“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson Of all the losses Job suffered, surely it was the losses in his family that pained him most. The death of his ten children must have been dreadful. My great-grandmother lost four children in […]
“Oh, do not forsake me utterly!” (Ps 119:8). Once a week we will visit the longest psalm to consider one of 52 God-inspired prayer requests recorded there. Imagine claiming as our own these Spirit-led prayers that we know exactly match the will of God! This one emphasizes what we may call the Grace Gap—the unmeasured […]
“‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jer 23:29). In Who Says, Fritz Ridenour makes the following observation: “Mighty potentates have raged against this Book, and sought to destroy and uproot it—Alexander the Great and princes of Egypt and Babylon, the monarchs of […]
It’s vital to note that Job advocated for his friends while still in the ash heap; blessing follows faith. It’s interesting that Job’s path to blessing involved advocacy. An advocate is one who pleads another’s cause, speaking to their advantage. “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10). A glorious example […]
“Elijah…prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (Jas 5:17-18). Water doesn’t usually gush from the well on the first move of the pump handle. Vance Havner writes: “Elijah lives in confidence that there will be rain at the proper time. He is in contrition, his head between his knees. […]
A helpful guide to the effective use of biblical evidence is the Emmaus Study Course, Ready to Give an Answer by David Reid. He writes: “God asks us to defend and confirm the gospel (Phil 1:17). When the apostle Paul wrote, ‘I am appointed for the defense of the gospel’ (Phil 1:17), he was a […]
“The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God’s will.” —George Washington Here’s some good news! “Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job” (Job 42:9). After all the fussing and fuming, with no arguments now, they […]
“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches” (Ps 63:5-6). “One night alone in prayer,” writes C.H. Spurgeon, “might make us new men, changed from poverty of soul to […]
Mel Trotter, who founded 66 rescue missions in key cities across the U.S., wrote: “I didn’t get a very good start in the first place; my job was tending bar in my father’s saloon. Booze got the best of me pretty early in life, and before I was twenty years old I was the common […]