Marching Forth!

" Sing praise to the LORD , you saints of His, a nd give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.  5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life;  w eeping may endure for a night,  b ut joy comes in the morning ." Psalm 30:4-5 One attribute of God I find comforting is His immutability, the fact He does not change.  This means God is glorious and good now and forever, and He will always stay true to His word.  What security and rest we have by faith in our Creator who always loves us without fail.  His grace, mercy and goodness have no end.  David urged all to sing praise to the LORD and to give thanks, and He is our sole source of joy and life. Though God is eternal and all His attributes infinite, His " anger is but for a moment ."  The God who is infinite in power has set divine limits upon His anger.  The redeemed of the LORD praise God for this!  Those who die in their sins will face His wrath forever and ever, ...

The best celebrations are ones fit for every day, and Thanksgiving is one of them.  I appreciate how the term "thanksgiving" remains in the present tense because there are always reasons to presently praise and thank God for the wondrous things He does.  Since God is good and always was, is and is to come, all He has done, is doing and will do is absolutely worthy of thanksgiving. In light of God and His grace to all, Psalm 100:1-5 is a glorious exhortation God's people ought take to heart and practice:  " Make a joyful shout to the LORD , all you lands!  2 Serve the LORD with gladness; c ome before His presence with singing.  3  Know that the LORD , He is God; i t is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;  w e are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, a nd into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting,  a nd H...

After Moses died, God spoke to Joshua and repeatedly encouraged him to "be strong and of good courage" because God would be with him wherever he went.  God said in  Joshua 1:6-9 , " Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go ." It is interesting Joshua ...

The covenant and commands God gave to His people provided guidance over what to do and explicit instruction what not to do.  It would do little good to avoid what was evil and shirk doing what God commands or to imagine our souls are profited by embracing good and evil together by our practices. When asked what the greatest commandment was in the Law, Jesus did not quote one of the Ten Commandments.  He instead summed up the Law this way in  Luke 10:27 :  " So he answered and said, "' You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbour as yourself .'"   The active love we show towards God should be demonstrated by doing what pleases Him, and it is also implied we should not do what is wicked in His sight.  Implied in traditional wedding vows is a promise of faithfulness to your spouse, and this can be demonstrated by pursuing adulterous relationships. God spell...

" Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, " Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat ?"  6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do ." John 6:5-6 When Jesus asked Philip where they should buy bread for a great multitude of people, it was not because Jesus was ignorant of the situation.  Jesus asked already knowing what He would do.  Because God is all-knowing and the source of all wisdom and understanding, He does not need to rely upon advisors, news reports or messengers.  Jesus revealed Himself to be the Living Bread come down from heaven, the Son of God, when He fed the 5,000 to the full with only five loaves and two fish.  I am amazed and in awe of God who has purposes, plans and foreknowledge of all that will happen for eternity.  No backup plans are needed for the God who knows and does all. I had a friend in university who was studying to be a landscape archit...

Every word of God is pure, and there is great significance in all God has written.  We may not always understand the meaning or personal application of a passage, but we can know the truth conveyed by the word of God is immutable and powerful like He is to transform us and our perspective. This morning I landed on one of the most familiar passages of the Bible, one often reserved for funerals and memorial services:  Psalm 23 .  The beauty of the lyrics to this psalm of praise to God are best appreciated and comprehended by those for whom Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd ( John 10:11, 14 ).  Every word was instructive to me and is packed with significance as I considered the opening sentence which reads, " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ."  This is solid ground of faith which remains unshakable forever, thus a fitting passage to read in regards to all who placed their trust in God during their pilgrimage on earth. The :  a definite article that...

" Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  27  to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.  28  And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women !" Luke 1:26-28 Here is a picture which is both awe-inspiring and slightly humorous:  God sent the angel Gabriel with glad tidings to Mary (a virgin at this stage) that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Messiah.  This obviously was not in the plans of Mary who was betrothed to Joseph, and the possibility had never entered into her mind until she heard the message spoken by Gabriel, having come in.  It is a funny thought to have an angel just walk into your house.  I have heard people talk about "what the cat dragged in" but it is amazing to consider God sending an angel to deliver a messa...