Marching Forth!

" O God, You are my God;  e arly will I seek You;  m y soul thirsts for You;  m y flesh longs for You  i n a dry and thirsty land  w here there is no water.  2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, t o see Your power and Your glory ." Psalm 63:1-2 Growing up in the church, the sanctuary was the place in the building where there were chairs, pews and a pulpit.  It was the place where the church body gathered together to sing worship songs, hear sermons and pray.  The sanctuary was a place consecrated similarly to the tabernacle a temple, a place where God dwelt.  The ironic thing is in my youth I was not aiming to look for God's power and glory.  The sanctuary was viewed as God's house, a place where we showed respect for God by refraining from running, shouting and removed our hats.  David's longing and desire to seek the presence of God early is refreshing in comparison to the legalism of consecrated spaces. From my own exp...

A lot of driving accidents occur due to overcorrection.  When driving is monotonous and fatigue sets in, as a driver drifts off to sleep their car can also begin to drift from their lane.  Waking with a start, the driver impulsively jerks the wheel to swerve back into the lane or slams the brakes.  This rapid movement to avoid the danger of the ditch creates a new one when control is lost of the car which can fishtail, spin, hit other cars, or plunge into the ditch the driver attempted to avoid.  Gentle directional correction while controlling speed helps a driver stay safely in their own lane and reach the intended destination. The danger of overcorrection can be seen beyond our roadways.  There are many people who make negative judgments about groups of people because of a bad experience they had.  In Christians circles this tendency is seen in legalism as fresh zeal for God lends itself to condemnation of others who have different convictions and beliefs...

" Give us help from trouble, f or the help of man is useless.  12  Through God we will do valiantly, f or it is He who shall tread down our enemies ." Psalm 60:11-12 David knew from experience the help of man is vain, and it is not comparable to the help given by God who makes His people valiant.  These verses demonstrate how the help of God is different than help from people.  When my dad asked for my help to hold a light, retrieve a tool or lift an object, it was assistance he was looking for.  He already knew what needed to be done and possessed the materials and tools to perform the work.  Having help would make doing the job more convenient and less time consuming.  If he had a third hand, likely my assistance would have been unnecessary. It is vital we understand God's "help" is not like a kid holding a torch so we can see the nut to turn on the engine with a spanner or lifting the other side of a table.  God did not assist David by augme...

" Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  11  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord . " Luke 2:10-11 It must have been quite a shock for the shepherds keeping their flocks by night to be accosted by angelic messengers heralding the Messiah's arrival.  Imagine how you would feel to hear " There is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour ."  It would be easy to accept a baby had been born to Joseph and Mary but much more difficult to take personal responsibility for a baby that was not yours. Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Because the Child Jesus was born to them, they were responsible to feed, clothe, wash and raise Him.  Parents are called to nourish, train, discipline and provide for the needs of the children God has provided by His grace.  Children are ...

Unless God revealed Himself to mankind, we would never find Him.  It would be more impossible for a man to know the almighty God who dwells in unapproachable glory than for a cat to learn calculus or a dog to understand and explain Kepler's laws of planetary motion.  God is so great and beyond our comprehension it requires the gracious intervention of our Maker to open eyes of faith to see Him at work in everything.  God has promised those who seek Him will find Him, and blessed are those who believe His word and receive Jesus whom the Father has sent. During my nightly reading I was captivated by what happened after the people of Judah united to serve only the LORD with an oath in  2 Chronicles 15:15 :  " And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around ."  It was not out of the goodness of the hearts of the people, being fed ...

" As for me, I will call upon God, a nd the LORD shall save me.  17  Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud,  a nd He shall hear my voice.  18  He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, f or there were many against me ." Psalm 55:16-18 David was anointed king over Israel and the Spirit of God rested upon him, yet life was not easy.  He faced many troubles, struggles and many enemies--even in his own household.  All along David had great confidence in God's ability to hear, answer his prayers and save him.  When the men of Israel cowered in fear at the threats of Goliath, David alone was courageous to meet him in battle because he was sure God would deliver him into his hand.  There were many who gathered against David, but there were also many with him. I am reminded of the time when Elisha was holed up in Dothan and the Syrians came and surrounded the city.   2 Kings 6:15-17 reads...

Because we live within the confines of time marked by years, months and days that repeat, it is common for people to mark particularly meaningful days like birthdays, wedding anniversaries and holidays.  There are also days that "live in infamy" when people and nations have suffered great tragedies that will be soberly remembered for generations to come.  We look forward to days we celebrate, and Christmas is a day rapidly approaching many gladly anticipate.  Everyone has different holiday traditions and why a day is more meaningful or worthy of celebration, and for me Christmas is a reminder of something I can rejoice in every day:  that God sent Jesus Christ our Saviour to give us eternal life by faith in Him. The giving and receiving of gifts on Christmas is a longstanding tradition among many people and cultures.  I find it interesting the different ways people discuss Christmas, like we are going to "have Christmas" at someone's home--meaning there will be ...