Marching Forth!

Years ago our family had a little dachshund named Wendel.  He slept in a kennel inside the house, but the backyard was his domain.  When I mowed the lawn I was able to easily discern where his little paws had been, paths which become well-worn over time as he patrolled the perimeter.  He had a routine of running along the fence, stopping at a point and barking, then heading back on his circuit. Wendel and people alike can be creatures of habit and routine, and even our brains resort to common tracks of thought.  A single word or feeling can place our thinking like a slot car onto a track, destined to circle the same closed loop again and again.  We can become so taken with a particular observation or personal conviction we become entrenched in our thinking and are quite unable (and even unwilling!) to consider another view as equally valid.  Some people's thoughts resemble a simple oval and others are more elaborate with multiple lanes and loops, but the r...

I love the story of when Jesus was eating dinner in Bethany ( Matt. 26:6-13 ) and Mary came to see Him.  She carried with her a valuable alabaster flask of perfume which some have estimated to be worth a man's wages for a year.  She broke the flask and poured it on the head of Jesus as an act of worship.  True worship must cost the worshipper something.  It will come with the cost of time, money, the sacrifice of other things, and obedience.  Worship is not the singing of songs - though we can worship through songs - but worship of God is acts of adoration by faith for God's glory. Mary's gift was accepted by Jesus, and He said her act would be spoken of wherever the Gospel is preached. It is not necessary for Christians to burn money or pour out expensive fragrances for our prayers and praises to be accepted by God.  He is not like the idols formed by man's hands which demand much but give nothing.  God has freely provided for us all, and our worsh...

I have completed reading The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton and was impressed by his unique insights.  One point he makes strongly in the last chapters is how Christianity is distinct from all other religions and worldviews.  As different as human beings are to plants, so is Jesus Christ and His claims unique from all others.  Jesus did not call people to religion but to life, and this life could only be found in Himself.  His resurrection from the dead is also unique, without parallel in the history of the world.  The fact Jesus did not remain dead and His followers still continue strong in this age of reason is troubling to many.  It has been attacked by atheists, strangled by legalism, debated by scholars, scorned by intellectuals, and discarded by the inoculated.  And yet Christ lives on.  Chesterton wrote, " These people are quite prepared to shed pious and reverential tears over the Sepulchre of the Son of Man; what they are not prepar...

In my morning Bible reading, a statement by Jesus arrested my attention.  The passage listed occasions when those who doubted and hated Jesus sought to entrap Him in His words.  The Herodians, Pharisees, and Sadducees were groups who attempted to make Jesus look ignorant with their moral dilemmas and hypothetical debates, but they could not stump Jesus.  In response to the Sadducees, who only exposed their ignorance by taking their best shot at Jesus, the KJV rendering of  Matthew 22:29 reads, " Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God ."  It is ironic how the Sadducees would have claimed extensive knowledge of the scriptures, but Jesus whom they desired to expose as ignorant expressed this of them.  Their lack of belief in things spiritual left them severely hamstrung.  Their doubts left them wanting in both knowledge of the scriptures and experience of God's power. What struck me as I read the...

" Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work ." Proverbs 24:29 "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," the Golden Rule says.  This approach is contrary to the natural response of our flesh.  We prefer to take a stand upon our rights or a concept of fairness we agree with and hold others to that standard.  Doing unto others just as they have done to us requires us to judge not only their actions, but their motive.  When we are hurt by others we can be suspicious that was their intent all along, so we then seek how we can injure them. Even as vengeance is the sovereign territory of God, so is the rendering to each man according to his works.  Should we do what Solomon forbids in this passage, we hastily clamber onto God's judgment seat.  It is one thing for a little child to innocently desire to sit in daddy's chair, but it is another thing altogether when we fueled by malic...

I've heard Australia called the "Lucky Country."  People use this cliche in a in a positive sense, apparently much to the dismay of Donald Horne who penned The Lucky Country , a book about Australia in 1964 written as a " wake up call to an unimaginative nation, an indictment of a country mired in mediocrity and manacled to its past ."  It sounds a bit harsh not having read the book myself, but there's nothing quite like a good dose of Australian irony.  In my opinion Australia is a blessed country in a multitude of ways.  Because I believe we live in a world governed by God who has provided our natural resources, this beautiful and fruitful land, freedoms, our necessities, and even luxuries, we ought to credit Him where it is due. Every so often I hear the phrase, "unlucky in love."  I wonder:  if people could have their choice of luck or love, what would they choose?  My grandfather has often said in jest, "I'd rather be lucky than go...

" After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him ." Luke 5:27-28 Careful observation of the scripture is critical for deeper understanding.  I do not profess to know secret knowledge or hidden mysteries, but even for the avid student of the Bible many plain truths lie undisturbed on the surface.  Before we figure we know the meaning of a passage, we must first examine what it says.  The order of the words unveils truth and personal application.  In reading Luke 5 this week I came upon something I had never noticed before, and it is profound. The scene is simple enough:  Levi was sitting in his office on the clock.  He was a Jew employed by the Romans as a tax collector, and he had paid for the privilege.  The opportunity to be a "publicani" of a region was bid on for a set time and was paid in advance to the government....