Contemplations
Grace: The Gift Beyond Measure
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."(Ephesians 2:8-9) In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul unwraps the wonderful truth that salvation cannot be generated from...
God’s Will, Your Sanctification
“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.” (1...
The Spirit of Christianity
“But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, ‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.’” (Luke 9:55) If we seek to define the character of Christianity, there is abundant documentation in Scripture to support what may be called the Christian spirit, the...
Sure Footing
“To me belongs vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” (Deuteronomy 32:35) Deuteronomy 32 recounts the story of Israel’s early history and the...
Transcending All
Transcending All “The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.” (Ps. 113:4) The natural man loves to throw back his shoulders, puff out his chest, raise his nose a few degrees higher than parallel and boast that he’s a “self-made” man. Nothing...
God’s Purpose in Affliction
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.” (Isaiah 48:10-11 NASB) It was a dark time in...
Boast in the Lord
“… just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor. 1:31 NASB) The narrative shared in 1 Kings 16 depicts a low period in Israel’s history, documenting a succession of wicked kings who lead God’s people deeper and deeper into idolatry. The last...
Reflecting Him
“Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let Thy glory be above all the earth.” (Ps. 57:11) God made everything in our world, including man and woman, for the praise of His glory and pleasure (Is. 43:7, Ps. 104:31). In this one simple truth we find the meaning of...
God Rejoices and Creation Responds
“Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; Let the Lord be glad in His works.” (Ps. 104:31) Five times in the creation account recorded in Genesis 1 God pauses, steps back, and comments on His handiwork: “God saw that it was good,” (verses 4, 12, 18, 21, 25). And the...
Strange… and Yet Wonderful
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” (2 Tim. 3:16) How many times have you read a passage of Scripture and been left thinking “I don’t have a clue what that passage means,” or “wonder why God would include such an obscure passage in His eternal Word to us?”...
The Danger in High Places
"Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did his father David… he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah… But the high places were not removed." (1 Kings 15:11-14) As king over God’s...
A Jealous God
“You shall have no other gods before Me… For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” (Ex. 20:3, 5) In man’s grand pursuit of happiness and meaning, everything we hear tells us to listen to our heart, follow our passion, pursue our desires… and therein find...
Real Freedom Isn’t Free
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1 NASB) In a society where opportunity abounds, it’s easy for the glitter of what I’ll call “pseudo-freedoms” to catch our eye – like...
The Great Promise-Keeper
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13) When God makes a promise, He fulfills it perfectly because He knows all and has the power to carry out all that He knows and desires. But one of the most amazing aspects of all is...
The Beauty of the Lord
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4) What makes a mountain vista, or a sunrise, or a bouquet of...
Unrelenting Goodness
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. (Exodus 34:6) One of the greatest mistakes we make as Christians is forgetting that God is not like us. For instance, if we sit long enough in traffic, we run out of...
Resolving to Glorify God in 2018 and Beyond
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31) We are creatures of time, marking our lives by the year we were born, worked our first job, when we graduated, got married, had children, started our business, became...
God Never Lets Go
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (John 10:28-29, ESV) Jerusalem under the reign of...
Life, Liberty, and the Price of Freedom
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Rom. 8:1-2) It’s July 4, 1776. British troops occupy American soil. Right under their noses,...
The Word of God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) God desires for us to know Him – to understand who He is and what He is about. But because He is not like us (Num. 23:19, Isa. 55:8), a communication gap exists between us. We...
The Veil is Gone
"But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13, NASB) God miraculously demonstrated time and again the special love He had for Israel by bringing them out of bondage, through the wilderness, to...
Are You Missing the Message of the Cross?
The cross is one of the most widely recognized symbols of Christianity in the world, but the depth of its significance is often overlooked… even among Christians. If you were to ask 10 people what the cross of Christ represents, my suspicion is that at least 8 of them...
The Fit Adoration of God by Jonathan Edwards
How do you know you are not a hypocrite? "Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his...
Redeemed by God by Stephen Charnock
Have you considered what it means to be redeemed? "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers," (1 Peter 1:18). God has given us the...
Cause For Praise
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5, NKJV) Once we grasp an understanding of God that...
True Worship of the Most High God by Joshua Moodey
When men worship any other person or thing than the one only, living and true God, when they have and serve any other god before or besides the true God; and this is gross idolatry and a breach of the first commandment. When they worship the true God but...
How Should We Measure Ourselves?
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3, NASB) As a general rule, we...
Growing in Christ Through Prayer by J.I. Packer
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18). J.I. Packer said, "Hallowing God’s name requires praise for the goodness and greatness of his redemptive work, with...
Christ Considered in Heaven by Charles Spurgeon
"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25). Charles Spurgeon said, "Christ the King is gone from earth. He is seated at his table in heaven,...
Looking to Christ with a Pure Heart by Lewis Bayly
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psa. 51:10). After you have received the Lord's Supper, the several duties which you must perform from your own soul:—First, you must be careful that forasmuch as Christ now...
