Marching Forth!

The Bible starts with the sentence, " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ."  As amazing as that is, I am still amazed that three pages later sin entered into the world through Adam's rebellion, and death through sin.  One only needs to turn to page 6 in my Bible before we read this horrible indictment against man:  Genesis 6:5, 11-12 reads, " Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth ."  The corruption of mankind through sin is a self-imposed tragedy. More than anything, man desires to be in control.  He naturally clutches for power, authority, money, privilege, and seniority.  Right from the start, Eve was tempted to be like God by eat...

Last night our family enjoyed the special treat of eating out at a local restaurant.  Our server was polite and had an American accent, always a good conversation starter!  It turns out he came over from the United States to go to Bible college at a local church.  In the midst of the discussion he said something I found interesting.  He invited us to visit his church and said, "Sunday nights are some of the best services.  It is always very creative - if anything creative is going to happen, that's the service for it." I realize I have led a sheltered life in many respects, having worshiped the LORD for a majority of my life at one Bible-teaching church.  Never, in all that time, have I heard "creativity" as a draw card for someone to attend.  There is nothing wrong with creativity.  But I can't say that I would prefer one service over another because one seemed more "creative."  It left me with the question which all Christians must answer...

Most mornings after breakfast our family reads " Keys for Kids ," a daily devotional by CBH Ministries .  Today's story was about a girl who was tasked with a class project studying addictions.  She discovered that not only there are addictions which enslave and destroy, but also wholesome and beneficial addictions.  The dad in the story suggested a verse which I have always found thought provoking.  The KJV of 1 Corinthians 16:15-16 reads, "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) 16 that ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth . "  In the NKJV, instead of "addicted" the word "devoted" is used to translate from the original Greek. In modern culture, the term "addiction" often has a negative connotation.  Addiction carries with it an aspect of compulsion and ...

This morning I read Job 28 and was greatly blessed by the practical insight.  Job describes how veins of gold, silver, iron, and precious stones are found through mining.  Then he makes a spiritual contrast in Job 28:12-15:  " But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. 14 The deep says, ' It is not in me'; and the sea says, ' It is not with me.' 15 It cannot be purchased for gold, nor can silver be weighed for its price ."  True wisdom is not found by digging in the ground, space exploration, deep-sea diving, nor is it for sale.  The wisdom of God is not obtained through any effort of man, but by the grace of God. Some believe that wisdom is obtained through life experience or by acquiring degrees as prestigious universities.  There is a kind of wisdom that is found on earth, but it is a false substitute for what God calls wisdom.  Jam...