Contemplations
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...
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) Many grapple with the notion of what it means to be “born again,” a biblical truth that is both rich in spiritual significance and a...
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) Over 2000 years ago in Jerusalem a highly respected Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus met with Jesus secretly under the...
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) If we are honest with ourselves, even though we know what Scripture says on the...
God Sees You and Me
“For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps.” (Job 34:21) Right now, this very moment, God sees you and me. While Christ has a glorified body, He is also like God the Father as an eternal spirit and as such He is infinitely and eternally...
The Omniscience of God
“And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) God sees and knows everything everywhere, for He fills both heaven and earth. He inhabits eternity – every space at every...
God’s Righteous Works
“…for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that He has done.” (Daniel 9:14) Holiness is the essence of God’s nature, so much so that all God’s attributes are defined by it. He is said to have a holy anger, a holy justice, a holy love. And it is...
Giving Thanks for the Family of God
“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13) As Paul considers what God has done in...
Awareness of God’s Providence
“He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:21) Instead of being concerned with making a list of resolutions, the New Year is an excellent opportunity for a...
Born of a Virgin
“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) More than 700 years beforehand, Isaiah prophesied that Christ’s coming would be quite miraculous. And one of the most...
Greater Condemnation
"…who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." (Mark 12:40) One of the most misunderstood aspects of God’s justice is how He punishes unrepentant sinners in hell with varying degrees of torment. Of...
Exalting God’s Holiness in Our Holiness
“Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!” (Psalm 99:9) One of our responsibilities as Christians is to continually evaluate whether or not our attitudes, intents, and actions exalt the holiness of God because, as...
Christ the True God
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:2) Though the term “Trinity” is not found in...
The Reason for Thanksgiving
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!” (1 Chronicles 16:8) The countless hosts of angels, elders, and all living creatures who inhabit heaven continually do one thing, day and night – they give thanks, honor, and...
God Draws Near a Broken Heart
"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psa. 34:18). People are in a state of grace who are truly contrite and broken because of sin. How do we know this? The Lord is near to them. He that is contrite (crushed in spirit) has...
Praise to the Lamb
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12) The fifth chapter of Revelation begins by describing a heavenly court room… the Righteous Judge seated on the throne and in His...
Which Side Are You On?
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has...
God’s Enduring Covenant of Grace
"…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." (Ephesians 1:4) God’s covenant of grace runs as a singularly consistent thread throughout all of Scripture. Its glorious truth is...
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...