Marching Forth!

" Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints ." Jude 1:3 Followers of Jesus Christ require the leading of the Holy Spirit to contend for the faith without being contentious.  We are, as much as depends upon us, to live peaceably with all in a world at war with God.  The Gospel is always going to be offensive to worldly wisdom, but the meekness, gentleness, and humility of Christ leads us walk in love towards those within and without the Body of Christ the church. What Jude wrote to believers is very instructive, exhorting believers to contend earnestly for the faith.  It is telling he did not direct believers to contend with heretics or those who seek to turn people away from the truth--though at times it may be required.  In following verses Jude provided examples of ungodly conduc...

I was asked recently if I observe a "Sabbath."  My reply was in the affirmative, but a little explanation was required.  I do not observe a day according to the demands or confines of the Mosaic Law, but look to Jesus Christ who IS my Sabbath.   Colossians 2:16-17 says, " So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,  17  which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ ."  As a follower of Jesus, my call is to look to Him and follow His lead, trusting the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth according to God's promise. Knowing the Sabbath observed by the Hebrews is a shadow of what Christ is the reality changes the way Christians view every day:  every day is fitting to be about our LORD's business, and our rest is found in Him.  Jesus did not call Gentiles to live as Jews or Jews to cast aside adherance to the Law because they could, but created a new creation of ...

In light of God's goodness, knowledge provision, and care Jesus told His disciples not to worry.  They weren't to worry about clothes, food, or the future.  The God who provides food for each sparrow and clothes flowers with beauty greater than Solomon values and cares for those created in His image.  Worrying is sin because it comes from unbelief in God's goodness and His promises and is often rooted in self. It occurred to me today that if I were to personify Worry, Complaining and Murmuring are her children.  We all know what it feels like to worry, to experience anxiety from circumstances we find stressful.  Much of our fretting is internal and this inner friction inevitably reveals itself in overt ways:  we speak harshly, sigh frequently, and complain.  Complaining gives worry a voice when we gripe about a situation we are displeased with instead of casting our cares upon God and resting in Him.  We can complain about someone else complain...

I am continually blown away by the breadth and depth of God's Word.  The 66 books written over a span of 1,500 years do more than dovetail with one another but are in perfect harmony concerning God in the most minute detail.  It is a book one can read for decades and daily discover new connections never before understood, personal revelations from the living God who breathed it into existence.  It does far more than provide intrigue or facts but refreshes us with all we need by God's grace.  God sees our needs met by His grace. The other night I read something I had forgotten about, how God organised the camp of the Hebrews after the exodus from Egypt.  God's visible presence hovered over the tabernacle in the centre of the camp with three tribes to the north, south, east, and west.  See what  Numbers 1:52-53 explains concerning those of the tribe of Levi, those chosen to serve the LORD in facilitating worship of God and teaching of His laws: ...