Contemplations
Unshakeable Oath
“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)...
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) Forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God is possible only through the blood of Jesus Christ....
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) This praise-filled passage in 1 Peter speaks to the heart of our...
The Importance of Remembering
“They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.” (Psalm 78:10-11) Psalm 78:10-11 details the tragic downfall of Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel whose story serves as a solemn...
Convictions Without Conversion
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou...
Affliction Teaches True Wisdom
“And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.” (2 Kings 5:15) Many people...
The Will That Saved Us
“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me)...
The Weight of God’s Appointed Ordinances
“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land...
The Folly of Thinking God Is Indebted
“I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell...
When Prosperity Is a Judgment
“Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.” (Habakkuk 1:3) The righteousness of God’s providence cannot be judged by outward appearances, for His ways...
The Lord of Heaven and Earth
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” (Acts...
The Folly of Clinging to Sin
“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-44) In this passage in...
Eternal Judgment and Present Grace
“And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:42) The doctrine of eternal punishment is one of the most dreadful truths revealed in Scripture. Christ Himself speaks often concerning the final judgment of the...
Mercy That Still Calls the Hardened Heart
“Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and...
Saints Who Warn a Perishing World
“He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.” (Psalm 50:4) The coming judgment of God is one of the most sobering realities in Scripture. We are told that heaven and earth themselves will be summoned as witnesses before the...
The Glory of the Gospel
“For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5) The gospel of Jesus Christ is the appointed means through which God...
The Frailty of My Heart
“When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.” (Habakkuk 3:16) The holiness...
Grace That Draws
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) The grace of God is... and must of necessity be... the hub of salvation because fallen man possesses neither the inclination nor the wherewithal to save himself from sin....
God Who Makes the Impossible Possible
“But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.”...
Christ Exalted
“But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:13-14) God the Father assigned the...
Strength for the Soul
“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand...
Trusting God’s Ways
“The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.” (Psalm 37:13) The prosperity of the wicked has long troubled the hearts of God’s people. When we see those who oppose Him appear secure, successful, and unshaken, it can seem as though righteousness...
The God in Whom All Life Exists
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28) The dependence of all creation upon the Creator is constant, absolute, and universal. Every breath and every movement of every...
Fleeing Idolatry
“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14) In his first letter to the believers at Corinth, Paul urges them to flee idolatry because it is a direct affront to the living God, as it transfers the honor due Him alone to something created....
Glory and Peace
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14) The birth of Christ was first announced to a group of shepherds by a multitude of...
The Sin of Unbelief
“And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?” (Numbers 14:11) God’s people witnessed with their own eyes the hand of judgment on Egypt with every...
Confessing Our Unbelief
“But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 13:18) When God brought His people out of Egypt, He did not lead them by way of the most direct route to...
God’s Counsel Stands
“There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” (Proverbs 19:21) Man is continually planning. He considers what he will do, how he can secure his future, how he will avoid trouble, how he can achieve success, how he...
Joyful Deliverance
“For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12) This beautiful promise in Isaiah was first given to the people of...
Slow to Anger
"And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of...
Walking Worthy of You
"That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10) The Christian life cannot be sustained by knowledge, instruction, or resolution alone. Scripture teaches believers...
Keep Me Mindful of Your Covenant
"Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant." (Leviticus 24:8) God’s everlasting covenant with His people teaches us that what He sets apart to Himself is to be regarded...
The Anointed Mediator, Full of Grace and Power
"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts 10:38) Christ was anointed for His mediatorial office by the Holy Ghost. Which means that...
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) God created a multitude of celestial beings, known as angels or “messengers” in Scripture, to serve His...
God’s Unsearchable Greatness
“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:5) Psalm 147:5 reminds us of the vastness of God’s nature—His strength, wisdom, and presence extend beyond anything we can grasp. When we pause to consider who He is, we come to...
The Promise of Belonging
“And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.” (Romans 9:26) Romans 9:26 is a beautiful demonstration of God’s mercy, love, and grace in action, “And it shall...
Before the Everlasting God
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8) Time belongs to created existence, but God is not contained within it. Scripture teaches that “one day with the Lord is...
The Mountain of Myrrh and Hill of Frankincense
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.” (Micah 4:1) What a treasure of hope is found in this...
Perseverance in Prayer
"And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee." (Luke 11:7) In Luke 11, tucked between that familiar passage we refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer” and the equally familiar...
Christ Be Magnified
"What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." (Philippians 1:18) The gospel proclaims Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, the One in whom every prophetic promise...
The Love Revealed in the Only Begotten Son
"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." (1 John 4:9) The greatness of God’s love is evidenced in the greatness of His Son whom He sent. Jesus is not called the only...
Rejoicing in the Glory of Zion
"Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her." (Isaiah 66:10) This prophecy in Isaiah looks beyond the limited blessings enjoyed by the Jews after their return from Babylon and points...
The Lord’s Certain Coming
“And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.” (Romans 9:26) Romans 9:26 is a beautiful demonstration of God’s mercy, love, and grace in action, “And it shall...
Held Fast in Christ’s Hand
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28) The perseverance of the saints rests in the reality that they are born of God and that nothing can separate them from Christ. Indeed, true...
The Cancelled Bond
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." (Colossians 2:14) In this passage in Colossians, Paul presents our guilt of sin using the image of a written bond...
The Sin That Contemplates Harm
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."...
The Riches Of His Goodness
"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4) Every blessing received from the hand of God is an expression of His goodness. His patience with sinners,...
Brethren Against Brethren
"Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the...
Receiving God’s Word as Written to Me
“And as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16) Scripture is not a...
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...
The Sovereign Mercy Of God
"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Romans 9:15) Fallen man possesses no claim on God’s favor, for all have sinned and stand justly condemned before His holy law. If God...
God’s Promises at Work for Our Good
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The promise of Romans 8:28 is a comforting and powerful reality, assuring us that no matter what we face, God is...
Christ My Substitute
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) The glory of the gospel shines most brightly in the work of Jesus Christ as the sinner's Substitute. Every descendant of...
Partakers of the Divine Nature
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:4) Through the exceeding great and precious promises of the gospel,...