Marching Forth!

When it comes to surrender, not all surrendering is the same.  There is a surrender that is forced upon others by brute force.  A proud fighter taps out because he is losing consciousness while in a choke hold, and a nation surrenders during war when it is clear surrender is necessary for their survival.  There remains animosity and the desire to fight on, but it simply isn't possible.  There is another version of surrender, when someone is so beaten down and detached they simply do not care what happens.  The duration of the fight and inability to overcome leads to surrender that gives up from utter hopelessness. These kinds of surrender motivated by circumstances out of our control and hopelessness are of little value in the Christian life because it is not according to faith in God as revealed in Scripture.  When we sing, "I surrender all" it ought to be a surrender that is glad submission, a joyful resignation of ourselves and situation into the hands o...

I remember driving up a mountain road and noticed warning signs of something being wrong with our car.  Suddenly my wife and I commented on a sweet smell, like syrup on pancakes.  Then I saw water pooling around the front edge of the bonnet that slowly reached like long fingers towards the windscreen.  As I saw the temperature gauge quickly begin to soar, it was evident our radiator had sprung a leak, and we were losing coolant fast.  Thankfully because I recognised the warning signs of mechanical failure, I was able to pull over and have the vehicle towed and organise the repair without additional damage. Many times it is not until after something goes catastrophically wrong that we realise we missed some warning signs.  Many of us have shrugged off or explained away warnings signs as irrelevant which would have been red flags to the observant.  Absalom, David's son, had many red flags that preceded his rise to power by usurping his father's kingdom. ...

During Bible study last night, we spoke about Noah releasing birds from the ark after the flood to see if the waters had abated from the earth.  After the tops of the mountains were seen from his window for 40 days, Noah sent out a raven and a dove.   Genesis 8:9 reads, " But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself ."  Noah waited seven days and then released the dove again, and this time she returned carrying an olive leaf in her beak.  Seven days later he sent out the dove again, and that was the last Noah saw her because she did not return. One way Jesus was identified as the Messiah to Israel and the world was when John baptised Jesus.  He said this was one reason the prophet John baptised people in water in  John 1:31-33 :  " I did not know Him; but that He sh...

I have lived long enough to see topics debated in classrooms that were supported by a minority of students be adopted by various States in the U.S. and other countries--things like the legalisation of marijuana and euthanasia.  As public opinion and the moral and ethical stances of people can shift over time, so does the English language.  The phrasing of things often evolves to sound more acceptable to those opposed to the idea.  For instance, I observed the concept of "gay marriage" change to "same-sex marriage" and finally land on "marriage equality."  While society and terminology is bound to change, I am willing to be one of those who make an effort to hold fast to the orthodox meaning of words like "marriage," as it is very specific in a biblical sense:  the lifelong union of one man and one woman by God.   All students of God's word know that words matter:  undermining or changing the meaning of words leads people into confusion, misun...