How is your prayer life? Mine can always use improvement. So, I was studying some verses on prayer when I came across this one: First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men... This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim. 2:1,3-4 To tell [...]
…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chr. 7:14 The Lord God Himself spoke these words to King Solomon after the dedication of the first temple in Jerusalem. The promise was given to the people of Israel, but it applies equally to us [...]
There is a unique interplay between our choices and actions and those of the Lord God. Sometimes I get hints from Scripture that the “consequences of our actions” may be more interactive than we believe. The story of Moses and Pharaoh is a good example (Exodus 7-11). God sends Moses to plead with Pharaoh for the release of His people, but He warns Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs [...]
For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. 1 Thess. 2:19-20 What will be your source of joy when the Lord Jesus appears in His glory? Barry McGuire recorded a song in 1973 titled “Enter In.” In it, he tells of three men who each come to stand before the [...]
Continued from part one... As we continue to wrestle with the question of forgiveness, I want to take a look today at Psalm 51, written by King David. This is a man about whom God said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22c) But David was far from faultless. Most of you will be familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba, [...]
Child survivors of Auschwitz At the end of World War II, the Allies entered the concentration camps of Germany to find unbelievable carnage. Among the masses of emaciated bodies, the following note was found in the clothing of a dead child. It reads: O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon [...]
As Christians, many of us struggle to balance faith with works. Sometimes we lean too far in the direction of legalism and forget that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Sometimes we lean too far the other direction assuming grace will cover us while we live in sin (Romans 6:1-2). James understood that faith and actions (works) go hand in hand. Either one without the other is worthless. Have you read through [...]
Jesus and His disciples were gathered in the Upper Room. The disciples were looking forward to sharing a traditional Passover meal with Jesus. Everything had been prepared. But this evening was not going to be what the disciples were expecting. What Jesus had in store for them would change their world forever. They first began to realize the evening would be unlike any other when Jesus–their Master and Lord–wrapped a towel around His waist and [...]
In Romans chapter 14 (see also 1 Corinthians 8), Paul talks to the believers about their differing convictions. Because the meat they could purchase in the marketplace often had been sacrificed in pagan temples, some of the believers had chosen to avoid meat altogether and eat only vegetables. Others chose to eat the meat, knowing the many “gods” were not real gods and that there is only One True God and therefore meat is just meat. [...]
The decisive battle for salvation was won at the cross. But the decisive battle for the cross was won at Gethsemane. Each of the four gospels describes Jesus’ time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew, Mark and Luke all focus on Jesus agonizing over what He was about to face (Matt 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46). Being a physician, Luke describes in clinical detail the physical manifestation of the emotional and mental agony [...]
