roofers install flashing, insulation, and drainage; sheet metals workers hang air-conditioning ducts.  On and on it goes, from the architects to geologists, structural engineers to the inspectors, beyond the range and scope any one person can fully grasp.  I insulate mechanical equipment and very few people in the entire construction industry outside our profession have any concept of how to perform the work.  Yet for all this complexity, manpower, training, and experience, a state-of-the art building which costs a billion dollars and takes years to complete is NOTHING compared to the complexity of the systems which make up a living human body. Take a chiller system, for instance.  A ch...

A discussion with a friend today reminded me of a truth in a way I've never before considered.  Recently having been married to an officer in the Navy, he showed me his identification which allows him access to military bases, medical care, the commissary, and other areas restricted to military personnel.  He told me about what it's like to drive through the gate with the decal of an officer on the windshield.  "The guards really snap to attention," he said.  I had seen this before when I golf with my father-in-law, who retired from naval service as a chief warrant officer.  Like my friend, I was afforded privileges and access because of my affiliation with a man who earned those benefits through years of service.  The treatment of the driver of my father-in-law's vehicle and my truck without a decal is very different! As great as it is to receive benefits on earth due to birth or marital status, how much greater are the blessings we receive when we join ...

I have been working at Farwest Insulation for almost 10 months while waiting for a door to open for ministry in Australia on a full-time basis with my family.  In addition to saving money for moving expenses, working in the construction field has given me opportunities to share my faith with others.  I am very excited to report that one of my co-workers I have shared with prayed with my brother to receive Christ last week!  It is nothing that I have done, but God has answered the prayers of His people to save the lost.  Since I have started working at this shop our superintendent has made a decision for Christ and the LORD has begun a great work in him and his family. God is amazing, doing more than we can imagine at all times.  He has redeemed and made fruitful the sowing of seed for His glory here when I would have chosen to be elsewhere.  This again proves the wisdom and providential hand of God.  God's care for the salvation of souls on every con...

" There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord ." Proverbs 21:30 The Bible says " He who glories, let Him glory in the LORD " ( 1 Cor. 1:31 ).  It is no fault for a man to boast in the Living God.  We are shamed when we do not do so.  For a moment, consider the inestimable wisdom and knowledge of God.  Job says in Job 26:7 , " He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing ."  How God suspends the earth in the vacuum of space with a unique atmosphere which supports humans, animals, plant life, gasses, minerals, and elements all working together...it is too much for the mind to take in.  A man comes home from work and hangs his jacket on a hook - a jacket he could likely not sew together even if all the fabric was already woven for him and he had a month to practice!  A metal hook is employed which he could not cast, shape, or beat into a useful form even if all the tools were provided.  The jacket ha...

I've been working late the last couple nights.  Laura walked into the den this morning and said, "Where's your truck?"  I'm thinking it should be right where I left it.  It did not take me long to realize that my truck was indeed NOT where I left it.  Instead of my truck there were trash cans waiting to be picked up.  I called the police and reported my truck stolen.  While I was contacting the police department, I asked Laura to drive around our neighborhood to see if she could find it.  I just filled up with a full tank of gas and the odds were against us finding it. With God, there are no such thing as odds.  Within five minutes Laura was calling me to say she had found the truck three blocks away.  The tool box looked intact (my chief concern!) and it looked like the interior had been rifled through.  After a policeman arrived to file a report and looked things over, nothing appears to have been stolen.  The thieves jammed som...

" For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. [6] For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [7] But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. [8] We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- [10] always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. [11] For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh ." 2 Cor. 4:5-11 I planned on writing on this yesterday but I pulled a double shift (6am-2pm and 4pm-12am).  Hope it's right on time!  I suppose there a...

I read an interesting article in Time by James Poniewozik today called "The Myth of Fact."  " Technology now enables rumors to spread at the speed of the Forward E-Mail button," he writes .  "But the common explanation - that new media let us self-select into groups and never hear news that contradicts our beliefs - may be too simple.  We do hear contradictory news.  But we have better ways to invalidate it...Farhead Manjoo writes that the rise of self-selecting media tribes has led to a decrease in "generalized trust" but an increase in "particularized trust"...People now live in self-buttressing fortresses of myth, where debunking a belief only confirms it ." The internet and media have brought an abundance of information unparalleled in history.  With an abundance of information has ushered in an incredible amount of mis-information.   It is so easy to pick and choose which version of the truth we are comfortable with or suits our ...

" If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. " Luke 14:26 Through the call of Jesus men become individuals.  Willy-nilly, they are compelled to decide, and that decision can only be made by themselves.  It is no choice of their own that makes them individuals:  it is Christ who makes them individuals by calling them.  Every man is called separately, and must follow alone.  But men are frightened of solitude, and they try to protect themselves from it by merging themselves in the society of their fellow-men and in their material environment.  They become suddenly aware of their responsibilities and duties, and are loath to part with them.  but all this is only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision.  They are unwilling to stand alone before Jesus and to be compelled to decide with their eyes...

