Marching Forth!

When Rebekah pulled Jacob aside and spoke of her plan for Jacob to steal Isaac's blessing (intended for his older brother Esau) for himself, it appealed to his greedy ambitions.  Though his father was blind, Jacob hesitated because he did not sound or feel like Esau:  he did not want to be found to be a deceiver.  He said, "I shall bring a curse upon myself rather than a blessing."  Rebekah replied, "Let your curse be on me, my son!"  Jacob chose to comply at the urging of his mother, and he brought young goats from the flock to prepare for Isaac.  Rebekah craftily used the skins of the butchered goats to cover up the smooth skins of Jacob.  And the plan seemed to work perfectly:  Isaac ate the food and blessed Jacob who went his way. It only took a short while for Esau and Isaac to find out what had happened.  Jacob had scarcely left when Esau came in with a feast prepared at his father's request.  When he announced his arrival Israel t...

The combination of knowledge and love can result in extending compassion toward others.  The one who is ignorant of the circumstances of a child's outburst in class may be visibly irritated and offended, yet another who realises the child has a medical condition and loves him will be more compassionate and patient.  Knowing a person in the workplace has been going through painful circumstances prompts us to be gracious and merciful when it is in our power to discipline them for tardiness or being absent.  The law condemns, but the loving give more grace. As Jesus hung on the cross He prayed, " Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do " ( Luke 23:34 ).  Rather than seeing forgiveness as a welcome benefit of ignorance when it comes to judgment (which Scripture does not support), see how the love of Jesus for sinners combined with His knowledge of them prompted Him to show compassion on them.  Jesus knew the deceived, envious hearts of those who plotted...

I was asked a thoughtful question today about the Calvary Chapel style of teaching through the Bible verse by verse:  what happens after you teach through the entire Bible?  Do you just cycle through the same notes?  While I cannot speak for other churches or pastoral approaches to teaching, I can speak to the unfathomable wisdom of the revelation of God's word.  One could more easily bottle all the water of the oceans of the world before we could process or exhaust God's wisdom held forth in the Bible.  Because Scripture is God-inspired, living and active, there is much more to learn than we can possibly receive in a single pass or a thousand studies of the same passage.  This is one reason my practice is to study a passage from scratch every time:  God and the passage hasn't changed, but I do. By the grace of God, faith in God and obedience to His word results in increased maturity.  Our experiences, feelings, and circumstances impact our perspe...

When we establish priorities, it is reasonable this results in making decisions that are non-negotiable.  A pregnant mother who prioritises the health of her baby chooses to avoid drinking alcohol during her pregnancy.  Should a glass of wine or beer be offered to her--even when she is not "showing"--she will politely decline the beverage because having a healthy infant is more important than having a drink.   She does not need to wrestle every time alcohol is on a menu or on the table because it is not negotiable in her mind; the decision has already been made.  The decision was already made to choose drinking options without alcohol that pose no risk for her developing baby. In a marriage, workplace or in our relationship with God, there should be non-negotiables.  During an interview with a company years ago, I told the business manager who was hiring I was not available to work on Sundays regardless of overtime.  For me, it was a non-negotiable bec...

After David was anointed king over Israel, the Holy Spirit came upon him and the Spirit departed from king Saul.  God sent a distressing, tormenting spirit to afflict king Saul and his advisors were discerning to know exactly what was happening.  Rather than urging Saul to repent of his pride and rejection of God, they suggested Saul find a man who could skillfully play soothing music on the harp when he was troubled.  Saul agreed with their advice and amazingly David was the candidate immediately suggested. 1 Samuel 16:18 states, " Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him ."  One could say David had a lot going for him:  he was a skillful musician, a brave and mighty champion, a fit soldier, well-spoken and good looking.  I expect most people would be happy for others...

A passage I read this morning affirmed it is possible we can take credit for things we ought to primarily credit God for doing.  While God has given mankind the freedom to choose what we will believe, think, say and do, He always is personally involved when we do what is right.  He helped Abimelech to walk in integrity when he had been deceived by Abraham and Sarah during a visit to his land. When Abraham visited Gerar, he and Sarai both lied and claimed to be siblings when they were husband and wife.  As was customary in those days, if a beautiful woman came into a king's territory he had the authority to bring her into his home--which he did, for Sarah was beautiful.  God appeared to Abimelech in a dream and rebuked him for taking a married woman into his house, and Abimelech protested he had done nothing wrong.   Genesis 20:5-6 reads, " Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my ...

I heard something great in a sermon yesterday when the pastor made a distinction between "devotions" and "devotion."  Many Christians call a regular time of Bible reading or prayer "devotions," a spiritual discipline embraced to be in the Word of God, personal growth and to commune with God.  Without devotion to God, however, reading verses or muttering prayers can be an empty exercise.  The Pharisees were big on reading the Scriptures, public prayer and worship, yet they were not even forgiven of sin or saved because they had not placed their faith in Jesus.  This distinction prompted me to consider others that can plague the walks of genuine believers.  Different words make a world of difference. King Saul believed in the existence of God and was given a new heart, yet he attempted to substitute sacrifice for obedience.  God told him to destroy all the Amalekites and all their animals because the time of judgment had come.  Instead of obeying the LOR...