Contemplations
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 his letter to the Philippian believers Paul shares a high biblical truth, i.e., that Almighty God whose Spirit takes up residence inside each individual believer at...
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) In the prophet Isaiah’s inspired words, God is “the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity,” (57:15). And this...
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) One of the greatest promises in all of Scripture is found in our...
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...
Rejoicing in God
"My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." (Luke 1:47) Imagine seeing the poorest outcast, sitting outside the city gates in the sorrow and shame of an ash heap, begging for his next meal. Filthy, gaunt, a mere skeleton of a man with nothing but the look of want in...
Out of the Darkness and Into the Light
“Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:18) A full moon on a clear night is a thing of beauty as well as mystique. Recently on...
Yahweh is Salvation
“You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21) “Of [David’s] offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised.” (Acts 13:23) A poor, young Jewish girl living in Nazareth around the year 5 BC was visited...
God Our Hero and Avenger
“I the LORD am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 49:26) Our culture loves heroes, evidenced by the fact that every movie has one. In fact, the wildly popular films produced by Marvel Studios features a collection of superheroes from the...
Our Filthiness for His Righteousness
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags...” (Isaiah 64:6) We desperately want to believe we’re good people, and that our actions are sincere and earnest and therefore acceptable to God. But if we could assemble all our...
The Gift of God
“And because of Him [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30) We are accustomed to earning our way in society – we earn a living…we earn respect…we earn the trust of another…we...
King of Kings
“…who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” (1 Timothy 6:15) One of the most comforting truths in all of Scripture is that the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4) has no rights to creation and no power to deceive and destroy beyond...
The Prophet Who Fulfills
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1-2) When we think of...
The Secret to Imitating Christ
“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done…” (John 13:15) How are Christians to demonstrate Christ-likeness? Christ said in John 15:5, 8: “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,...
Christ Our Sacrifice
“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt… the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53:10) One of the most effective ways to teach a new concept or principle is with a picture. It...
Forgiven
"If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared." (Psalm 130:3-4 NASB) It might seem strange that the psalmist’s response to God’s forgiveness in these verses is one of fear instead of...
Amazing Faith
“He marveled at him, and … said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’” (Luke 7:9) Roman soldiers occupying Israel at the time of Christ were not typically sympathetic to Jews, any more than the Jews were fond of them. But one Roman...
By His Stripes
“… for I am the Lord, your healer.” (Exodus 15:26 ESV) You and I have a fatal disease that we inherited from our original father and mother, Adam and Eve. We are born sinners under the curse of the law, guilty before a holy God, separated from Christ, and without hope...
From Life to Death … and Back to Life
"The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me." (Romans 7:10) The Law represents the virtue, goodness and holiness of God and was initially given to bring life to Adam and his descendants after him. In fact, God’s commandment to Adam and Eve...
Watch Your Heart
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life,” (Proverbs 4:23 NASB) Like cool, refreshing water flows from a natural spring, godly attitudes and behaviors flow from a pure heart. But if the spring gets clogged with debris or...
Christ Our Example
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV) This statement by Paul comes at the end of a long list of detailed instructions for the believers in Corinth (1 Cor. 10:6-30) addressing everything from immoral living to whether they should eat meat...
Imitating Our Father
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." (Ephesians 5:1 ESV) A good father is a treasure to his children. He protects, comforts and provides for them. Most of all, a good father loves his children. And in response good children adore their father...
Alive in Christ
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," (1 Corinthians 15:22). It was a dark day when Satan took the form of a serpent in the Garden and successfully persuaded Eve to first doubt, and then disobey the God whose breath gave her life....
The Perfect Word of God
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7 ESV) Because God wants us to know Him, He chose to reveal aspects of Himself and His nature through the holy Scripture – His “law.” Generally,...
The Good Law of God
“But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully.” (1 Tim. 1:8) Weak Christians, as well as those wanting to appear “Christian” who have no relationship with God, often quote Romans 6:14 as an excuse to sin. After all, Paul did tell the believers at the...
Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” (Matthew 5:8) It would be completely unthinkable to appear before a monarch or a king without giving utmost consideration to cleanliness and a top-notch appearance. Why, then, do we consider entering the...
