Praising the Praiseworthy

The churches in Galatia were falling prey to false teachers who had infiltrated their ranks with a corrupt gospel. These teachers promoted the necessity of circumcision and other works of the law in order to be saved. Their teaching stood in direct opposition to the gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. The Apostle PaulContinue reading “Praising the Praiseworthy”

Easter and the Gospel

This past weekend was Easter weekend.  In the Christian calendar we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This is the very essence of the “gospel.”  In our world the gospel has taken on many diverse meanings far afield from what the Scriptures declare the gospel to be. It is well to seeContinue reading “Easter and the Gospel”

Exhort One Another

The writer of Hebrews admonishes his audience “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13). The emphatic challenge ofContinue reading “Exhort One Another”

Admonitions for Those Who Are and Would Be Rich

The Apostle Paul closed his first letter to Timothy with an admonition for those among us who we might categorize as wealthy. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that theyContinue reading “Admonitions for Those Who Are and Would Be Rich”

The God of All Flesh…

In the latter days of Zedekiah, King of Judah, the armies of Babylon had besieged Jerusalem and were on the threshold of overtaking the city. Jeremiah, the prophet, had warned the inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders that God had delivered his people into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, because they broke hisContinue reading “The God of All Flesh…”

Abandon Your Own Plans

The Northern Kingdom, Israel, was overcome by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and many of its people were carried away captive at that time. (Israel was divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, after the reign of Solomon over 200 years earlier.) Known for their fierceness, the Assyrian armies had defeated many nations and, hadContinue reading “Abandon Your Own Plans”

Pushed Along by Our Feelings or Led by the Spirit

We have all been in that place where our reactions to our circumstances got the better of us and we said or did things that we regretted later. The Scriptures remind us “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding; but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly” (Proverbs 14:29). To beContinue reading “Pushed Along by Our Feelings or Led by the Spirit”

Showing Compassion

While Saul was in Antioch teaching, “there came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And…one…named Agabus…signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout the world…Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea” (Acts 11:27-29). The world is frequently subject to eventsContinue reading “Showing Compassion”

A Lesson for Those in Authority

One of the great moments in Israel’s history occurred when God “appeared to Solomon in a dream by night…and said, ask what I shall give thee” (I Kings 3:5). Solomon, David’s son, had just ascended to the throne and God offers him a blank check. Wow! Solomon responded by first acknowledging his privileged position byContinue reading “A Lesson for Those in Authority”