Marching Forth!

God spoke to His people in Jeremiah 13:23:  " Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil ."  Through Jeremiah the prophet, God told the people of Judah they were incapable of self-reform.  They were accustomed to doing evil and had no power to be righteous.  The skin pigment of a person and the natural markings of a leopard's fur are due to genetics.  If a leopard should want to look like a zebra, it is a change the leopard would be incapable of making.  The day when pigs can fly and grizzly bears are born with lime green fur will be the day when people can turn from their sin to doing good on their own.  But God is able to do what is impossible for man or beast.  He is not in the business in changing spots to stripes:  He is the One who transforms people from within.  All are born with a sin nature, but Jesus gives us forgiveness, new hearts, a future, and an unfa...

The Bible teaches that man is inherently wicked, not righteous.  Even as gravity exerts the same force on all objects to fall to the ground whether they be living person or an inanimate object, sin shows no partiality among man, woman, or child.  The downward spiral of every human soul towards Hell because of sin is certain and sure.  From our birth, sin has us in its death-grip.  We do not merely tend towards sin but are completely polluted by it, mind and soul.  As we grow older our appetite for sin grows.  Our capacity and desire to sin initially is fettered by childish ignorance and limitations.  It is when we grow out of this fetter that we make larger and stronger ones for ourselves by willfully seeking after sin and embracing it.  Greater bondage occurs because sin is suited to our natural state.  Sin is like a bait perfectly selected for our tastes, even as a fisherman covers the hook with bait to lure an unsuspecting trout.  Tho...

It is a wise practice to consider our reasons for doing things.  Our motivation can be even more important in God's sight than the good works we actually do.  A "good work" is sinful and hypocritical if spawned through selfishness.  If the way to Hell is paved with bricks of good intentions, sinful motivation is the mortar. On Saturday I was talking with a couple who asked why I volunteer to spruce up the grounds at a local cemetery.  "Do you know someone here?  How were you connected with the clean-up committee?"  I explained that I am a pastor at a local church and emailed the council to request how we could bless the community.  I told them how the Hills Council responded with a couple of options, and the cemetery clean-up seemed the best suited opportunity for us to lend a hand.  We shared an excellent chat and morning of picking up rubbish, thinning overgrowth on the tombs, and clearing noxious weeds. As I reflected on our discussion, God...

The Christian life is all about following Jesus.  We are called to abide in Christ, even as a branch is connected to the vine.  I don't know if you've ever tried following someone while driving, but its very hard to follow people when you can't see them.  When I worked in construction as an apprentice, I would meet at the shop and follow the journeymen out to the job.  Sometimes I wondered if the mechanic was intentionally trying to lose me in traffic!  Once visual contact was lost, following became impossible. The good thing about following Christ is He will never try to ditch us.  While the world is constantly changing at a frenetic pace, Jesus remains stable, true, and trustworthy.  When we call out to Christ for aid, He does not hide from our sight, laughing to Himself about our predicament.  He doesn't try to avoid us because we've offended Him by our foolishness.  When we pray to the Father, Jesus isn't like someone who receives a cal...

The struggles we face as human beings are complex.  Past experiences, personality, mental, physical, and spiritual dynamics converge to create imposing, seemingly impossible problems.  Something God is teaching me which vastly simplifies issues I face is deciding I am going to do things God's way.  There are two basic ways to approach any problem:  we can follow the world's way, or the way God has revealed through scripture. As we go through this life, stuff clings to us.  We need to change our clothes and wash our hands and bodies with soap.  Even if we avoided dirty things, our skin excretes oil and sweat.  Stress raises our heart rate and physical activity can produce unpleasant odours.  Not a lovely thing to think upon, but it is the truth!  In a similar way to our physical need for cleansing and hygienic maintenance, our life experiences can load us down with cares, worries, and baggage.  We can be beset with sinful thoughts, be o...

I have heard it said, "In preaching the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."  The phrase is a bit simplistic, but few would argue against the truth it contains.  It is very easy in preaching to be swept up in current events or follow the tendency to often harp upon a single string of non-essential doctrine.  The imperative in preaching is to preach the Word as led by the Holy Spirit.  Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:1-2 , " I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching ."  Those who are called to pulpit ministry are not called to invent new truths, but to be a heavenly reminder of God's truth as revealed in scripture.  Nehemiah 8:8 reveals the gist of what all preachers should strive for:   " So they read distinctly from the book, in...

Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive ( Acts 20:35 ).  While this is most certainly true, there is also great blessing in receiving.  What do we have as Christians that we have not received?  We have received great joy in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ ( Romans 5:11 ).  1 Corinthians 2:12 states, " Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God ."  As we read God's Word, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding.  All that we have has been freely given to us from God. God has given us much that we have yet to receive.  There are often conditions which must be met before we can receive what God freely offers.  If we will be honest, we are not always initially willing to meet His conditions.  Whether it be pride, ignorance, or foolishness, no one hinders us from receiving of God's goodness more than oursel...