Marching Forth!

Over coffee this morning a brother shared a wonderful truth out of the Bible.  God has revealed His righteous character through various names, like "Jehovah Jireh" ("the LORD will provide" in Genesis 22:14 ), "Jehovah Shalom" ("the LORD is peace" in Judges 6:24 ), "Jehovah Nissi" ("the LORD my banner" in Exodus 17:15 ), and "Jehovah Rapha" (the LORD who heals" in Exodus 15:26 ).  People named altars and even a city after attributes of God which provide glimpses into details of His awesome and magnificent ways.  My friend turned to Ezekiel 7:9 which reads, " My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways,and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes ."  "Jehovah Nakah" - the LORD who strikes or kills - is probably not the first name of God people frame on the wall or include in lists on their bookmarks. ...

" Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD ." Jeremiah 17:5 It is remarkable how deceitful our hearts of flesh can be.  We will cheat at solitaire!  If we will cheat whilst playing cards or a board game which is insignificant in eternity's light, what will we do or say under pressure?  Christians have been spiritual regenerated by faith in Christ and given a new heart, but deceit continues to lurk in our flesh.  Regeneration does not mean perfection.  This morning during an early round of golf, I wrote a 4 on my scorecard instead of a 5.  I was convicted by my sin and changed the score.  C'mon, really?  And I was playing all by myself!  God, deliver me from the folly and deceit of my own wicked heart! Faithfulness in the little things matters.  How important it is to recognise our sin and repent immediately!  It is in yielding in little thing...

The truth of the scripture has always been unpopular.  One of the results of this is the temptation for Christians to turn to or rely on secular reasoning to promote scriptural principles in the public arena.  While on the surface this may seem wise, it is folly.  Those who trust God and the scriptures know faith in God's Word is most reasonable, but to substitute human reason for the words of life is most unreasonable.  People believe what they want.  It is not difficult in our subjective age to find plenty of support for doubt and unbelief.  Minds blinded by the god of this world are unable to see the truth, no matter how logical and persuasive our best arguments can be.  Withholding the scriptures means we are not sowing seed, and therefore there can be no spiritual fruitfulness in such wranglings. God is able to redeem even secular arguments for His purposes, but only God is able to change hearts or the way people think.  Jesus appealed to r...

Satan is a created being by God who continually seeks to mimic his Creator, masquerading as an angel of light.  Jesus Christ is the Way, but the devil tries to thwart the advance of His kingdom by many counterfeit "ways."  Jesus is the Truth, and much of the world is deceived to believe truth is subjective and bows to the judgment of each individual.  Jesus is the Life, and no one goes the the Father or heaven except through Him ( John 14:6 ). One of the ways the world has substituted for a life of repentance and faith in Christ through the Gospel is attempted self-improvement.  One such "way" is through martial arts.  From the moment I was exposed to Aikido in particular, I have always had an appreciation and interest in the skills of the practitioners.  The irony of this martial art is the non-violent philosophy which governs it.  That is why Aikido does not have competitions, but demonstrations.  Whilst some believe martial arts and techniqu...