Marching Forth!

I love it when God illuminates a scripture in a fresh way.  Yesterday I was reading the Bible waiting for my number to be called in the Medicare office and read Galatians 2:20 in the King James Version:  " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me ."  There is a subtle difference from the New King James I found most illuminating.  I point this out not for the purpose of pitting one translation over another, but it shed light on another facet of God's truth I had not yet considered.  The New King James Versions reads, " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me ."  I do not believe one of these is "right" and therefore the other is ...

" Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices ." 2 Corinthians 2:8-11 In his prior letter to the church in Corinth, Paul had exhorted the church to take seriously their responsibility to discipline a member of their fellowship who was living in sin.  The purpose of church discipline is not to punish or humiliate people, but for their ultimate restoration to a close relationship with God and his people.  The man repented of his sinful lifestyle and was truly penitent.  Paul exhorted them to forgive and comfort the man.  He urged them to " reaffirm your love to him ."  This is a lovely benefit of bei...

Walking is an activity.  To do it requires intentional movement:  standing up to our feet in an upright position and putting one foot in front of the other.  Walking is a fundamental development of human beings, and most of us learned to walk before speaking!  One of the key contributors to illness later in life is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle.  Through neglect and increasing obesity, even walking can become an unbearable chore.  There is a spiritual parallel for Christians to consider:  walking with Jesus is not a passive choice, but an intentional activity.  It is very possible after a passage of time our walk has been reduced to lounging and reclining upon plush sofas of familiar theology.  Unless we are intentional about walking with Jesus daily, every one of us can become spiritually flabby, senseless, and unhealthy - despite the breadth and depth of our knowledge. One of the potential dangers for every Christian is we can becom...

At church this Sunday we sang the words, " We raise up holy hands to praise the Holy One, who was, and is, and is to come ."  As hands rose throughout the congregation, my heart filled with joy.  The act of raising holy hands is one of faith, for not one person can claim personal perfection.  Our holiness is not our own, but the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.  David was right when he wrote in Psalm 24:3-6 :  " Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation ."  There is no man who can claim sinless perfection but One:  Jesus Christ.  It is by His grace we lift hands now made holy, washed from sin in the pure blood of the Lamb by faith. Raising hands during prayer and worship is not intended to draw att...