“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice” (Ps 51:7-8). Dinny Malone, a retired sea captain, was reading his Bible when a Christian friend came calling. As they talked, old Dinny […]
“…Seed to the sower, and bread to the eater” (Isa 55:10-11). “Now he that ministers seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown” (2 Cor 9:10). Two passages—one from the gospel prophet, Isaiah, and one from the evangelist to the Gentiles, Paul—are linked by the common idea of […]
My property is blessed with beautiful trees. But trees get old, like us. We became concerned about one, more than 100 feet high, leaning lovingly towards our house. Time to take the old oak down. I called my friend, Joseph Lampkin, 85 years young. He’s fair-priced, prompt, and efficient. He has a few younger men […]
THE END. That’s how a book concludes. But with “the end of the Lord” (Jas 5:11), He’s just getting started! There is just one reference to Job in the New Testament. James, more than likely the half-brother of our Lord, wishes to remind God’s people about Job two millennia after he was born. James has been exhorting […]
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Php 4:6-7). Worry? Why worry? What can worry do? It never keeps a trouble from overtaking […]
On the last day of September 1816, Robert Moffat sailed from London for South Africa. Proceeding to Namaqualand on the west coast, he there acquired the Dutch language. While residing with a Boer farmer, he was asked to conduct a “service” in the house. Moffat requested that the master call his servants. “Do you mean […]
Christian faithfulness isn’t heroics or theatrics. It’s the dogged commitment to not give up on God. If you were going to pick three outstanding Bible characters, who would they be? Here are the three the Lord identifies. He says: “‘When a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; […]
“With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” (Ps 119:10). Webster defines “wandering” as “to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal.” To everyone else around us, we may seem to be focused and disciplined. But the Lord knows that a life aimed at anything […]
Whatever you know of God’s truth, do it. That is what the disciples were told in John 2:5, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Above all, it is what the Lord says, “You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you” (Jn 15:14). We never read of purifying our souls in hearing […]