The Sword of the LORD

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do , forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."   (Philippians 3:13, 14). One of the things that cripples people most in their present lives is not properly dealing with their past.   Our personal history can drastically alter the way we think, feel, and act in given situations.   It shapes our attitudes about ourselves and about others.   It can breed guilt, depression, anxiety, anger, impatience, and sorrow on the one hand, and pride, arrogance, and a false sense of one's own worth on the other.   It can trigger a whole host of emotional responses in us that would seem strange or unwarranted to the casual observer.   Often, even we can't explain our behavior. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church tells us that there is one thing th

"And He [Jesus] saith unto them, Follow Me , and I will make you fishers of men.   And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.   And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.   And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him. "   (Matthew 4:22).   "And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and He saith unto him, Follow Me . And he arose, and followed Him."   (Matthew 9:9).   God's call on our lives can be boiled down to this one simple invitation, "Follow Me."   How we choose to respond to this invitation will determine our spiritual health from that point on in our lives.   It is the very essence of the gospel message and is the fountainhead of streams of living water.   As the Lord Jesus walked the shores o

"Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it .   Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone.   But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?   Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.   The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.   It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.   It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.   Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?"   (Job 28:1, 2, 12-16, 20). In this 28th chapter of the book of the Bible that is named for him, Job is merely vocalizing something which men have wondered about since the beginning of their history on earth.   "Where shall wisdom be found?"   If metals, both precious and common, can be found in secret veins that run through solid r