Marching Forth!

I have heard people refer to Christianity disparagingly as a "crutch" for those too weak to deal with life's problems.  They understate their case from a position of ignorance.  Christ is not a "crutch" to enable a person to limp through life:  Christ IS life.  Whether your crutches are made of wood or aluminum, they are objects useful only for a living person.  Crutches have no value for the dead.  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Those who sneer at the idea of trusting in Christ for atonement and salvation through faith as weakness have not considered their own sin and mortality according to God's standard of perfection.  Those who God makes to soar on eagle's wings have no need of crutches anyway!  Instead of propping people up with positive thinking and mental manipulation, God infuses strength into His people because He dwells within them in the person of the Holy Spirit. What a relationship is available to every person who ...

C.H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying, " If we do not have the Spirit of God, it were better to shut the churches, to nail up the doors, to put a black cross on them and say, "God, have mercy on us."  If you ministers have not the Spirit of God, you had better not preach and you people had better stay at home.  I think I speak not too strongly when I say that a church in the land without the Spirit of God is rather a curse than a blessing ."  This quote came to my mind yesterday as I met to fellowship with a brother in Christ.  This is a strong statement, and it is a true one. Unless we are led by the Spirit in our prayers and deeds, we do them in the power of our flesh.  If we are not led by the Spirit in our preaching, evangelistic efforts, conferences, and meetings, it would be better not to bother.  To suppose I can do work for God without God is pride and blasphemy.  Instead of allowing this admonition to be filled with the Spirit frighten us...

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I never need wonder about His ability to do anything.  Even so, sometimes the temptation presents itself!  The morning after Daniel was thrown into a den of ravenous lions, King Darius stood at the mouth of the den and called out in Daniel 6:20 :  ".. .Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions ?"  Daniel answered in the affirmative.  God had sent an angel to shut the mouth of the lions and they could not harm him.  Perhaps a skeptic might claim the lions weren't hungry after all.  Daniel 6:24 clear this up immediately:  " And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions--them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den ." When we consider the ferocity of a lion, it ...

The Bible is filled with miraculous events, both well-known and obscure.  One event I thought strangest as a kid was the account of of Lot's wife demise as she fled from Sodom.  God sent angelic messengers to not only warn Lot and his family of the certain judgment of the region, but to lay hold of them so they might be delivered from death.  Genesis 19 records the event in detail.  Lot and his household were very reluctant to leave their home as we read in Genesis 19:16 : " And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city ."  Lot, his wife, and two daughters were brought outside the city and given clear instructions in verse 17 :  " So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be ...

The Gospel is so good it is staggering.  When we repent and trust in Jesus Christ, our sins are cleansed by His blood.  "Not guilty" only describes one effect of Christ's regenerating work.  By God's grace we are deemed righteous and without fault. I remember being in a university classroom on 3 October, 1995 when O.J. Simpson was declared "not guilty" of a double homicide by a jury after a nine month trial.  Most people in the class were outraged.  With the circumstantial evidence presented, they could not believe Mr. Simpson was innocent.  Similar comparisons have been drawn in the recent case of Casey Anthony and the death of her daughter.  After incredible media coverage, Casey went from incarceration and facing the death penalty to being declared "not guilty" and was released with time served.  Though I am not living in the United States, the negative public view of the verdict is felt across the world. Without going into details of eithe...

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection ."   Colossians 3:14 I am continually in awe of the dynamic descriptiveness of the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of God.  It is a book no man can master:  it is a book which masters us.  Learning the Bible and the truths it contains is not the end, but the chief end of scripture is to introduce us to Jesus Christ as our LORD and Saviour.  We learn of the perfect Law of God, the fallen state of all men, and how we are separated by God due to our sin.  We learn that God is righteous, just, and holy, and is no respecter of persons:  the soul that sins shall surely die.  But we also read that God is not willing that any should perish, and has revealed His great love for us through the death of Jesus while we were yet sinners.  If anyone repents and relies upon Christ as Saviour and is born again, the same will be delivered from death and provided eternal life in h...

When I was in the States, my folks bought me an Amazon Kindle which I have enjoyed very much.  Today I "kindled" The Overcoming Life by D.L. Moody.  It was not long before I read a memorable and valuable illustration I am happy to share: A gentleman in India once got a tiger-cub, and tamed it so that it became a pet.  One day when it had grown up, it tasted blood, and the old tiger-nature flashed out, and it had to be killed.  So with the old nature in the believer.  It never dies, though it is subdues: and unless he is watchful and prayerful, it will gain the upper hand, and rush him into sin.  Someone has pointed out that "I" is the centre of S-I-N.  It is the medium through which Satan acts. Our old nature is like that tiger in captivity.  We therefore must be vigilant to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ.  As long as we walk this earth in these bodies, there is a potential for a great fall.  Quoting a pas...