Marching Forth!

I love reading of God's people who rely upon Him and overcame impossible odds by the grace of God.  Because Jonathan knew God was awesome and mighty he said to his armour bearer as they approached a garrison of the Philistines, " It may be that the LORD will work for us.  For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few ." (from 1 Samuel 14:6 )  King Asa of Judah, when faced the army of Zerah from Ethiopia with a thousand thousand men and 300 chariots in battle array against Israel, looked to the LORD in  2 Chronicles 14:11 :  " And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, " LORD , it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD , You are our God; do not let man prevail against You !"  Through faith in God these and many others in scripture were given the victory by the God who gives power to the powerless...

If you have raised children, the situation will likely have a familiar ring:  trying to convince a skeptical, picky eater they should try unfamiliar food.  "It has everything you like," one might plead.  Others make it into a game, while others use dessert as leverage to convince a stubborn youngster they are better off eating the food presented to them.  There are times where a child's mind is so made up they will not like the food based on the strange appearance or smell, they will make themselves sick.  Or even better, people will say they enjoy food--until they are made aware of an ingredient it contains they do not prefer.  Just the thought of eating meat can make some people physically ill, while others are put off all green food. Our habits and approaches to eating are amazingly diverse, but the key component all eaters of food share in common is willingness.  Because the muscles controlling swallowing are inside the mouth and throat, the eater ...

I am encouraged how faith in God provides insight to look beyond what can be humanly seen and known.  Man    Proverbs 16:9 reads, " A man's heart plans his way, b ut the LORD directs his steps ."  God is always at work and leads people to do His ways in situations man cannot plan for.  A great illustration of this is seen in the salvation of the harlot Rahab and her family. Before the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river into Canaan Joshua 2:1 says, " Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there ."  It turned out Rahab previously heard of the God of Israel and believed He had given the city and land into the hand of the Hebrews.  She sheltered and protected the Hebrew spies, and then she asked that her life and the lives of her family members would be spared.  The spies agreed...

It is easy to take God's grace for granted.  The grace of God is given continually and infinitely it is like the oxygen we draw in with every breath without thinking to satisfy our needs.  Being deprived of oxygen for a short while makes us appreciate the ability to breathe freely again, and even in the season of difficulty God's grace still remains abundant.  How good it is to consider all we have in Jesus Christ and to bless His holy name. As born again Christians in this marvelous season of grace, the Gospel having been revealed to all through Jesus, reading about the past can open our eyes to better appreciate and celebrate the present.  God's grace, kindness and goodness have been extended to all people from the beginning, yet to everything is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.  A season of lawlessness preceded that of the Law of Moses, and now Jesus has ushered in a new covenant by which Jew and Gentile alike are united with God as one by f...