Marching Forth!

In the church I was raised, it was a common occurrence for the pastor to invite people to respond to a message by re-committing their lives to Jesus.  Many times under the conviction of sin I raised my hand or went forward in acknowledgement of my sin and desire to repent.  It is never hard for born-again Christians to see their need for repentance and forgiveness.  We could not be born-again again, so re-commitment was posed as the way back to God for a backslider.  This concept of re-commitment became an endless loop which rested on nothing more than my own resolve and self-control which always fell short. There is a place for renewal and revival in the life of Christians, but I am convinced the option of re-commitment modeled for me in my youth misses the point.  The more I think about it, the more I am certain the idea of re-commitment is without biblical precedent.  Should Christians commit and entrust themselves to God in faith?  Yes.  Bu...

Well, it's official:  Google hates me.  I probably shouldn't say anything because Google is always listening and recording (perhaps even hiding from plain sight) what I write.  Over the years I have wondered if changing algorithms negatively affected search traffic to the blog, but recently I discovered something which leaves little doubt.  Occasionally I will look up a keyword of an old post as a point of reference.  I was pretty sure I've mentioned MacGuffin  on the blog before" and tried to search it with the blog address.  By the way, anyone who has watched movies would be familiar with MacGuffins (but maybe not the name), a device in film that drives the plot but has little significance otherwise. When I searched on Google Chrome I was surprised to see only one page of results and none from marchforth2oz.blogspot.com.  After navigating to the blog in the search bar I typed "MacGuffin" and bingo:  the single mention of "MacGuffin" from...

Convenience often comes at a price, and the consumer decides if they are willing to pay for the luxury.  Prepared foods typically cost more than buying the ingredients separately.  Convenience has a universal appeal because it reduces extra work and saves time.  For all the allure of convenience, however, there can be a downside.  The cost for convenience is not always paid in money but with countless distractions, intrusions, oppression, and even bondage. For almost two weeks I was without a mobile phone.  A month ago the screen developed a fault which daily increased to the point of the screen being completely fuzzy.  For days it was like trying to view emails and sites through the bars of a virtual prison.  Since the phone was under warranty, it was shipped off to the assessment centre and I was told it would be 5 to 10 business days until the job would be complete.  For the job to be done the phone would be wiped, and I drove home phonel...

" Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30   For My yoke is easy and My burden is light ." Matthew 11:29-30 I was reading through Malachi this morning when I came across a wonderful promise to those who trust God, and it prompted me to seek out Christ's words in Matthew.   Malachi 4:2 says, " But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves ."  Jesus Christ is the Son (and Sun here, the Light of the World) of righteousness who died on Calvary and has risen glorified.  He is our Saviour, the One who has called us and sent us out to all the world to proclaim His everlasting truth of the Gospel. When Malachi compared those who trust in God to being "stall-fed calves," it reminded me of what Jesus said.  He urged people to take His yoke upon them, and this is ...

" Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, a nd the LORD listened and heard them;  s o a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name ." Malachi 3:16 I have long aspired to writing a book.  Though I write often I have yet to be inspired to sustain any thought for hundreds of pages, nor do I feel my contributions superior to anything written.  I have had ideas flit through my mind, but none of them have stuck.  But today I was reminded of a book God is writing, a book all those who fear God contribute to when they speak and think of Him. Have you ever been in a room and heard your name mentioned and perked up, wondering of the context of the conversation where your name made an unexpected appearance?  Malachi 3:16 reveals God does the same thing when we speak or think of Him.  Those who love and fear God will speak to one another of Him, and God listens and hears.  ...

" Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11  The LORD of hosts is with us; t he God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah " Psalm 46:10-11 During prayer I was reminded of these verses and had forgotten they had been included in my sermon notes!  It was good to meditate on these verses, and this meditation has nothing to do with repeating a particular word or phrase.  Meditation for a Christian involves conscious thought.  Depending on where the stress is placed, God opens new avenues of thought. God's command to those whose world is coming apart at the seams is to look to Him in trust and reliance is to "Be still."  Instead of rushing around trying to scheme or save, look to the Saviour.  We can "know" God alone is our Saviour, having received the truth of His Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  He says "I am God," not because He is shaking Himself from sleep or is...

The local council removed a large tree from the parkway in front of my house and left a large patch of bare dirt.  Being winter the turf was dormant and did not fill in the damaged patches of lawn topped up with sand.  Though we did not have rain for months, apparently the clover did not get the memo.  When healthy Sir Walter turf spreads thick and is quite impenetrable, but the patchy condition made it susceptible to invasive weeds.  As I pulled weeds this afternoon, looking over at my neighbour's lawn which was completely green and weed free, it was obvious a healthy lawn is the best defense against unwanted weeds. Bare spots in the lawn practically invite weeds to spring up uncontested.  This shows the folly of trying only to resist sin rather than to flee from it and do what is right.  Some vice will surely fill the bare spots in our character unless good things are sown there.  Turf must be watered and fed regularly, and properly winterising it...