Marching Forth!

Receiving Jesus by faith is the best thing anyone could ever do, for it gives God glory and Christ the reward due His suffering.  Being born again is also for our good forever, and it is for the good of the church and world people would be sanctified to be more like Him.   John 1:11-13 says, " He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  12  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  13  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God ."  Those who will receive or "own" Jesus Christ as Saviour and Son of God He makes His own by redeeming them with His own blood. The fact Christians have received Christ and have been adopted into the family of God is not a cause for proud arrogance but humility.  When the disciples disputed concerning which of them would be the greatest,  Luke 9:46-48 reads:  " And Jesus...

Jesus had a man run up to Him and ask, " Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life ?"  Jesus responded with a question in  Mark 10:18 :  " So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God ."  Jesus did not deny He was good, but if He truly was good (as the man suggested but did not yet believe) He was indeed God.  It is no surprise the Jewish man thought he needed to do something to inherit eternal life, for he had been raised keeping the Law of Moses that gave no certainty of eternal life whatsoever.  Surely something needed to be done, for though he was a son of Abraham the enthusiastic man had no assurance of salvation.  This sounds a bit like the testimony of C.H. Spurgeon who was raised to read the Bible and taught of God, yet needed to wrestle awhile until he submitted his will to God by faith in Christ Jesus.  Spurgeon wrote: " I can remember the time when my sins first stared me in the face....

" For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us ."   2 Corinthians 1:20 People are not strangers to caveats and limited-time offers, how in marketing the bold print gives but the fine print takes away.  The little asterisk next to an incredible deal often leads to the realisation the advertised deal wasn't as great as initially thought.  I have also had the experience of buying what I believed was an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) product only to find it was a very cheaply made knock-off.  Several times I returned products to sellers that assured me a full refund of money but never paid.  Prompt communication fooled me into thinking a company had good customer service until they failed to follow through--and all communication on their end went silent. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminded believers they were assured God was faithful to keep His promises in  2 Corinthians 1:18-23 :  "...

Many people assume they have more time on earth than they do, for death often comes unexpectedly.  There were likely many young ANZACs who grew up assuming they would live to old age and see their children's children who perished on the Gallipoli peninsula 110 years ago.  In war, winning battles is never assured:  having fighters wounded and losing their lives is almost guaranteed.  It takes great courage to bravely fight in what seems to be a "losing battle," and ANZAC Day is a reminder of the sacrifice made by willing Diggers who embraced their duty at the cost of their lives. While Christians are not guaranteed a long life on earth, we are given assurances of eternal life by faith in Christ.  The psalmist struck a contrast between those who assume their lives will continue perpetually and those who place their faith in God in  Psalm 49:14-15 :  " Like sheep they are laid in the grave; d eath shall feed on them;  t he upright shall have domini...

The words we use are very important--especially when we aim to hold forth biblical truth of God's word.  Assured of its authenticity and accuracy, we ought to handle the Scripture with respect and humility.  It is beneficial to carefully consider scripture like a person who uses a fine-toothed comb, ensuring a scalp is free of lice.  The word of God is purer than a sanitised, stainless-steel comb because His words cannot be defiled or corrupted.  When God's word passes through our lives it reveals all manner of impurities and sins God desires to purify us from. As we learn to rightly divide God's word in study and have fellowship with other Christians, it is important to avoid splitting hairs.  Frankly, I don't have personal experience with hair that can grow long enough to take damage or have split ends as I keep it short.  I was fascinated to observe hair can indeed split, and from what I have read there is a myriad of factors that result in having split ...

God spoke a timeless truth to prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 , that God does not see as man sees.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart.  The most discerning people cannot know exactly the motivations and feelings in the hearts of others, and we cannot even plumb the depths of our own hearts.  After being born again there are aspects of my flesh and tendencies of my character which the Bible has illuminated and the Holy Spirit has convicted me as sinful, and praise the LORD He is able to purify and transform us from within.  In my life God has purposed to refine and transform parts of my life I never had a problem with, and as we embrace our sanctification this is a continual process God's people can rejoice to submit to. I was recently both convicted and blessed by how different the observations of Jesus are from my natural perspective when I read  Matthew 9:35-38 :  " Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teachi...

" Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  11  The LORD of hosts is with us; t he God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah " Psalm 46:10-11 Through the psalmist the LORD addresses the reader of His word with a command, to be still and know that He is God who will be exalted!  As much as we like to multitask, our capacity to focus on several things at once reduces our ability to pay full attention.  Being still also does not guarantee our focus on the LORD, for we are easily distracted and ideas flood into our brains without invitation.  When Jesus spoke to the raging waves of Galilee saying, "Peace, be still!" it is almost a taller order to still us because we have our own will we must submit before the LORD in faith and obedience.  God is able to still us, but He desires our willing cooperation. Since God will be exalted among the nations and earth, how fitting it is for His people to exalt Hi...