“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mk 11:24). Is this really true? It is helpful to note that the word given here as “ask” is better translated “desire,” and strong desire at that. The same word is also rendered […]
“Is not My word like…a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer 23:29). A couple of undergraduates were standing in one of the quads in Oxford. One was a Christian. In his hand he held a Bible, having come from a church service. The other man looked at him and said, “What have you […]
CHRIST the LIGHT: “A light to lighten to the Gentiles” (Lk 2:32). In Gospel Reminiscences, Leonard Strong tells of visiting the last of the 16 plantations in British Guiana opened to him. To his surprise, Strong found an old man who was a glowing believer. How he had heard the gospel since no missionary had […]
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zech 4:6). Do you pray, asking for the Spirit? The Lord Jesus instructs us to do this, in Luke 11:13. Not for His presence (guaranteed to God’s people, 2 Cor 5:5), but for His fullness; not for the baptism (an […]
“The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus” (Jn 12:21). Sometimes the enemy tries to convince us that no one is interested in the gospel. Not true. Millions today will receive earth-shattering news—inoperable cancer, a spouse is leaving them, job loss, or […]
Yes, he’s a bully. He picks on the vulnerable, kicking us when we’re down. But just wait till Jesus shows up! “Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job…” (Job 2:7). Who is this vile creature who loves to curse people as God loves to bless? We’ve already met him as the “accuser […]
CHRIST the SOVEREIGN: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand” (Jn 3:35). Leonard Strong (1797-1874), after attending Oxford, settled in British Guiana. Although sent to pastor an English church, he was deeply moved by the plight of the slaves. Because he insisted on bringing the gospel to them, he […]
“You have wearied the Lord with your words; yet you say, ‘In what way have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,’ Or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’” (Mal 2:17). Isaiah 40:28 states that “the Creator of […]
Sam Hadley, a drunkard transformed by Christ, was used by God to see thousands reached in New York. On the way to California to preach, he stopped in Detroit, where an old couple asked him to pray for their drunkard son, whom they had discovered was living in San Francisco. One evening the Christians of […]