Marching Forth!

No army has ever gone "undefeated."  There are countless skirmishes which make up a war, and it is possible to lose a battle but still win the war.  Today felt like one of those losing days in a spiritual sense.  I find an object lesson in my own hands.  On any given day of mechanical insulation, I usually come through without any injuries whatsoever.  Occasionally I will have a scrape or cut, or possibly feel fatigued after a particularly taxing day of work.  As I wrapped duct this morning, I cut my finger on a 20-gauge stud:  it was the kind that make your toes curl!  Someone had taken a grinder to the metal until it was rough and razor sharp.  I felt it before I saw it.  Thankfully it was in a fairly decent spot and not too deep.  When I came home I had several cuts on my hands to clean with my old standby, hydrogen peroxide. I believe we set ourselves up for failure if we believe we will have victory every moment of every sing...

Our church fellowship annually puts on an elaborate play detailing the arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Over the years I have had differing roles either on stage or behind the scenes.  One year I was cast as Jesus.  To say it was a challenge and a humbling experience would be an understatement.  Aside from prayerfully approaching the role and delivering my lines verbatim, the thing I strove for more than anything was realism. Before the opening scene, people are allowed to roam freely through the marketplace, taking in the sights, smells, and tastes of the city of Jerusalem.  In years past there have been live animals, unleavened bread, and it is a perfect time to chat with Pharisees and even Roman guards.  The chatter of the marketplace is broken by a narrator, and then the temple guards bring Jesus before Caiaphas.  As I was being hauled up on stage, I could see the smiles and expectant looks of the people.  In that scen...

Easter is the time of year when special attention is given to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  There is no greater evidence of Christ's divinity, power over sin and death, and love for all people than the cross and the empty tomb three days later.  It is easy to miss the miraculous in the mundane, and familiarity breeds complacency.  We can become so used to hearing that Jesus died for our sins that we don't appreciate fully Christ's sacrifice.  It would be one thing to be God and humble yourself to living in a human body:  it is unthinkable God would become flesh and willingly submit His life to the curse man brought upon himself through rebellion against God.  Jesus suffered not only the emotional anguish of betrayal and rejection, but intense physical pain.  The word "excruciating" is borne out of the terrible agony of the crucifixion process.  That was not the end.  Jesus endured separation from God on man's account - on my account...

We will never glean practical spiritual truth from the Bible until we make it personal.  I can look back over the years and I remember several times God spoke  to me directly through His Word.  I remember the first time I saw myself as Simon of Cyrene, who had come out of his country and was compelled to carry the cross of Christ.  I also remember when the LORD showed me that all men are as Barabas (including myself!).  Though he was condemned to die for his wicked acts, Barabas was spared and Christ became his substitute.  Today I saw myself for the first time as the donkey that carried Christ into Jerusalem during His triumphant entry. God has been teaching me a lot lately about obeying His directives, not just automatically doing things to please people.  It is an easy trap to do what everyone says you should do.  As opportunities have presented themselves for me to serve at church of late, I have felt strangely restrained by God.  It do...

" Keep your treasures on the open palm of your hand.  If you hold something tight clenched in your fist, God may have to hurt you in order to open your fingers and take it from you.  but if it is offered on the open palm of your hand, you will hardly know when it is gone ." Alice MacFarlane, quoted by Isobel Kuhn in her book,  "In The Arena ," page 97. God desires to strip us of every worldly thing that we might have Him.  It is not until we have relinquished our rights and possessions, even the possession of ourselves, before we will desire Him as we ought.  He will never give us what we do not desire to receive.  God does not force peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God upon men.  He gives these things and more to those who seek Him with a whole heart in faith.  As long as we dote upon earthly treasure, we will never recognize that God Himself is the greatest treasure. How content are men to brood in greedy envy over perishable trif...

I heard a preacher say something that had me thinking.  Likely recorded some time in the '60s or '70s, he referred to what he called "textualism."  He defined this as people magnifying biblical text to such high degree that  the God who wrote the text is forgotten.  Instead of shedding light into our hearts and minds, the Bible can be used to obscure with blindness.  The Bible becomes a god in the place of God.  The preacher warned, " The Bible was given for a reason...instead of leading us to God, the Bible can become a substitute for God.  The Bible should lead us to meet God and Jesus Christ in a clear, sharp encounter that burns itself upon our hearts forever !"  Knowledge is a god many run after, and the church is not without this breed. To people outside the church, the Bible is a book full of hard-to-pronounce names and places, is littered with genealogies, has an occasional interesting story, and offers moral advice.  Those who have...

When was the last time you were awed by the glory of God?  I firmly believe our view of God is pathetic in light of reality.  Our modern-day approach to God is often as flippant as when we turn on the TV or make our morning coffee.  "Routine" would be a blunt way to put it.  We have sterilized Jesus into a soft-spoken nice guy who always walked around in a white robe with a blue drape over His shoulder.  His fire, passion, and glory have been reduced and simplified into something we think we understand very well. After the children of Israel were delivered with a mighty hand from bondage in Egypt, they experienced the glory of God from afar.  God commanded that all the people be sanctified and wash their clothes.  On the third day, He descended upon Mt. Sinai.   Exodus 19:16-18 reads, " Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trump...