CHRIST the LIGHT: “A light to lighten to the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32). In Gospel Reminiscences, Leonard Strong tells of visiting the last of the 16 plantations in British Guiana opened to him. To his surprise, Strong found an old man who was a glowing believer. How he had heard the gospel since no missionary had […]
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zech 4:6). Do you pray, asking for the Spirit? The Lord Jesus instructs us to do this, in Luke 11:13. Not for His presence (guaranteed to God’s people, 2 Cor 5:5), but for His fullness; not for the baptism (an […]
“The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus” (Jn 12:21). Sometimes the enemy tries to convince us that no one is interested in the gospel. Not true. Millions today will receive earth-shattering news—inoperable cancer, a spouse is leaving them, job loss, or […]
CHRIST the SOVEREIGN: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand” (Jn 3:35). Leonard Strong (1797-1874), after attending Oxford, settled in British Guiana. Although sent to pastor an English church, he was deeply moved by the plight of the slaves. Because he insisted on bringing the gospel to them, he […]
“You have wearied the Lord with your words; yet you say, ‘In what way have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,’ Or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’” (Mal 2:17). Isaiah 40:28 states that “the Creator of […]
Sam Hadley, a drunkard transformed by Christ, was used by God to see thousands reached in New York. On the way to California to preach, he stopped in Detroit, where an old couple asked him to pray for their drunkard son, whom they had discovered was living in San Francisco. One evening the Christians of […]
“A generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (Ps 78:8). We have laid out the general structure of Psalm 78. The Introduction (vv 1-11) declares how the Lord selected the family of Jacob, made a covenant with them, and revealed to them His words, works, and wonders. Their response? “They did not keep the […]
JESUS OUR INTIMATE: “At my first defense no one stood with me.…But the Lord stood with me” (2 Tim 4:16-17). Paul could only find one person to stand by him in his hour of need. Who? The Lord Himself! That’s the kind of friend everybody needs. Doesn’t it make sense, then, to respond to His […]
“With what shall I come before the Lord?…Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil?…He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:6-8). It isn’t […]