Each gospel writer emphasizes the immediate nature of the cleansing. No period of convalescence here! So it is, too, when the sinner comes to the Saviour, the work of salvation is instant. The miracles and parables of the Lord Jesus often appear simple in the telling, but they are, without exception, profound in their teaching. […]
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below. Katharina von Schlegel Two emails recently arrived on my computer within twelve hours of each other. They were from saints passing through serious storms with very ill children. The wind and waves were taking their toll. […]
The demoniac was the embodiment of sin’s slavery. The One standing before him was the solution personified. The powers of darkness confront mankind on every side. As 1 John 5:19 expresses it: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (esv). Unwitting humans are […]
Lessons are more readily learned when they can be visualized. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a miracle must be worth many times more. The miracles of the Lord Jesus were not just designed to meet the need of the moment, but to also impart timeless truths. The Lord told stories in parable […]
Bartimaeus is thought to mean “son of the unclean.” Was he being punished for his father’s sins? It was a popular notion. But God doesn’t hold a man responsible for being born blind. He is responsible, however, for staying blind when Jesus passes by. He was blind. And a beggar. He had no hope for […]
Do you think this is what the Lord does with everything we put into His hands? Of the many miracles performed by Jesus, about thirty-five are recorded in the Gospels. Each incident was selected by the Holy Spirit to clearly illustrate the true identity of the Lord Jesus and demonstrate His power and authority. Of […]
Notice the difference between the Lord Jesus speaking to Nicodemus and the woman at the well. He didn’t presume on the woman’s Bible knowledge. Instead He used an illustration from her life—the well of water. He could have used the smitten Rock, but didn’t. Yet with Nicodemus He does refer to a Bible story—the serpent […]
One of the first challenges of the early church was detecting false teachers and wrong doctrines creeping into the churches. This struggle brought about some very important events, including the writing of John’s first epistle. First John is a series of tests for eternal life. It is a wonder we don’t use this epistle as […]
Modern aircraft can carry passengers and cargo to altitudes as high as six miles and are assembled from many thousands of precisely machined parts. The airplane as a whole can fly, even though it is made of non-flying parts. Take, for example, a wheel or a single wing flap or the fuselage. By themselves these […]