Marching Forth!

I have lived my life in an age of convenience.  Some of the definitions of "convenient" found in the Merriam Webster dictionary are, " suited to personal comfort or to easy performance ; suited to a particular situation;  affording accommodation or advantage ."  The world panders to our natural selfishness.  We want things to be easy, comfortable, and advantageous.  Most people are happy to pay more for greater convenience.  We complain when the seal on the tomato sauce or the peanut butter doesn't have suitable sized tabs for easy removal.  We avoid peak-hour traffic when we can because it is a great inconvenience.  Today was a lesson in convenience I won't soon forget. My eldest son began his work experience today at Macquarie University.  My wife had planned on accompanying him on the bus and making sure he arrived at his destination.  Riding the bus in Sydney can be tricky because there are no announcements of an upcoming stop or ...

Recently I discovered a connection I had never noticed before:  the correlation between receiving mercy from God and courageous strength.  Many times in scripture the exhortation is given by God and devout souls who feared God:  "Be strong!"  The glory of young men is their strength, but it is not by lifting weights and physical exercise that brings this strength.  Spiritual strength is derived only from God through faith and experienced as we obey. The Bible is filled with examples of people who triumphed over their enemies - not because they were physically stronger, had larger armies, better weapons or training, or held a strategic advantage - but because they trusted God and obeyed Him.  There are also examples of people who faced unbearable suffering and horrendous circumstances.  Strength from God was needed just to endure the day, for their lives hung by a thread.  This is the sad condition faced by God's people in the Lamentations of Jer...

" But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation ." Galatians 6:14-15 The triumph of Jesus was culminated by His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.  Not only was the blood of Jesus shed to atone for the sins of the world, but the Law which condemned all men was nailed to the cross ( Colossians 2:14 ).  The death of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world provided the killing blow to the power of the enemy to condemn or destroy all who repent and receive the Gospel. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul draws upon the imagery of the cross to reveal another accomplishment of Christ for all who trust in Him.  The world had been crucified to Paul, and Paul had been crucified to the world.  The world under the sway of Satan was rendered powerl...

When the Rolling Stones hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" rocketed to number one on the charts in 1965, it struck a nerve which has continued to twang.  Few people have obtained the fame, money, and notoriety of the Rolling Stones, and they still play the same song at nearly every show to this day.  The issues the song speaks of - useless information on the radio, having the whitest shirts, and sexual frustration - can be interchanged with anything this world has to offer, but the grain of truth remains static:  this world cannot deliver on true, lasting, genuine satisfaction. Reality never seems to scratch the itch of fantasy.  It always beckons alluringly, tantilisingly just out of reach.  The lie it perpetuates is if the conditions were altered slightly according to our desire, we would achieve satisfaction that seemingly eludes our grasp.  It is an exercise in futility because this world cannot possibly deliver all it promises without the negative s...