Marching Forth!

" What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us ?" Romans 8:31 While it is among the shorter words in this verse, the conditional "if" written here has some of the largest implications.  Reading the passage in context, Paul already established God is for those who are for Him, having provided His only begotten Son to save sinners.  Paul taught there was now no condemnation to those who are in Christ and walk according to the Holy Spirit.  Those who are born again by faith in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them and are children of God.  Paul was so confident of God being for His people, having made us joint-heirs with Christ with whom we will be glorified, he declared in  Romans 8:18 , " For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us ." If God is for some people, it follows He can be against them too.  This can be observed throughou...

When people are convinced they are right about something and others are mistaken, they can be brash, aloof or dismissive of others and their opinions.  For a great deal of my life I wrongfully valued being right over being meek and gentle like Jesus is.  I was more satisfied in having my facts straight than helping others who could be spiritually likened to lost people in the dark.  By God's grace, He made me aware of my sinful tendency and has worked in my life to transform my perspective, to care more about others and to direct them to Jesus Christ the Saviour than trying to prove my point. In our Bible study last night, we discussed Matthew 17 and I was intrigued by an interaction Jesus had with Peter in Capernaum.  After they arrived in the city where Peter dwelt on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Peter was approached by Jews who collected tribute money for the temple tax from those 20 years old and above who were numbered according to the Law of Moses.  ...

In my daily readings I observed various psalms that spoke of gates, and this reminded me of the 80's Terry Clark praise song, "These are the Gates."  The first verse goes, " These are the gates to the Kingdom.  These are the courts of the everlasting King and we enter in with praise and thanksgiving.  We enter in with praise and thanksgiving with praises on our lips, thanksgiving in our hearts, in loving worship of our Lord ."  The song captures well the attitude of God's people who enter His kingdom, thanking God with gratitude for the grace He has extended to all people through the Gospel. In the Old City of Jerusalem today there are many gates with different names with long, storied histories.  The Gate through whom people enter the kingdom of God is distinct and unique because it is a Person sinners enter by faith.  Jesus said concerning the sheep of His pasture as the Good Shepherd in  John 10:9 :  " I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he ...

When Jesus prayed audibly to the Father before the tomb of Lazarus, He acknowledged God always heard Him.  Jesus did not speak aloud so He would be heard but for the benefit of everyone who stood by as He said in  John 11:42 :  " And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me ."  He made a clear correlation between what He said and accomplished because of who He was, is and will always be:  the Son of God sent to seek and save the lost, the promised Messiah.  Raising Lazarus from death to life was powerful evidence that affirmed who Jesus was and is. A similar thing occurred as Jesus enjoyed the Passover feast with His disciples.  All these men had been called personally by Jesus and served Him for several years.  Jesus surprised them by revealing one of His apostles would betray Him in fulfillment of scripture.  To show the emphasis of what Jesus said, h...

" Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil ." John 12:3 The worthiness of Jesus Christ to be praised and worshipped is awe inspiring.  Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed the feet of Jesus with costly perfume as He and His disciples visited them for dinner.  As I considered the passage in light of what happened in the previous chapter, it marked an incredible change in Mary. After Lazarus died of an illness and had been buried four days, Jesus and His disciples came to Bethany and found a town in mourning.  Martha initially came to meet Jesus, and later (seemingly with reluctance!) Mary did as well.  Both sisters expressed regret Jesus had not been there before Lazarus died, for they were confident Jesus could have healed him.  What they did not comprehend was Jesus intentionally did not return until Lazarus w...

Being God, Jesus was able to look upon people and knew their hearts perfectly, and He discerned their true motivation for what they said and did.  He saw through their facade of devotion and saw fickleness they would have denied if confronted.  What goes on in the hearts and minds of other people is usually unclear to us when we are at our most perceptive, and this can go for our own hearts as well.  Jesus asked a series of questions to prompt people to consider their motivation for going into the wilderness to see John in  Matthew 11:7-9 :  " As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: " What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet ." People did not tramp out to the wilderness to...

Early in my insulator apprenticeship we were urged to make a positive impression by being on time, working hard and having a good attitude because the reputation made as an apprentice would stick for the next 10 years!  Apprentices who were late, lazy or arrogant would find it difficult to ditch their sullied reputations that were set in stone even when they worked hard to redeem themselves.  King Solomon wrote a similar thing in  Proverbs 20:11 :  " Even a child is known by his deeds, w hether what he does is pure and right ."  Parents play a larger role than they may think in raising their children in the knowledge of God by their love, faithfulness and consistency in following Christ. This morning I spent some time continuing to dig up stumps and roots that enmeshed themselves in retaining walls.  Once established, trees are not the easiest plants to remove--but it crossed my mind how much easier the removal of the stumps would have been if they had n...