Contemplations
A Guide to True Christian Affection
“Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) The heart of Christianity is love, and not just for God but also for our fellowman. Countless biblical...
How Well Do I Know God?
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6) It might surprise you to think in these terms, but the ultimate goal for every Christian should be to become a theologian, simply because the word theology literally means...
Is Christ Lord of All to Me?
“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:33) Christ is recognized in Scripture as a Prophet, a Priest, and a King. As Prophet, He is the very Word of God (John 6:68) and the ultimate revelation of...
Have I had a Life-Altering Vision of God’s Holiness?
"And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) Isaiah recounts a vision of God Almighty in chapter 6 of his book that shook him to the core: “In the year that king Uzziah died I...
The Invisible God
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17) In this glorious verse found in the first chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul highlights three of God’s attributes: that he is “eternal” –...
Observing His Reflection
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul reminds believers that we are...
From Creator to Incarnate
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) As the Apostle John opens his gospel, it seems as if he’s expanding and elaborating on the creation...
Guard Yourself Against Heresy
“A man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject;knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sins, being condemned of himself.”(Titus 3:10-11) Heretics abound. And as we can see from Paul’s warning to Titus in today’s text, this is a...
Departing from God
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12) Christians are sinners, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But unfortunately, many professing Christians tend to lean on...
Abba Father
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15) When Jesus prayed, he addressed the God of heaven and Creator of all things with the reverent familial word a child...
The Darkness of Unbelief
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) What a commentary on the depths of human depravity when men love darkness rather than light! And yet this...
Who Can Stand Against Him?
“He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?” (Job 9:4) Almost two thousand years ago Jesus Christ, the blessed Ambassador of heaven, came to earth and accomplished the necessary work to secure an...
The Practice of Mortification
“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5) Paul’s epistle to the Colossian Christians has only four chapters and is somewhat...
The Universal Dominion of God
“The LORD looks from heaven; he beholds all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts alike; he considers all their works.” (Psalm 33:13-15) God has ultimate dominion and power...
Has the Lord Done It?
“Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6) It is God that inflicts judgments on the children of men, especially his people when they are wayward. Where did the fall...
Am I Connected with God?
“When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 32:8) God does a good deal of dividing and separating in the Bible in...
Is My Faith in Focus?
“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” (Isaiah 44:22) Weak believers expose themselves to various fears and discouragements when they cannot be persuaded in their own mind that...
How Do I Contend for the Truth?
“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) The New Testament book of...
Divine Purpose, Pleasure, and Praise in Predestination
“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) Paul opens this letter to the church at Ephesus in praise to God for having “chosen us...
Does the Spirit Flow Through Me?
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17) The imagery of living water in Scripture depicts the Holy Spirit’s...
God’s Worthy King
“And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?’” (Revelation 5:2) John the Apostle’s vision of the “strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice” comes on the heels of the divine...
The Many Facets of God’s Wisdom
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24) The displays of God’s wisdom are as infinite as God himself, for his wisdom is an essential aspect of who he is. For this reason, exploring the...
The Father of Lights
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Throughout Scripture God is called by many names. Some of the more common names for God include...
God Our Benefactor
“And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35) God is the supreme Cause and...
Have I Been Reconciled with God?
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Cor. 8:6) Jeremy Taylor rightly said, “Christians believe there is a God, who is one, true, supreme and alone,...
How Do I Know I Am of the Elect?
“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country: yea, I have...
What Will My Voice Sound Like in Heaven?
“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.’” (Revelation 15:3) The contextual passage surrounding this verse in...
How Much Do I Love God?
“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1) Can you echo this same commitment to love the Lord as the psalmist, knowing it comes from the depths of your soul? If so, your love for God will evidence itself in life – not perfectly, but consistently day in and...
Which Way Will You Go?
“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) This passage in Matthew is found in the discourse of Christ known as the Sermon...
How Can I Approach a Holy God?
“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” (Psalm 5:4) We are truly and utterly incapable, as sinful creatures, of comprehending even a slither of a facet of the holiness of God. For as our text so plainly states,...
The Great Physician Who Saves and Heals
“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32) The Great Physician came into the world that he might save such as we are, sick and broken with sin. For a sinner cannot enter the kingdom of heaven apart from the cleansing, healing power of...
What is the Best Way to Love God and Hate Sin?
“Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate; it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” (Amos 5:15) We are well familiar with the beloved words of the Apostle John that declare God’s great love in...
The Great Husbandman of the Church
“So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7) Agricultural references are often used metaphorically in Scripture to describe the relationship between the true church, the collective body of...
Christ is Our Life
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 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 2:1-2) ...
Can I be Perfect in God’s Sight?
“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1) A Christian who never matures beyond the initial experience of repentance...
What is the Best Way to Serve God?
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve...
Can I See Into Eternity?
“Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.” (Job 26:6) As Job so clearly states in our text, the reality of hell is in full view in God’s omniscience. And had he so chosen, he could have laid it open and exposed to our view as well. But aside from...
Christ, My Shield and Buckler!
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) The only defensive weaponry we have sufficient to ward off Satan’s attacks is the armor of God. And in this passage in Ephesians Paul admonishes believers...
Because God is Everlasting I Can Live Happily Every Day
“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) The third chapter of Exodus tells us how Moses first encountered God. Exiled from Egypt where he grew up, Moses is now...
Do I See God Daily?
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (Heb. 11:27) Moses as mediator of the Old Covenant was one chosen with whom God interacted on a more intimately personal level. God spoke directly to...
How Can I Draw Closer to God and Know It?
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7) The words of the above text beautifully represent the sheer immensity and boundless omnipresence of God. The question is posed, “Where would I flee from your presence?” And...
Does God Care About What I Do?
“Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for...
How Do I Exalt God’s Character by My Life?
"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine," (Psa. 50:10-11). Evagrius of Pontus, one of the most influential theologians in the late fourth-century...
Why Did God Send a Great Flood?
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) How far man had fallen from the moment of creation in Genesis 1 when God said, “Let us make man in our...
How Should I Worship Christ the King?
“But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24) A long-standing...
My Unchanging Lord!
“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6) The prophet Malachi proclaimed to the nation of Israel that they were guilty of breaking covenant with their God. He pronounced that the priests had grown...
My Portion Forever
“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26) What did the psalmist mean when he referred to God as his portion in...
How is Christ Worthy?
“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.” (Rev. 4:11) What qualifies someone as being “worthy?” Generally speaking, a person is considered “worthy” – meaning they...
Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
“And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were afraid. And he said unto them, Be not afraid: You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here,” (Mark...
From Secret Faith to Bold Service
“And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there also Nicodemus, which at...
Blood and Water
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water,” (John 19:34). Of primary concern to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day was observing the Mosaic law, especially as it related to the Sabbath. As the Ten...
Christ’s Death Tears the Veil of the Temple in Two
“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom,” (Matt. 27:51). The sacrificial practices required by God from his people to atone for their sins prior to the death of Christ were originally established as the children of Israel...
The Rocks Respond
“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” (Matt. 27:51-52). In the 24th chapter of Joshua we read of...
Your Will, Not Mine
“For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (James 4:15) By default, we tend to make plans for our future and fill our calendars with activities and schedules without regard to certain realities of life like the sovereignty of...