A dear friend had the best stories. One’s about a fellow considered the smartest guy in town. Successful in business, he was enlarging his warehouse since he’d outgrown the old facilities. He was at the point in life where it was time to “take it easy—eat, drink, and be merry.” Who could blame him? He’d […]
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isa 28:16). People should see that I frequent the courts of heaven and so can confidently “say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns’” (1 Chron 16:31). The devil’s upsets on […]
Dust and ashes! Were they evidence that God had abandoned Job? Or the perfect place to find Him! Job isn’t quite finished. Having acknowledged that the Lord knows what He’s doing, and that he should not have spoken about things of which he was ignorant, he requests one more opportunity to speak. There were now […]
“I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men…For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1-4). Jesus Christ, the divine Man, died […]
Is there a difference between the teaching of Paul and James on whether a person is saved by faith alone or by faith plus works? Paul writes: “If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted […]
“Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching” (Mk 6:5-6). Faith is to be a co-worker with grace (Rom 5:2); if missing, grace can […]
Can’t see the forest for the Tree? The forest of hurts and slights and lies, for the Tree stained with blood! It has been a long time in coming, but Job finally speaks to the Lord. The last time he spoke (Job 40:3-5), he expressed his shock at—himself! “Behold, I am vile” (v 4). What had he […]
“Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments” (Ps 119:5-6). Here is a prayer for alignment—my ways directed by God’s Word. F.B. Meyer tells of a crisis in his life at age 60. Lord Strathclyde invited him for a few […]
A key Bible word is justification, defined as “to judicially declare right so as to have the force of law.” A person is “justified freely by His grace” (Rom 3:24); “justified by faith” (Rom 3:28); “justified by His blood” (Rom 5:9); “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our […]