Marching Forth!

It's amazing what is considered news these days.  I saw an online story about a family who claims to have seen the image of Jesus in mold on the wall in their bathroom!  According to the family, the image has given them strength.  Now it's possible in what we see, even in a bathroom filled with mildew, God will teach us things.  But to attribute power or divine ability to an image, article, or patch of mold is superstitious and unbiblical.  No person, object, or activity should ever usurp God's rightful position of honour and worth.  If I saw mold growing in my bathroom, it would be a loud and clear message to invoke the power of bleach and a little elbow grease! There are many things from which people draw strength.  It could be an item that is considered "lucky," like a kangaroo pouch .  Some people take to heart what they read in the newspaper listed under a daily horoscope.  Others start their day with thinking and speaking positive man...

" Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off ." Nehemiah 12:43 When God directs people to sacrifice unto Him, His focus is not primarily upon the gift.  God does not need material wealth, the blood of animals, grain, wine, or oil because all things are already His.  God's desire is that every sacrifice we make for His glory be accompanied with great joy.  He cares more about our attitudes and the condition of our hearts than the amount of money or time involved in our sacrifice.  After Nehemiah read a portion of the Law to the people, he commanded them to rejoice.  Nehemiah 8:10 reads, " Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength ." ...

The Bible makes it clear that everyone will give an account before God concerning their time on earth.  Every deed and even every word will be weighed according to God's righteous standard.  Jesus says in Matthew 12:36 , " But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment ."  Paul affirms in Romans 14:12 , " So then each of us shall give account of himself to God ."  For most people, to answer for your life as an entire body of work is not as daunting as citing specifics.  While we plod on in life, the Day of Judgment seems far away and not too important - just like a school assignment due in two months. Many of the parables told by Jesus support this view.  The master commits tasks to his servants, leaves, and then each is required to give account for their actions during his absence.  The profit gained or lack thereof is the proving ground of each servant's responsibility.  Again, this...

" But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves ." James 1:22 A person need not live long before they have been deceived.  Deception and life on earth go together like butter on bread.  When the first sin was committed on earth, deception was not absent.  Adam blamed his wife, and Eve blamed the serpent.  Genesis 3:13 reads, " And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate ."  In the KJV the word used for deceived is "beguiled," and is defined in the original as " to lead astray , to delude , or to seduce ." We have all been deceived, and we have all played the deceiver.  But the worst delusion of all is when we deceive ourselves.  James warns all who read his letter that self-deception, even for believers, is a condition we must soberly guard against.  We must remain vigilant and ever-watchful of the real potential which spawns fr...

If nothing in the Bible shocks us, then we're not reading it very carefully!  It directly opposes the "wisdom" of this age, which is termed "foolishness" in God's eyes.  One fundamental difference between the humanistic view of man and God's divine perspective is the condition of man.  Man assumes he is naturally good, but God says there is none good, no, not one.  All are condemned by sin.  No one gets a free pass to willfully commit sin without eternal consequences. 2 Chronicles 36:9 is a real eye opener:  " Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD . "  Jehoiachin was eight years old - and evil!  When I think of evil people, an "innocent" eight-year-old does not come to mind!  But according to God's righteous judgments, Jehoiachin did evil in God's sight.  Men, women, and even children must answer for a shred of evil...

Hosea 4:6 begins by saying, " My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge... "   Ignorance has contributed to much unnecessary suffering in the world, even through those who desired to do good.  Before the discovery of dangerous germs, surgeons did not wash their hands or clothes between operations.  The result of this lack of sanitation in hospitals led to the spread of disease, infections, and caused many preventable deaths.  Even to this day in developing countries, people remain who do not understand the connection between drinking contaminated water and sickness.  When a child is stricken with dysentery from drinking water containing sewage, village elders assume evil spirits are to be blamed.  While the world is not without a spiritual dimension, ignorance of something as simple as the importance of clean drinking water can lead to disaster. We live in a day when the world is experiencing a famine of hearing the Word of God.  The world has...

This morning I was treated to a living illustration.  Since the boys go to the same school and have heaps of books between them, we decided to hire a large locker for the entire school year.  The last couple days I noticed one of my son's backpacks was completely stuffed with heavy books.  On the way to the bus today I took this picture of him carrying the burden of books.  The whole reason behind hiring the locker was to reduce the amount in our son's backpacks.  But the backpack remained stuffed while the locker is empty. We have had several delightful conversations about why the locker is not better utilised.  The excuses have been plentiful:  "I don't have time," "It's full of spiders," "I never know what books I'll need," or "There's always a bunch of girls blocking the way."  So day after day, mile after mile, my son comes home with sagging shoulders under a heavy burden - a burden we've paid to have lifted. ...