Marching Forth!

" A merry heart does good, like medicine, b ut a broken spirit dries the bones ." Proverbs 17:22 Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?  That's what happened to me last night as our family played a board game together.  Something struck me funny and the more I thought about it, the funnier it was.  Later I was reminded of this verse and the tendency is to quote the first part without realising there is a second, contrasting part.  This verse explains the way we feel on the inside has an impact on physical health and vitality.  The way we feel impacts our perspective and response. As a fit of laughter which soon passes shows, humour and merriment are limited in their effects.  Medicine ingested has a temporary effect and must be taken again when needed.  There are maladies, however, no amount of medicine can cure.  Laughter may temporarily lighten the mood, but it is no cure for folly as Solomon wrote in  Ecclesiastes 7:6 , " For like the...

It is amazing how good or bad memories can be triggered by our experiences.  After our boys were grown I held an infant and was surprised how it suddenly took me back in time to when I used to carry them.  Feeling that little life snuggled in my arms, it was like the whole world stopped and I rushed back to a happy place with fond memories.  The smell of bacon being cooked in McDonald's produces a fleeting feeling of anxiety because of the stress I endured day after day at my first job.  Double-cheeseburgers were on the menu that month and during that initial season I cooked up plenty of bacon.  My experiences haven't ruined bacon or double-cheeseburgers for me, and for that I am grateful. :) The reality is, everyone who is living will have positive and negative experiences.  We will experience grief, loss, sorrow and regret; we will also rejoice in happy news, unexpected blessings, fun and friends.  I have discovered the happiness of the good cannot n...

God has blessed and blesses people in countless ways, and those who are in Christ have had our eyes opened to see and appreciate many of them.  Our lives and all we enjoy are gifts from God, and even trials and pain He allows serve His redemptive purposes for our good.  As I read the Bible last week, it occurred to me how prevalent it is to appeal to peace, joy, contentment and rest as reasons to seek and trust God while these are actually some results from faith in Him.  Could it be people are introduced to Jesus Christ as a source of blessing before they even comprehend they are sinners who need a Saviour? Imagine an orphaned little boy living in a group home without a father or mother.  Without parents, this child intensely feels a lack in their life and dreams of one day filling it with a dad and mum.  This child may desire a parent like a girl wishes for a cute puppy.  She wants the companionship of a pet and the fun of playing together.  Never ha...

Jesus died for the sins of the world, there is an important condition every individual must meet to receive the benefit of His atoning work.  We understand well the necessity of our own actions to obtain a college scholarship, apply for a home loan or collect unemployment payments.  Just because a benefit is offered freely we are still responsible to act.  God does not require us to fill out forms or make a deposit.  God has put it in writing He will save all who place their faith in Jesus Christ, and gives us the down payment of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  With the heart we believe, and with our mouths we confess our sinfulness and Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour. After the children of Israel settled in Canaan, God established several "cities of refuge" where a manslayer could flee and seek refuge from the avenger of blood.  Before he was granted entrance to the city, the man guilty of manslaughter needed to publicly confess how he had killed someon...