Marching Forth!

I came across this statement about integrity in a book I'm reading titled The Kingdom of the Occult by Walter Martin, Jill martin Rische, and Kurt Van Gorden.  The final chapter is called, "Evangelism:  Reaching the hearts of People."  It is an excellent conclusion to an informative book.  We live in a day where all kinds of things are peddled for profit and gain.  A couple things which should never be for sale are the Gospel or a man's integrity.  After emphasising the need to speak when the situation presents itself instead of backing down because the Gospel truth might not be received, Dr. Martin writes this: Do not change your thoughts to meet anyone else's thoughts or you will lose your integrity.  What price will you pay for that integrity?  You have a right to your own thoughts and the expression of them.  Never change what you said under pressure or you will lose you , and that is the only thing you have.  Your words are you, u...

This morning I was treated to a series of object lessons on the theme of sin.  As I spent a couple hours mowing, weeding, and trimming, the LORD continued to impress the danger sin poses to our lives.  A characteristic of sin is how seductive it is.  With a tantalizing appearance it beckons, but there is always an incredibly high cost:  separation from God.  For those who refuse to repent and trust in Christ for salvation, this separation will be eternal. In the corner of our back yard grows a stunted, sad lemon tree.  The sparse, bumpy fruit and wrinkled leaves reveal a sick condition.  But today the tree flourished with colour!  Round, flat insects of vibrant red, orange, green, and yellow clustered on the end of each branch.  These were not bugs I was familiar with, coming from San Diego!  A quick online search revealed these insects as destructive pests called "stinkbugs."  My eyes widened as I read how they leech the sap from...

We live in a day which encourages the exploration and practice of cultural traditions.  Native Americans continue the traditions of their ancestors through dance, songs, native dress, and rituals.  Indigenous cultures at one time were under the threat of extinction through systematic eradication or amalgamation with other beliefs.  Because of the diversity of cultures and traditions, some have sought to embrace the beliefs and practices of their forefathers.  People find identity, security, and a source of pride as they revel in their ethnic and cultural background. While the embracing of cultural traditions can provide many positive aspects, it is not without great danger.  A danger exists when people assume that anything which is ancient or traditional is good.  From a biblical perspective, this pursuit and propagation of pagan culture is nothing short of disastrous.  The same thing can be said of religion.  If your faith rests in appeasing th...

The world is packed with substitutes for Jesus Christ, but every one of them is useless.  Jesus forgives, frees, and gives life through repentance and faith.  All false saviours and gods lead to disillusion, enslavement, and death.  Satan works tirelessly to deceive people to think they are fine without God and can save themselves.  Or he will convince them that God does not even exist:  there is no heaven, no hell, no right or wrong, no purpose or meaning to this life, no absolute truth, no free will. How many people have poured out their lives in pursuits of obtaining fame, wealth, and the accolades of men only to remain empty and devoid of life!  People are caught in addictions, gangs, the occult, and destructive cycles of violence out of fear, depression, and hopelessness.  Satan is a master at showing the alluring side of sin.  Commercials for beer commonly employ humour and most of them show fit, attractive, young people having fun partyin...

I am amazed at the way God changes people, most of all when that person is me!  God has a way of transforming everything about my life:  my thoughts, reactions, desires, and pursuits.  During my late teens, I experienced what I can only describe as a very dry time spiritually.  I had such callouses on my conscience.  Or perhaps my conscience had not been made tender by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Things that never used to bother me certainly disgust me now. Case in point:  I used to be a huge James Bond fan.  In the mid 90's when the films made a resurgence, I collected nearly all of them.  I had over 20 VHS tapes of Bond films starring Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and even George Lazenby!  When James Bond seduced a girl, it was something to laugh about.  Instead of "Boys will be boys!" it was "James will be James!"  The gadgets, cheesy and over-the-top special effects, weird villains, and ...

