Marching Forth!

" 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 ." Deuteronomy 6:4-5 The world is filled with things people love.  As God's adopted children, Christians know their love for God ought to overshadow all other loves, making them even as hate in comparison ( Luke 14:26 ).  But we don't always do what we should, do we?  Our affections should be set on things above, not on things of this earth.  This is a battle we often acknowledge with only half our heart, so filled are we with other loves. "I love God more than anything," we protest.  Those words, at times, may be true.  But we must admit we are very good at justifying ourselves and quantifying love according to our hearts - which are deceitful beyond compare!  Indeed, love is difficult to discern because it is expressed in many ways:  thoughts, words, actions, emotions, and feel...

A sign by the Temple Mount in Jerusalem reads, " The Sages said about it, "The Divine Presence never moves from the Western Wall ."  In the Old City it seems there is a constant flow of Orthodox Jews heading to and from the Western Wall to pray.  Like in the days when the temple Solomon built stood on Mount Moriah as the focal point of God's presence, today many look at the Western Wall as the place to draw near to God. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil separating the holy place from the "Holy of Holies" was rent from top to bottom.  This revealed the Ark of the Covenant which had previously been concealed from the view of everyone but the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.  In the days of the tabernacle when the ark was moved it was always wrapped in skins, hidden from the sight of the people.  Jesus ushered in a New Covenant in His own blood, once for all atoning for the sins of all who will repent and trust in Him.  The need for sacrificing anim...

As I reflect upon my recent travels to Israel, perhaps this picture I took in En Gedi best illustrates the spiritual effect of the trip in my life.  Though arid and dry, Israel is a land of rich soil and fruitfulness.  Barren, rocky places like En Gedi have natural springs flowing through them even in the summer months.  What a glorious truth, that though this world is dry and thirsty Jesus provides Living Water so our thirst can be quenched forever.  In a world of darkness, the Light of the World shines bright.  There is life, light, and refreshment for all those who will seek the LORD with their whole hearts. This morning I read 2 Chronicles 29, the passage where Hezekiah took steps to restore the proper worship of God in Jerusalem.  This restoration and cleansing was required many times during the years the temple stood in Jerusalem!  Hezekiah's father, King Ahaz, had forsaken God and followed after idols.  He defiled the holy place and rob...

As I left a meeting and stepped into the carpark this morning, the lyrics from Bryan Adam's "Summer of '69" went through my head.  It was a bit bizarre, as it has been at least a decade since I heard the song!  Looking back on his life Bryan sings, " Oh, when I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever.  And if I had the choice, yeah, I'd always wanna be there.  Those were the best days of my life ."  If we go through life looking on how things were with regret, wishing we could "go back in time" like Uncle Rico in the movie Napoleon Dynamite , we may end up living alone in a van somewhere.  We cannot go back in time, even if we use the internet to buy a machine - complete with crystals.  When we try to live in the past, we'll never embrace the future. That's one aspect of walking with Jesus Christ I love:  He provides the opportunity for new beginnings.  We don't need to long to return to a past awakening, revival, or mo...

God's Word is amazing how it provides keys to unlock deeper understanding of God and His ways.  The more you read of the Bible, the more you realise it is one book written by a single Author:  God!  There were many men used by God to pen the scriptures, but clearly He inspired all of them.  An example I have been pondering recently is found in the book of Proverbs which relates to what Jesus says in Matthew. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, " Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them ."  I don't know abo...

Jehoshaphat was a king who trusted in God.  He was a man who "questioned" God, but not the doubtful way God's existence is "questioned" today.  Jehoshaphat asked questions of God, knowing God heard his prayers and would honour His promises.  It is not a lack of faith that moved Jehoshaphat to ask questions of God:  it was faith that compelled him to seek God in his time of need. When the Moabites and Ammonites came against Judah and Jerusalem with a massive army, Jehoshaphat's response was to seek refuge in his God.  In response to the invaders 2 Chronicles 20:3-12 says, " And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: "O LORD God of our fathe...

One of the men in the Bible I truly admire is found in 2 Chronicles 18:  Micaiah the son of Imlah.  He was a faithful prophet to God when he faced a lot of pressure to fall in line with Ahab's 400 prophets.  The wicked king Ahab couldn't stand the man!  When Jehoshaphat asked if they could inquire of the LORD before going to battle in Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab quickly produced his 400 prophets.  Their consensus?  "Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand."  We are not told how, but Jehoshaphat discerned these 400 prophets were not speaking for God.  So he politely asked Ahab, "Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?" Ahab was blunt.  2 Chronicles 18:7 tells us, " So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah." And Jehoshaphat s...