Marching Forth!

" It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes ." Psalm 119:71 Being afflicted is not fun, but scripture teaches it is beneficial and providential.  To be afflicted is to be abased, humbled, to depress and look down.  Affliction does not feel good but does great good.  The psalmist wrote in a preceding verse in  Psalm 119:67 , " Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word ."  Failure to keep God's word led to affliction that prompted one suffering the consequences of sin to look to God, learn His statutes and walk in them.  Solomon wrote of the benefits of sorrow in  Ecclesiastes 7:2-3 :  " Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, f or that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better ." Because we care about others it is natural we are not pleased to see ...

There rests in the hearts of many people a persistent belief that putting the right people in charge will solve problems in society.  The big problem is this is simply untrue.  Many politicians and leaders have been chosen or elected who promised change and have been unable to stop moral decline, poverty and crime.  The unfounded hope in the hearts of people, this longing to enact positive, enduring change through education, programs and politics have often been disappointed. The hopelessness of good leaders overcoming bad citizens was laid bare in  Hosea 4:9-10 in a warning God gave His people concerning future judgment:  " And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their deeds. 10  For they shall eat, but not have enough; they shall commit harlotry, but not increase;  b ecause they have ceased obeying the LORD ."  God's people banked their trust on having holy, sanctified priests ...

God's glory is shown in using weak vessels to accomplish His awesome purposes.  He does not need us but chooses to use us and make us fruitful for His glory.  I remember a conversation I had with a pastor who spoke how amazed he was people kept turning up to church week after week:  "They just keep coming back," he said.  There are many conversations I have no memory of, but I recall this one because it struck me as odd.  I could have understood his confusion if he was the only one responsible for people coming to church, but won't God honour His word?  Isn't He at work in the heart and minds of people to remind and compel them to respond in obedience to gather in His name?  Since fellowship is prompted and sustained by the Spirit of the Living God, his surprise (feigned or not I could not tell) to me was surprising. In his book Lectures to My Students , I came across something C.H. Spurgeon had to say on the matter: " Oh, brethren, we ought to preach ...

One blessing of the internet is the ability to share information and communicate, and this is also one of the greatest curses:  the spread of misinformation.  The internet is a prime breeding ground of rumours and conspiracy which have duped many.  When these thoughts germinate and take root in the minds of people, legitimate reporting and research are condemned as disinformation:  information that is deliberately misleading to promote sinister agendas of shadowy figures behind the scenes.  What is true can become so convoluted those taken in by conspiracies will not part with their views, even when it kills them. I read an article yesterday  of a nurse in South Dakota who allegedly expressed her sadness there are patients infected with COVID she has treated who used their last breaths to deny the existence of COVID.  It may very well be disbelief in COVID that led to careless behaviour which enabled them to initially contract the illness.  I have...

Reminders are useful because we easily forget.  But even the best reminders have their limitations and do not always serve their intended purpose because we are the weak link.  We can be distracted, fall into habits, and be overtaken with behaviours that impede our ability to do our part to follow through. I was struck recently concerning how many memorials and reminders are in the Bible.  After God delivered His people from a Philistine attack, the prophet Samuel set up a stone he called "Ebenezer" and said in 1 Samuel 7:12 , " Thus far the LORD has helped us. "  God directed the Hebrews attach a fringe of blue on their garments so they would remember to keep God's commands ( Numbers 15:37-39 ).  When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan river on dry ground 12 stones were stacked in the place where the feet of the priests stood.  To stop the people from murmuring against Moses and Aaron, God made Aaron's stick to bud, blossom and yield almonds overnig...

 As a kid who grew up in the church, I was taught Christians were in a "spiritual battle."  The range of views and degrees of emphasis placed upon this battle by different people was a source of confusion for me.  Some people acted like that battle could only be won by the intense efforts of people to "put on the armour of God" and to be "prayer warriors" delving into "spheres of influence."  Others who were also well-grounded in the truth of God's word seemed to give "spiritual warfare" far less publicity.  Some often felt "under attack by the enemy" when difficulties arose, prayed for God to mobilise angels on their behalf and for a "hedge of protection."  Some saw the battle as out there in the world with an unseen enemy, others saw this conflict more as personal and internal; others felt they were on the front lines whilst others said without a care, "The battle is the LORD's." One of the great ...

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:6 , "... godliness with contentment is great gain ."  Being content in itself is not necessarily good, for people can be content to remain in sin or feel content without knowing God.  Those who have contentment without godliness will lose all, for their lives and all they posses will be ultimately taken away from them.  The one who is made godly by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, sanctified and serving the LORD according to His leading and rejoices in God's provision and faithfulness, in all situations of life this one shall be content and be fruitful for the kingdom of God. Even after being delivered from sin and death by the Gospel we are not God, and we live in an ungodly world.  There is a tendency in all of us to drift towards covetousness and envy, to give room for feelings of discontent to grow.  Instead of taking these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, like the children of Israel after God brought them out of Egy...