A godly battle begins with praying, continues with praising, and ends with picking up the spoils. As Jehoshaphat concluded his masterly prayer, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel” (2 Chron 20:14). “Listen…Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v […]
God came to dwell with us so that we could “dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” O come let us adore Him… […]
“This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.’ Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai…, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?…Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little; […]
The prisoner had been known as “king of the garotters” for his history of strangling his victims. He seemed utterly without mercy. He had asked the chaplain to bring him a certain book to read, but the chaplain suggested the Bible already lying in his cell. “It would do no good to the likes of […]
Prayer puts our eyes on God, not on our circumstances, and puts our faith in God, not in our resources. As the people of Judah crowded into the temple precinct in Jerusalem, “Jehoshaphat stood…in the house of the Lord, before the new court” (2 Chron 20:5), and began to pray. Imagine if our leaders prayed like this […]
“Let Your hand become my help, for I have chosen Your precepts” (Ps 119:173). The Christian lives a hand-to-mouth existence. The good thing is, it’s His hand to your mouth! The Lord’s hand, or His right hand, is mentioned about 40 times in the Psalms. There are many more instances throughout Scripture. It would be […]
Why did God, who professedly loves all His creatures, not give such overwhelming evidence of Himself that everyone capable of knowing such a God would find it impossible not to know Him? This is essentially the argument of J. L. Schellenberg in what he calls “the hiddenness of God.” It is based on certain false […]
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chron 20:12). Jehoshaphat gets down to basics here! We have no power to stand against the foe, and we […]
Good illustrations or demonstrations can be very effective in making the gospel plain. Our Lord used them all the time. But you better be sure of your facts before you use one in public. John MacArthur tells one of a woman who lived back in the hills. One day, to her surprise, a vacuum cleaner […]