How were the books of the Bible selected? “Canonicity” refers to the standard used to include these writings. God determined canonicity by inspiring certain men to write the Bible. Norman Geisler and William Nix give the questions used by the early church to determine this: 1. Is it authoritative? Though the writers claimed no authority […]
Some years ago, I was invited to speak at a girls’ school in the picturesque town of Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. I could tell the students were very sharp and fully engaged. As I presented to them the reasonableness of Christianity, there was some serious pushback. Many of the students had been convinced of scientism, the […]
The Lord has called us in some measure into “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Php 3:10). Not long ago, Job gave us a snapshot of his life before “there was a day” (Job 1:13). What an accomplished and attractive fellow! He now provides us an update of himself after his catastrophic collision with unyielding providence at very high speed. […]
CHRIST OUR NEW OCCUPANT: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn 14:23). C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), in his classic, Mere Christianity, writes: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. […]
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa 55:7). Here is a practical petition for the lost around us. Why do they not turn? Maybe they haven’t been […]
Frederick N. Charrington, heir to the largest distillery in England, while traveling in France, met an acquaintance, William Rainsford, and invited him home. He writes: “When we arrived, to my astonishment Rainsford suddenly said, ‘I feel very guilty. We have traveled all the way over the Continent, and enjoyed ourselves very much, but I have […]
God could keep the enemy always at bay if He chose to, but He didn’t with His Son, nor does He with us. We now come to the crux of the matter as far as Job is concerned. Why do these ne’er-do-wells feel free to terrorize him? He puts his finger on the day God […]
CHRIST the KING ETERNAL: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,…out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mic 5:2). We were creatures of time, corruptible and doomed to utter collapse. But into our dusty world the Savior came. And, according to […]
“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him…Even so, Amen” (Rev 1:7). I recall attending a camp in my childhood where they had a weather rock hanging from a chain. The explanation was this: if the rock is dry, weather fair; if it’s wet, precipitation; if the rock is moving, it’s […]