“…the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins…” (Acts 26:17-18). Thus reads the commission to Saul of Tarsus. John Birch (unfortunately linked in most minds with a […]
“All power is given to Me in heaven and earth” (Mt 28:18). The word power (exousia) is also translated authority, right, liberty, jurisdiction, and strength. It includes the ideas of the liberty of doing as one pleases; physical and mental power; influence and privilege; the power of government, of judicial decisions and the authority to […]
Our tears, sweetened by heaven’s raindrops, cover the desert landscape with pools of comfort. We’ve been thinking our way through Psalm 84. There’s a great deal here about feeling at home in the Lord’s presence. The psalmist says, “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord,” but it isn’t the place, it’s the […]
CHRIST the STABILIZER: “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved” (Php 4:1). It’s a wobbly world out there and the foundations of society are being purposefully undermined by those who have set themselves against the Lord. The storm warnings are out and the last great […]
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mk 12:30-31). Of course this is not a petition to be prayed. […]
“…sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim 1:15). We were preaching at 6 a.m., in Exeter, England, near the castle. A young woman was passing by and just heard the sentence, “The greatest sinner in Exeter is welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ.” It was a message from God to her soul. She went […]
Be careful of your words. They can hurt or heal, lift up or cast down, cause us to lose heart or take heart. A story about a world of change in a word. […]
This song was to be accompanied “on an instrument of Gath.” Gath? Goliath’s hometown? Really! Maybe, as with my grandchildren, I shouldn’t have a favorite, but Psalm 84 brings me great delight. The Selahs divide the psalm into three equal parts of four verses each, and these sections present three blessed truths. “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; […]
CHRIST the REMAKER: “…so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jer 18:4). As new creatures in Christ, we are welcome in Heaven, where He has “made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show […]