Marching Forth!

Yesterday I had a discussion with someone who is preparing to sit an exam.  I was asked, "Do you have any motivational or inspirational quotes?"  In the moment nothing came to mind.  I suppose the cliche approach to offer a one liner like the cat poster in the The Lego Movie  simply captioned "Believe!" or another that says, "Hang in there!"  Playful images and cliches cannot provide any reasons or suitable answers for the persistent doubts that can plague us or how to live life wisely.  Cute doesn't cut it. In thinking it over from a biblical perspective, God supplies motivation and inspiration in abundance for us to do what pleases Him.  Our motives are to be guided by the fear, love and glory of God.  The world operates in a totally contrary way and suggests we must believe in ourselves and great inspiration comes from following the desires of our hearts in the pursuit of our dreams.  We are liable to hijack statements in the Bib...

" Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.  9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead ." John 20:8-9 After the disciples of Jesus heard the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb, some ran to investigate.  Peter and John are described as looking into the empty tomb, saw the graveclothes lying there with the headcovering folded neatly by itself, and they believed.  They believed the body of Jesus was not in the tomb based upon what they saw, yet John 20:9 shows the scripture had already revealed the truth of Christ's resurrection from the dead.  God has given us eyes and physical senses we are to use wisely and can confirm the truth of what God has already said. I love that God's work is not dependent upon the perfect knowledge of God's people.  God is sovereign and rules over all, able to accomplish His plans despite the ignorance of those who fear and trust Him....

Like the churning sea is never at rest, our hearts can be troubled under a calm exterior.  We may not even realise the depths of our pains until we are brought to a breaking point brought on by stress, grief, rejection, physical discomfort or a myriad of other things.  The constant cares of this life can lull us into a sort of stupor that pain intensely felt--like the paddles of a defibrillator pressed to our chest--snaps us back to the reality we need God more than anything because He is truly our life.  In our happy moments when all seemed right in the world we imagined we were drawing near to God, but in reality we only basked in His goodness or how we felt at the time.  Those soul-crushing moments we experience can reveal this reality to us, how we have neglected to seek the LORD with our whole hearts and trust Him. At times I have felt so low I have desired to be done with living because I caught a glimpse of my own wretchedness and inability to do a thing to he...

" I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  5   And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was ." John 17:4-5 When Thomas asked Jesus to show them God the Father Jesus responded, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." ( John 14:9 )  Jesus previously revealed to all in John 10:30 , " I and my Father are One ."  Jesus was sent by God as a revelation of Himself in human form, the Christ who walked with men who beheld His glory.  The only begotten Son of God Jesus was tasked to seek and save the lost and lay down His life to redeem sinners, and as the hour on Calvary approached the LORD sought the Father in prayer. I find intriguing the ways Jesus addressed God the Father in the prayer found in John 17, during which He called "Father" many times.  In John 17:11 He called Him " Holy Father ," a title that should be reserved...