Contemplations
The Supremacy of Christ
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) The beauty, excellency, and supremacy of Christ does not simply flow from the reality that He is God, though He is. For as John tells us in his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and...
Unparalleled Humility
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6) In a world that applauds ambition and self-promotion, the call to humility stands as a radical counterpoint. Nevertheless, Romans 12:2 urges me not...
The Beauty of Graceful Speech
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29) Song of Solomon 4:3 likens the bride’s lips to “a thread of scarlet” and her speech to something...
The Everlasting Embrace of Christ
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” (Jeremiah 32:40) The assurance of salvation, anchored in Scripture and secured in the...
Living for the Glory of His Name
“For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not...
No Room for Boasting
"Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:9) Paul’s concern in Ephesians 2 is the deliverance of lost and condemned sinners from their natural state into acceptance with God and salvation through Christ. So he begins by describing what sinners are by...
A Call to Persevere
“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6) This passage in Jude is a sober example of what can happen if we do not persevere in...
The Greater Glory of the Gospel
“For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:9) The gospel of Jesus Christ is the clearest and most magnificent display of God's glory ever revealed to mankind. Scripture calls...
Needing the Physician
"When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mark 2:17) Until a sinner fully realizes the weight of his guilt and misery, he will not...
Our Glorious Future With Christ
“Which is his body, the fulness of him that fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:23) Scripture promises believers a most magnificent destiny—an eternity where God’s fullness permeates everything and every facet of existence radiates His glory. On that eternal day,...
Chosen to Salvation Through 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) The work of salvation begins in the...
The One Who Does All Things Well
"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?" (Matthew 20:15) God possesses absolute sovereignty over all He has made. He tends everything (likened to a wonderful vineyard) with great care. Heaven, earth, sea, and...
The Weight of Eternity
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) Every person...
Chosen in Christ Before the World Began
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." (Ephesians 1:4) Before the foundation of the world, before any creature had acted either well or ill, God chose His people in...
The Sweet Testimony of a Clean Conscience
“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 9:1-2) The testimony of a good conscience is one of the richest gifts given the believer in this life. When rightly informed by the Word and sanctified by the...
The Savior Who Seeks the Lost
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) While on His way through Jericho one day, Jesus intentionally called out to Zaccheus who had climbed a tree to ensure he didn’t miss seeing Him as He passed by. “Make haste and come...
Growing in the Likeness of God
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) One of the clearest evidences of a renewed heart is a growing love for holiness. It is easy to love Scriptures that comfort, encourage, or reassure while disregarding those...
The Perfect Word of God
"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Psalm 19:7-8) The body of...
Choices that Carry Eternal Consequences
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried.” (Luke 16:22) This passage shares a very sobering reality: death does not end existence; it reveals it. And whether one lives in...
Hallowed Be Thy Name
“But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.” (Isaiah 5:16) Among the petitions our Lord taught His disciples, none comes before, “Hallowed be thy name.” Before daily bread, before forgiveness, before...
Found in Christ
"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Philippians 3:9) One of the greatest dangers facing every sinner is the temptation to trust in...
Seek His Morning Mercies
“O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14) This Scripture captures the longing of the human heart for God’s mercy, a plea that reveals our deepest need for both His favor and His presence. It also urges us to seek...
The Folly of Pride
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1) Pride is...
Christ Remains Unchanged
“They shall perish; but thou remain; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” (Hebrews 1:11-12) This passage in Hebrews draws a sharp...
Broken Covenant and Renewed Mercy
“And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.”(Deuteronomy 10:5) The Lord gave Israel His law, written on tables of stone, for a sign of His covenant with them. But...
God’s Unfailing Hand
“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me: thy mercy, O LORD, endures forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” (Psalm 138:8) The works of God are marked by a perfection that neither falters nor fails. Creation itself testifies to this truth, for in the...
Heirs of Grace
"That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7) Grace is the lifeblood of the Christian life. Every blessing we possess flows from the undeserved favor of God toward sinners in Jesus Christ. While yet...
The Promised Saviour
“Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.” (Acts 13:23) Saving faith, as described by Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9, not only believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but comes to Him for forgiveness and cleansing of...
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:...
My Ruin in Adam and My Need of Christ
"For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law." (Romans 5:13) Paul’s argument concerning sin, death, and justification reaches back to the first Adam in order to show how sin and death entered the world through one representative...
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...
Satisfied with the Goodness of God
"And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness,and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 31:14) The language Jeremiah uses in this passage is that of abundance—the soul is satiated, the people are satisfied, and the source...
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...
When Spiritual Privileges Become a False Refuge
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto...
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...