Marching Forth!

Year ago I remember a conversation I had with teens as a youth pastor.  One of them told of an outspoken girl at school who had embraced a vegan lifestyle who, when she thought she might have eaten meat or dairy products accidentally, became physically ill.  One after another the fellows piled on with a chuckle and light-hearted mockery of someone who had different values or practices they did not understand or agree with.  To me this presented an opportunity to go beyond the surface of how or why people have strong differences when it comes to diet and aim for the heart.  There was a lot those boys could learn from the genuine conviction of that girl that put us all to shame. I pointed out how their story revealed a person who lived according to their beliefs so strongly she became sick thinking she had ingested an animal product:  which one among them had become sick due to conviction of their own transgression and sin before God?  Did they have any remor...

As I tried to manoeuvre all the tools I was carrying into my car, I groaned inwardly as I watched my stud finder clatter to the ground.  Almost in slow motion the plastic cover for the batteries popped off and the batteries released from the housing and rolled away.  I wondered if the device would be broken and hated the thought of needing to purchase another one due to my clumsiness.  It was the most expensive stud finder I ever bought, and the quality of the instrument justified the price. When I reached down to retrieve the batteries and the finder, I noticed one of the batteries had been heavily corroded.  A stud finder is something I don't use all the time, and leaving batteries inside devices can lead to leakage.  Because the finder worked fine I never thought to open up the case an examine the batteries.  There I was, concerned I had potentially damaged the finder because I dropped it, while all the time it was insidiously being destroyed from within...

I am convinced when we open God's word He is always faithful to deliver:  we are the weak links that do not always receive.  When we come to a difficult passage of scripture that is not immediately clear, it is good for us to think it over, perhaps jot down observations and seek the LORD.  I tend to think by speaking, and the practice works well with writing.  This helps me develop my thoughts more clearly as I ruminate on God's word. This morning I read a prayer of Jeremiah who questioned the LORD why his suffering was protracted and made subtle jabs God had not been altogether faithful to him.  The prophet asked God in  Jeremiah 15:18 : " Why is my pain perpetual a nd my wound incurable,  w hich refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,  a s waters that fail ?"  Jeremiah likened himself to a person who had wounds that did not respond to any treatment, like a thirsty person who sought the refreshment o...

I was encouraged to consider the Genesis 18 passage where God spoke with Abraham concerning His plans to investigate the cry that came up before Him from Sodom and Gomorrah.  After Abraham stood still at this revelation from God  Genesis 18:23 says, " And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?"  Though he considered himself dust and ashes, Abraham humbly but boldly approached God to plead for the lives of the righteous in the city.  He was convinced the Judge of all the earth would do right, and He certainly made a distinction between the righteous and wicked. Abraham wondered if God would destroy the city if there were 50 righteous people among them, and God agreed He would spare the whole city for the sake of the righteous.  Abraham continued to petition the LORD concerning if there was 45, 40, 30, 20 and even 10 righteous within the city, and every time God was willing to spare the whole city should 10 righteou...