Marching Forth!

I have noticed in observing kids especially, when an objective standard is established by a recognised authority they are keen to see others comply.  It seems a great injustice that they would be obedient to the rule and others would ignore it.  Little pleasure is taken in the fact they are doing what they are told when others break the rule without consequences.  It is nigh impossible for some outwardly compliant children to remain silent about rulebreakers without complaining about them or dobbing them in.  It may be I know something about this from personal experience.  One child disobeys to express his own will, and telling on him is a way for the more compliant and legalistic to try to control him.  No motive is pure in this instance. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we grew out of our tendency to disobey, lie, gossip and meddle as we grew older?  Our old ways do not supernaturally vaporise after we come to Jesus Christ in faith.  For this reason ...

" Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Having forgiven our sins and purified us by the Gospel of grace, He is able to preserve us blameless until Christ returns.  A "life preserver" is intended to save a potential victim of drowning, and Jesus is faithful to save all who trust in Him.  As it is written in  Jude 1:24-25 , " Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, a nd to present you faultless  b efore the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,  25  to God our Savior, Who alone is wise,  b e glory and majesty,  d ominion and power,  b oth now and forever.  Amen ."   During study preparation I was intrigued by the concept of how God preserves His people and realised His manner of preservation is very different than ours. When we preserve things, we do so with the i...

It is great pleasure for those who give gifts to have them joyfully received.  Some people can be difficult to buy for because they seem to have everything or have refined tastes.  King Solomon was a man of enormous wealth, and I imagine very challenging to impress.  To have your gift gladly received and used by him would have been a great compliment, and in a small way could be viewed by the giver as accepting his own person.  If a commoner has difficulty to give a suitable gift to someone who isn't even royalty, to find an acceptable offering before the LORD God is impossible! In His grace, God provided His Law for the Hebrews that outlined acceptable offerings and sacrifices for His glory that also benefitted the people by atoning for sin and feeding them.  Imagine how joyful the people were after the tabernacle had been constructed, Aaron the high priest and his sons were sanctified, and the LORD consumed the sacrifice on the altar with fire from heaven in ...

The Bible is the powerful word of God that has profound meaning packed into each individual word, phrase and sentence.  In cross-referencing different books of the Bible fresh insights are illuminated, providing additional points of personal application.  Because some verses or statements that convey comforting truths are repeated often to the point of becoming cliche, it is possible the context of the scripture can be ignored or forgotten.  The immediate context of a verse is extremely significant, for without it we can miss the purpose of why it was written and how God intended it to impact our outlook.  A verse I read this morning illustrated this well. If you have been a Christian for a little while, it is likely you have heard Jesus has promised believers " never to leave or forsake you ."  This is true in every sense.  But this is the second half of a verse without providing the reason why this was brought up at all--and it might surprise you.  F...