Marching Forth!

Today I was reminded of an object lesson given to primary school children.  Two long strips of masking tape were placed about seven feet apart from one another, and all the children were made to stand on one side of the tape.  I was asked by the teacher to help with the lesson.  My role was to keep anyone from successfully jumping over the seven foot gap, and to gently pull people close to the edge inside.  After the players in the "game" were ready, he addressed the group. The object of the game was to cross from one side of the tape to the other side without touching the ground in between.  If any part of your clothes or body touched the floor in the middle, you were out of the game.  He explained that people could use whatever means they wanted to cross, and he offered to lay down so people could walk across his body to reach the other side safely.  Right away some of the athletic boys began to back up, preparing to attempt a jump to the other si...

Have you ever had something stuck in your eye?  As a kid I would always rub my eyes and they would grow red and irritated.  Over the years I learned how to remove eyelashes and other foreign bodies by flushing them out with water.  A stray eyelash is just one of many irritants life throws our way, like swarms of pesky flies or a pen which works intermittently.  Not only can we find physical problems irritating, but other people have a knack of doing just the thing we despise.  Have you ever wondered why things irritate us which don't bother others - and the fact they don't realise the awful things they do irritates us even more? The Bible reveals amazing things about us we would never realise on our own, and perhaps don't even want to know.  One of them is found in Romans 2:1 .  After writing a long list of sins common to all men, Paul wrote, " Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you con...

In every person is a desire for significance:  to be appreciated, needed, wanted, understood, listened to, and loved.  We have many ways of trying to quench this inner thirst, and one way we attempt this is through seeking recognition from others.  We have been working and slaving away, but no one seems to notice!  A simple "Thank you!" would be nice, right?  But the truth is, recognition and appreciation by others for a job well-done is a superficial fix which leaves our souls thirsty for more.  Even as our bodies can be dehydrated by activity without replenishing fluids, Christians can find themselves feeling empty even after Jesus promised us satisfying springs of living water by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the only One who can quench our thirst for love, recognition, and forgiveness.  Only Christians therefore are able to tap into this eternal source of living water and find rest for our souls.  Not only that, but through faith in Chri...

Christian catchphrases can be scriptural in basis, but understanding the biblical context is important to avoid error.  Over the years I have grown increasingly thoughtful concerning "pat" answers people commonly give.  Even the worship songs we enjoy and sing are not guaranteed to be free of dubious doctrine.  Now granted, a song is not the means to fully explain theological truth.  But we must be cautious not to place an artist's rendition on level with God's revealed truth in scripture.  Unless the song IS scripture verbatim, it is not scripture - is it? Even as songs written to praise God should not stand in isolation from scripture, neither should scripture.  God has provided the entire Bible - both the Old and New Testaments - so we might have the full counsel and wisdom of God understood by the power of the Holy Spirit.  One of the phrases I have read and sang many times for good reason is found in Romans 8:31 :  " If God is for us, who ...