Marching Forth!

This morning I read a Bleacher Repor t article about Ken Caminiti, a baseball player I cheered for growing up as a San Diego Padres supporter.  The article spoke of how after finishing his career Ken was transparent and confessed steroid use and drug abuse.  There is little doubt his candor cost him dearly.  Instead of cheers for his honesty, he was ostracised by many both in and outside of baseball circles.  Some of his fellow players felt betrayed, and fans were angry their hero had been a cheat.  The fallout from his admission freely provided created a fire-storm of controversy.  Quoting the article: Two years later, in 2007, Caminiti appeared on the baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first and only time. A record 545 voters cast ballots. Two people voted for Caminiti.  " I took a lot of crap for that vote ," says Gwen Knapp, then a sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle  and, of course, one of the two who voted for him. " I th...

Sometimes the biblical knowledge of a Christian can inhibit growth.  This may seem strange, but it is a common malady.  Our familiarity with a passage may lead us to gloss over key details which could greatly broaden our understanding.  For instance, I have heard people describe God's love with the word "unconditional."  Whilst it is true God's love is freely given according to His grace - no one deserves or could earn such love extended to all - I believe people can love unconditionally without God.  I suggest there are people in the world who are die-hard, loyal until death supporters of sports teams which have never won!  If our understanding of God's love is merely as "unconditional", we miss the richness of the depths of the knowledge of how deep God's love goes.  I remember well my attempts to find the word "unconditional" in the Bible and was surprised I could not.  I discovered God's "agapao" and "agape" lov...

" Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God ."   Psalm 43:5 Have you ever wondered why a good shepherd will leave 99 sheep in the wilderness to seek one sheep that is lost?  In Philip Keller's classic, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 , this is explained in detail.  A sheep missing from the flock could be lost, injured, trapped, or cast.  A cast sheep is one that has fallen over and is unable to stand back up.  All sheep are susceptible to being cast, and factors such as heavy wool, uneven terrain, and pregnancy can play a role.  What looks funny or pathetic to us is a dire condition for a sheep!  When a sheep is cast and wildly struggles to regain its footing, gasses quickly build in the stomach which cuts off the blood supply to the limbs.  A cast sheep can die in a matter of hours. A good shepherd, seeing a sheep he loves is missing ...

Last night I turned on a random music mix as our family washed up after dinner.  As a song by the band Third Day played, I was reminded of a friend named Mark Peters who has already passed into eternity.  Thinking of Mark caused me to think of Mark Rawn who also has gone been to be with the LORD while I have been living in Australia.  We used to attend Calvary Chapel El Cajon together, and I was always blessed to serve alongside them. It was a unique experience as I washed dishes and listened to the song.  It was like Mark Peters and Mark Rawn were together, and they were laughing.  Try as I might, in my mind I could only see them smiling broadly in supreme comfort.  They were rejoicing!  Could I mourn for them now, seeing they had entered into the presence of the LORD for eternity?  In a strange way I almost envied them.  "You don't need to cry for me when my body dies," I told my son who was in the room.  Thinking about it now, tha...