Marching Forth!

The writers of the Gospels pointed out many times the life of Jesus fulfilled prophecy, like being born by a virgin, His birthplace would be Bethlehem, He would live in Egypt for a season, and be raised in Nazareth.  The odds of just these being true of anyone is beyond reckoning - and these are just a fraction of the prophesies fulfilled by Jesus!  In His death He also fulfilled prophesies:  He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, rejected, pierced, lifted up, lots would be cast for His clothing, not a bone would be broken in death, and He would rise from the dead on the third day.  Again, the miraculous fulfilment of them all was only accomplished in the life of Jesus. One fulfilled prophecy not often referred to is the accusing taunts hurled at Jesus as He hung on the cross.   Matthew 27:39-43 reads, " And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40  and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Y...

" Rest in the LORD , and wait patiently for Him; d o not fret because of him who prospers in his way,  because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; d o not fret--it only causes harm. 9  For evildoers shall be cut off; b ut those who wait on the LORD ,  t hey shall inherit the earth ." Psalm 37:7-9 Three times in the first 8 verses of Psalm 37 David wrote, " Do not fret ."  Instead of fretting, we are called to rest in the LORD, to trust in Him, and wait patiently for Him.  We are to put off anger and wrath, knowing God will provide for us.  "Fret" isn't a word used often, and when I have heard it used it was almost synonymous with worry or anxiety.  As the context shows, fretting is more than worry but when we harbour indignant anger. The Strong's Dictionary defines the Hebrew word translated "fret" as:  " to glow or grow warm; figurative (usually) to blaze up, of a...

When it comes to heaven and the eternal state, not much of the Bible is spent describing it because for us it is beyond description.  Our frame of reference is this world, but the new heavens and earth will be...new.  This is not like Toyota's new Camry which bears a striking resemblance to the previous model:  it will be beyond what our minds can conceive.  It is a world of perpetual day because God supplies the light.  It is difficult for us to imagine the biblical revelation that there is no sea, and New Jerusalem has gates made of a single pearl.  People say "pearly gates" because we cannot imagine an oyster that enormous, but God doesn't need oysters to create exactly what He wants. We are creatures of schedules, routine activities, and special plans so therefore we have great interest in how this will look in heaven:  what will we do, who we will see, and how a daily routine might look.  Very little if anything is mentioned on this subj...

" And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 27  Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually ." 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 These are verses I have been thinking over lately.  It is amazing how we are adopted by God into His family by faith in Jesus Christ, and by God's grace we are collectively added to the Body of Christ, the church, as individual members.  The church has many individual members which comprise the whole, but there is only one Head of this body:  Jesus. Though the functions of the various parts of the body are varied and important, nothing is as critical as the head which has capacity to see, speak, hear, smell, taste, and feel.  Jesus is the One who sees all, spoke the world into existence, and hears all who cry out to Him in faith.  He created all the diverse scents and flavours, and His knowledge of us and depth of feeling for us is beyo...