Marching Forth!

Decades ago my wife and I had season tickets to watch professional baseball, and I have many fond memories of things we experienced.  We saw some historical baseball feats, like John Olerud hitting for the cycle, Ben Davis breaking up Curt Shilling's perfect game bid in the 8th inning with a bunt single, and Ricky Henderson tallying hit number 3,000.  I was impressed to witness a blind man easily navigate to his seat in the club level where we sat--without any assistance from an usher.  I was not very impressed when our car was keyed in the carpark, a deep scratch that adorned our Jeep Grand Cherokee from that night forward.  I also found it interesting how possessive people can be of their particular seat when there were more vacant seats than ones filled with fans.  Our area was pretty tame, but on the weekends things were a bit more lively . I was reminded of a funny moment when in the middle of the game a leather work boot flew from behind and plunked a woma...

Though it might be a bit ambitious for a short blog post, I recently had a conversation about a passage of scripture that illustrates the importance of reading and interpreting the Bible in context.  It is vital we do not vainly attempt to make the Bible support our theology but for the Bible to establish, develop and correct our theology.  While there can be several valid observations, interpretations and applications from a single text, we ought to ensure there is consistency throughout the scripture.  When we are slack to do this, it results in confusion, poor interpretations and even bad application. If I had to pick a passage I believe is largely misunderstood and confusing to people, a common one is nestled in the response of Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 24 & 25 --specifically the section that speaks of people "taken" and others left.  The questions posed by the disciples help us to understand what Jesus is talking about in His response:  when Jer...

When Jehu was anointed king by the word of the LORD, he was tasked with avenging the blood of God's servants killed by the murderous house of Ahab.  As Jehu rode furiously towards Jezreel where King Joram was recovering from wounds received in battle, he sent two messengers to meet Jehu with a single message:  "Is it peace?"  At his command each messenger fell into formation behind Jehu who continued to drive towards Jezreel.  Finally, Joram himself had a chariot made ready and he approached with the same question in  2 Kings 9:22-23 :  " Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" So he answered, "What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?"  23  Then Joram turned around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah !"  Before the day was over, both Joram and Ahaziah were executed by the hand of Jehu, God's chosen instrument of vengeance. It is fi...

Often God puts people  in places of leadership or in the spotlight who would rather avoid it.  Dr. Robert E. Speer was one of those people, who for 46 years served as secretary on the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions.  Based on the testimony of his biography, his faithfulness was an inspiration to many who sought to honour him upon his retirement, as the Presbyterian board had an age limit of 70.  As his retirement drew new, he wrote to the editor of a missionary magazine who planned to write an article about him, " In whatever you write, will you not make it just as impersonal as possible?  Let the cause fill the whole picture, and let us water-carriers and wood hewers who have sought to serve it be in our proper place out of sight. " (Wheeler, W. Reginald. A Man Sent from God: A Biography of Robert E. Speer . Fleming H. Revell Co, 1956. page 253) This reticence to public honour is evidence Dr. Speer continued to be small in his own eyes even when others ...

After the murder of his son Elliot, Robert Speer and his wife wrote letters in response to condolences offered by friends and family that are recorded in his biography.  I was especially blessed by a prayer in a letter that was a combination of the Collect for All Saint's Day and from the hearts of Robert and Mrs. Speer.  The prayer is as follows: " O Almighty God, who has knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of Thy Son Christ our Lord; grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou has prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through the same Thy son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen." (Collect for all Saints Day) We seem to give him back to Thee, dear God, who gavest him to us.  Yet as Thou didst not lose him in giving, so we have not lost him by his return.  Not as the world gives, givest Thou, O Lover of Souls!  What Thou g...

Drawing attention to yourself is as popular as ever, especially in our day of social media, influencers and advertising dollars.  A child throwing a tantrum to get his way, protesters shouting slogans and holding signs, content creators, politicians and musicians--really anybody--can seek the spotlight to achieve their ends.  One potential of drawing attention to yourself means your hypocrisy can be exposed on a grand scale.  The preacher who delivers sermons on morality and decries sin loses credibility when he is shown to be guilty of adultery.  The one who claims climate change is the greatest crisis the world faces shows a double-standard by globetrotting aboard a private jet to spread the message. Actions speak truer than words, and a person of integrity will be honest with others.  We say a building has structural integrity when it is built to code in a manner that can withstand normal conditions--not just having a new coat of paint.  Jesus pointed ou...

The C.S. Lewis classic titled The Screwtape Letters  is an insightful and thought-provoking book that features a more experienced demon named Screwtape who provides guidance for his nephew in guiding his "patient"--the person for whom he is responsible to tempt and influence for evil.  When the "patient" becomes a Christian, Screwtape expresses his displeasure and suggests means to distract and prevent him from spiritual growth and fruitfulness.  In this allegory everything is turned around, where "The Enemy" is God and the correspondence reveals pitfalls Christians have stumbled into from the beginning. One of the strengths of this book is the truth of God's word, God's goodness and the devil's tireless habit of lying and deceiving were constant long before Jesus Christ walked in Galilee.  The timeless observations remain relevant concerning Christians in society today and touches on many subtle ways Christians can be distracted or deterred fr...