Marching Forth!

I have encountered what seems to me a strange phenomenon over the years:  a readiness to speak of the sublime glory of heaven but a reluctance among believers to frankly discuss the horrible reality of hell.  We do not hesitate to warn our children of the dangers of running into traffic or grabbing a hot frypan because we care for them, and thus to avoid discussions of hell which the Bible describes as real and forever as heaven is to embrace hypocrisy.  It is the love of God and others which compels us to answer honest questions about hell directly without sidestepping to ignore the subject. I can understand how many Christians want to avoid being associated with a style of "hell and brimstone" preaching that gleefully and smugly condemns lost sinners to a tortured existence.  They would rather extol the pleasures of eternity in the presence of God than emphasising the horrors of hell.  There is nothing wrong with this.  But to avoid the topic of hell as ...

" Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?"  13  And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words ." Zechariah 1:12-13 The LORD is merciful, gracious and compassionate regardless of the circumstances of life we face.  Faith in God according to His word sustains us to endure the most troubling situations.  The children of Israel struggled during 70 years of captivity in Babylon, and even angels wondered how long judgment would be poured out on the people and Jerusalem and Judah for their sins.  The good and comforting answer of God spoke volumes, for He remained merciful even in judgment. The prophet mused from the belly of the great fish in  Jonah 2:8 , " Those who regard worthless idols f orsake their own Mercy ."  And they had.  The children of Israel filled the...

I was blessed to consider the Man who wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of the day.  This Man who met Jacob was the aggressor, seeking to make Jacob submit and tap out.  On and on they wrestled as Jacob tried in vain to escape the Man's grasp.  The prophet spoke of the irony of Jacob who grabbed the heel of his brother in the womb was suddenly grabbed by the Angel of the LORD in  Hosea 12:3-5 :  " He took his brother by the heel in the womb, a nd in his strength he struggled with God.  4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; h e wept, and sought favour from Him. He found Him in Bethel,  a nd there He spoke to us-- 5  that is, the LORD God of hosts. The LORD is His memorable name ." Jacob had been met by God in a vision at the house of God, and then Elohim wrestled with Jacob in God's camp.  When day began to break the Man touched Jacob's thigh and dislocated his hip.  Jacob's tactics changed at that moment, for in...

I was recently blessed to be the speaker at a fruitful and enjoyable youth camp where the Gospel was proclaimed through many passages of the Bible.  Whilst there was positive feedback from leaders and campers, at least one camper found the talks dull.  I was greatly amused when a leader asked this boy what was his impression of the talks (with intent to encourage me) his response went something like, "I liked that you were enthusiastic but they were boring, so boring."  He smirked at me as he slow-clapped.  "Yeah, they were really boring."  The cabin leader wasn't quite sure what to say, so I thanked him for his honesty. After our brief conversation, I was reminded of the passage that God has chosen the foolishness of the message preached to convey eternal truth.  Like God chooses to put His glory inside the earthen vessels of our flesh so the glory is all his, so He uses the teaching and exposition of His word to reveal divine truths that transform hungry ...