Marching Forth!

Yesterday I watched a series of video clips that showcased spectacular plays to win football (gridiron) games.  One thing I noticed is when a player celebrated scoring a touchdown, everyone on the field who was part of his team celebrated too.  Linemen who had never caught a pass or scored a touchdown themselves looked as happy as the one who did because they were all part of the same team.  They all shared in the glory of victory.  This is one thing I appreciate about team sports:  it brings together people with different skills and levels of ability and joins them together to compete, to win or lose as a team. It occurred to me that after a player scores the winning touchdown or breaks a record, they do not celebrate alone.  Teammates rally to congratulate the stellar play that resulted in victory the entire team and coaching staff, fans and a whole city celebrates.  It reminds me of the dynamic at work in the Body of Christ, which is the church, ref...

One of the interesting aspects of shows like Antique Roadshow or American Pickers is when experts provide insight into the history of a painter, item, car or brand.  They explain how to tell the real deal from fakes and supply a valuation based upon what they believe the item is worth or what it could sell for at auction.  I am often impressed at their historical knowledge, the meaning behind makers marks on ceramics, art pieces and jewelry, and attention to details I never would have known to look for. While the experts know a lot about the history or current market value of an item, one thing they never talk about is to predict what will happen to that watch, vase or painting 70 years from now.  They can suggest an amount to ensure an antique for, but they are not in the business of providing prophecies about where a set of silver flatware or a gold trinket will be stored.  No expert can claim to have this knowledge, but God does.  God used the vessels and dis...

When Jesus was bid to teach in the synagogue, He turned to where it was written in Isaiah 61:1-2a because this word was fulfilled in their hearing.  Jesus read what He previously dictated to the prophet:   " The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,  b ecause the LORD has anointed Me  t o preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,  t o proclaim liberty to the captives,  a nd the opening of the prison to those who are bound;  2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD ."   Jesus stopped right there, for He was the anointed Messiah the Father promised to send to save His people from their sins.  Jesus came to preach the good tidings of the Gospel, to heal broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to captives of sin and death.  The special time God's people had waited for had finally arrived. Jesus stopped mid-sentence for emphasis on what God had fulfilled in their hearing.  Isaiah 61:2b-3 conti...

While there are people who undeservedly have a bad rap, God is the worst maligned of anyone.  He is infinitely good, righteous and glorious in all His ways, yet people find fault with Him.  Even God's own people don't always listen to Him or trust Him.  There is a persistent view that persists in churched people that the "God of the Old Testament" has a split personality with God revealed in the New Testament.  Nothing could be further from the truth, for the eternal God does not change.   Malachi 3:6 " For I am the LORD , I do not change; t herefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob ."  Hebrews 13:8 affirms the deity of our Messiah with this fitting description:  " J esus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever ." The mercy, grace and love of God is seen throughout all scripture because He does not change.  Recently during a study in Genesis I was struck by God's mercy towards Lot and his family in  Genesis 19:15-16 :...

In the short but weighty book of Jude , believers are provided a strong exhortation to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.  More than watching others like a hawk, Jude desired believers would continue to faithfully walk in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ themselves without straying.  Unless we are holding fast to Christ in truth any effort to keep others in line will be a fruitless exercise in hypocrisy and will end in our ruin. Jude reminded Christians of the judgment God brought upon erring angels and unbelieving people in times past as a warning of the danger of sin and apostasy.  He provided examples of those who corrupted themselves in  Jude 1:11 :  " Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah ."  All these men acknowledged God's existence:  Cain conversed with God, Balaam was a genuine prophet of God, and Korah ...

Using the right tool for a job helps accomplish the task set before you.  I learned the hard way that using the wrong tool is not only ineffective and inefficient, but it can damage the tool so it doesn't work properly to do what it was designed to do.  I made the mistake of using a Crescent wrench (spanner) as a hammer to tap on a bolt, and the result of this was misshaped steel prevented the jaw from opening fully.  Knowing the purpose of a spanner helps to use it properly, but knowing what a tool is made to do doesn't prevent laziness inside of me that decided to use a spanner rather than fetch a hammer. Therein lies the limitation of having knowledge and being educated:  it doesn't fundamentally change you.  Educating minds has value, but all the knowledge in the world cannot change your heart.  This is where education as an end falls woefully short of the way people desire it to work.  They prescribe education of the mind believing it will change ...

" Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD : "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death ." Jeremiah 21:8 When God's people in Jerusalem considered the prospects of fending off king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army, they hoped for God's miraculous intervention.  Though they had strayed from Him, they wondered if He might do for them as He did in times past, to turn back their enemies and deliver them.  In the passage of Jeremiah 21 God responded there was no chance He would do this, for He had already determined it would fall for the grave sins committed there by His people.  Though the city would be destroyed, He still offered them the way of life and the way of death and allowed them to freely choose between them. The prophet continued to speak the word of the LORD in Jeremiah 21:9 :  " He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chal...