Marching Forth!

Mr. Kennedy was my History teacher at Emerald Junior High in 1993.  He was a man in control, a seasoned veteran of the classroom.  He was one of those older men who had a gruff persona, but also had that twinkle in his eye.  I liked him from the first day.  My appreciation of his experience, knowledge, and teaching methods only grew as the year progressed.  When graduation from year 8 finally came, I mustered up the courage to ask him to sign my yearbook.  He obliged.  After writing a quick note, he said with a straight face, "I usually don't write half that much."  I received his statement as a compliment, and after reading his message knew it was. Out of all the messages written in my yearbook by friends and teachers, his meant the most to me.  It still means a lot to me now.  Mr. Kennedy was a man who only knew me as a student in his class for a short time, yet there was a man who believed in me.  Outside of my parents and fami...

As Christians, we must take care not to make formulas out of facts.  Scripture is packed with important facts relevant for personal and broad applications.  There is a tendency in people - compared by God as sheep in many instances - for us to walk in the footsteps of whomever we follow.  When we see a result we appreciate, we seek to follow the same steps so we might too have a particular experience or outcome for ourselves.  "How did you make the cake so moist?"  "What product did you use to have such healthy looking hair?"  "Who details your car?  I never seem to get that deep shine."  "How do you stay so positive after all that has happened to you?"  So we follow a recipe, buy product and follow the instructions carefully, call the mobile detailer, or do our best to follow advice.  Sheep tend towards imitation, not innovation. There are many who claim to have the answers we are all looking for.  There are hucksters who sell th...

While driving this morning, I noticed something a bit odd in my rear-view mirror.  The vehicle behind me had what appeared to be a parking ticked tucked underneath the windscreen wiper, flapping madly in the breeze.  I wondered if the person hadn't noticed it before they climbed into their car.  But then again, perhaps the driver had noticed it.  Maybe they thought if they kept driving and the ticket happened to fly out, they could deny all knowledge of being ticketed for parking illegally.  People aren't that silly, are they? I wondered.  Every driver with a reasonable amount of sense knows when they are ticketed, their details have been recorded by the governing body to enforce legal parking.  The loss of the paper ticket does not erase their infraction, nor will it wipe the fine they owe from the record.  It would be utterly foolish to ignore that ticket, watch the wind pry it loose from the wiper, shrug the shoulders and ask with a grin:...

When Paul wrote his epistle to the church in Galatia, he did not waste much time before going straight to the heart of the matter.   After a brief introduction, he launched into the purpose of his letter with grave concern.  The growing church in Galatia had initially responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ with great joy.  But after Paul left them, others came to the body of believers and perverted the message of the Gospel.  The people in the fellowship abandoned the simple grace of God and adopted a legalistic approach - that as followers of Christ, they were compelled to keep the ordinances given to Moses.  They had come to God through grace, yet they were deceived to think they were justified through their works. The issue Paul dealt with severely in the Galatian church is not unfamiliar today.  There are many people who make a joyful acceptance of the Gospel yet it is not long before they are turned aside from the simplicity of it.  They heap u...

As I prepared a study in the book of Proverbs, a thought crossed my mind.  How many times in the past I have read those sayings of divine wisdom almost as I would read quotes from famous people?  Job 12:11 says, " Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food ?"  What tastes lovely to one person may not appeal to someone else.  There is a range of subjectivity to personal preferences when it comes to food.  When we hear or read a quote, a process similar to tasting food is begun.  As we chew the food, no hands are forcing us to do so.  At any moment, we can decide that bite is simply too much to handle and spit it out. As we read a statement or hear words spoken, we weigh the words against our beliefs.  We can choose to reject what is said or file it away for future use because we agree. The absolute worst way to read the Bible is to weigh the proverbs or sayings against our own experience or opinions.  The Bible is not true by v...

I love it when God opens my eyes to a particular verse and then continues to bring it to my attention day after day.  Through His Word God speaks.  The repetition provides confirmation of the particular area God is directing me to pray, and reveals how intentional God is to speak into my life.  It also prompts a response from me, for in His wisdom God knows exactly what I need even if I am unaware or clueless.  1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 says, " And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints ."  What the LORD continue to impress upon me is my need to increase and abound in love to one another and to all.  God points out my faults and insufficiency so I will admit my need and seek Him as my sufficiency. I am aware of my need to grow in love for God and ot...

How spiritually healthy and rewarding it is when our steps require faith in God!  The flesh hates feeling out of control, but what a blessing it is to walk in the truth that God is in control.  I experienced one such moment today.  Earlier today God brought to pass the culmination of a desire that has grown since I first visited Phil and Linda White in Brisbane, Australia in 2009:  teaching scripture to students in a public school.  During one of our chats, Linda told me that in public schools in Australia scripture is taught by qualified volunteers from local churches.  I could hardly believe it!  Hailing from the United States of America, a nation hamstrung by political correctness and supposed implications of "separation of Church and State" with corresponding restrictions, this seemed too good to be true. An open door to teach scripture in public schools stands open in Australia, and God opened a door to teach scripture in my own suburb.  On...