Marching Forth!

Our identity dictates whose approval we seek.  Growing up, I was raised in a home by both my parents.  Because I identified Mark and Darla as my parents and I was their son, when they gave me tasks to perform I needed to ensure the end results met their standards.  I might have thought the bathroom was clean enough, but their approval is what mattered.  If I cleaned a window for half an hour, time spent did not grant me their approval.  Should the glass remain smeared and streaked, it would not be acceptable.  I sought the approval of my parents so I could move on to something fun! If our identity is in Christ, it is imperative we seek His approval and walk in the way that pleases Him.  History proves God's people often lose sight of their identity in Him.  It is often written of the children of Israel and certainly applies to God's people today, that they did what was right in their own eyes.  Though God brought them out of bondage in Egyp...

"No rest for the weary," goes the cliche.  Now wait a moment, Mr. Cliche maker.  Clearly when coining your phrase you did not consider the words of Jesus when He said in Matthew 11:28-30 , " Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light ."  No amount of physical rest will eliminate weariness or the certainty of future aches and pains.  But rest for the soul!  Life has a way of sucking the "life" right out of us.  When our souls become weary of the drudgery of life, the emptiness of religious activity, the pain of rejection, fear of uncertainty, weighed down with guilt and shame due to our sin, Jesus bids us come to Him.  The life Jesus offers to all who receive Him is abundant for eternity. The words of Jesus are ironic.  When we think abo...

In our day, the statement "It's not about you" certainly will raise eyebrows and hackles everywhere, both within and without the church.  I suspect this is because I have been raised in a cultural platform which says everything is about me!    In a society that stresses the potential and value of individuals, that I can be whatever I want to be as I follow my heart, even the suggestion that my life is not about me may seem repulsive, offensive, and ignorant.  But the scriptural truth remains undeterred, gleaming ever brighter in a world darkened with humanism.  God created all things for His good pleasure, and we exist by His grace for His glory.  Our existence is all about God. The greatest joy for a human being created in the image of the Almighty God is to know and serve Him.  Yet when we present the truth of the Gospel, it can be done in a way which emphasises personal benefits and gifts we receive from God more than the worthiness of God Hi...

The prophet cried out to the LORD in Isaiah 64:1-2 , " Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence-- 2 as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil-- to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence !"  Too long had the heavens been like brass - not because of the sins of the nations - but the sin of God's own people ( Deut. 28:23 ).  He acknowledged this in the following verses.  Isaiah 64:6-7 says, " But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities ."  I wonder if we too live in such a day.  Without God's intervention, we have no hope in this world...