Contemplations
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.”...
Embracing God’s Providences
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:10) The 40-year journey of faith the Israelites took from Egypt to the Promised Land is a detailed demonstration of the incredible way God guides and provides...
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) Multiple biblical texts make it clear that the written Word of God is to be honored, accepted, and acted upon because it is God Himself speaking; his...
Chosen by Grace: God’s Covenant People
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) Unlike the Covenant of Works which required perfect...
The God Who Refines and Restores
“And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:3) In Malachi 3:3 we’re reminded of the refining process God...
Salvation by His Mercy
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5) Our text in Titus 3:5—as well as many other biblical passages—makes it patently clear that salvation...
A Better Choice
“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) In his unending search for happiness, the unbeliever is continually chasing after worldly gain and temporary pleasures, often devoting himself entirely to these...
Harmonizing with the Word
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16) In this passage the Apostle Paul paints a beautiful picture of...
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,...
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...
Illuminated by Grace
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Regardless of the various paths men and women take in search of spiritual fulfillment, God’s...
The Glorious Mystery of Christ’s Incarnation
“Who was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification.” (Romans 4:25) A foundational doctrine of the Christian faith—the incarnation of Christ—is an irrefutable demonstration of the depths of God’s love and the lengths He chose to go to in...
By His Power
“Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6) In the face of life’s challenges and temptations, there’s a natural...
The Glory of Christ’s Redemption for Us
“These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” (John 17:1) In the grand narrative of redemption, there is perhaps no moment more pivotal than the transition from...
The Promises and Providences of God
“And the LORD hath performed his word that he spoke, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.” (1 Kings 8:20) This verse in 1 Kings 8:20...
Our Divine Mediator
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” (John 10:17) In God’s unfolding plan of redemption, He ordained His Son as the one and only Mediator between Himself and His people (1 Timothy 2:5). This truth was affirmed by...
The Inestimable Sword of the Spirit
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The metaphor of a...
Christ in the Midst
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14) At the heart of Christ’s earthly mission, as depicted in our text so beautifully, was His sacrificial act of pure love...
The Ultimate Ransom
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Matthew 20:28 beautifully captures the heart of Christ’s mission and the purpose of His first coming. And when we focus in on the...
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) A passage of Scripture depicting the beauty of graceful speech in a metaphorical setting is that...
Knowledge without Action
“I know ye not, depart from me all ye workers of iniquity.”(Luke 13:27) One of the greatest concerns among Christian communities today is the disproportionate level of knowledge to action… or rather what we might call resting in an acquired knowledge of God and His...
Sanctification to Holiness
“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.” (1 John 5:6) In 1 John 5:6, the Apostle writes, “This is he that came by water and blood,...
The Assurance of Election
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4) In an attempt to understand the often overwhelming doctrine of election, we need not try to see it as God’s hidden will or a matter of uncovering His secret decrees. Rather, in seeking to know...
Obedience: The Heart of True Worship
“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28) Tucked inside this simple statement of Christ lies the key to the abundant life He promised those who believe and follow Him (John 10:10). We are “blessed,” Christ said,...
The Residence of God
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John...
Reverently Fearing God and His Goodness
“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” (Psa. 26:2) Our God is omniscient, which means he holds an infinitely perfect, divine, all-seeing understanding of himself and all things. 1 Samuel 2:3 says, “For the Lord is a God of knowledge.” His...
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) Assurance of salvation that’s rooted in the truths of Scripture and...
Standing Firm Against Heresy
“I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm 138:2) At various times throughout church history heresies have surfaced within the church that challenge...
Helmet of Hope
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17) Beginning in verse 10 of Ephesians 6, Paul exhorts the believers at Ephesus to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” And then he proceeds to...
The Glory of God’s Law
“These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me.” (Deuteronomy 5:22)...
A Call to Celebrate God’s Promises
“Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel.” (Isaiah 44:23) In Isaiah 44:23 we find a...
Chosen in Grace
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5-6) This passage in Ephesians 1...
Born Anew to a Lively Hope
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) Peter begins his first epistle in praise to “the God and Father...
Finding True Peace
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” (Romans 12:14) The world defines peace as an absence of adversity or opposition. Based on that definition, however, peace can only be enjoyed periodically because we all know adversity is a reality of life. True...
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 Melchizedek’).” (Hebrews 7:20-21)...
The Assurance of Election
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4) The doctrine of election—that God has chosen certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world—offers believers a unique assurance. In 1 Thessalonians 1:4, Paul reminds the...
The Healing Stripes of Christ
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) In all of human history, the spotless life and sacrificial death of Christ is untouched and...
Seeing God in the Rhythms of Nature
“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17) When the demands of daily life overwhelm us, taking a moment to step outdoors and...
Man’s Journey from Innocence to Eternity
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) One of the more intriguing verses in Scripture is found in Ecclesiastes 7:29, “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but...
God’s Providential Governance
“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worships thee.” (Nehemiah 9:6) This...
The Power of God Over Spiritual Enemies
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him.” (Psalm 28:7) The strength, the number, and the varied nature of our spiritual enemies can cause us to feel...
Children of God: Confirmed by Faith
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26) Though numerous verses of Scripture like this one in Galatians 3:26 assure us that we are children of God by faith, many still struggle with knowing for certain that they belong to Him....
The Unwavering Truth of Scripture
“But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” (Daniel 10:21) In this tenth chapter of Daniel, the prophet describes his experience of a vision from God in which he...
Instruments of God’s Grace
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11) In this...
Anchored in God’s Immutable Word and Oath
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:18) In Hebrews 6, the Apostle Paul draws the believer’s attention to God’s...
The Spotlight that Shines on Christ
“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me.” (John 15:26) This “Comforter,” or “Spirit of truth” that Christ speaks of in this passage is, of course, the...
Evidence of Sanctification
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”(1 John 2:4) Our text in 1 John 2:4 clearly outlines the difference between those who are true children of God and those who only appear to be godly by living a moral...
Led by the Good Shepherd
“For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” (Psalm 33:4) People in Jesus’ day were well familiar with the pastoral image of the shepherd and his sheep, for shepherds and sheep were plentiful in the land of Israel in those days. So when...
The Importance of Remembering
“They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law; and forgot his works, and his wonders that he had shown them.”(Psalm 78:10-11) Among all the tribes of Israel, the biblical account of Ephraim’s journey emerges as a critical reminder of the dreadful...
Called to Charity
“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) Scripture urges believers to pursue purity and holiness—not only in our...
Justification – Our Divine Acquittal
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) The doctrine of justification is deeply rooted in Scripture, and due to the nature and significance of this...
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...
How to Rest in Eternal Certainties
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) Our ever-changing world leads to a number of concerns and...