CHRIST the FRUIT-BEARER: “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). The heart is often parched and dry. But Jesus can sweetly soften. “He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth” (Ps 72:6). […]
“You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas 4:2-3). Why pray? Doesn’t God know everything? Doesn’t He do what He wants anyway? R.A. Torrey suggests these reasons: Because there’s a devil, and by prayer we […]
God is working in our waiting. He’s committed to answering us, but He knows when it’s best received. Job reminds us of the intricate weaving of the physical and spiritual parts of our being. When the outer man is touched, the inner man feels it, too. His body is covered with sores, and perhaps growing […]
Read More… from September 3, 2025 — The Silence Before The Speaking
CHRIST our PERFUME: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Cor 2:14-15). George Henderson tells […]
“And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends” (Job 42:10). “Dear Lord, I…and me…and mine…” Of course it’s wise and needful to pray honestly for ourselves. But may the Lord enlarge our field of vision to include those around us. Many have never heard their names addressed to God in prayer; […]
“You would-be plotters of the curves of life…bound for me the mystic wild parabola of love.” —A. Rutledge In case we have forgotten who this man is, so engulfed in grief, he gives us a little reminder. “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, and laid my head in the dust. My face is flushed from […]
JESUS as a MAN among MEN: “I am among you as the One who serves” (Lk 22:27). Why would common humans—weak humans, sinful humans, broken humans—not be repelled by the world’s only perfect Man? In fact, the opposite was true. “He could not be hidden” (Mk 7:24). Sinners like Zacchaeus actually sought Him out. Surely […]
“Then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech Thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small” (Amos 7:2, KJV). God is always looking for intercessors, those who plead the case of those in need. Abraham pled for Sodom (Gen 18:23-33). Moses pled for Israel (Ex 32:11-13). Stephen pled for His murderers (Acts […]
We who rally ’round the Cross know that, even there, “our God turned the curse into a blessing” (Neh 13:2). Job wants to refute a misunderstanding put forward by Eliphaz who accused Job of making a frontal attack on the Lord: “he stretches out his hand against God, and acts defiantly against the Almighty, running stubbornly against Him […]