Marching Forth!

" Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,  11  lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices ." 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul spoke of the importance of recognising the tactics of Satan to prevent him from taking advantage of believers.  Unforgiveness is a snare Satan lays at our feet when we have been offended or after we heard about what others said or did.  When we allow malice and envy to abide in our hearts it leads to greater sin.  In William Gurnall's book The Christian in Complete Armour, after a detailed explanation of various satanic tactics, he counsels believers in good actions to take.  In light of God's sovereignty and goodness, there are things we can do to be prepared: 1.  Take God into thy counsel.  Heaven overlooks hell.  God at any ...

We are blessed the unchanging, eternal God has made the way of salvation simple enough for a child to understand:  by faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, God who became flesh, sinners who repent can receive forgiveness and eternal life.  A child knows what it is like to trust their parent to pick them up and carry them.  You don't need a doctorate to understand what it means to rely or depend on someone.  A baby can tell the difference between good and bad milk, and very early in our Christian walk God helps us to discern truth from deception.  You don't need 20 years of professional experience in the dairy industry to know when milk has curdled and gone off.  If a child failed to do a sight or sniff test of sour milk before drinking it, only a brief taste would be required before the whole glass of milk would be rejected. When I observe eating and drinking habits of children, they notice when flavours are different.  They can drink too much of what make...

In my morning reading, I came across the passage in Numbers 25 where Phinehas executed judgment upon Zimri of the tribe of Simeon and Cozbi a woman of Midian.  The Hebrews were condemned by the LORD for their idolatry, and because of a plague many among the people died.  The rulers of the tribes were executed and hung according to the command of the LORD.  Phinehas was obedient to the command of God and with one stroke slew two transgressors in a tent, and God took notice. Numbers 25:10-13 says, " Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:  11  "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal.  12  Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace;  13  and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was ...

I have been starting to read through J. Oswald Sander's book, Spiritual Leadership .  He observed, " The overriding need of the church, if it is to discharge its obligation to the rising generation, is for a leadership that is authoritative, spiritual, and sacrificial ."  (Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership . Moody Press, 1989. pg. 25) The only way this need for spiritual leadership is met is when a person submits to Jesus Christ as LORD and is filled with the Holy Spirit.  The way leadership looks and works in the world is completely different than the leadership Jesus Christ modelled.  The great need of the church is to seek, obey and depend on Jesus Christ, and individuals who embrace this call will be equipped to lead regardless of their role in the church. One observation hearers made of Jesus was how He taught with authority--not like the scribes who quoted their rabbis.  When officers tasked with arresting Jesus refused to do so,  John 7:46 gi...