Marching Forth!

God has blessed and blesses people in countless ways, and those who are in Christ have had our eyes opened to see and appreciate many of them.  Our lives and all we enjoy are gifts from God, and even trials and pain He allows serve His redemptive purposes for our good.  As I read the Bible last week, it occurred to me how prevalent it is to appeal to peace, joy, contentment and rest as reasons to seek and trust God while these are actually some results from faith in Him.  Could it be people are introduced to Jesus Christ as a source of blessing before they even comprehend they are sinners who need a Saviour? Imagine an orphaned little boy living in a group home without a father or mother.  Without parents, this child intensely feels a lack in their life and dreams of one day filling it with a dad and mum.  This child may desire a parent like a girl wishes for a cute puppy.  She wants the companionship of a pet and the fun of playing together.  Never ha...

Jesus died for the sins of the world, there is an important condition every individual must meet to receive the benefit of His atoning work.  We understand well the necessity of our own actions to obtain a college scholarship, apply for a home loan or collect unemployment payments.  Just because a benefit is offered freely we are still responsible to act.  God does not require us to fill out forms or make a deposit.  God has put it in writing He will save all who place their faith in Jesus Christ, and gives us the down payment of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  With the heart we believe, and with our mouths we confess our sinfulness and Jesus Christ as LORD and Saviour. After the children of Israel settled in Canaan, God established several "cities of refuge" where a manslayer could flee and seek refuge from the avenger of blood.  Before he was granted entrance to the city, the man guilty of manslaughter needed to publicly confess how he had killed someon...

God has provided the scriptures so we might learn of Him, to walk in His ways and grow.  The Bible is much more than an accurate account of history but provides examples for us to observe wisely and heed ourselves.  Paul explained how the past experiences of others are useful for us to take to heart today in  Romans 15:4 :  " For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope ."  God recorded the failings of His people so we might begin to comprehend His faithfulness and place our hope in God whose love is revealed by longsuffering patience.  The Bible details how God was true to His word and fulfilled promises He made to undeserving people by His grace.  People were fickle and forgetful, yet God remained good and faithful. I was recently struck by what happened after God established the children of Israel in Canaan.  After the kings of nations were ov...

It is a great tragedy children and even older folks can be viewed as "burdens to society," a concept never put forth in the word of God who values and loves all people created in His image.  Those who appear strong and supportive in their prime of life can be gone in an instant, and this reminds us that health and strength of people with the most robust constitutions are limited and temporary.  Believers are called to carry one another's burdens, but we are also called to carry our own load.  It is when we are unable to carry our own load, small though it may be in comparison to others, that we realise we need God to carry us. Do you know God promised to do this for His people?  Even whilst they were in the throes of idolatry, labouring needlessly to find favour with foreign gods when they were established and blessed by the living God, He reached out to them through the prophet Isaiah.   Isaiah 46:1-4 reads, " Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; their idols wer...

On the first day of the week, two disciples walked along the road heading away from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  They discussed and could make no sense of what had happened:  during the Passover feast, Jesus had been arrested, crucified and buried in a tomb.   Luke 24:15-17 reads, " So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad ?"  It is fitting their discussion and reasoning resulted in sadness because they did not realise or believe Jesus was risen, alive and walking with them. There are things in life that do not make sense to us, no matter how much we obsess or think it over.  The disciples talked, reasoned and perhaps vented but it did not change the reality the one they believed would redeem Israel was dead, nor coul...

I remember a singular experience years ago at the start of youth group on a Sunday night.  One of the youth workers was visibly frustrated as he told us of his decision to stop serving as a leader after several months.  " Guys, I'm just not seeing any fruit, " he said.  " I'm going to Horizon " (a different church in southern California).  After he voiced his displeasure at our lack of maturity and growth, the meeting had just begun when he walked out the door and I never saw him again. I was thinking today of how common it is to look for results from our efforts and how we can be disillusioned when we do not see them.  Like that youth worker we have made sacrifices, laboured faithfully and been patient and yet we cannot see any positive impact.  I am convinced fundamentally the youth worker's issue was not with us kids, ratbags though we were:  his frustration was actually with God.  Genuine believers must recognise the temptation we face when we...

Recently it occurred to me:  unless Jesus was physically seen by eyewitnesses alive after His death and burial, claims to His resurrection would be along the lines of tabloids or sites that claim Elvis is alive.  John wrote concerning Jesus that He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.  John continued in the introduction in  1 John 1:1-3 :  " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ ."  It is reasonable to give credence to the natural senses God has given us, otherwise the term "eyewitness"...