Marching Forth!

There is a thirst in every human heart to be loved.  No love in this life is able to fully satisfy.  Much of what we love cannot love us back.  If a man loves money, his money cannot love him in return.  The song you love to sing does not love you.  Careers end, fame diminishes, health fails, and the laughter stops, and all that remains is silenced by the grave.  My marriage vows included the phrase “Till death do us part,” an acknowledgement that even true love on earth has an end.   My love has limits of scope, intensity, and duration.  I am convinced there is nothing and no one in this world (without the love of God) who loves me with an enduring love – or even actively loves me at all. God has revealed Himself as the only true source of everlasting love.  Love is one of the defining characteristics for God, for 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God...

God has special blessings for those who obey Him.  God extends great blessings to all and obedience is a factor in our ability to recognise and receive them.  After God gave Moses commands concerning fabricating the articles of the tabernacle, all the people whose hearts God moved contributed the necessary materials.  Skilled workers were called by God to oversee the work, and when it was completed Moses blessed them.   Exodus 39:42-43 reads, " According to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. 43  Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them ."  When we faithfully do God's work according to his commands, we are most blessed. In airports, hotels, schools, churches and business - basically wherever people go - there eventually will be an accumulation of "lost property" which remains unclaimed.  For what...

It is good when God sheds new light on a familiar passage of scripture.  Out of His bountiful supply of wisdom there are treasures old and new.  One of the most important aspects of rightly dividing scripture is a careful observation of a text.  It is easy to fall back immediately on our prior understanding of a verse, rush to commentary in a study Bible, or limit the interpretation and application to what is familiar.  Brothers and sisters, let us allow the Bible to speak!  As interesting as conjecture might be to us, the supernatural richness of scripture is supreme without our flavouring. Sometimes conjecture by preachers or expositors can overwhelm plain meaning of the text.  A classic example is found in the scene where the woman caught in the act of adultery is brought to Jesus in the Temple.  It was not the woman but Jesus who the Pharisees desired to put on trial.   John 8:3-6 reads, " Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a wo...

All people have experiences which tempt us to be cynical towards others.  This word has been described as, " believing that people are motivated purely by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity ."  People poisoned with cynicism are often jaded and bitter due to painful experiences associated with people they once trusted.  They have been hurt by people in the past, and therefore all people are under suspicion.  If we believe people are naturally good, their inability to achieve this standard will lead to disillusionment and the distrust of all.  Those who hold a biblical worldview, however, understand men are naturally self-serving and self-focused.  Even with this fundamental belief in place, the temptation to be cynical will arise. Because church ministry involves people, this temptation is very real for all who serve in ministry.  It hurts when people are not entirely honest with you.  It hurts when you have been sincer...