Today We Cry; Tomorrow We Rejoice!

Rom. 8:18 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. In understanding the Father’s purpose in the suffering and death of the saints, it is easy when in the throes of personal crisis, to desire for Him…

Spiritual Deadness & the Power of the Resurrection

Eph. 2:1, 5 – And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins…Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) The amounts and kinds of sin you have committed in your life have no relationship to the how spiritually dead you are…

One Gospel?

Many times, zealous Christians will make statements such as “There is only one gospel in the Bible” or “The prophets, apostles and true Christians today all preach the same thing.”  Thankfully, many of these individuals do rightly understand that the shed blood of Christ is the only means by which sinners can be justified before God today, and we…

Faith-ful

God is faithful. 1Cor. 1:9 –  God is faithful… 1 Cor. 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful… 1 Thess. 5:24 – Faithful is he that calleth you… 2 Thess. 3:3 – But the Lord is faithful… 2 Tim. 2:11 – If we…

Walk Charitably

Romans 14:15 – But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. In this section of the book of Romans, the apostle is addressing those that are strong in the faith.  Among other things, the strong are characterized as those…

Tasty Words

Ps. 119:103 – How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! The book of Psalms is a book of wonderful doctrine when understood in its proper prophetic context.  Truly the wisdom of God set to poetic verse is the best poetry that has ever been produced, and its…

Jesus Christ, Raised from the Dead

2 Timothy 2:8 – Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: The resurrection of Christ is a truth that is based both upon faith and history. The historical events that led to the crucifixion of Jesus, His subsequent entombment and bodily resurrection the third…

Saul of Tarsus

When we come to Paul in the word of God, we are well into the narrative of God’s work with man in time, for it is not until the seventh chapter of the book of Acts that we encounter this individual that, at the time, was known as Saul (Acts 7:58).  From the record of…

Angry Bishops

Titus 1:7 – For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre… One of the qualifications for a bishop is the trait of being “not soon angry” (Tit. 1:7). This trait is given the same weight and importance…

Mob Mentality

Exodus 23:2-3 – Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:  Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. Have you ever heard of “mob mentality”?  It describes the peculiar affinity of human beings to get caught up…

God Forbid

Romans 3:4 – God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. The expression “God forbid” appears fourteen times in Paul’s epistles.  Of those fourteen times, ten of them are found in Romans…

Four Gospels

Visit your local Christian bookstore sometime and I am sure you will find several versions of men’s attempts to “harmonize” the four gospel accounts of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many men have gone through great efforts to try to piece together a continuous narrative of the life of the Lord. While…

Mankind’s Only Hope

Eph. 2:4-5 – But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) One thing that is clear in God’s word is that mankind’s only hope is the grace of God.  Strip…

Moderation

Philippians 4:5 – Let your moderation be known unto all men… Moderation is a trait by which the son/daughter of God should be known.  Venturing into the extreme is a tendency of our flesh and it can occur on either side of the truth both in a good thing and in a bad thing.  …

God’s Friends and God’s Enemies

Rom. 5:8, 10 – But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…when we were enemies… The gospel of the grace of God declared to us wrath worthy Gentiles is a marvel beyond our natural comprehension. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure…

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Romans 1:16a – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ… In this verse, Paul is describing the nature of his readiness “to preach the gospel” (Rom. 1:15). As he says, this readiness involved “as much as in me is” and testifies to the fact that there was something working in Paul that produced the readiness (Rom. 1:11-12). My…

A Write to Remember

2Pet. 1:12-15 – Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.  Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;  Knowing that shortly I…

Led to Suffer

Romans 8:14-17 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we…

The Light on the Tree

John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.  John 9:5 – As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.  Acts 5:30 – The…

A Good Minister of Jesus Christ

1 Timothy 4:6 – If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. The minister of Jesus Christ is only as “good” as the “whereunto [he] has attained” when it…