Marching Forth!

In preparing for this week's message at Calvary Chapel Sydney, I came across a quote from Matthew Henry that impacted me:  " Carnal hearts, in time of trouble, see their sickness, but do not see the sin that is the cause of it ." (Matthew Henry Concise, pg. 11112)  This insight is easily verified in our own lives, for it is easier for us to describe our negative symptoms to a doctor than to know for certain the cause our malady.  We may have theories about how or when we contacted a virus, but the fact we would even go to a doctor shows our need for help in treatment. God spoke through Hosea the prophet concerning His people in  Hosea 5:13 , " When Ephraim saw his sickness, a nd Judah saw his wound,  t hen Ephraim went to Assyria  a nd sent to King Jareb;  y et he cannot cure you,  n or heal you of your wound ."  Ephraim and Judah were able to see their symptoms, but they did not seek healing in God.  They vainly went to the k...

I saw an article the other day concerning "hands models" who make their living by posing for advertisements.  One of the photos shown struck me as a microcosm of the phoniness of this world and the things of it:  what is portrayed as reality isn't always the case. As I considered the picture later, I thought of the message it conveys:  a model with a pretty face doesn't always have the hands to match the flawless ideal, and the model with photogenic hands doesn't have the face the advertiser wants.  The world has set up a facade to worship, an impossible ideal to measure up to.  What is considered beautiful today can be cast off as old or ugly tomorrow.  We chase perfection without hope, for even those who have lovely hands are not judged to have the face to match.  Change our appearance as we might, there always remains in us a flaw beyond our grasp. This is where Jesus Christ meets us in spite of our imperfections.  He does not seek us o...

" The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl; i t wearies him to bring it back to his mouth ." Proverbs 26:15 When I think of this passage a story comes to mind.  Years ago a co-worker told me about a small dog (Chihuahua mix) he owned that had a voracious appetite.  Having bought a new bag of dog food, on a whim he decided to see how much the dog would actually eat.  He cut the top off the bag and laid it down for the hungry and frantic pup's special "all you can eat" meal.  After leaving for awhile, he returned to see how the dog was doing.  The dog was completely exhausted and full, laying on his side with his head in the bag, seemingly unable to move but humorously drew an occasional morsel into his mouth with his tongue. The lazy man in Solomon's parable is like a fellow who has a bowl of food in front of him--in his own hand even--but it seems too much work to move his hand from the bowl to his mouth.  The irony is someone had gathered...

Last night before bed I read the passage in Revelation when the sixth seal is opened, one of many judgments which are coming upon the earth.  God's wrath with be released upon people who have rejected Jesus Christ as it is written in  Revelation 6:15-17 :  " And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,  16  and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!  17  For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand ?" When I think of lambs, I picture a soft woolly creature feeding on grass or bouncing around a green meadow--not anything capable of wrath and destruction.  Jesus Christ is the Lamb without blemish referred to here, for He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  The first time Jesus walked...