Marching Forth!

The interaction between Balak king of Moab and Balaam the prophet is insightful, for it demonstrates the ones God has blessed cannot be cursed.  Balak bribed Balaam to curse Israel, but to Balak's dismay he blessed them again and again!  Balaam said in  Numbers 23:19-20 , " God is not a man, that He should lie, n or a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?  20  Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it ."  God previously made a covenant with Abraham, that through him and his descendants all the earth would be blessed.  Efforts to curse whom God had blessed would amount to nothing. Balaam continued in Numbers 23:23 :  " For there is no sorcery against Jacob, n or any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob  a nd of Israel, 'Oh, what God has done !'"  God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt ...

" O God, You are my God;  e arly will I seek You;  m y soul thirsts for You;  m y flesh longs for You  i n a dry and thirsty land  w here there is no water.  2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, t o see Your power and Your glory ." Psalm 63:1-2 Growing up in the church, the sanctuary was the place in the building where there were chairs, pews and a pulpit.  It was the place where the church body gathered together to sing worship songs, hear sermons and pray.  The sanctuary was a place consecrated similarly to the tabernacle a temple, a place where God dwelt.  The ironic thing is in my youth I was not aiming to look for God's power and glory.  The sanctuary was viewed as God's house, a place where we showed respect for God by refraining from running, shouting and removed our hats.  David's longing and desire to seek the presence of God early is refreshing in comparison to the legalism of consecrated spaces. From my own exp...

This guest post has been contributed by my sister-in-law and sister-in-Christ, Jena Grisez.  The message of our need to be transparent and connected through relationship with fellow Christians resonates in me strongly.  In our western culture deeply steeped in individualism and self-sufficiency, there is a risk Christians can be influenced to worship the idol of privacy instead of exercising faith in God by allowing others to share our private lives.  Enjoy! I hate cleaning. I guess it would be more appropriate to say, “I hate scrubbing.” I like vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc., but I can’t stand showers and wood floors. My cycle goes like this:  showers need scrubbing and I begin to notice, then the mold starts growing and I start to consider cleaning them. At some point it’s so disgusting and I’ve put it off for so long, that I begin to fear for our health and I clean them. Because I’ve let it go so long, it’s an hour long deal and I vow to wait as ...

The best stories are those straight from the Bible, but a close second are those which affirm God's eternal truth.  God has crammed life full of situations the Holy Spirit transforms into meaningful parables for those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand.  I am always on the lookout for good stories, and I came across one yesterday written by my sister-in-law, Jena.  Enjoy the following guest post! Several years ago, when Jack was a wee lad, no more than four, we would head over to Mission Trails and take a small hike to a little place called Crystal Cave. I don't even know if that's its actual name; it's just what I was told. My aunt and uncles grew up living on Mission Trails, and I grew up listening to the stories they had of adventure and conquest during their childhood. Crystal Cave was one of those places. Apparently it was once a cave used to mine crystals, but for whatever reason was abandoned and broken down. Around what u...

There is truly nothing more exciting, humbling, and amazing than being part of God's forever family.  The life God has for us is better and broader than we could ever have dreamed up for ourselves.  God is faithful to lead and guide His people faithfully, providing for our necessities and granting opportunities to serve all over the world.  It is wonderful when we experience the joy and peace of God and are content in our circumstances - only to have God prompt us to go through an open door He has sovereignly placed before us.  God's ways are past finding out, and what a joy to know it is He who will be faithful to lead us every step of the way. Years ago I served on staff at Calvary Chapel El Cajon with Lynette Lynn.  A time came when God moved her to another local ministry where she has been serving for six years.  She posted a status update that took me back in my mind to the time when I discovered God had called me out of ministering in San Diego and ...

The following was originally posted on the blog called " The Mustard Seed " by Amy Lambert.  Years ago we attended the same church fellowship.  Amy is currently living and serving the LORD in New Zealand.   The thing about learning to hear the voice of God is that He will often ask you to do some extreme things, things that we wouldn't normally do because they require more faith and trusting in Him alone. Now, before I tell this story, I want you to know that I have been praying for a while about how much detail to share. However, God challenged me to be transparent because people in the western world need to see examples of faith in the areas of materialism and finances. So, please know that my aim is to glorify God, not myself, and hopefully inspire others to surrender all to Jesus and trust in His provision alone. He is worth everything! On a Wednesday night, my sister Anna (her actual name will be kept anonymous) came to me and handed me an envelope conta...

I came across a great post from a friend of mine, Paul Zastoupil.  We've known each other since high school and I have been blessed by his friendship and faithful service unto the LORD.  I thought, why not post this to my blog so other people can read it too?  If you would like to read more of Paul's work, check out his blog !  Enjoy! Who Is Qualified to Rule? By Paul Zastoupil It has been almost 7 years since my first post on politics.  My views have not changed much.  It is still generally the same shape, maybe a slightly different shade.  Time does that.  I have heard my father on more than one occasion lament that he had never voted for anyone, only against someone else.  There is always disappointment in his voice when he says it. I have not written it in a post here before, but I believe that a requirement for someone to hold high office is that they do not want to do it.  If they want the office, it is an indication...