Contemplations
Fortifying Faith
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward You; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8) The trials and difficulties believers encounter through the course of life are often well-disguised...
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...
A Superior Priesthood
“And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest: (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord swore and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec).” (Hebrews 7:20-21)...
Grasping Grace
“Destruction and misery are in their ways.” (Romans 3:16) Scripture testifies plainly to the desperate state of man apart from God, affirming that his ways are filled with destruction and misery. The depths of human depravity, described in Romans 3:16 as ruined,...
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...
Aligning and Abiding
“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15) There must be present in every believing soul the unshakeable faith that Jesus is who He says He is—the Son of God, one with the Father. Such faith arises from a...
The Entirety of the Spiritual Blessing in Christ
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with a hymn of praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus...
The Majestic Greatness of the First and the Last
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.” (Revelation 1:17) In John’s vision recounted in Revelation 1, the glorified Christ, radiant as the sun in full strength,...
Incorruptible Seed Abides Forever
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (1 Peter 1:23) The Apostle Peter directs believers to consider the foundation of their new life in Christ by recalling the source of their...
The Living and Active Word
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not...
The Cross Ordained from Eternity
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” (1 Peter 1:20) The Lord Christ, God incarnate, Son of God and Son of Man encompasses and accomplished all that God the Father intended and all that a most...
Does God Change His Mind?
“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” (1 Samuel 15:29) Unlike the fickle gods of pagan myths, who act with human whims, the God of Scripture is unchangeable, “the same yesterday, today, and forever”...
Deliverance through Christ the King
“Hezekiah was sick unto death, then turned his face to the wall and said, ‘Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight.’” (Isaiah 38:1-3) Christ, the Great King and...
Seeing God
“And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:26-27) The highest hope of every true believer is to see God...
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) Paul’s doxology in 1 Timothy 1:17 praises the majestic attributes of God: eternal, unbound by time; immortal, untouched by decay; and...
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) Paul urges the Ephesians to be “followers of God” (Eph. 5:1), using a term meaning...
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) The Apostle John opens his gospel with a majestic echo of Genesis 1, proclaiming, “In the beginning was the...
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) Heresy is a grave danger, as Paul warns Titus. Those who cling to doctrines contrary to the...
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, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, are not immune to the danger of straying from God. Indeed, some professing...
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. This passage explains...
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) The Lord Jesus Christ, the blessed Ambassador of heaven, descended nearly two thousand years ago to accomplish the momentous work of securing 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 Colossians is brief, yet it holds a wealth of both doctrinal...
The Universal Dominion of God
“The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.” (Psalm 33:13-15) God possesses ultimate dominion and...
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) God is the sovereign author of all events, including the judgments that fall upon humanity and particularly His wayward...
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) In this verse in Deuteronomy Moses declares the sovereign division...
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 often wrestle with doubts, fearing their sins remain unforgiven. They struggle to embrace Christ’s promises,...
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) Contending for the truth is a...
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’s letter to the Ephesians opens with a cascade of praise for God’s eternal plan,...
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) Scripture’s imagery for the Holy Spirit’s transformative work in the...
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) While exiled on the Isle of Patmos, the Apostle John was granted a vision that no man on earth could conceive or even imagine....
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) God’s wisdom, boundless as His very being, orchestrates all things for His glory. This wisdom encompasses His perfect knowledge of Himself and...
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) God is known in Scripture by many names that reflect His nature, character, and actions. Among the...
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 reigns as the supreme...
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 Corinthians 8:6) Christians confess that there is but one living and true God, and one Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremy...
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) In Revelation 15, John beholds a congregation of saints...
How Much Do I Love God?
“I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.” (Psalm 18:1) The psalmist’s declaration of his love for God in Psalm 18:1 represents a life wholly devoted to Him—a devotion of first place in the heart that transforms how one lives and relates to the world. So for us to echo...
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 from our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount delivers a sharp and searching...