There were many features about the temple that caused men to marvel. The imposing beauty of its symmetrical design, the grandeur of its interior loveliness, the entire walls covered with carved cedar and overlaid with pure gold, studded with all kinds of precious stones, was dazzling to the eyes. The significant furnishings, the exquisite veil, […]
Twenty years ago, I was having some meetings in a town on the Canadian prairies. After each session, as I greeted the Christians, I was disturbed to see a man, probably in his early seventies, guffawing and back-slapping his way through the crowd. The topic for the week was a solemn one, and his behavior, […]
Christianity is a life rather than a mere profession, a life to be lived daily in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. But if it is to really yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness,” there is a certain definite reaction of the soul which must be realized and consciously practiced. I refer to […]
Three and a half years after his first appearance before Ahab, there came the day when Elijah stood on Mount Carmel, vindicated as the Lord’s prophet by the fire which fell from heaven upon his sacrifice. It was a notable triumph. Few scenes have been as thrilling as that enacted on the mountain, with one […]
Joseph Barnes Watson (1884-1955) came from the sheep-herding hills and marshy flats of Cumberland, Scotland. There, in the village of Wigton, the gospel entered the home of John and Jane Watson. Their marriage was another proof that opposites attract. Jane was a calm, cautious homemaker, while John had a heavy dose of that impetuous, loud, […]
No, its not an exotic flower, although it is not common and its beauty and fragrance are a delight to those who find it. It is also one of the things in which God takes a great delight. Philoxenia means “love to strangers” and is translated as “hospitality” in the New Testament. The word is […]
A few years ago, the US government authorized the expenditure of billions of dollars in public funds to build and put in space the most spectacular telescope ever devised. But, alas, it didn’t work. The first trouble with Hubble was that it was out of focus. What Hubble’s builders did not realize was that the […]
An overseer “must be…given to hospitality” (1 Tim. 3:2). “Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Pet. 4:9). “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers” (Heb. 13:2). After reading such verses, have you ever moaned and muttered, “Why don’t we do more to serve one another?” Perhaps the way I have worded that question too […]
The word “paroxysm” is the term used in Hebrews 10:24 (paroxusmos) to speak of the “stimulating alongside” that should be practiced by Christians to motivate others to love and good works. The word is utilized only one other time in the New Testament, and that in a negative sense, in Acts 15:39. There Paul and […]