Marching Forth!

" Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the LORD which He had done for Israel ." Joshua 24:31 Whenever I read passages like this, I am not left with a feeling of satisfaction and gladness.  It is great Israel served the LORD during the life of Joshua and the elders who outlived Joshua, but the verses imply that after their passing the people stopped serving the LORD.  As the book of Judges tells us, that period of history was marked by people "doing what was right in their own eyes" and their negligence to obey what God had commanded in His covenant.  The people who knew the works of the LORD He had done for Israel feared and served Him, and it seems this knowledge died with them. Judges 2:10-12 affirms, " When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done fo...

I admire the godly qualities seen in Nehemiah, a man who God prompted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem which lay in ruins.  He was a man who feared God, received favour from God and his king, and was bold to press on in obedience whilst facing strong opposition.  Uniting people in the building of the wall was a great task, and even a more difficult task followed:  to ensure people continued to follow God in obedience to the Law of Moses when Nehemiah wasn't around. God moved people as one to clear away debris, rebuild the ruins of Jerusalem stone by stone and hung the gates.  A great revival of religion followed where people put themselves under a covenant to observe and heed the Law.  After setting all in order, Nehemiah later returned to find the society as distressed and ruined as the walls burnt with fire:  Tobiah the enemy of Israel had been lodging in the temple in a storeroom cleared for him, the Levites had ceased mi...

Whenever I venture into an Australian Post Office, I have always been curious of the odd assortment of goods sold there.  There are office related goods like notepads and envelopes, but the volume is mostly comprised of colourful cheap toys, a variety of "As Seen on TV" products, CD music compilations and gifts.  I have wondered often who would go to the Post Office to buy such things, and today I had this question answered. A mum and two young daughters were queued in front of me, and the little one aged about six or seven asked her mother to buy her a notepad.  The request was immediately declined.  The little girl went on.  "Pleeeease...it has lines on it...I can practice my writing.  Pleeeease."  Within seconds of observing the behaviour of this little girl I knew beyond doubt she was wise to something her mother may not have realised:  "No" did not mean "No" and was negotiable.  "No" could be expertly overturned with persistence, a...

During early morning walks this week I have noticed the moon slowly move day by day in a northeast direction through the sky as a waxing crescent.  Today it peeked out from the clouds like a child playing hide and seek who delights to be found.  In His wisdom God established this nocturnal luminary and reminds me to consider and praise God, the Creator of heaven and earth.  As the celestial bodies move through space with precision according to God's design, so His love and grace continually shine forth to all those whose eyes are opened by faith in Him.  How could we question or stand in judgment of our God who is most awesome? Revelation 1:7-8 reads, " Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.  8 " I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End ," says the Lord, " who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty ."  The ...