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 […]
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 […]
It was pride that changed angels into devils. Then what do you think it will do to you? We could dwell longer on the pretender god of this age, but enough already! If you wonder if this lengthy section, spoken by God Himself, is the Destroyer being described to the one he destroyed—or nearly did—listen […]
“Help, Lord…” (Ps 12:1). This is one of the shortest prayer requests in the Bible. Patricia Laitin tells about a school teacher who was explaining to her young charges the benefits of brevity in writing. She then gave them the assignment of writing about something exciting, but as briefly as possible. One little fellow turned […]
“The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls” (Lev 17:11). In his remarkable book, More Than Meets the Eye (p 26), physician Richard Swenson writes: “Red blood cells are tiny but plentiful. We each make over two million […]