Marching Forth!

It's ironic how knowledge is capable of hindering learning.  A great challenge is presented for those who have gained understanding to keep their minds open to new ideas which could also be true.  We were born needing and wanting to learn, and it's possible along the way we have latched onto deceptions we are convinced are true.  In a world filled with deceit, conspiracies real and imagined, and boldfaced lies, when we find the truth we ought to hold fast to it.  Followers of Jesus Christ have the Bible which is a source of genuine truth with does not change, and how privileged we are to have a fixed point of reference as the wind direction and sand continues to shift. A question for believers is how to best deal with those who hold to faulty interpretations of scripture and their minds are closed on the matter.  The first perhaps is to realise you too may be that person; you have been that person.  I have been rigid in belief where God is flexible, and ...

" Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God !" Psalm 50:7 If people are unwilling to listen, it is pointless to speak to them.  Because God loved His people He spoke to them, revealed Himself to them, and gave them His laws.  When the Hebrews heard God speak from Mount Sinai in power they begged for Moses to speak with God, to interceded on their behalf "lest they die."  Nothing was lost in communication between God and Moses, but subsequent generations were raised who did not know God. Pious Jews were faithful to keep the Law given to Moses and offered sacrifices.  Their lives were filled with religious activities, worship, and prayer, yet the hearts of the people were not always right before God.  God allowed the nation of Israel to be attacked and plundered, the rain did not fall, and the crops did not grow.  Both in seasons of abundance and famine God sent prophets and raised up priests...

" And now, because you have done all these works," says the LORD , "and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14  therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh ." Jeremiah 7:13-14 It didn't take long for God's people to misplace faith which should have been reserved for God alone.  They hadn't lost faith, but they placed it in the wrong things.  Instead of trusting in God they looked to the temple as a sign of God's favour, blessing, and protection.  The temple was their place of refuge rather than God!  Surely He would not allow enemies to destroy Jerusalem, for it was where He placed His name - so they thought. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God instructed His people to think back to Shiloh where the tabernacle had once stood.  Because of the wicke...

We had dogs growing up, and some of the care of these pets fell to me.  I helped clean up after them, walk them, feed, and bathe them.  One especially frustrating thing about bathing the dogs was their lack of connection between being washed and staying clean.  None of our dogs particularly enjoyed being bathed, and it seemed like the first thing they did after their baths they dashed away and rolled in the dirt.  "Sporty," a Cocker Spaniel mix, was well-known for this.  In a ridiculously short time that dog managed to return his dusty, flea-ridden, and filthy state as before. To me it seemed if Sporty knew he had been cleaned (especially since he hated baths), it would be fitting for him to make an effort to remain clean by refraining from filthy activities.  But Sporty, by nature being a dog (and not a particularly intelligent animal at that!), never understood or realised the connection.  From a tender age children are taught this very thing:...