Life’s only real tragedies are the ones from which we learn nothing. Stumbling stones can be stepping stones. Asaph is taking us to school. He will show us that even bad experiences can be good lessons, often the best of all. He writes that God “established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel” (Ps […]
CHRIST the PROVIDER of “ALL THINGS”: “All things are yours…And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor 3:21-23), for “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). In fact, “His divine power […]
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps 145:18). James M. Gray, an editor of the first Scofield Bible, was a close associate of D.L. Moody. Raised in a nominally Christian home, he did not know the Lord. One evening, while reading a book […]
Imputation means to reckon, or to put to one’s account. “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God” (Jas 2:23). A similar verse in Galatians 3:6 renders the word as “accounted to him.” We have the idea […]
It was quite the day when my dad, just home from the war, was able to purchase a Kodak Brownie movie camera. In a previous column I told how royalty visited our hometown in those days. To top it off, my mother’s cousin presented the bouquet to Her Majesty. You know where the camera was […]
Parable means “to throw alongside,” where we use concrete examples to illuminate abstract truth. Psalm 78 must be Asaph’s magnum opus, containing 76 verses. Why so long? For the same reason Methuselah lived the longest life and Jeremiah wrote the longest book. They are expressions of the longsuffering grace of God. It is a Maschil psalm, meaning it is […]
JESUS is “THIS MAN.” The officers sent to arrest Jesus said, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:46). The crowd observed, “All the things that John spoke about this Man were true” (Jn 10:41). The Jews marvelled, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” (Mt 13:54). In one of […]
“Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; but I will meditate on Your precepts. Let those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies” (Ps 119:78-79). Two groups of people interacted with David: the proud — those seriously impressed with themselves; and the reverential — those seriously […]
“Jesus said, Take away the stone” (Jn 11:39). Sister Abigail tells the story of a girl she met called Annie. She had been treated roughly by her mother and, as a result, her spine was damaged and she was invalided. As she grew, she despised her mother for the damage she had done. Abigail took […]