Contemplations
Eternal Choices
“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness.” (Titus 1:1) The doctrine of predestination, often misunderstood, stands as a cornerstone of divine grace in...
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...
Knowing Nothing But Christ Crucified
“For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) The church at Corinth serves as both an encouragement and a warning. Encouragement, because it was rich in gifts, knowledge, and outward ability. Warning,...
The Burden of Sin and Shame Christ Bore for Me
“But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.”(Psalm 22:6) In ancient Hebrew texts, the idea of “bearing iniquities” is not about assuming the guilt for sin intrinsically but rather bearing the burden of its external debt and due...
The True Mirror for Sin and Salvation
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”(Mark 10:45) In a world increasingly swayed by appearances, where mirrors can distort and flatter, our perception of self as well as our sin requires a...
Waking and Walking in God’s Embrace
“Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the...
Embracing the Life of Christ in Me
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) In Galatians 2:20 Paul explains the...
Faith That Exhibits Christ Above All
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”(Genesis 6:8) In the cacophony of life’s demands and the many temptations it presents, there is an enduring truth that calls out to every believer’s heart. This truth, timeless and unwavering, reminds us of a...
Do You Possess Unwavering Faith?
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;but that the world through him might be saved.”(John 3:17) John 3:17 shows us that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world as there was no need for that; the world was already...
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) Abiding love is at the heart of the Christian faith: love for God and love for others. Both loves are...
Is the Aim of Your Christian Walk in Line with God’s Grand Design?
“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.” (Psalm 36:6) God’s creation operates with breathtaking precision, every element moving in harmony with His divine purpose. From the smallest...
The Wonders of God’s Promises
“And the LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD...
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) The pursuit of knowing God is the highest calling and greatest privilege of every believer. Which is to say that theology — described by William Perkins as having “two parts:...
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 revealed in Scripture as the Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. These three offices embody the fullness of His divine role in the redemption and...
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’s vision of God in His temple — seated on a throne high and lifted up with the train of His robe filling the sacred space,...
Transforming Treasures Reserved for God’s Elect
“I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” (1 Timothy 5:21) In a world where many spend their life pursuing material wealth,...
The Lord’s Eternal Name: Remembering Jehovah in the New Year
“Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.” (Hosea 12:5) The prophet Hosea calls our hearts to reflect on the majesty and faithfulness of our God by referencing His eternal nature and identity as the Lord of Hosts and Jehovah. These names speak to God’s...
A Year in Perspective
“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psalm 26:2) Our God is omniscient, which means He holds an infinitely perfect, divine, all-seeing understanding of Himself and all things, including the innermost thoughts and intents of each heart. “For...
Is Christ My Lord?
“Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” (1 Timothy 6:15) The recognition of Jesus as “My Lord” is far more than a mere label. It is a profession of faith that defines my life and informs my...
The Sacred Kiss of Christ’s Word
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Christ the Good Shepherd declares, “I lay down my life for my sheep” (John 10:15). In this promise He reveals the highest form of love known to heaven or earth—the...
Fleeing Our Spiritual Egypt
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)[1] The exodus of Israel from Egyptian bondage is a beautiful picture of redemption. Four hundred years of slavery under Pharaoh left Israel helpless. But God, by His mighty arm,...
Jesus is the Bridge over the Chasm of Division
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” (Colossians 3:14) Division has plagued humanity since the fall, when sin destroyed the harmony between God and man in Eden, setting brother against brother, tribe against tribe, and nation...
Is God the Source of My Grace?
“And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” (Psalm 143:2) Scripture repeatedly declares that no one can stand before God on the strength of their own righteousness, for divine judgment based on human merit...
Do I Experience the Infinite Grace of Christ?
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14) Every Christian experiences these divine gifts at salvation—Christ’s grace (Eph. 2:8), God’s love (John 3:16), and the Spirit’s...
Does the Seed of God Dwell in Me?
“Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:9) The doctrine of regeneration lies at the heart of the Gospel. To be born again is not a matter of personal reform or behavioral...
Am I Reborn?
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, sought out Christ under cover of night. Though well versed in ritual, law, and...
Can I Earn Grace?
“Ho, every one that thirsts, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1) God’s grace, freely offered to the undeserving, is the heart of the Gospel, as Isaiah...
The Intertwined Mystery of Divine Grace and Our Will
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) In this passage Paul reveals a truth so mysterious that it both humbles us and calls us to worship. God Himself, by His Spirit, dwells within His people and...
No Surer Foundation
“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48) God’s grace shines brilliantly in Acts 13:48, demonstrating His sovereign, loving plan to redeem those He chose...
The Only Grace That Ignites True Faith
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”...
The Magnitude of God’s Grace
“The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, the LORD brought you...
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) Paul makes it clear in Ephesians that no amount of labor nor virtue of our own can earn salvation and acceptance...
No Pleasure in Sin
“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.”(Psalm 5:4) Though sin offers momentary pleasure (Heb. 11:25), it is a direct affront to God’s holiness, as Psalm 5:4 declares. His pure eyes cannot endure evil (Hab. 1:13),...
From Wrath to Redemption
“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:3) Sin, at its core, is the transgression of God’s law,...
Suffering God’s Eternal Vengeance
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7) Hell is described in Scripture with words so...
Only Through Christ
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) As the offspring of Adam, man is corrupt from the point of conception. David confesses, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and...
The Drama of the Covenant and Fall
“So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) The opening chapters of Genesis detail a profound drama of creation, covenant, and...
Roasted in the Fire
“And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.” (Jeremiah 15:14) Fire in Scripture is often a symbol of divine wrath and God’s anger as a consuming blaze against sin....
No Beginning, No End
“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 prophet Isaiah describes the Lord as “the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity” (Isa. 57:15), and as such, He...
The Power to Effect Resurrection
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Romans 8:11) Few promises in Scripture are of more import than this: that the...
The End of the Matter
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) When...
Suffering Persecution
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12) From the moment sin entered the world, Satan and his forces have relentlessly sought to persecute and destroy God’s people. Throughout history, evil rulers, emperors, and...
The Protective Love of God
“God is jealous, and the LORD revenges; the LORD revenges, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserves wrath for his enemies.” (Nahum 1:2) Nahum’s prophecy announces the downfall of Assyria, but its greater message lies in the...
Can We Weary God?
“And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?” (Isaiah 7:13) Is it really possible to weary a God who is Almighty … one who never “slumbers or sleeps?” (Ps. 21:3-4). According to the prophet...
Embracing God’s Providences
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:10) The forty years of Israel’s wandering from Egypt to Canaan are a poignant record of how God guides and provides for His people. Their hardships were many,...
Engaging With The Word
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) This text in Galatians is a powerful reminder of the importance of taking what God says seriously, knowing that how we respond to God’s Word determines the...
Responding to the Word
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) This text in Galatians is a solemn reminder that God’s Word is never to be taken lightly. How we respond to it determines what we will reap both in this life...
Praise His Blessedness
“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and...
The Consequences of Disobedience
“So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24) The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was the first and primary instance of...
Deliverance Through Christ
“…even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10) As surely as night follows day, God’s wrath will most certainly and inevitably come upon sinners who choose to live and die in their sins. This reality ought to weigh heavily on every...
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 testimony in Scripture to describe what may be called the Christian spirit, the distinguishing...
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 Israel’s early journey, a vivid tapestry of God’s...