Hardly a day passes when I am not directly asked about my plans to minister in Australia.  "So, what's going on with Australia?" or "Have you heard anything from Australia?" and my personal favorite:  "When are you leaving?"  If I had a dollar every time I was asked a question along these lines I would be a wealthy man, and if I earned a dollar for every time I thought about my friends in Australia or prayed about it, I would be richer still! As I press on working with my hands to put money away to pay for moving and future living expenses, I see God's grace, love, and wisdom at work.  During my time as a mechanical insulator with Local 5, I have worked at three shops.  At every shop I had time to share my faith with many people.  I have maintained contact with people from all three.  Witnessing at random is great, but there is something special when you have earned the trust of other people so they will freely share their personal beliefs and so...

From time to time people have questions concerning particular posts.  Instead of trying to answer the questions by commenting back and forth in the comments section, feel free to send me an e-mail address in your comment.  I will not publicly post your comments or my response.  Though far from the ideal of speaking, e-mail seems to be much more profitable than discussion threads which are easily derailed!  Again, thanks for reading!

Have you ever read a great book which impacted your life?  After speaking excitedly with friends or family, you offer the book on loan to someone who seems very interested.  Months pass.  We've probably been on both sides of this equation many times and so we know what happens.  After a ridiculous amount of time has elapsed the book is returned - unread.  This is as annoying as disappointing, because the book would have been likely loaned to others who might have actually read the book during that time and been greatly blessed. I'm sure many excuses or reasons could be given why the book was never read, but it is undeniable that the book was not as great a priority or as important to the borrower as the loaner.  I suppose if the borrower really wanted to read the book he would buy it, check it out from the library, or buy an e-book himself.  When people invest nothing and are loaned a book rather than purchasing it sometimes they lack motivation to f...

"Discipleship" is almost a catch-phrase these days in church circles.  We lament the fact that we need more of it, that church fellowships are too impersonal, and people young in faith in Christ have difficulty connecting with experienced followers of Christ.  For most people, when speaking of discipleship it is usually to reference a course on biblical doctrine, a one-to-one fellowship meeting, or an opportunity to study through a book or part of the Bible.  It's amusing and also sad that what passes for discipleship quite often is not discipleship at all! Part of the role of being a Christian is making disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ.  Jesus made disciples of people by calling them to follow Him.  That was all.  Following Jesus made a man a disciple.  The only decision which remained was to forsake all for Christ in obedience, or choose to abandon Christ.  There was no curriculum, books to read, questions to answer, or tests to take....

" I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  [14] Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord !"   Psalm 27:13-14 Waiting on someone is very different than waiting for someone.  We are only too familiar with waiting for things or people:  waiting for your turn in line, waiting for your birthday to arrive, or waiting for traffic to start moving again.  I remember as a kid waiting for my friends to arrive at my house.  Half an hour before the set time I would occasionally peek out the window at the sound of any car.  I was completely preoccupied with waiting.  All my hope rested upon my friend's mom bringing him at the prescribed hour.  Sometimes friends were early, late, or they did not show at all.  I am only too familiar with the truth of Proverbs 13:12:  " Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but wh...

While driving home yesterday, I heard on the radio that a federal judge in San Francisco overturned Prop 8 which was made law in California by a majority vote in 2008, citing it was "unconstitutional."  As exuberant homosexuals were interviewed concerning their "victory" in court, one common theme was repeated over and over:  equality.  Apparently a common belief among many in California is people should have equal rights to marry whomever they wish, no matter the sex.  Even though California recognizes civil unions, gays want the ability to buy a marriage certificate and have a wedding recognized by God and the government as legitimate. To make gay marriage an equality issue is completely incorrect.  Over and over the same strawman arguments are repeated and prove a complete lack of understanding of who created and instituted marriage.  "But shouldn't  equality extend to gays as well as straight?  That's what this country was founded on.  ...

Here is a great maxim from Dietrich Bonhoffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship:  " Only those who obey can believe, and only those who believe can obey ."  Jesus calls everyone to discipleship.  We cannot blame our disobedience on Him.  On page 73 he says concerning the rich young ruler who approached Jesus, " Only the devil has an answer for our moral difficulties, and he says:  "Keep on posing problems, and you will escape the necessity of obedience"...There is one thing only which Jesus takes seriously, and that is that it is high time the young man began to hear the commandment and obey it.  Where moral difficulties are taken so seriously, where they torment and enslave man, because they do not leave him open to the freeing activity of obedience, it is there that his total godlessness is revealed.  All his difficulties are shown to be ungodly, frivolous, and the proof of sheer disobedience.  The one thing that matters is practical obedienc...