“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4). Nine times in his first epistle John uses the term “little children.” It is the diminutive form of the word teknon and has been translated by some […]
Words are free, but how you arrange them and then use them can prove to be very expensive. The Assyrians were not just ensconced along Judah’s northern border; they also held the fortified stronghold of Lachish, 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem. “Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from […]
Is Christianity a crutch? It was Karl Marx who famously said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” There is truth in that statement, because millions have blindly followed their blind religious leaders, as the Lord Jesus described. But true Christianity is no mere religion, and certainly not a drug; it is a living relationship […]
“And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jer 29:7). Are we the first believers who have seen troubled times? Of course not. Every believer in one sense is a “resident […]
Here is high praise: “after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor…before him” (2 Ki 18:5). Six years before Israel fell to the Assyrians, “Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in […]
My friend John Bjorlie was arrested while preaching from a public sidewalk to some college students at a campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The trial took all day. When the judge came to his summation, he told the packed courtroom that he had found this an unusual trial. It made him take down his Bible […]
“In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted” (Ps 77:2). Audra Lexin writes: “More people than ever are searching the internet for information on how to pray. Averaging 33,000 searches per month, 2020 has seen more searches […]
The imports found a ready spot for their idols: “the high places which the Samaritans had made” (2 Ki 17:29)! During the rule of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC), Israel fell under the control of Assyria c 733 BC. By 722, during the reign of his son, Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), Israel as a nation ceased […]
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ…that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Col 4:2-4). Sometimes we shrink from witnessing because we’re afraid of looking stupid; […]