We were out in the bush of Northern Ontario, picking pine cones to be sold to the Ministry of Natural Resources, who would then grow seedlings for the next year of tree planting. It wasn’t particularly hard work, but it was hot work. The insects were buzzing around, and there was no shade. But worst […]
There are a number of infamous characters that show up in the pages of Scripture. Herod the Great thought nothing of killing Bethlehem’s infant sons in an effort to save his throne. Goliath blasphemed the Lord and taunted Israel before he met a well-placed stone with his forehead. The hands of Ahab and Jezebel were […]
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19). As my wife and I became teachers several years ago, we had to figure out what this verse looked like in our own lives. We knew we should […]
The apostle John uses the phrase “as He is” several times in his first letter to Christians. It describes an affinity or oneness which is true of the individual believer in his or her relationship with the Lord Jesus. He has in mind something more fundamental than a similarity between the Savior and the saved, […]
Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah. Rachel was the wife that he really loved, but she was barren, unable to conceive. She was fearfully frustrated and pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children or else I die!” (Gen. 30:1). Later, Rachel did conceive and bore Jacob two sons. What impresses me is the intensity of […]
John 6, and especially John 6:37, is considered by Calvinist scholars and Bible teachers to be among their most convincing texts. Calvinist author James White believes it to be the strongest Calvinist passage in the entire Bible. In his book, The Potter’s Freedom, he writes: John 6:37-45 is the clearest exposition of Calvinism in the […]
Long Live the King! The day of the Lord is a period which includes the Tribulation, the return of Christ to the earth, and the millennium. From the Latin word that means “thousand years,” the millennium refers to the 1000-year direct reign of Christ on earth. This is why the term millennium is often used […]
The Bible highlights two days—two today’s—in the history of Israel’s possession of the promised land. The first today reminds us of the time Israel stood on the very brink of blessing and refused to enter. “Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of […]
Appointed wrath vs. obtained salvation Often, the great epochs of God’s plan are described by the term “day.” For instance, the period of time in which we are living is sometimes referred to as “the day of grace” or “the day of salvation.” However, a time is coming that is called “the day of wrath […]