Contemplations
Presuming Upon Grace
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4) Jude’s words warn the church...
Instruments of God’s Grace
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”(1 Peter 4:11) The...
Gifted the Oracles of God
“Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” (Romans 3:2) In his letter to the Romans, Paul raises a pointed question: what truly sets the Jew apart from the Gentile? Amid the debates and the pride surrounding the Jewish...
Reflections of God’s Love
“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35) God’s infinite love and delight for His only begotten Son is displayed in glorious clarity throughout Scripture. In this verse from John, we encounter a statement of amazing simplicity...
Exalted Above All
“For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:22) One of the most exalted passages in all of Scripture, capturing the Person, Mission, and Position of Christ, is found in Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was...
The Hidden Riches of Divine Wisdom
“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3) Men often try to comprehend spiritual realities using natural means. But the natural mind, weakened and corrupted by sin, cannot ascend to the knowledge of God by its own intellect. It must...
Trusting God’s Faithfulness
“The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” (Psalm 111:7-8) God’s faithfulness is a steady anchor for my soul, the immutable ground upon which all His...
The God of Marvelous Things
“As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.” (Job 5:8-9) The greatest pursuit of the believer’s life is not wealth, health, influence, or success… but to know the Source of...
The Flight of a Fallen Heart
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8) The fall of man introduced more than guilt into the human...
The Marvelous Lessons in Creation
“God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.” (Job 37:5) The created world constantly proclaims the greatness of God. Snow gently falling, frost covering the fields, thunder rolling through the heavens, and storms...
From Prison Darkness to Kingdom Light
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13) The gospel does not simply “improve” the sinner or offer religious assistance to those who need encouragement. It proclaims deliverance. The...
Barriers to Salvation
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4:6) God’s warning to His people...
The Christian Champion
“And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.”(Joshua 23:5) Joshua 23:5 declares God’s unwavering faithfulness, assuring victory to His...
Trading Glory for Images
“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” (Romans 1:23) God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage not only because of what they suffered there as slaves, but...
The Glorious Throne of Christ
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is...
The Piercing Word of God
“And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb… And Nathan said...
When All Shall Be Made Right
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) The world we live in is marked by confusion and disorder, a result of the...
The Majesty of the Creator
“The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” (Psalm 93:4) Creation constantly proclaims the majesty of the Creator. The winds that sweep across the earth, the storms that darken the skies, the lightning that...
Liberating Grace
“For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 8:23) God’s liberating grace is the only key that can unlock the chains of sin’s bondage and free us from the bitterness and guilt of iniquity. John Flavel notes, “The grace...
The Secrets of God
“Hast thou heard the secret of God? And dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?”(Job 15:8) In the midst of Job’s immense pain and loss, Eliphaz challenges him with a piercing question: “Hast thou heard the secret of God? And dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?” (Job...
The Certainty of Eternal Life
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1:2) The certainty of eternal life is not grounded in human optimism or religious imagination, but in the wisdom of God, who has chosen to give clear assurances of what He...
Disorder Brought by the Fall
“And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (1 Timothy 2:14) After God created everything else, He made Adam … and then Eve as a suitable helper for him. From the beginning, God established an intentional order—Eve was made from...
Assurance of Your Faith
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” (Colossians 3:12) God’s people are not left to uncertainty or confusion concerning their place in His eternal purpose. He has chosen,...
The Peril of a Hardened Heart
“But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” (1 Samuel 16:14) The story of Saul recorded in Scripture is wrought with spiritual lessons. First of all, he was granted privileges few ever possess. Chosen to be the first...
The Holy Eyes of God
“For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.” (Jeremiah 16:17) The omniscience of God represents both terror to the wicked and refuge to the righteous because nothing, good or bad, escapes His...
The Infinite Glory of Christ
“The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.” (John 3:35) Before creation existed, before angels worshiped, before the worlds were formed, God the Father delighted eternally in His Son. And as a result, John declares that the Father “hath given...
Creator and Redeemer
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Genesis 1:1 declares God as the sovereign Creator, whose authority spans all existence, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). John Calvin reflects, “God’s creative power...
