“The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up” (Joel 1:20). This is the closest, Joel suggests, that animals come to praying. “The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God” (Ps 104:21). In Job 38:41, it’s Jehovah, not Joel, who asks, “Who […]
William Booth (1829–1912), founder of The Salvation Army, labored for the Lord among the poor and destitute in London’s East End. He would “stumble home night after night haggard with fatigue; often his clothes were torn and bloody bandages swathed his head where a stone had struck,” wrote his wife Catherine. “‘Not called!’ did you […]
CHRIST the LORD of GLORY (1 Cor 2:8). Andrew Welwood, a young Scot, fled persecution to London, but there succumbed to tuberculosis. Before he headed Home, he left a book of personal letters titled A Glimpse of Glory. Here are some samples: “Death has a terrible face to those who place all their happiness in […]
“In the Lord I put my trust; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain’?” (Ps 11:1). The psalmist had clearly learned that, if there is a place to flee in times of distress, it is to the Lord. This verse reminds me of a story about George Fisk, […]
Peace has been defined as the “tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fears nothing from God and is content with its lot.” It is a sense of well-being, enjoyed by resting in Christ who “is our peace” (Eph 2:14). It is both through justification (Rom 5:1), and reconciliation […]
“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands” (Prov 14:1). I hardly think “the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Est 1:1) liked having his buttons pushed. You remember his other wife, Vashti, disagreed once, and she was gone. Esther had defied convention by appearing in his presence […]
We worship a big God who has commissioned His people to do a big work. Jesus said, “Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to EVERY creature.” (Mark 16:15) Can’t get much bigger than that! And yet… The Lord delights in small things, too. After all, He made the whole universe from nothing, […]
“O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God…” (Dan 9:19). One reason we should forgive—and sincerely pray for (see Mt 5:44)—those who do us wrong is the consistently forgiving heart of God. Why does He forgive me? Because I deserve it? No, it […]
CHRIST the STRENGTH-SHARER (2 Cor 12:9). There are no less than six Greek synonyms for “power” or “strength” in the New Testament. The concordance gives the definition for dunamis, the word here, as: “inherent power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.” See the piling on of power in Colossians 1:11, “Strengthened with […]