Marching Forth!

During my university days long ago, my co-workers and I had a dress-up for fun.  I worked in shipping a receiving and fashioned a hat out of a large manilla folder that resembled a bishop's hat.  "Do you know why those hats are shaped like that?" a co-worker asked.  She offered, "Those hats were made in the shape of Dagon modelled after a fish, and by wearing that hat you are worshipping Dagon."  I was incredulous and at this suggestion, for I could not see how wearing a hat in any way paid homage to a heathen idol.  Once I was made aware she found the hat offensive, I did not goad her by wearing it. When I grew up in the church, no one I knew ever took issue calling the holiday "Easter" that is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  As a kid there was simply no other name in Christians circles I ever heard the holiday called.  It was probably in my twenties when I noticed a shift in our church and the name "Easter"...

Sometimes I think about how different life would be if the country I lived was ruled by a king and all people were subject to him.  Needless to say, it would be so different from what I am accustomed to it is impossible to fully grasp the implications.  In Bible times, kingdoms flourished or were run into the ground due to how the king ruled.  Subjects in large part were at the mercy of their king who held their lives in his hand with God-given authority to administer justice upon evildoers and to reward faithful servants. King Nebuchadnezzar was a man who was not at all squeamish to rule with unchallenged might and power.  Those who served him well could be promoted, but any who offended or opposed him would be destroyed immediately.  The king was used to having his way, and when he gave a command the wise among his people took him seriously.  This was evident after he made an image of gold in the plain of Dura, and he commanded all his officials to gather...

" For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us ." Romans 5:7-8 One thing I enjoyed at the San Diego County Fair was to watch demonstrations of various products.  People crowded around a fellow with a headset who demonstrated the sharpness of a knife by slicing a tomato, and then sawed the sole of a boot in half and drew it across raw metal to produce shavings.  People were amazed when he went back to the tomato and sliced it perfectly.  People were drawn in by the demonstration, and seeing the sharpness of the knives before their eyes prompted people to pull out their wallets to buy the wonder blades. When Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, all sorts of people flocked to see the Roman execution.  As they watched the proceedings--cruelly designed for agonising pain and humiliation-...

When we moved into our current house, there was a sandy strip beside the driveway that evidently had become the communal litterbox for the neighbourhood cats.  Come to think of it, the first week we were living in the house (which had been vacant for some time) one of our neighbour's cats deposited an unpleasant surprise right in the middle of the pavers leading to the front door--as if to say, "You might be moving in, but this is my territory."  Living in this house has provided a crash-course of learning firsthand the tenacity of cats to mark their spot in vile, smelly ways. Shortly after the BBQ and smoker were set up on the back porch, I began to notice dirty puddles and spray marks on the covers.  At first I thought little of it, that condensation had dripped from dusty covers.  After I cleaned the mess from the BBQ covers and tiles, I was surprised that in a night or two there were even more marks--and that cats were the culprits!  It was then I declared w...

This morning's sermon contained a warning from God to the children of Israel who departed from God through idolatry without repentance.  Through the prophet the LORD said in  Jeremiah 27:14-15 , " Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you;  15  for I have not sent them," says the  LORD , "yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you ."  False prophets were saying articles taken from the temple would soon be returned and they would not serve Nebuchadnezzar.  God said if His people believed the lie and refused to submit to the yoke He fashioned for them--to serve the king of Babylon--He would forcefully drive them from the land He gave them as an inheritance.  If they would not submit to God's word voluntarily, they would be driven to go where they did not wa...

Years ago when my family and I lived in Riverstone, there was an old derelict house on the corner of Garfield and Hamilton that had been condemned and fenced off.  I had no idea how old it was, but I would have liked to have explored inside to step back in time.  Exploring the house would not have taken very long, for it could be no more than one or two rooms with a dunny out back.  It could have been built before electricity and plumbing was available!  I expected the "fibro" siding to contain asbestos, and that would be expensive to safely handle and dispose of. As the land in Riverstone grew exponentially more valuable in recent years, clearly the uninhabitable house had become a liability when it was taken away.  I was surprised when I drove by and the house was gone, and all that remained was a bare spot of dirt.  In one day the house had been demolished and the materials carried away.  It was a bit disappointing to lose a bit of history and char...

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught what is commonly called the "Golden Rule" to His disciples in  Matthew 7:11-12 :  " If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  12   Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets ."  God is good and the generous source of all good things.  Jesus pointed out since sinners are able to give good gifts to their children, our heavenly Father is infinitely more inclined and able to give good things to those who make their requests known to Him. Because God gives good gifts to those who ask Him, Jesus said whatever we want others to do to us, we ought to do also to them.  The opposite of this can be true.  If there is something we do not appreciate, we avoid doing the same to them--even if it seems they deserve such treatment.  When I ...