Marching Forth!

Christianity is a lifestyle unlike any other.  The longer I walk with Christ, my sense of inadequacy and failure increases.  This occurs because I am drawn to greater faith in Christ, recognizing my inability to do the first works on my own.  Also I am realizing more and more how wrong I have been in the past while at the time I was sure I was right!  Little by little, God removes the spiritual pride that knowledge and experience can bring. The LORD gave me some fresh insight on Matthew 7:1-5 as I mowed the lawn today:  " Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye...

" Unity is necessary for the outpouring of the Spirit of God ." A.W. Tozer, quoted from the sermon " Unity that Brings Revival " While listening to a sermon delivered by Tozer online today, I was struck by the aforementioned quote.  Unity of the church is a topic that seems to keep popping up in my mind lately.  This morning in our church prayer meeting I was prompted to pray for unity.  In talking with a fellow follower of Christ this afternoon, unity was a topic emphasised over and over.  Unity is very important in the church, perhaps more important than we think! In his message, Tozer says that people make the mistake of praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so we might be united.  His claim is that prayer is in the wrong order:  God does not send His Spirit to unite us, but sends His Spirit when we are already united in Christ.  Tozer quotes Acts 4:31-33 : " And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shake...

How true it is:  unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain who build it.  The great fallacy is that if God is doing the building, men need not labour.  The deception is that somehow, someway, the house will be built without us.  God works in and through His people.  Each man is responsible to built his own house:  we are either building for God or someone else.  In His wisdom beyond our comprehension, God has chosen to use men to labour for His glory.  Certainly the angels appear from a human perspective more suited for such heavenly work than mere men! I read yesterday about when David desired to bring the Ark of God into the city of David.  Since King Saul had killed the priests at Nob, no one had inquired of the LORD with the Ark ( 1 Chron. 13:3 ).  The Ark was placed on a new cart pulled by oxen amid celebrating people who sang and played instruments unto God.  As the procession moved along, the oxen stumbled and U...

" So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse ." 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 Reading the Bible lately has been a testimony to the depth and wisdom of God's Word.  God has been faithful to teach me new things from familiar passages.  What joy comes from the knowledge and wisdom of God, that He brings newness from scriptures which have been in existence for thousands of years.  The Bible is distinct from all books written by men because it is the inspired Word of God which will endure forever. I grew up in a church where the Bible was taught faithfully and raised by parents who read the scriptures daily.  For thirty years the Bible has been a close companion, but never closer to me than now.  And I am convinced I have...

I think every reader of the Bible has wondered what is the point of reading chapters of genealogies like ones contained in Numbers and 1st Chronicles.  Should we actually trudge through every name?  Even these more audibly-daunting passages serve valuable purposes:  they prove the historical authenticity of the scripture, verify that Jesus Christ was a descendant of the line of David, and actually contain much spiritual insight.  As I read through a couple chapters of genealogies today, the LORD shed light on a profound truth. One of the characters which intrigues me in scripture is that of King Saul, who hailed from the tribe of Benjamin.  1 Chronicles 8:33 reveals the lineage:  " Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal ."  The Bible introduces us to Saul as a young, humble man.  Though tall in stature, he remained small in his own eyes - that is, until he had been king of Israel for a few y...

My sons recently began playing the computer game "Minecraft."  In the game the player explores a huge pixelated three-dimensional environment, either mining in the ground or building structures.  After watching them play awhile I decided to have a go, seeking the ever-elusive gold ore and diamonds.  Within an hour I found a huge cavern underground which led me to another cavern with waterfalls of water and lava.  When I was a kid I used to dig around looking for quartz crystal and this game brought back those old feelings, without the blisters! As I continued to place torches for light and explore my surroundings, deeper and deeper I went.  Before too long I had found what I was looking for:  iron ore, diamonds, gold ore, and redstone dust.  But in our excitement (my kids of course were coaching me throughout!), we had gone deeper than initially planned and were running short on torches and wood.  I felt like Injun Joe in Tom Sawyer, trying to e...

" The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright--words of truth . 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd ." Ecclesiastes 12:10-11 During a recent phone conversation with my dad, he drew my attention to this passage.  For much of his life my dad has both preached the word and worked as a carpenter.  Let's say he knows the difference between a well or poorly-driven nail!  In this passage King Solomon uses two illustrations to state the value and purpose of a discourse built on biblical truth.  God did not provide us His Word so we might merely observe, but so it could do a work in us.  Both goads and nails are used for work.  Both are honed to a sharp point to be effective. A goad is a sturdy long stick sharpened to a point of either wood or iron which is used to guide and motivate cattle through discomfort.  As oxen pulled a plow, the farm...