Looking to the God of 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). At the outset of Isaiah’s ministry, he had a rare experience – a vision of God – which he describes in the sixth chapter of his book:...
Holiness Matters to God
"Her priests have violated my law and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among...
God is Our Shield
“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto those that put their trust in Him,” (Prov. 30:5). God’s people are strangers in a hostile land, but the enemy cannot harm us because God Himself is our shield (Ps. 28:7). He protects those who take refuge in Him (Ps....
What It Means to Walk with God
“Enoch walked with God…” (Genesis 5:24) In the simplest of terms, we can begin to understand the biblical concept of “walking with God” by considering what it means to “walk” – in the broader sense of that word – with another person. For such a scenario to work,...
Grace to Grow in Grace
“So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:7 NASB) Have you ever thought about how you “get grace” to work daily in your life, or how you actually “grow in grace” as Peter encourages us to do in 2...
Strength to Carry On
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NASB) Paul opens his second letter to the church at Corinth with words of comfort and encouragement for what they were going through. I’m sure that was a welcome greeting to those believers,...
What is My Purpose, Lord?
“Give unto the Lord, ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29:1-2) Do you ever ask yourself those big questions like: “why am I here?” or “what is the...
The Glory of God in Christ
“Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person...” (Hebrews 1:3) Before the foundation of the world Jesus existed eternally with God; and being One with God He shared in the glory of God. But then the Eternal Word became flesh (John...
Witnessing Heavenly Glory
“Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him." (Luke 9:32 NASB) If you’re a student of Scripture, you are no doubt familiar with the gospel accounts of the...
The Redemptive Work of the Trinity
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14) The biblical doctrine of the Trinity teaches that God is one God (Isa. 44:6) who eternally exists as three distinct Persons –...
The Trinity Unveiled
“. . . baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19) The doctrine of the Trinity is a very deeply significant, albeit mysterious, biblical truth. How God is both one God and yet three distinctly separate Persons is...
Invest in Forever
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Psalm 42:1-2) What do you live for? What drives you? What do you most often think about in the darkness when you can’t sleep? These are the kinds of...
The Eyes of God
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) Our eyes serve us in many ways, but their most significant function is to keep us aware of our surroundings. A great...
The Everlasting God
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17) Undoubtedly one of the most profound and meaningful names for God is one He called Himself in a conversation with Moses in Exodus...
God Our Preserver
You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (Neh. 9:6 NKJV) John Arrowsmith, a very astute...
God as Life-Giving
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4) Contrary to the proponents of deism, God did not create the universe and then leave it alone. He continues to be actively at work in His world, intimately involved with you and...
God Our Governor
"But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases," (Psalm 115:3 NASB) Suppose you’re an artist who paints a masterpiece. You value your painting, you go to great measures to preserve your painting, and as the creator and owner you alone have the right to...
God Our Source
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:16) The saints of God are needy people. And no one knows better than God Himself just how needy we are. In fact, Scripture compares us to...
God Lives
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Ps. 42:2) God is eternal. There has never been – and there will never be – a time when God is not, because He is forever “I AM;” the timeless, eternally-existing God. Man, on the other hand, is mortal. We don’t like to...
The Infinite Power Behind God’s Providential Care
"It was not you that sent me here, but God." (Genesis 45:8) The account of Joseph’s life is one of the most prominent displays of the providence of God in all of Scripture. Further, though the stories of such notable historical characters as Adam, Noah,...
A Distinction with a Difference
“God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” (2 Peter 2:4) Multitudes of celestial beings, more commonly referred to as angels (“messengers” or “agents”) in Scripture,...
How to Tell the Difference
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) The third chapter of this first letter of John to the church is characterized by antitheses: the sinfulness of the Christian versus the sinlessness of Christ...
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 Wonders of God’s Promises
“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...
Understanding Times of Suffering
“Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.” (Psalm 102:8) In Psalm 102, the author uses a series of vivid poetic metaphors to convey the depths of affliction and sorrow he is experiencing, “my days disappear...
Complete Obedience to Divine Directions
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” (1saiah 15:23) In a fallen world filled with countless distractions and temptations,...
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...
Incessant Praise for His Holiness
"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8) Holiness is one of the divine attributes of...