Beyond Time
“For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:4) God is without beginning, which is to say that there was never a moment when He was not. He did not come into existence, nor did He move from...
The Triumph of Divine Light
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) Natural man, left to himself, cannot overcome the power of sin.[1] He may be able to restrain sinful behaviors, reform bad...
The Shame of Half-Hearted Service
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8) One of the most righteous men in all of Scripture is Job. In fact, God...
God Does Not Take Back What He Has Given
“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29) A believer’s faith can be shaken and even deeply troubled. But doubt is not the same thing as loss. A cloud may cover the sun, yet the sun does not stop shining. So it is with true faith. Even...
The Terrible Mercy of Truth Rejected
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11) This passage is one of the most disturbing that we find in Scripture, for Paul is describing those whom God has already judged because they persist in...
The Deadly Root of Envy
“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.” (Genesis 4:8) Cain’s murder of his brother Abel reveals the level of corruption every human heart is capable of....
A Right Response to Sin
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7) When a Christian sins grievously, two perilous chasms open before the soul: one is Despair and the other is Presumption. The first tempts the sinner to believe...
Unfathomable Greatness
“Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.” (Job 36:26) Scripture repeatedly declares God to be great, and not just great among others, but great without comparison. “Behold, God is great, and we know him not”...
Delivered from Darkness Into Grace
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Ephesians 2:2) In this passage, Paul reminds believers at Ephesus of their former...
Presuming Upon Undeserved Mercy
“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” (Ezekiel 37:3) Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones presents one of the clearest pictures of human helplessness in all of Scripture. Israel in captivity was not described as...
The Majesty and Mystery of God’s Sovereignty
“Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.” (Job 37:23) God alone is sovereign, which means He is King of kings and Lord of lords, with power and rule over all. Nothing in...
The Majestic Glory of Christ
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” (Matthew 25:31) One of the grandest revelations of God’s glory in all of Scripture will be when Christ comes again, not in humility as He...
Hope Anchored in a God Who Cannot Lie
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1:2) Before time, before the world, before humanity, God promised eternal life. That promise came from His eternal will and unchanging truth. And this verse in Titus grounds...
No Place to Hide
“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” (Luke 12:2) How often do we try to convince ourselves that as long as our sin remains hidden we escape accountability. Yet Christ declares that all things hidden shall be...
The Darkness of Unbelief
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Unbelief is no small problem. In fact, Scripture presents it as...
The Sovereign Christ
“And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.” (Ezekiel 17:24) The history of...
Preaching the Gospel of Christ
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) The message of the gospel—that Christ died for our sins and rose again for our justification—will never change because the Christ of the gospel never changes. He does not shift with the times....
The Inescapable Reach of the Righteous King
“Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.” (Psalm 21:8) No enemy of Christ and His kingdom can escape the avenging hand of God. He knows every adversary, whether bold and open or hidden and treacherous. And no...
Everlasting Light From the Lord Himself
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5) One of the more magnificent truths about the heavenly Jerusalem is that there will be...
Both Small Starts and Glorious Finishes
“For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:10) God is always at work, though He...
The Blessing of Abraham Fulfilled in Christ
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14) As Galatians 3:14 explains, that age-old “blessing of Abraham” finds its fulfillment in time in Jesus...
The Holy Beauty of Peace
“One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:6) Peace, unity, and holy concord are among the sweetest gifts God gives His people. Scripture speaks of brethren dwelling together in unity as both pleasant and good. The...
The Righteous Judge
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11) The God of Scripture is presented as “the Righteous Judge” (2 Timothy 4:8) who is never indifferent to His creation, nor does He observe man’s behavior from a distance (Proverbs...
God Dwelling With His Redeemed People
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.’” (Revelation 21:3) This declaration from the throne captures the deepest...
The Image of the Invisible
“Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting....
God is One
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:5-6)...
The Sin of Growing Familiar with God’s Patience
“O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2) Natural man has a tendency to presume on God’s patience... mistaking His silence for...