Adore God’s Divine Power by Thomas Ridgley
"Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." (Psa. 147:5). Christians must adore Christ as a God of infinite power. "Thine is the power," as the Lord's Prayer states. Thomas Ridgley said, "Dominion without power will not be...
Christ Adored by William Ames
"He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things." (Eph. 4:10). Christ ascended so that he might dispatch such other things that still remained to be done for us. Now such were his intercession, and...
Contemplating the Godly Who Adored God with Their Life by Thomas Manton
"Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. " (3 John 1:12). Thomas Manton gave this account of a godly woman who exemplified her faith in walking with God: The duty I owe to the memory of a great sister in Christ obliges me to...
God Knows
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) We’re in a mess – a mess that carries major implications. For as much as we don’t like to hear it, we are deceivers by nature and have been ever since that...
The Psalms Useful for Adoring God by Thomas Ford
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms." (Jam. 5:13). Thomas Ford said, "It is ignorance of a man’s self, and the ways of God, to think any Psalm is unsuitable to any man’s condition, if he is especially a...
Adoring God’s Providence by Matthew Mead
"Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." (Psa. 33:8). Admiration and wonder is the Christian's delight! O how full of riddles and mystery are the providences of God! How few of the designs of his...
The Logos of God to be Adored by Louis Berkhof
"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus," (1Tim. 2:5). The union of the two natures in one person is a mystery which we cannot grasp, and which for that very reason is often denied. It has sometimes been compared...
Religious Affections in Adoring God by Jonathan Edwards
"Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth." (Psa. 96:9). The holy nature in the saints and angels in heaven (where the true tendency of it best appears) is principally engaged by the holiness of divine things. This...
Asking God for Great Things in Prayer by Samuel Rutherford
"He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness." (Job. 33:26). Samuel Rutherford once said, "We would, in seeking, asking, praying, in adoring God in Christ, enlarge our own...
Adoring God in Spiritual Worship by John Wilson
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1Tim. 1:17). John Wilson rightly said, "People often have misapprehensions of God, his nature, essence, and will." God is a most pure and...
True Knowledge of God by John Calvin
"...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death," (Phi. 3:10). It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of...
Adoring and Resting in God Through Prayer
"You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." (Luke 4:8). Sometimes the soul of the Christian enters into what is called spontaneous praise. The Spirit of God so fill sup the heart and mind of the Christian, that their soul overflows...
Admiration and Adoration of God by David Clarkson
"Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you?" (Job. 13:11). David Clarkson said, "Get high adoring apprehensions of God, and by the sight and contemplation of his glorious excellencies, endeavor still to raise and advance...
Adoring God in the Canons of Dordt
"Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God," (1 Thess. 1:4). Just as God is most wise, unchangeable, all-knowing, and almighty, so the election made by him can neither be suspended nor altered, revoked, or annulled; neither can God's chosen ones be...
Glorifying God Who Bought Us by Edward Reynolds
"You were bought at a price," (1 Cor. 7:23). We are not our own. We have been bought with a price, let us glorify him that bought us. How shall we do this? In adoring this great mystery brought about by the examination of the Son of God, and the humbling...
Adoring God in Spirit and Truth by John Wilson
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth," (John 4:24). It is the duty of the sons of men in these days of the Gospel to worship God in spirit and in truth. You should worship God in spirit because it is the will and...
Adoring God in Who He Is by William Strong
"For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods," (1Ch. 16:25). The soul sees and observes this presence of God manifesting itself and beholds it. David says, “That I might dwell in thy house to behold the beauty...
Stir Yourself Up to Adore God by Thomas White
"Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up...." (2Pe. 1:13). As a Christian you ought always to encourage, and stir up yourself to the love and service of God. Thomas White said: "Come O my soul, let us be steadfast and...
Christ the Object of Adoration and Prayer by Louis Berkhof
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us," (Matt. 1:23). God instructs us to consider many things: the ant; the lilies of the field. Have you ever...
The Angels Adore Christ by William Greenhill
"The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." (Psa. 68:17). Christ is an object of admiration and adoration. We men or angels look upwards this is a token of admiration and an...
Adore God as Father by Thomas Watson
"He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation." (Psa. 89:26). If God is our Father, let this cause in us a child-like reverence, Mal. 1:6, "If I be a Father, where is my honor?" Do you honor God as Father? Do you give God...
Worship is Due to God Alone by Francis Turretin
"Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy." (Psa. 99:9). Do you believe that worship is due to God alone? God is to be worshipped alone. Saints nor creatures should ever be worshipped. the Christian church has...
What is it to address God as Father? by Thomas Ridgley
"Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phm. 1:3). What is it to address God as Father? Have you ever thought about the presumption behind calling God your Father? To address ourselves to God as a Father; which relation...
What is Implied in Love to God? by Joseph Bellamy
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," (Rom. 8:28). What is it to love God? What does it mean to love God? If one is to love God, true knowledge of God is implied; for this lays...