CHRIST the SILENT ONE: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa 53:7). It is no small thing when the Word of God was silent. […]
“When the people complained, it displeased the Lord…So the fire of the Lord burned among them…Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched” (Num 11:1-2). We don’t hear often about this story. What a ghastly scene! The people discovered two things that day. One was […]
Arthur Rendle Short, professor of surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, was also founder of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He wrote: “Many men have been great in a few of the attributes that make up life. There have been great teachers; but no one…rises to such a tower of perfection that we cannot find a […]
CHRIST OUR KEEPER (Ps 121:5). Paul’s first taste of persecution came quickly after his conversion: “In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me” (2 Cor 11:32). The words “kept” and “garrison” are the same word—phroureo, to guard militarily. It made a big […]
“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim 1:12). It’s not time that tells the tale; it’s eternity. Paul was suffering loss in […]
“The friendship of the world is enmity with God” (Jas 4:4). Salvation means the end of hostilities, unconditional surrender to Christ. The resounding victory by Lord Nelson in the Battle of the Nile secured British dominance over the French fleet in the Mediterranean. When French Admiral Blanquet arrived on board Nelson’s flagship, the Vanguard, to […]
“His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon Himself His crown shall flourish” (Ps 132:18). We’ve noticed that Psalm 132 is in two parts. The first part (vv 1-10) is a Request; the second part (vv 11-18) is the Reply. We see the covenant with David has two aspects— some of it was conditional, some […]
CHRIST CONSIDERED FOOLISHNESS: “We preach Christ crucified,…to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor 1:23). “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…” (v 18). H.A. Ironside writes: “I was on a ferry going from Oakland to San Francisco with a group of Christians. Among us was a dear friend who played […]
“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev 3:1). What’s in a name? Obviously a great deal! When we take the name believer, it ought to mean we agree with God, and that we act on it. When we claim to be saints, our lives […]