CHRIST the WILLINGLY POOR ONE: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery (harpagmos, a thing to be seized) to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation…and…humbled Himself…” (Php 2:5-8). Jim Elliott, who gave his life […]
“I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you” (2 Ki 20:5). It doesn’t seem that Hezekiah prayed for a longer life, although that goes without saying if the Lord healed him! But 15 years extra? Some think he shouldn’t have asked for more time on earth because during […]
Hy Pickering, born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, was raised in a religious home, but after being christened and confirmed, found he had not been converted. Not far from where he lived, some meeting began in a barn. He said the preacher “made no pretense at eloquence, wore no surplice, used no notes, and feared no man. The […]
The danger of always dwelling on the past is that I might miss the possibilities of the present. It’s a common response, when the present seems unbearable, to try to escape into the past. There are local churches still run by elders long dead and buried. “Brother So-and-so wouldn’t like that,” they say. Or, “That […]
CHRIST BEGOTTEN: “The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’” (Ps 2:7). This is the first occasion where our Lord is spoken of as begotten of the Father. Christ’s “begottenness” is a matter for serious thought, but some modern translations are clearly wrong when they translate the last […]
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb 13:5). In our verse, discontentment is seen in a glaring light. The things we “have” obviously include the One who is everything we could ever need and […]
It was Blaise Pascal who said: “Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; we do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ.” At the Cross we find both revealed. God’s love, mercy and justice respond to the sinner and his sin. Look at what Christ did to reconcile us to […]
If divine wisdom arranged the path of water drops and lightning bolts, would it not include your path, too? In Job 28:20-28, Job repeats the question he asked in verse 12. Where, oh where, is wisdom to be found? Obviously he isn’t interested in an advanced degree in some esoteric field of study. The wisdom […]
JESUS the PATIENT FARMER: “Others have labored, and you have entered into their labors” (Jn 4:38). Almost every Christian has heard about Hudson Taylor, who blazed a trail for God through China. China Inland Mission brought over 800 missionaries to the country. But few have heard of Karl Gützlaff. Born to a German tailor, his […]