Marching Forth!

" I know some people with mo' money then we'll ever see...they don't believe in Karma, but they believe in commas ." Lecrae in " Confe$$ions " Money has many slaves in this world, and the queue of the willing seems to stretch on forever.  The thing about the love of money is no matter how much money you have, it never seems to scratch the itch.  The varnish of bigger and better ultimately loses its appeal.  Like superheros lining up to have a go at lifting mighty Thor's hammer after watching others fail, people still covet a chance at great wealth.  Millions are spent on the lottery every day as people dream about a few more commas in their bank account.  The trouble with being a slave to the love of money is you cannot buy your freedom. Now there is nothing wrong with money in itself, and many would point out much good can be accomplished by it.  I agree, but there is no question it has also cast down many wounded, destroyed lives throu...

God endowed King Solomon with wisdom like no other king before or after him.  His wisdom was demonstrated with an incident which involved two harlots who came before him for judgment over a baby.  They lived in the same house together, and their case was a sad one.  They both gave birth to sons, and one of the infants was tragically smothered during the night.  One woman accused the other of switching the dead baby with her living one, and the other denied it.  In those days there was no DNA testing, and being only three days old perhaps the babies were quite similar in appearance and behaviour.  Who was the real mother of the boy both claimed as their own? 1 Kings 3:24-28 reads, " Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other." 26 Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion fo...

" Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice !" Philippians 4:4 How good it is for us to thank and praise God!  Paul exhorted believers to rejoice in the LORD always, and he wrote this whilst incarcerated.  The Christian life is one of faith, not feelings.  I imagine Paul did not always feel like rejoicing in the LORD because of his circumstances, but he urged all to rejoice in the LORD always.  No matter what season of life or the struggles we face, God remains good and praiseworthy.  Jesus gives fullness of joy to all who trust in Him.  Walking in the joy of the LORD is done by faith regardless of how we feel. We can be so fixed on learning more about God or desirous to receive something from Him we can forget to simply rejoice in Him.  It is easy in this weak frame to forget of God's wondrous works and promises.  Yet how our souls soar when we praise God for being God!  When David's felt there was but a step between him ...

It is a pattern which extends through all history:  government and leaders once celebrated by the people becomes increasingly corrupt.  The overthrow of a government does not always usher in the peace and prosperity the people desire.  When the Jews demanded Samuel give them a king and monarchy rather than a theocracy, the decision cost them dearly when Saul took their children, forced them to fight his battles, and oppressed the innocent.  Ask the people of Cambodia who celebrated the end of a civil war when the victorious Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh clothed in black wielding machine guns.  What seemed a day of hope ended up ushering in the darkest season in the nation's history.  The evil which seemed to have been stamped out rose from the ashes with greater force and brutality. This tendency towards oppression and corruption by leaders was evident to King Solomon thousands of years ago.  He wrote in  Ecclesiastes 5:8 :    " If y...

From my limited perspective in Australia, it seems the entire world stares horrified at the presidential race in the United States.  It is a nation which appears more fractured and divided than ever, and it is clear that no person - no matter how savvy or capable - will be able to bind or heal these wounds.  If I was tasked to describe each of the leading candidates with one word, positive possibilities do not immediately spring to mind.  These candidates should not be blamed for polarising America, for this race has only brought the septic boil which had already been festering to the surface.  Believing a person, political party, or even "the people" have the capacity to create positive change by effort alone without the aid of God is like a man thinking he is able to stop an earthquake with his hands.  The word "futile" comes to mind. Should Christians vote as led by the Spirit?  Absolutely.  But we are to engage in political process recognising o...

God has placed in every person a conscience, a moral faculty which aids us in knowing right from wrong.  The fact we deem certain actions or behaviour immoral shows humans are moral beings.  Without breaking a law we can feel guilty about what we have said or done which is contrary to our own principles.  Though the conscience of everyone develops according to beliefs, even if we were governed by conscience alone all people embrace a system of right and wrong.  As important the knowledge of right and wrong is, knowledge of doing wrong is insufficient to put things right.  Feelings of guilt are not enough to atone for our sin, regardless of how prolonged or profound they might be.  Without repentance there can be no forgiveness, no matter how awful we feel. One biblical example which comes to mind is Judas, the man who betrayed an innocent man named Jesus to His death.  He secretly sought out the chief priests and agreed to betray Jesus Christ for ...

All Christians have the sober responsibility to rightly divide the Word of truth.  It is important we observe what the text plainly says before we rush to explain what it means.  It is also critical we do not parrot what we have heard but do our best to stay true to the text with our emphasis.  It is a common mistake to transfer assumptions based upon hearsay or our opinions into passages and provide the wrong impression.  One passage where this is commonly done is when Jesus on two occasions cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem. People have used this passage to justify being angry when the passage never explicitly says Jesus was.  The harmonising scriptural accounts of the Gospels portray Jesus observing the illicit trade in the Temple, fashioning a scourge of small chords, and then driving out the animals and overturning tables.  Those who say Jesus must have been angry (maybe they would have!) might be the same people who assume a parent must be fueled ...