Marching Forth!

" So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done ." Acts 21:14 Luke and the believers who spoke with Paul in Caesarea demonstrated wisdom and grace believers today ought to embrace.  A prophet named Agabus had come from Judea and  Acts 21:11-12 tells us, " When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles .'"  Understandably this revelation by the prophet was of great concern to Luke and fellow believers who loved and cared for Paul.  Why stubbornly persist in going to Jerusalem for the feast if bonds awaited you? While it makes sense to avoid being arrested and sent to prison, remember how Jesus also set His face like a flint to go up to Jerusalem knowing what awaited Him there.  Paul was willing not only to be bound but to die for...

The word of God never ceases to amaze as He opens our eyes to His wonders.  It is almost like putting on glasses with a new prescription that allow our faulty eyes to see clearer than they have in a long while.  We often don't realise how blurry our vision is until God breaks through with revealing insights. As long as I can remember, one of the primary complaints and criticisms I have heard of Christians by unbelievers or people out of church fellowship is hypocrisy among believers.  Many times this accusation is based upon an offended person's view of what a Christian ought to say or do and them not measuring up to this immaculate standard.  Sometimes these observations can be well founded, where a person makes a claim and then violates it without shame.  There is a degree of hypocrisy found in everyone, and a maxim that rings true about hypocrisy is it takes one to know one.  We notice hypocrisy and it bothers us because we too, at some level, do the sam...

" Know that the LORD , He is God; i t is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  4  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, a nd into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name ." Psalm 100:3-4 As human beings created in the image of God, through faith in Jesus Christ we can know our Maker.  Having a maker is very significant, for one who invents or creates something knows the purpose and reason for it.  The design we see in the symmetry and function of a leaf suggests strongly it has be designed, and it only can fulfill its purpose because it was the product of a designer.  When it comes to inventions of men, going to the maker provides an opportunity to hear why the invention was made, what is broken and how to fix it. The world is filled with "self-made" men and women who live as if they do not have a Maker and do not seek God the source of abundant life.  We go about trying to i...

Before Elijah was taken up into heaven, he did a miracle in the sight of Elisha and the sons of the prophets:  he rolled his mantle or cloak and struck the waters of the Jordan river which parted, and they passed over on dry ground.   2 Kings 2:9-10 reads, " And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?" Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."  10  So he said, You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."   Elisha saw Elijah ascend to heaven in a whirlwind, and tore his clothes.   2 Kings 2:13-14 then says, "He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.  14  Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where...