God's love displays itself through sacrifice of self.  Men and women greatly used of God are receivers and givers of this love.  Moses was a man God called to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.  When they transgressed Moses said in Exodus 32:32 , " Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written ."  If it would ensure the forgiveness of the people, Moses would take all the blame along with separation and damnation.  Paul was a man called and sent to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.  His heart was so burdened concerning the Jew's rejection of Jesus Christ that he said in  Romans 9:3 :  " For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh... "  That is a heart of compassion and love, a love that only springs from Jesus Christ. It is hard enough for me to imagine physically dying for someon...

Here is an untitled poem attributed to Archbishop Alexander, as quoted by G. Campbell Morgan in the Westminster Pulpit, Volume 2, pages 175-176: ‘If I have eaten my morsel alone,’ The patriarch spoke in scorn; What would he think of the Church, were he shown Heathendom, huge, forlorn, Godless, Christless, with soul unfed, While the Church’s ailment is fulness of bread, Eating her morsel alone? ‘I am debtor alike to the Jew and the Greek,’ The mighty Apostle cried, Traversing continents, souls to seek, For love of the Crucified. Centuries, centuries since have sped, Millions are famishing, we have bread, But we eat our morsel alone. Ever of them who have larger dower, Shall Heaven require the more. Ours is influence, knowledge, power, Ocean from shore to shore; And East and West in our ears have said, ‘Give us, give us your Living Bread,’ Yet we eat our morsel alone. ‘Freely ye have received, so give,’ He bade, Who has given us all; How shall the soul in us lon...

I love it when a God changes my whole perspective with words spoken with that small, still voice to my heart.  During a time of prayer last night at church, considered my commitment to God.  Had I surrendered all to Him, or was I holding back?  In my heart I prayed, "LORD, I give you my hobbies, money, and my time.  I commit all my possessions and even my desires and dreams to you."  Immediately He spoke to my heart:  " Forget those things.  All I want is you ." God spoke this word of encouragement to me, but I believe it is for all people.  Sometimes we think that it is our sacrifices that please God.  We think if we give more, serve more, and deny our flesh from food or certain activities God will be satisfied with us.  I realized that God wants me to give things to Him - not because He desires them or because I must prove myself - but because those things draw me away from Him.  It is me who God treasures.  He is a jealous...

When I traveled to Israel in 2005, I noticed small metal boxes permanently affixed to the door jambs.  The metal box and parchment is called the "mezuzah."  A qualified scribe uses special ink and a writing implement to copy selected verses from the Torah.  One of the utilized passages is likely Deuteronomy 6:4-9:  " Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "  This has been a long-standing tradition observed by Jewish people both...

I think it was pastor Bill Wilson whom I first heard say, " The teacher has not taught until the student has learned ."  This concept can be applied to the training of children by parents as well.  Proverbs 22:6 says, " Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it ."  This is an inspired statement of truth.  Parents can feel content with the fact their child attends church, memorizes scripture and doctrine, has been baptised, or makes a profession of faith.  But this does not mean the child is being trained.  If we would have our children follow the steps of Christ even as we follow Him, parents have a responsibility to train their children. Speaking as a parent, our mistake is often made because we misunderstand what it means to "train."  Many parents (me included!) tend to "tell" our children rather than to "train" them.  When a soldier embarks to "basic training," he is not mere...

There is always a danger that the Christian life will be compartmentalized into set activities rather than a complete lifestyle.  Worship of God does not occur after we pack into the car on a Sunday morning and gather in a building to sing songs of praise or listen to the Word of God preached.  The song should be in our hearts from the moment we rise, a song of thanksgiving unto God.  Our lives are intended to be an continual spring of worship, a life of obedience lived unto God for His glory.  Consider a paragraph from a message delivered by G. Campbell Morgan on the subject of worship ( The Westminster Pulpit , Vol. 2, pg. 98): "I do not worship God by going to China as a missionary if God wants me to stay at home and do the work of a carpenter.  I do not worship God by aspiring to some mighty and heroic thing for Him if the capacity He has given me is for doing the quiet thing, and the simple thing, and the hidden thing, and the unknown thing.  It would...

