Marching Forth!

Too many of us Christians lament our lack of opportunity to impact the world for Christ.  By "opportunity" we mean an obvious, fool-proof plan laid out start to finish with no chance of failure.  My friends, this will never exist!  People who are wise in investments make their own opportunities.  While everyone else is reeling, scared to invest, and waiting for "something to happen," successful entrepreneurs manage to create a booming market!  After companies see the success they do their best to follow the formula, usually without success.  They didn't see the opportunity while it remained an option.  Should we choose inaction when we have the Holy Spirit of God?  Christians, there will be no easy opportunities.  Our flesh will resist stepping out in faith.  Satan will try to deceive us to justify why the time isn't right.  The whole world is under the sway of the devil, and we have a message contrary to the world!  We can be ...

" Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession ." Psalm 2:8 Last night I attended a home group where this verse was read by pastor Mark Walsh.  The context is God speaking prophetically to Jesus, His Anointed One.  Psalm 2:7 reads, " I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You ."   The Father gives the Son an invitation to ask for His inheritance and later promises all will be subject to Him:  Psalm 2:9 says, " You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel ."  A day will come when Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom upon earth and will rule in righteousness.  The earth and all that is in it is Christ's for the asking.  Jesus has affirmed, " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth ." Most of us have been exposed to the idea of heavenly reward or inheritan...

Yesterday the LORD gave me great comfort through a living illustration.  Whenever I put on shoes in the Tooke's home in the morning, Poncho (the family dog) whimpers and shakes with excited anticipation.  He has learned that when shoes go on the feet, it means he will be going on a walk.  I put on my shoes yesterday morning and it cracks me up how excited Poncho becomes at the prospect of a walk.  So not wanting to disappoint him, I picked up his lead (leash for the Americans in our audience) and walked out the door. After about 10 minutes of jogging and a couple of potty breaks, Poncho began to resist the lead more and more.  As I carefully observed him, he was favoring his left foreleg.  For the past couple of weeks I have seen him more than once favor that leg.  "I'm sorry, Poncho," I told him.  "We'll take it easy, alright?"  Unfortunately for both of us, we happened to be at the lowest point of elevation in our run!  After a minut...

Moving can be a moving experience.  The nature of the process reveals to us what we really think is important.  It strips away the veneer of all we have taken for granted.  Perhaps for the first time we see our priorities aren't where we thought they were.  A baby doesn't care where he is as long as he can cuddle with his silk blanket.  Sometimes the presence of mom is enough to comfort.  Once we grow older we still do not outgrow this attachment to things.  It is natural to base our security in what we can hold in our hands.  In reality, this is security found in ourselves. This process cannot be performed until we resign ourselves, our things, family, friends, and future to Jesus Christ.  Perhaps some foster a false "romantic" view that following Jesus comes at no cost of things, relationships, or comforts.  Will God provide for our needs?  Certainly.  Isn't it true that anyone who leaves family for the sake of the Gospel ...

What self-deceptions we are willing to employ to justify refusal of submission to God!  How far we will wander from obedience because we are too proud to repent.  We say, "I will not commit because I know I cannot.  I am unable to perfectly keep my word."  So out of pride we fashion a pious cloak to cover our rebellion.  "God would not have me agree to something I cannot do."  But can a man do anything perfectly before God?  You cannot do anything for God!  We are powerless to do the first works, much less be fruitful, progress in sanctification, or even cease a single sin unless God helps us.  It begins with faith in Him and agreement with God.  Then we must commit to give no place to the devil, walk in obedience, and continually humble ourselves before Him.  No wonder pride in all its forms and disguises is abominable before God! While struggling with a particular sin years ago, I remember in church when the hymn "I Surrender Al...

"First, all preaching should be practical.  The proper end of all doctrine is practice.   Anything brought forward as doctrine, which cannot be made use of as practical, is not preaching the Gospel.  There is none of that sort of preaching in the Bible.  That is all practical.  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  A vast deal of preaching in the present day, as well as in past ages, is called doctrinal as opposed to practical preaching.  The very idea of making this distinction is a device of the devil.  And a more abominable device Satan himself never devised.  You sometimes hear certain men talk a wonderful deal about the necessity of "indoctrinating the people."  By which they mean something different from practical preaching; te...

It's not often when an object lesson literally jumps into your lap.  While reading today Poncho, the Tooke's dog, did something he has never done before.  He came up very close to the chair I was sitting in, stared at me with his tail wagging, and suddenly jumped into my lap.  Before I could put what I was reading on the table beside me, he had settled down in a comfortable position.  Poncho is a medium-sized dog (poodle/cocker mix) that weighs around 50lbs, likely not the ideal size of a lap dog!  As I stroked his coat Ross remarked, "Now there's the ultimate in acceptance.  He's found a friend."  Poncho proved his acceptance of me by his actions. As I sat with Poncho spread across me, there was a deep sense of pleasure in this display of confidence and trust.  Unfortunately today the word "pleasure" tends to have a sexual connotation, but this was nothing of the sort.  If Poncho suspected I would injure or hurt him he would refuse even to...