CHRIST the DISSATISFIED SHEPHERD: “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” (Mt 18:12). George Clephane, a young Scot, came to Canada in 1842. One cold winter morning he was found insensible […]
“You ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly” (Acts 19:36). It has been well said that hurry is the mother of most mistakes. The wise counsel in our verse didn’t come from the lips of Paul or Peter or one of the other New Testament believers, but from an unnamed official in Ephesus. Cotton […]
“Because there is wrath, beware lest he take you away with one blow: then a great ransom cannot deliver you” (Job 36:18). Harry Ironside tells the story of meeting “a very refined and elegant lady on a steamer, who asked indignantly, ‘You don’t mean to say I have to go to heaven like the dying […]
“A flaming sword…turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24). “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Rev 2:7). God blocking us from the tree of life gave impermanence to failure, heartache and death; welcoming us at the tree of Calvary brought […]
Early Christians were epistles “known and read by everyone” (2 Cor 3:2, ISV). What says the Epistle by You? You can hardly hurry by such a masterpiece as Psalm 40. It would be like trampling roughshod through a garden of exotic flowers. So far, we’ve heard the Sinner’s Plea (vv 1-3), the Saint’s Praise (vv 4-5), the Savior’s Provision (vv 6-8), and the Salvation […]
CHRIST the FIRSTBORN: “When He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’” (Heb 1:6). The Lord says of David, Jesse’s youngest son, “I will make him My firstborn” (Ps 89:27). This is not an exception, but the rule in Scripture. The firstborn was never born […]
“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (Ps 119:37). It’s the relentless battle for the eyes. Not here those whose “eyes bulge with abundance” (73:7) nor the danger of setting something “wicked before my eyes” (101:3), but merely the seemingly endless distractions of “looking at worthless things.” […]
It’s good to have some simple ways in mind to present gospel truth. For example, an outline of John 3:16, as follows, can be easily sketched on a paper napkin at a restaurant table as you speak to a friend who is searching but still without Christ. The verse can be arranged as follows: GOD […]
“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:18, 21). How people treat you today is their responsibility; how you respond is yours. Whether we put people down or lift them up will reveal whether our wisdom […]