Contemplations
The Gravity of God’s Name
“And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of...
The Eternal I AM
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14) God’s self-revelation as “I AM THAT I AM” unveils the infinite mystery of His eternal, self-existent nature. This...
A Call to Humility
“As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that...
Evidence of God’s Commitment
“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3) The history of redemption is the history of God’s unwavering commitment to His people. From the beginning, Scripture...
God Keeps His Word
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) One of the strangest stories in Scripture is found in Numbers 22 and 23....
Abiding in the Doctrine That Gives God
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9) As John tells us plainly in this epistle, the doctrine of Christ is integral to knowing...
Known by Their Fruits
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth...
Chosen for Sanctification
“But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13) This powerful verse lays out God’s...
Christ’s Charge from the Father
“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:39-40) One of the strongest assurances of the continuance of our salvation in all of Scripture is this:...
The Lord of Every Tomorrow
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) Though we know that life is full of uncertainty, we still make plans, establish goals, pursue...
Heirs of Glory
“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” (Ephesians 1:11) The believer’s inheritance is not a future hope resting on uncertain conditions, but a...
The New Man
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:24) In this fourth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul instructs the believers at Ephesus to “put on the new man.” Putting on the new man is the...
God’s Call Continues
“Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:” (Jeremiah 7:25) One of the most remarkable displays of God's mercy is not that He...
Obedience Above Appearance
"To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3) Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly confronts those who maintain religious forms while neglecting obedience, holiness, mercy, and truth. While many choose to believe that...
When Glory Becomes Shame
“Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Philippians 3:19) The faith of the early church was displayed plainly before a watching world. And what marked them most was the love they shared. They...
God Whose Will Cannot Be Resisted
“Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” (Isaiah 43:13) Before time, before any creature, the everlasting immutable God is. Not was, as someone who has passed, nor will be, as someone who...
Sanctified Through Truth
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) Scripture teaches that the believer’s path to holiness, known as sanctification, is inseparably tied to the truth of God’s Word. This process is the divine work of setting apart His people for His...
Contentment in the Faithfulness of God
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) One of the most subtle dangers Christians face is the temptation to measure happiness by...
No Place to Hide
"I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of...
Foundations of the Throne of Grace
"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face." (Psalm 89:14) God’s throne of grace rests entirely on foundations that cannot be shaken. Though the introduction of sin into the world opened the way for judgment and...
The Incomparable God
“For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5:5) The Word of God cuts straight through our excuses and makes us see that either God is the...
Perfect and Proven
“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” (Psalm 18:30) This 18th psalm declares that God’s way is perfect, His word is proven, and His protection is sure. All that He does is complete, all that He...
The Beauty of Those Who Preach the Gospel
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15) God, in His infinite wisdom, ordained preaching as the chief means by which the...
Consequences of Replacing God
“They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?”(Judges 5:8) These words from Judges 5:8 come from Deborah’s song, a divinely inspired reflection on Israel’s collapse and partial deliverance. The verse...
Honoring the Son as the Father Is Honored
“That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath sent him.” (John 5:23) Christ states plainly in this passage that the Father cannot be honored apart from the Son, because the Father is...
Grace Given to Be Exercised
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to Your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge." (2 Peter 1:5) At the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit comes to reside in the believer, sanctifying and guiding us in grace and truth. But these benefits of the spiritual...
Christ the Prophet Raised for Us
“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” (Deuteronomy 18:15) The promise given through Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 reaches far beyond Israel’s immediate horizon. Moses speaks...
Patience That Calls Me to Repentance
"And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not." (Revelation 2:21) The patience of God toward sinners is one of the gracious displays of His goodness in that He does not always execute judgment immediately but rather gives space for...
A Divided Heart Cannot Stand
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) In this passage in Matthew 6, Christ does not say it is difficult to serve two...
Trusting the Means More Than God
“So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.” (1 Kings 17:5) This story in 1 Kings 17 shows both Elijah’s obedience and the subtle weakness that often accompanies the believer: the tendency...
The Savior Who Disarmed Death
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) The misery of death cannot fully be understood apart from sin because, as Romans 6:23 plainly states, “the wages of sin...
Obedience That Exalts the Son
“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” (Philippians 2:8-9) This passage presents the Lord Jesus...
Turning the Heart Backward from Sin
“Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward.” (Isaiah 38:8) Isaiah 38 recounts a miracle involving Ahaz’s sundial when the Lord caused the shadow to move backward—a thing contrary to the...
Perseverance in Prayer
"The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him." (Lamentations 3:25) As this verse in Lamentations tells us, the goodness of God is often experienced when we patiently wait before Him, seeking and worshiping Him. Still, the mercies we need...
Glorying Only in the Cross
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14) Paul’s words to the Galatian believers in this passage leave no room for divided loyalties. He does not say...
Stubborn Vows, A Stubborn God
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink...
God’s Timely Mercy
"And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto You, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon You: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him." (Isaiah 30:18) When God chooses to delay His mercy it...
Christ’s Presence in the Furnace
“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25) This passage gives one of the sweetest displays in all of Scripture of Christ’s gracious...
Consequences of Forsaking God’s Law
“And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: Therefore thus saith the...
Glory Given, Glory Returned
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”(John...
Gratitude for the Lord Alone
“Hear, O my people, and I will admonish thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.” (Psalm 81:8-9) The One speaking in Psalm 81 is the voice of a covenant God addressing His own...
God’s Works Stand Forever
“I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” (Ecclesiastes 3:14) Because of His absolute sovereignty, infinite wisdom, might, and perfection, whatever...
Covenant Mercy Encircling the Throne
“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.” (Revelation 4:3) What a glorious scene John shares with us in this text … the magnificent throne of God, and the One...
The Faithful God Who Keeps His People
“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) The preservation of the saints does not rely the strength of man but on the faithfulness of God. If perseverance depended upon human resolve, every believer would perish....
The Eternal Glory of Christ
“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5) The Christ of Scripture is not rightly known unless He is known as the One who is eternal with God the Father, without origin and without...
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis...
By God’s Time
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) The apostle Peter speaks here to correct a common error, that of attempting to measure an eternal God by human time....
A Revengeful Heart
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred..." (Ezekiel 25:15) The natural man tends to excuse certain sins that appear reasonable in his own eyes, and...
Seeking Self Instead of God’s Glory
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) This heavenly testimony declares the chief end of all creation: God made all things for His own...
Brokenness Before Judgment
“And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again.” (Jeremiah 19:11) Deliberate continuance in sin and disobedience inevitably brings God’s hand of...
Heaven Opens for the Beloved Son
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well...
The Eternal I AM
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58) In John 8:58, Jesus uses deliberate and unmistakable words that do not place Him earlier in history but outside of time altogether. He claims a mode of existence that belongs...
The Fountain of All Comfort
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) One of the sweetest titles for God in all of Scripture is found in this 2 Corinthians passage: the God of all comfort. Every true...
The Righteous Judge of All the Earth
"O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself." (Psalm 94:1) In this world evil often appears to prosper and righteousness seems to get trampled underfoot. The wicked act boldly, the proud speak arrogantly, and the enemies...