Marching Forth!

The viewer's introduction to Aragon in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings  movie trilogy is in the shadows of the Prancing Pony tavern, his face and piercing eyes illuminated by the glowing embers of a pipe.  The travelling hobbits asked the bartender and host of the establishment about the menacing man who sat alone, and they were told he was a Ranger of the North named "Strider."  Little did they know this man would be their faithful guide, fierce protector and more still: he would be revealed to be the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor, one able to wield Anduril, the sword forged from the shards of Narsil. It is clear in the films Aragon carried shame of his forbear's unwillingness to destroy Sauron's ring of power when he had the chance.  Instead of ridding the world of that great evil, he carried it close to his heart.  Aragon knew the same weakness found in kings and all men also marked him, and so he kept his true identity secret.  He fought for t...

I have been reading a biography of Oswald Chambers and I am impressed by the impact of a person who loves and lives for Jesus can have on others.  It is evident God uses people to spurn others on to greater works for Christ and faith in Him--for generations to come.  Throughout scripture, the annals of history and in our personal experiences we have encountered people with whom we connect because in Christ we share in common regenerated hearts, eyes once blind that now see and renewed minds by God's revelation.  I appreciated this paragraph from Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God : " With all his emphasis on truth, Oswald was never content to affect the mind alone.  His goal was to stir the will to act on sound principles of Scripture, so that people might demonstrate the love of Christ.  He looked intently at his eager, earnest students, ready to go out and battle for the truth, then read from Dr. Alexander Whyte's exposition of Job:  "Oh, the unmitigated c...

" Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house ." Proverbs 24:27 The book of Proverbs has great stores of wisdom to live skillfully in this life and beyond, and this verse emphasises our need for priorities which have a long view in mind.  A man receiving an inheritance of land would be remiss to focus his efforts on building the house of his dreams when his field was neglected and wall was broken down.  A fit field was the means of providing an income and trade.  It takes much work to prepare a field for ploughing, sowing and harvesting, yet then the land will also work for you.  Laying the groundwork is not as impressive as an edifice of stone and cedar but is critical to the long-term success of the project. I imagine an ambitious young man who received land would want very much to prove his mettle and skill in building an impressive house for himself and household.  Such a man is interested in spacious room...

“ Physical death is a separation of the person, the spirit, the soul, from the body… [Adam] died spiritually the moment he disobeyed; he was separated from God.  Death is separation .” ( J. Vernon McGee .  Thru the Bible.  Vol. 1. pg. 27) It is common to say when someone dies that they are gone, that they have passed away.  Since God has put eternity in our hearts we almost intuitively sense a human being is more than a body, for the person we knew departs the body in death and is separated from us.  For a believer the bitterness of separation is sweetened by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life, for those who are in Christ by faith will never die.  We will meet again, and we will be together forever with God our Saviour. When Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, he was instantly separated from God by his sin that brought death.  The spiritual, eternal component of Adam died that moment, and ultimately his body would die as ...

These days it seems one cannot speak or breathe without offending someone, and public figures are held to the highest scrutiny.  The Australian prime minister recently said something that drew the ire of recent Australians of the year and others when in conversation he said, " Jenny and I have been blessed, we've got two children that don't — that haven't had to go through that...And so, for parents with children who are disabled, I can only try and understand your aspirations for those children. "  When Scott Morrison realised how his comments were offensive to many, he promptly apologised --and rightly so. We cannot help how others interpret what we say and what we mean.  I do not believe the Australian Prime Minister meant in the slightest what people took him as meaning, that by saying he was blessed to have children without disabilities people who have them are cursed.  As a believer I am sure Mr. Morrison was saying he was blessed to have children whether t...

" There is no wisdom or understanding o r counsel against the LORD ." Proverbs 21:30 What confidence we have in God who is sovereign and supreme over all!  There is nothing that can be hidden from Him, no power to overrule Him or scheme to thwart His good purposes and plans.  Ultimately all things in heaven and earth must bow the knee before Him, for God rules and reigns over all.  He is so awesome and mighty nothing can be against Him, that is, to begin to present a challenge of any kind to Him.  Many have opposed God, been lifted up in pride against Him and sought to undermine or resist Him, but no one has ever done a thing to shift Him from His glorious position as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS Who was, is and is to come. Wisdom could be described as "skill for life," and since God is the source of all life He enables those who trust in Him to live it to the full forever.  He has all knowledge and understanding of all things, and He needs no advice or coun...

 As children of God we ought not to be ignorant of Satan's deceitful tactics.  That father of lies craftily includes bits of truth so we will swallow down his destructive deceptions.  Whether he worked to tempt Eve or Jesus his approach was the same:  he appealed to human needs and desires coupled with rebellion against the almighty God.  Satan even quoted scripture to lure Jesus to transgress, but Jesus wisely saw through the paper-thin facade to the wicked being who would suggest He tempt the LORD God. The devil has the power to tempt us, but no one can blame the devil for choosing to yield to him.  Satan can shoot fiery arrows at us, imaginations and thoughts that are wicked, but he cannot force our hand.  I suspect most of the time when someone says, "The devil made me do it"  it is a cop out to avoid repentance, a shift of blame from one whose actions condemn them as guilty to an entity a person has never actually met.  You see, we don't...