Marching Forth!

The Bible often makes me think.  Whilst thinking was allegedly "a dangerous pastime" for Gaston in Disney's " Beauty in the Beast ," careful thought is most necessary to read the Bible with understanding.  The Christian life often today is tragically whittled down to catch-phrases and cliches which are totally inadequate to convey God's truth contained throughout scripture.  The strides taken in producing translations for modern readers cannot reduce the complexity and necessity of sound theology.  The Bible is comprised of 66 books, and we need every single one of them for the full revelation God has provided. I have heard people say many times "Christians are not under God's wrath," and this is true - but this hackneyed cliche doesn't tell the whole story.  It is true we are no longer under wrath because Jesus took our punishment on Calvary.  As followers of Jesus Christ through faith, we have been saved by eternal wrath by Him.  We al...

Following Jesus is a personal choice, and those who make the decision discover it can be a wild ride.  I remember very well as a teen my first visit to Magic Mountain, a theme-park filled with roller coasters in Valencia California.  The wildest rides I had ever ridden to that point were in Disneyland, but the Matterhorn had nothing on Revolution or Viper!  When I balked and told my friend I would rather sit a ride out, he said something to me like this:  "You're going on every single ride.  You don't have a choice.  It's going to be awesome."  I did have a choice, but his encouragement was what I needed to discover I loved roller coasters.  I had the greatest time and when new rides were built I was all in. Roller coasters are specially engineered to safely utilise the force of gravity to thrill.  As you are secured in your seat anticipation builds as the ride slowly clinks up to the highest point.  Some find this slow ascent terrif...

The apostle Paul spoke of God's glorious nature in 1 Timothy 6:15-16 :  "... He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16  who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honour and everlasting power. Amen ."  God is from everlasting and His power is infinite.  We cannot stare into the brightness of the sun for long without damaging our eyes, and if we attempted to draw near to this great star the heat would consume our bodies long before our feet ever touched upon the surface.  God is even more inapproachable, and though we cannot see Him the power of what He has made by the words of His mouth causes our hearts to fail. To be summoned to appear in the court of a king would be a fearful proposition.  I was never comfortable to be called into the office by my boss when potentially my job hung in the balance:  how much more disconcerting to be called befo...

" Ponder the path of your feet, a nd let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; r emove your foot from evil. " Proverbs 4:26-27 In this crooked generation God's people ought to be brave pioneers of righteousness and purity, and our path is the one Jesus Christ has already established us to walk in.  In every circumstance we are directed by God to go the righteous way, for even in temptation God provides a way of escape. We wander into trouble when we are aimless and are not circumspect concerning 1 ) where we have been, 2 ) the direction our lives are heading, and 3 ) our intended destination.  For this reason the wise Solomon urges those who fear the LORD and have ears to hear to ponder the path of their feet.  Mountain climbers do not reach majestic summits without a clear plan and specialised equipment.  If we do not do the equivalent of climbers who prepare their bodies for altitude and ready gear to traverse known r...