Marching Forth!

" Better a poor and wise youth t han an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more ." Ecclesiastes 4:13 It is said that with age comes wisdom, and this certainly can be true.  It is also true that a good and wise king can make foolish decisions and be unwilling to be instructed or corrected.  A king is in a position of great power and influence, yet life experience and political savvy is no substitute for wisdom that only comes from God.  Only those who maintain a humble posture in faith before the LORD will be divinely enabled to walk in wisdom. A wise youth and a foolish king both at times need to be admonished, for there is no man who does not sin.  It is not primarily the absence of sin that marks the wise or foolish person but their response to instruction and correction reveals their hearts truly.   Proverbs 1:7 says, " The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, b ut fools despise wisdom and instruction ."  Fools are reveal...

There may be times when people have risen to the occasion when given responsibilities when they had shown little responsibility previously--but this is the exception to the rule.  The one who cannot or will not keep pace with the footmen cannot match the speed of horses.  Until people have a genuine change of heart and mind, they will continue to do as the Steely Dan song goes:  " You go back, jack, do it again...wheel turning round and round ."  In the song a man swears he is not a gambling man, but finds himself back in Vegas with a handle of a slot machine in his hand and playing cards with hopes to win big money.  What people say is no guarantee they will ever do as they say.  From history and experience, it is more likely the opposite will eventually be true. In 2 Chronicles 15 , Azariah the prophet spoke to king Asa of Judah and encouraged him to seek the LORD, to exert his strength to put away idols in his kingdom and turn to God.  The king and ...

"Owner of a Lonely Heart" was a number one song in 1984, the most popular song by the progressive rock band Yes.  When I was in high school, the song was played occasionally on the local classic rock radio station.  It has a catchy chorus, and catchy songs are usually among the more popular ones.  It is amazing that I have not heard this song played for a very long time, yet it was ringing in my ears clearly for no obvious reason this morning.  It occurred to me that the reason I was reminded of the chorus of this song was to ponder the question:  is the message true? Overall the song smacks very much of self-help books that focus on your responsibility to take charge of your life to improve it--to take your chances by making a move.  The basic message of the chorus goes, " Owner of a lonely heart (much better than a) owner of a broken heart. "  From a biblical perspective, there is no need to be lonely when we have the LORD who will never leave or for...

Many Christians who have come to faith in God through Jesus look at the Law of Moses as ridiculously complex and burdensome--even unnecessary due to the Gospel.  It would be unwise to hold to this view, especially since the lawgiver Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Since God does not change, this was true for the Jews who kept the Law of Moses by comparison to all other masters to whom they bound themselves.  As keeping God's commandments was His will for His people, He was always faithful to help them walk in His ways.  No man ever kept the Law perfectly because no man (except Christ) is perfect. The children of Israel toiled under cruel taskmasters in Egypt and they groaned to God in bondage.  They were forced to bake bricks and build cities while Pharaoh decided to slaughter their male children in the river because they had grown strong.  God delivered His people from their crushing burdens and gave them His Laws.  He was the g...