Marching Forth!

" Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation ." Psalm 118:19-21 Only those with clean hands and a pure heart will see God ( Ps. 24:4 ).   The Law of God proves beyond any shadow of doubt that there is none good, no not one.  Solomon stated rhetorically in Proverbs 20:9 , " Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ?"  If man's only hope for righteousness was through his own effort, he would have no hope whatsoever.  But by the grace of God, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed through faith to all those who believe.  Paul stated his fervent desire in Philippians 3:9-11 to "... be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness wh...

This morning I asked God to provide something for me to post on the blog, and today He saw fit to provide in a way I did not expect!  God speaks through times of prayer and scripture reading, but He also reveals Himself in the mundane.  When a man knows God, it changes his perspective of everything.  Even in accidents God's grace and goodness is revealed.  In a little booklet I read the other day written by Ken Ham, he stated all students of science use the same facts but their worldviews dictate how the facts are interpreted.  It is God in a person who opens our eyes to His gracious benefits even when things "go wrong." In between studies this morning, I went to the kitchen to prepare a coffee for myself.  After tamping the grounds in the portafiller, I pulled the stainless steel milk frothing jug from the strainer.  Unknown to me (at first!), the blade attachment for our blender was stealthily tucked inside!  Before I even looked down or felt ...

A follower of Jesus Christ has the assurance of scripture that God has authority over all and is in control.  Matthew 28:18 records words Jesus said to His disciples:  " And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth ."  Under Christ's authority, we can therefore go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptising, and teaching them to follow God's ways. A funny thing happens when people are given positions of authority.  It changes the way people think and relate to others - and often for the worse.  Many become overbearing and harsh.  In the words of Agur in Proverbs 30:21-23 :  " For three things the earth is perturbed, yes, for four it cannot bear up: 22 for a servant when he reigns, a fool when he is filled with food, 23 a hateful woman when she is married, and a maidservant who succeeds her mistress ."  A common worker without training would likely be unprepared ...

One of my favourite Bible passages growing up is found in Judges 3, when Ehud assassinated King Eglon of Moab.  For 18 years the children of Israel had been oppressed by the corpulent Eglon, who rallied the people of Ammon and Amalek against them.  God heard the cries of His people and raised up Ehud as a deliverer, a left-handed man.  He fashioned a two-edged dagger - too short to be considered a sword - and smuggled it under his clothes.  After giving a payment of tribute, Ehud sought an audience with King Eglon, saying he had a secret message for him.  Judges 3:20-23 contains the gruesome details:  " And Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." So he arose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for h...

God's ways are truly higher than man's ways, and His thoughts are beyond our wildest expectation, imagination, or explanation.  The life of Joseph is a good example of this.  As a young man, God revealed the future to Joseph through a couple of dreams.  God showed him the end, but did not reveal the time frame or the process.  His brothers hated Joseph because of the special treatment he received from his father Jacob.  Fueled by bitterness and envy, they sold Joseph to traders heading to Egypt.  If you think Joseph was at peace to be sold because "it was all in God's plan," you are incorrect.  Tormented by guilt years later his brothers said to one another in Genesis 42:21 , " We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us ." In anguish of soul, Joseph was brought to Egypt and sold as a slave.  After being promoted in Potipha...

Tonight our family read the account in 2 Kings 3 , a testimony of God's grace in providing victory for His people.  The chapter begins by explaining how Jehoram was a wicked king over Israel, and after the death of Ahab the nation of Moab rebelled against Israel's rule.  Jehoram sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, a righteous man who feared God.  Jehoshaphat agreed to help reign in the rebellious Moabites, and they traveled together for seven days through the land of Edom.  The text says the king of Edom came along in support.  Despite their planning and collaboration, they faced defeat before even meeting Moab in battle because of a severe water shortage. Jehoram blamed the lack of water as a sinister plan of God to destroy them.  Refusing to accept such a suggestion, the faithful king of Judah said in 2 Kings 3:11 , " Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?" So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered ...

When your church plans trips, activities, or courses, how do you view them?  For a lot of my life I used to see all church-related activities or service as optional.  Unless I felt specifically prompted to go or be involved, I would usually pass.  But as I have continued to mature in the LORD, my views have changed.  I see opportunities to preach or go on mission trips as open doors that I should aim to go through unless God closes the door.  Do you see the difference?  Many people have a consumer approach to offered church activities rather than seeing it as an opportunity to serve. How would your perspective change if you saw an upcoming mission trip as an open door, swung wide by Jesus Christ Himself for you to enter?  Jesus said in Revelation 3:7 , " And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens..." ...