CHRIST in the NOW: “But the hour is coming, and now is…” (Jn 4:23). So was the hour coming, or had it arrived? The answer is, both. Time is a process, constantly changing. But time meets us in the moment, and all we really have is NOW. We should not live for the present, but […]
“I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment” (Lk 16:27-28). What a strange request! A call to evangelize—from hell! I’m reminded of the small community of Delburne, Alberta. There’s […]
Lionel Fletcher tells of gospel work at 20 years old. One night a blacksmith came to cause trouble. Toward the end, he made his move, “strode to the front, threw himself on his knees, and for the first time in my life I saw a man in the grip of deep conviction of sin.” The […]
It was just a gentle rebuke but my childish heart felt the full weight of my grandfather’s persuasive life. […]
Oh the tragedy that the unrepentant wicked will see the Lamb all right, but in His wrath, not His love. It’s more like a squeak than a bellow, but Job finally declares that he believes God will act in justice against wicked men. “But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but […]
CHRIST the WINE-MAKER: “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” (Jn 2:10). As a young preacher, I came to the final night of a series of Bible teaching. Greeting folks at the door, one […]
“The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain” (2 Tim 1:16). The name Onesiphorus comes from joining two words. The one means to “bring joy” or “be profitable,” as used in Philemon verse 20, there a play on the similar name “Onesimus.” […]
“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (2 Cor 4:5). Charles Spurgeon revealed the secret of his effectiveness: “I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to […]
We’re not only the richest people in the world, but the richest in all of history. We’ll give account for that! In our previous study, Job graphically describes the wrongs perpetrated on the poor and vulnerable in society (Job 24:1-17). What a pathetic scene, multiplied too many times in our own lands. “The wilderness yields food […]