Marching Forth!

By His grace God has made Himself known to the world.  The living God spoke with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses to whom He gave His law.  Moses emphasised how accessible and understandable God's law was in  Deuteronomy 30:11-14,  " For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  12  It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  13  Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  14  But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it ." God and knowledge of His laws was not in a far off, inaccessible location found by the wisest or most pious among them.  They did not need to develop technology to launch into space to find answers to life's questions, nor did they need to invent ...

Over the years I have seen many short videos of animal rescues that demonstrate the care and compassion of volunteers as well as the amazing turnaround in once neglected animals.  Listless dogs with mange that had been abandoned, abused or cooped up for years slowly start wagging their tails again, enjoying human contact they once shied away from.  After building trust, aggressive snarling is replaced by a show of affection and submission, rolling over for belly rubs.  Rather than culling these domesticated animals, it is heartwarming to see people give their time, money and effort to revive and re-home them. Pet owners can be guilty of neglect and not provide food, care and attention their animals need for good health and a happy life.  The animal is an innocent victim in this situation, for it could not help being sold,  having fleas, or being chained to a post.  A dog cannot build a shelter to be protected from the hot sun or find warmth on a cold night....

Apollos is described by Luke in Acts 18 as an eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures, instructed in the way of the LORD, fervent in spirit, one who taught diligently things of God and spoke boldly in the synagogue.  These are stellar attributes, but Apollos only had partial understanding of God's ways because he stopped short of the Gospel.  Apollos only knew the baptism of John and thus his teaching was incomplete.  He preached a baptism of repentance that prepared the way to receive Jesus Christ as LORD and Messiah.  While Apollos responded positively to Aquila and Priscilla who explained the way of God more perfectly, it likely resulted in people missing key doctrinal truth required for salvation.  The following chapter illustrates the repercussions of people omitting important doctrines in teaching. Paul encountered believers in Ephesus and asked them if they received the Holy Spirit since they believed.  They responded they were not even aware there w...

" Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  18  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted ." Hebrews 2:17-18 God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ and experienced life as a common person.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary, Jesus was carried in the womb and born into this world as a helpless, crying baby.  Whilst we learn often by failure and correction, our righteous Saviour learned obedience by the things He suffered ( Hebrews 5:7-8 ).  He suffered falls, injuries, trials, rejection and grief, yet He continued fervent in prayer and faithful to intercede for others.  Jesus was put to the test in every possible way and has overcome all, our glorious and risen King. The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jesus was in all things like His b...

" I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.  9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, w hich have no understanding,  w hich must be harnessed with bit and bridle,  e lse they will not come near you ." Psalm 32:8-9 During Friday night Bible study we discussed Psalm 32 , and these were standout verses for me that prompted useful conversation.  God promised to instruct and teach His people in the right way to go and would guide them with His eye.  It was not a situation where all the instruction was given beforehand and then, once the examination is passed, His people could fall back on their qualifications.  Instead, God offered a relationship with His people to be lead by Him in real time to know where to go and what to do, a life available to Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our eyes are one of the most expressive, non-verbal means of communication we possess as human beings.  By open...

" So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed ." Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas visited churches they were instrumental in establishing by the preaching of the Gospel, and they appointed or ordained leaders in every church.  Among this group there were those who laboured in the word and doctrine as pastors do to this day, overseers who provided sound teaching from the word of God.  As a newborn baby needs to drink milk regularly, so believers needed to have their faith in Jesus Christ grounded in His word, promises and new covenant.  Christians of a Jewish background were pressured to return to the Law as their measure of righteousness that could never save, and there was no shortage of stumbling blocks facing Gentiles as well. These elders were appointed in every church with prayer and fasting, an acknowledgement that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds ...

Believe it or not, reading the Bible is really fun.  Even if you are familiar with a passage and know what is coming, a person can never predict what God is going to say, what you will discover or how other parts of the Bible connect to amplify the meaning.  It is more interesting and useful than the latest installment of that show you are watching or new season of game you are playing.  The Bible is God's words of life, and blessed is the one who reads, studies, meditates and applies them personally by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Today I read Acts 12  in the KJV and the LORD opened my eyes to something I never noticed before.  Woven throughout scripture are many such passages, where a parallel is presented to compare and contrast.  The major feature of Hebrew poetry is the use of parallelism and prompts the reader to consider personal application to what is said.  The two verses that grabbed my attention concern Peter the apostle in priso...