After my sons and I arrived at their bus stop yesterday, Zed picked this up off the ground.  I tried to convince him that over many years this small piece of metal had been formed by random, natural processes.  The letters "BIC" had stamped themselves into what appeared to be red plastic.  He looked at me as if I claimed to have swallowed the moon.  "But what is it for, Dad?" he asked.  "What does it do?"  No one in our family smokes, so Zed would have no clue that this little piece of metal and plastic is part of a cigarette lighter. I appreciated Zed's insight into the lighter piece because without even knowing what it was, he instantly recognized it had been made by an intelligent source for a specific purpose.  I did not need to explain this to him:  it was as obvious as the sun in the sky.  Man invents and manufactures products to perform functions which make life easier to be sold for financial profit.  Zed knew this assemblage ...

" 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 ." Luke 17:10   This morning in church we talked about how Jesus has provided a pattern of being the servant of all.  Greatness in the kingdom of God comes through humble service and sacrifice motivated by the love of God.  Sometimes we aren't motivated to act by pure motives.  On the outside we might look like a servant, but in honesty we are serving ourselves. After our monthly BBQ at church, I started breaking down the tables to clean up.  As I collapsed each leg, I considered how many different motivations I could have in packing up the tables.  Perhaps I had seen someone starting to do it and because of my pride - unwilling to be outdone - jumped in.  I could have started to work on the tables because I want to race home to watch a game on TV.  Maybe I just wanted to make a good impressio...

As I stopped at a red light today, a banner featuring Bear Grylls adorned a fence outside an Anglican church.  It read, " My Christian faith is the backbone of my life ."  It is wonderful when famous people freely proclaim they follow of Jesus Christ.  Being a born-again Christian myself, it made me think.  Is my Christian faith the backbone of my life? The backbone (or spine) is the central part of the skeletal system.  Through the center of the spine runs the spinal cord which connects to the brain and together comprise the nervous system.  For human beings, the spine and spinal cord are a fundamental necessity of life.  The term "backbone" does not only relate to anatomy, but is used to describe someone who is true to their principles.  For me, Jesus is my life.  Without Him, I would be dead in sins and doomed to eternity separated from God in hell.  I agree with Bear Grylls:  Jesus has given me life, principles, and the power ...

I was perusing a quote on brainyquote.com and I wondered if Jesus would be listed.  To my surprise I did not find Jesus listed among the "J's."  Then it occurred to me that they might have placed Jesus under the "C's" not understanding that "Christ" is not the last name of Jesus:  it is His title.  Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel to name the the child conceived within her "JESUS" (Luke 1:31).  "Christ" is the title of the Messiah promised to the Jews, meaning "anointed one."  I suspect the folks at brainyquote.com are ignorant of this fact. On the same page with Chevy Chase, Dick Cheney, Cher, and Linford Christie I found "Jesus Christ."  He is listed along with actors, musicians, entertainers, philosophers, and athletes.  And what "type" of "author" is Jesus Christ?  He is listed as a "clergyman."  I'm thinking that is selling Him short - ridiculously short.  How about...

Every person on earth has been created by God to be unique.  Twins may have the same genetic code, but their personalities can be worlds apart.  It is the soul of man which distinguishes him from all other living things.  God has breathed into each human being a living soul. Though human beings have the same basic anatomy, we can be easily distinguished by appearance.  Silver hair is said to give a "distinguished" look.  Some people wear fine clothes which distinguish through elegance.  Being an American living in Australia, my accent is easily distinguished as foreign.  When I met with people on the west coast of Australia who had not yet spoken to me (aside from email), one of the first things said to me in conversation was, "Huh!  Another Yank!"  I had been distinguished as not Australian, and automatically grouped in with this man's perception of what an American is.  From the sound of it, it was a negative impression.  Thanks...

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ... " 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 Much warfare in the life of a Christian takes place in the mind.  It is in the mind where the battle is often won or lost.  By subtle suggestion or by unceasing assault, Christians can be tempted away from Christ and into all manner of sin.  The world offers its dainties, Satan attacks our weaknesses, and a undisciplined mind wavering from the onslaught without looking to Jesus is doomed to failure.  All have been in this place.  Unbelievers relish the pursuit of their sin until it destroys them.  But my focus is primarily on Christians who know they are supposed to have victory in Christ but have fallen short of realising it.  Because of continual failure their minds are...