The Gospel records of the New Testament make abundantly plain that their chief character, Jesus of Nazareth, was a real man, an actual figure of earthly history. This truth is not open to doubt or to serious question. From the standpoint of the ordinary reader who comes to these records with no preconceived ideas—no religious […]
We must believe, according to certain critics of the Scriptures and the founders of false religions, that men are sufficient unto their own salvation—there is no need for a virgin-born Saviour. Others declare that the virgin birth is a mystery beneath the acceptance of modern minds. There can be no controversy with those of the […]
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a persona of toughness. The mining and logging history of the region have made it the land of austere, hard-bitten men. But the servants of Christ who have been sent there have often been gentlemanly folk. Leonard Sheldrake worked out of Sault Ste. Marie. The bookish Joe Balsam came […]
How much is one person expected to carry anyway? The human body has a weight of its own, with muscles and organs, skin, nerves and blood vessels carefully wrapped around its skeletal frame. But the body is designed to carry more than itself. So it is with the soul. We have room in our hearts […]
“He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Ps. 15:4). In a Bournemouth art gallery there is a series of paintings by Edwin Long depicting the story of Jephthah. The largest of them pictures the return from battle, with the daughter coming out to welcome her father. The last of the series […]
Taking the taste test made all the difference. Vigilance is the price of safety. Two Bible texts might well be written over this account, namely, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:14: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” And the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 10:18: “Not he that […]
Singular men of God in a pluralistic society. It is the sad record of ecclesiastical history that the Church has generally been unfaithful to the call of God. It is obvious, because of this, that restoration collectively is no longer possible. Christians are sometimes misled, even as they think of the revivals effected by God, […]
A helpful present application to a story from the distant past. The variety of gifts in the Church is in itself a forcible reminder of the indispensability of any member. All are essential to the well-being of the whole. Since all are unique, it also follows that the work given to one cannot be […]
What an eloquent “Moreover”! “Moreover I want her to be my wife.” Nothing but Christ and a definite personal link with Him will avail for us in our need. We have to learn under divine teaching the utter inadequacy of the legal principle, and this is brought out typically in Ruth chapter 4. Man […]