Marching Forth!

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...