A friend nudged me in Bible study the other day and pointed to her I-pad. She’d followed a rabbit trail and came up with a surprise. In Matthew 10:28 it says, “And do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” She looked up “hell” in this passage at BlueLetterBible.org and was surprised to find the original Greek word…
Jude 3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude’s day is quite similar to ours. Our churches, like his, had people who wanted to be known as Christian, yet they had their own brand of the gospel. Some people claim, “God is love, therefore, no one…
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Left to ourselves, we would never come to the conviction of the truth unless the Holy Spirit opened our ears and allowed the truth about Jesus to pour into our hearts. We hear with our ears, but also with our hearts. If we carry anger or bitterness or unforgiveness, we hinder the Holy Spirits work in our lives. That pipeline to our heart plugs up. The…
Isaiah 64:4 For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him. Of all the world religions of all the ages, there is no God who forgives sins, who came to earth to tell us of the One True God, who offered His own self on a cross as payment for our sins, and then died. But there…
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment. Here Paul prays for those in Philippi and for us as well. He asks that as we grow older in Christ Jesus, our brotherly love, goodwill, and benevolence will grow. As Christ reigns supreme in our hearts, our goodwill and affection need to multiply and excel to overflowing. As our knowledge increases, it will become more precise and correct…
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. If we are in Christ, then we are new creatures. We have new gate-keepers. We no longer obey Satan’s demands. We have new life and new abilities. We have power to resist Satan’s temptations. We have a new Master—Jesus. Our old master, sin, has been rendered a fatal blow. In order to please God, we need to yield to His grace….
Luke 24:44 Now He (Jesus)said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” On that first Easter Sunday, grieving disciples encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13). That same evening they returned to Jerusalem and sought out other disciples to tell them they had seen…
John 3:18 (Jesus said) “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” One day, there will be a day of reckoning. A day when all men will stand before God. Those who have refused to put their faith and trust in Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, will be judged. They will hear Him say, “I never…
I John 5:10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we have a new heart. We soon learn God can be trusted in even the smallest whispered requests offered in Jesus’ name. When John baptized Jesus in…
Early last Thursday morning, I sat to write. This came tumbling out. The first lines are a quote from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20) Today’s World Men call themselves women and instruct us to accept what God condemns.* Abortionists pose as health-care providers who reduce God’s unborn creation to…