Marching Forth!

Psalm 77  portrays a troubled man during a sleepless night.  Penned by Asaph, this song is relatable to those who feel overwhelmed, filled with complaints, and without comfort.  After examining his heart the author mused in  Psalm 77:7-10 :  " Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?  8 Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore?  9  Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah  10  And I said, "This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High ."  In thinking things over Asaph realised God was not the problem or the cause of his anguish.  His troubled feelings and sleeplessness moved him to seek God and remember the great things God had done. What a wise principle this teaches us:  considering the goodness and faithfulness of God in the past strengthens our faith in Him today for the future....

It's amazing how different God makes people in appearance, personality, and preferences.  He has given us all a unique perspective on how we see the world and aspects of life which are important to us.  God has given my wife and I two sons who are quite different from one another yet not as different as Esau and Jacob were.  They were twins but as far from identical as could be:  one was born covered in red hair and the other was smooth skinned.  Esau enjoyed hunting and the great outdoors while Jacob preferred cooking stew and staying home. When God heard the prayer of Isaac He caused Rebekah to conceive.  Undoubtedly she had expectations of what a "normal" pregnancy would be like, having spoken with many mothers with experience, yet these romantic notions were dashed with pain and discomfort.  Genesis 25:22-23 gives us insight into what was happening out of sight before sonograms:  " But the children struggled together within her; and she sa...

I remember working as a contractor at San Diego State University and seeing radiation symbols on random buildings.  I discovered these office buildings doubled as bomb shelters underground and were stocked with old barrels of supplies should the need arise.  It looked like many of those green military stores had been sitting in dust for decades.  The subterranean bunkers I walked through were dimly lit and cold, but they would be a welcome refuge in a nuclear disaster.  The problem with bomb shelters is making sure you are in them before the bombs start dropping, or otherwise all the careful preparation was in vain. Blessed is the one who makes God His refuge and finds certain shelter in all seasons.   Psalm 91:1-3 reads, " He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2  I will say of the LORD , "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." 3 Surely He shall deliver you from...

Animal sacrifice to deities is a foreign practice and concept to many in the west and the world.  My observation of the purpose behind sacrifice outside Judaism is one of appeasement, to ensure rains will come, the sun would rise, fertility, or for good fortune.  Sacrifices were made to obtain something desirable and beneficial like a man offering a bribe to a corrupt official for favours.  While no one can know for certain the motivations of the hearts of men, it is likely among the Jewish nation this was true to a degree:  sacrifices were at times offered to receive atonement from God and prevent falling out of God's favour. There are many times recorded in the Bible sacrifice followed deliverance and victory as a show of acknowledgement of God's help with thanksgiving and gratitude.  An example of this is after God delivered Noah, his family, and many animals from the great flood and he offered a sacrifice.  Another time was after Joshua and the chil...

A child born into royalty could take much for granted.  This child would not know hunger or cold like the starving daughter of a farmer whose parents cannot afford wood to heat their dwelling.  It must be a severe famine indeed to impact the palace kitchen of the king and queen.  The prince or princess would never know the feeling of a parent imprisoned or the need to help raise little brothers or sisters with servants at the ready.  The fact their father is the king would influence their perspective and attitude.  It would take losing everything to begin to realise how much of their lives was foreign to the rest of the subjects of the realm. After coming to Jesus Christ as poor beggars, our heavenly Father has adopted us as His own children by faith in our Saviour and LORD.  Our humble background as street urchins creates a very different problem to the one raised in the luxury royalty affords:  we do not realise what is ours as children of God....

" The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, b ut he who heeds counsel is wise ." Proverbs 12:15 The definition of a fool in the Proverbs is a person whose words and actions deny the existence of God.  Instead of looking to God for the right way he follows the impulses of his own heart.  The eyes of a fool are blind to the wisdom of God found in His word and sees no need for a so called "god" in his life.  The fool is unwittingly in a harrowing predicament and what is worse is he cannot see the danger of going his own way which leads to ruin.  When a boxer sees the glove coming he steels himself to absorb the shot, yet the fool does not notice the telegraphed punch his own folly brings like a hammer upon him. There is a folly found in youth, a self-confident assumption of knowing all the important facts.  There is a folly found in older people too, a cynical attitude built on distrust and shattered expectations.  They risked following the counse...

