Marching Forth!

Yesterday I read a meme which contained a quote I have seen attributed to the stoic Seneca:  " The wise man is neither raised up by prosperity nor cast down by adversity; for always he has striven to rely predominantly on himself, and to derive all joy from himself ."  What was intended to be a "mic-drop" quote fell flat with a whimper, for this reeks of the wisdom of man which is foolishness with God.  Words are not true or insightful because they were recorded from ancient times but because they agree with God who is our Wisdom and words God has spoken.  This empty philosophy is completely without footing, a humanist ideal which fails entirely because it depends upon the strength of mortal, flawed men. A careful read of this statement reveals it to be self-defeating and contradictory.  Because men are continually raised up by prosperity and cast down by adversity it could be truly said there is not a wise man among us.  " The fear of the LORD is the begin...

God's ways are higher and better than man's ways.  All God made is good, but men lose the plot by going their own way.  It seems like these days the push for "social justice" and "equality" has been frenetic.  Many people feel their "rights" are being trampled through government overreach and a lack of representation.  There appears to be an overweening sense of entitlement among people which is being expressed through protests, rallies, and proposed legislation (and pushing back against said legislation). I saw a sign the other day which read, " Equality is a right ."  I cannot agree with this statement wholesale (as catchy and popular as it might be), because the truth of it depends upon the context.  First of all, this view can only be sustained by acknowledging God's existence and rule as the United States "Declaration of Independence" states, "W e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created eq...

I've enjoyed reading through G.K. Chesterton's What's Wrong with the World , and because the nature of humanity has not changed he remains insightful and strangely prophetic.  Chesterton was able, with eloquence and humorous poise, to point out inconsistent folly in his day which has continued unabated until now.  I see no reason why these observations will not remain relevant for another hundred years - or until we start actually learning from our mistakes. One of the paragraphs I have turned back to a couple of times concerns a modern approach to education, one that was on display during the life of Chesterton and I have also observed myself.  There is a push in an effort to "save the children" to inject new and virtually unproved methods and programs to benefit students.  Recent examples of this are "Common Core" curriculum pushed through in the United States and the ridiculous "Safe Schools" program in Australia.  It seems many schools a...

Information and knowledge becomes more widespread and easily accessible with each passing moment.   For those who think the ills of mankind reside in ignorance, this is an indictment against them.  Though information is readily available, people still face the same problems which have plagued them from the beginning.  Man knows the truth but lives in conscious opposition to it, convinced that the truth does not apply in his unique case.  He lives in denial of God's existence, embraces subjective relativism to avoid guilt, and lives as if he is a god.  Generation after generation impales itself upon lust, greed, power, and pleasure, always learning but never receiving the truth of the Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ.  There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death. This tragic saga is not only perpetuated by those who reject God and His righteous commands.  Through the prophet Hosea God lamented, " My people are destro...

God never fails!  What He establishes will stand, for His Word endures forever.  The only way I can fail God is if He fails me, for any good in me springs from Him! Though man is feeble, frail, and makes mistakes in abundance, a Christian is not to view himself as a failure.  A dead man cannot fail because a dead man cannot do.  It is God who works in us both to will and do according to His good pleasure.  A man sees himself as a failure when he believes God depends on him in some way, or that he is able to help God in his own strength.  The reality is God has raised me from death to life in Him.  If we are disappointed in ourselves it shows we have trusted in our own strength.  God is the one who makes the dead rise alive for eternity, and it is in Him we live, breathe, and have our being.  What He has cleansed, redeemed, empowered, and indwelt we should not call a failure. Praise God He does not condemn us as sinners after He has paid our...

No one will deny that man's understanding is limited.  We are limited by our experience, exposure, our prejudices, and the filters of perspective.  Solomon affirms our human limitations in Ecclesiastes 3:11:  " He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end ."  People remain ignorant without teaching.  Because God desires that men know Him through personal experience He has given us the Bible, His Word.  Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we learn of God's impeccable character.  We marvel at His wisdom, learn we are gross sinners through His laws, and remain awed by His love and grace toward us.  Just like we can never know God's works from beginning to end (not to mention His operation for eternity!), we will at best wade in the oceans of His wisdom revealed in His Word.  His knowledge and wisdom go to a depth...

As I watched television last night, a man climbed a platform to be recognized with an award of excellence in Australian Rules Football.  The round medal was connected to a ribbon to be worn around the neck similar to medals awarded during the Olympic games.  The recipient bowed his head as a smiling presenter carefully placed the medal.  The man slowly stood up, and raised a fist in triumph as he acknowledged the cheering crowd.  It struck me that while the athletes generally receive the glory or recognition, the game of Australian Rules Football is bigger than each individual player.  Awards given for excellence are even greater than the star players.  The man literally had to bow to receive the award from the presenter who represented the league which gives the player any credibility at all! The Olympic games are greater than any single athlete.  That spectacle of sport is a bigger stage than any personality.  The greater the stage and the hig...

As I think back about the four-plus years I spent on staff at Calvary Chapel El Cajon, there were many building projects and repairs I performed.  Our fellowship is in the process of vacating portions of the building because we have sold it to a school.  This school plans to spend the summer doing major renovations and remodeling of the structure.  I think about the hours spend scraping and replacing floors, fixing hardware, patching and painting walls, organizing and sorting paint and supplies which will be completely rubbed out.  Walls I have patched will be torn down; cables I have run will be cut; pipes I have fixed will be removed and re-routed.  It's depressing in a way, to think of all that hard work being undone. I have come to realize it is not the work itself which matters.  The labor of a custodian whose efforts are erased in the moment he leaves the restroom he has cleaned or masons who built cathedrals which have stood for centuries can stand...

Churches throughout the world place emphasis on teaching of the Word of God.  Modern-day sermons are vehicles to express themes that range from "God's best for you" to "Jesus loves you and has a plan for your life."  Though often sermons are the centerpiece of a Sunday morning worship service, I am amazed how infrequent God and His attributes are the centerpiece of those sermons.  If there is a cause for the disillusionment, ignorance and faithlessness of the modern church it is largely due to the shift from God to what a man can get from God. When was the last time you heard a message that focused on God, like His perfection, justice, mercy, immutability (the fact He does not change)?  I feel the need to define immutable because it is likely you have never heard the theological term used by Holy Spirit-fired preachers of centuries past to try to describe God:   Malachi 3:6 says, " For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O so...

I'm in a mood that is rare for me, waxing philosophical. I'm also fed up with something that I have recently come to realize. In our modern day Christian view, the wilderness experience has been classified as unwise. We are so "production" oriented that many feel that spending a day walking and talking with God is not really "doing" anything. I can hear the conversation: "Honey, what did you do at work today?" "I didn't go to the office this morning." "You didn't go to work?" "Oh, I was working alright...I walked along a trail and talked with God." This poor idiot may lose his good-night kiss over such a stunt (No offense, ladies - these actors are arbitrary). But seriously, we can perhaps justify a day of talking to God. How about a week strictly dedicated to seeking God? No paycheck, and not on vacation time. How about a whole month? How about 40 days? Or longer? Can you imagine Jesus arguing w...