" In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. 27  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death ." Proverbs 14:26-27 Self-confidence is often viewed as beneficial but the Bible teaches preoccupation with self is a snare.  To put confidence in self is to put confidence in man, and  Psalm 118:8 says plainly " It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man ."  Better than self-consciousness is for God's people to be cognisant of God's presence and promises. Many of the things which provide self-confidence for people are transient and dare I say--vain.  I grew up watching sport with ads on television aimed at balding men and how re-growing your own hair bolstered confidence in the workplace or with women.  Other ads targeted men who still had hair and in the space of time it takes to shower an ageing fellow could be "back in the ...

While at Camp Kedron I had an amusing interaction with a camper.  Kids who did not bring Bibles were loaned a Bible for the duration of camp.  A older primary-aged girl came up to me and asked for a different Bible.  "Could I have a different Bible?  This one is old."  I glanced to see what version of Bible it was and found it was a contemporary English version.  Then I guessed what prompted her request:  that she noticed there was an Old Testament and she nodded.  I told her, "This Bible is perfectly fine for you.  In fact, you need to have the Old Testament to better understand the New Testament."  We live in a world where "old" is synonymous with "outdated" and "irrelevant," yet the the Old Testament contains fresh truth for those who glean among those ancient passages. Today I read when God changed Abram's name to Abraham and made a covenant with him.  The first covenant God made with Abram required the sacrifice of animals t...

Words and events that impact us provoke prolonged consideration later.  This can happen sometimes when we read the Bible.  Like a person not content to look at an item behind glass and asks to hold it in their hands for closer examination, we can turn Bible passages over in our minds.  We consider the context and wonder why people said what they did.  I've been thinking over a case concerning what Abram did after God enabled him and his household servants to defeat kings and deliver Lot from their hands. Genesis 14:18-20 reads, " Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19  And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20  and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all ."  Abram and his 318 servants pursued 5 victorious kings during the night and defeated them completely....

A camper last week described his intentional effort to show self-control with his tongue.  His statement reminded me of myself when I was that age, measuring success primarily off what I avoided doing:  "I have only sworn twice all year!"  I commend the lad's efforts to stop cursing.  Jesus taught the words we use reveals the truth of the condition of our hearts, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks ( Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45 ).  Trying to cease cursing with our mouths is futile without a change of mind and heart by God's grace. When I heard the young man's comment I recalled the responsibility of believers not only to avoid sin but to do good, to speak the truth in love.  Better than avoiding gossip our words ought to encourage; rather than harsh censure we can edify others with gracious words.  Realising the Christian walk is more about doing good than avoiding evil was a revelation from God.  The call to self-control g...

After the earth began to be repopulated by people after the flood, the people banded together in Shinar.  They decided to make bricks, build a great city with a tower that reached to heaven, and make a name for themselves so they would not be scattered across the earth.  God knew their plans and decided to miraculously disrupt them and bring about exactly what they worked to prevent.   Genesis 11:7-8 reads, " Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city ."  The name of the unfinished tower was called "Babel" because it was the place God confounded the languages of the people. The inability to understand one another ended the singleness of mind and purpose the people once shared.  Without anyone to translate what they said and meant their efforts turned into a ruin.  This in...

God is better to us than we know.  Even when we credit Him for all good things we have received by His grace He is infinitely more worthy of praise and honour than the thoughts in our heads or the words on our lips.  Every day provides countless opportunities to praise and honour the God who does everything. I was impacted by the song of David in  Psalm 144:9-15 :  " I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. 10  It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. 11  Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: 12  that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: 13  that our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: t...

" Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus minced no words when He addressed self-righteous Pharisees and scribes who sought to destroy Him.  They put great emphasis on having a clean exterior according to the Law of Moses but neglected the condition of their hearts.  Jesus perceived the greed in their hearts which moved them to seek the praise of men over the glory of God.  The religious rulers drew near to worship God with their mouths but their hearts were far from Him. The worship of the self-righteous rulers Jesus said was in vain:  empty, worthless, fruitless, and ineffective.  Their worship of God was vain because they taught as doctrines the commandment of men.  God has provided the Bible to revea...

Noah was a righteous man who walked with God.  Enoch walked with God and was not (translated into heaven) and God saw fit to allow Noah to remain by His grace.  According to God's revelation and instruction Noah built an ark so people and animals would be preserved from coming judgment. While the exact amount of time Noah spent building the ark is unknown, it spanned many decades.  He was a builder and also a " preacher of righteousness " according to 2 Peter 2:5 .  He publicly proclaimed the word of the LORD a great flood was coming and his faith was demonstrated by building a massive ship on dry ground.  After the ship was completed, seven days before the flood, God told Noah and his family to enter the ark along with other animals God drew there.   Genesis 7:8-10 reads, " Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as G...

The LORD has blessed me to observe and glean truth from the Bible I have read before but never noticed.  At each reading of the Bible we, our circumstances, and our receptivity are different.  Because God's word is living and active our eyes are opened to seeing new things and a fresh perspective.  At a distance a fish may appear grey and colourless, but when we examine it closer we notice individual scales that reflect the full spectrum of light with rainbow colours. Genesis 3:24 says God drove Adam from Eden for his sin to till the ground under the curse brought on by sin:  " So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life ."  God guarded the entrance to the garden of Eden with cherubim, angels who serve God continually.  There is also described a sword which turned every way "... to guard the way to the tree of life ."  I su...

I have been reading through the creation account recorded in the Bible.  By the power of His word alone God created the heavens and earth and spoke all thing into existence.  From the earth He brought forth plants, trees, birds, reptiles, and fish in abundance.  Finally on the sixth day God formed man from the dust of the ground in His own image and breathed into Adam a living soul. Before today I never considered how God created countless living things to reproduce after their own kinds yet created a single human being.  When God created the human body He thought of everything and placed him in the Garden of Eden God planted.   Genesis 2:8 says, " The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed ."  God gave man responsibility to tend the garden God planted and a command to eat from every tree save one in  Genesis 2:15-17 :  " Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden...

" Your word is very pure; t herefore Your servant loves it ." Psalm 119:140 Psalm 119 is famous for being the longest chapter in the Bible, yet it has at least one other outstanding feature:  nearly every single verse therein praises God's word, commandments, and statutes.  The psalmist had a healthy obsession with the word of God and sought to heed it continually.  As this verse plainly states, the purity of God's word is a reason why servants of God love it.  Compared to good seed that is fruitful in prepared hearts by Jesus, it is living and active to instruct, guide, and help us to know God and follow Him. The heavens and earth will pass away but all of God's words will endure forever in full force.  The Bible has remained unsullied and pure until now and will continue to provide life-sustaining wisdom forever to all who read and walk according to it.   Proverbs 30:5 says, " Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who p...

Yesterday I started reading His Deeper Work in Us by J. Sidlow Baxter and am enjoying it thoroughly.  Now here is a man who knows and breathes the inspired truth of scripture.  No fluff or quaint cliches here:  just meaty, thought provoking words worthy of being meditated upon because they are from God's Word.  Directly after reading these words I found it necessary to read them again because there is too much to digest in a single pass: Holiness, as taught in the New Testament, is no mere negative concept--a being freed merely from the disfigurements of sin.  Besides the negative aspect of being rescued from the tyranny of hereditary depravity, there are all those wonderful positive traits which accompany the Holy Spirit's deeper renewal of the mind into the image of Christ.  According to the New Testament picture of holiness, the garden is not only cleared of ugly weeds, it is filled with fragrant flowers and rich fruits... In other words, the New Te...