Ephesians 4:11 reads: “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.” All of these ministerial offices have their place in the church today. The Apostles that Christ chose in His day are as much for me today in their writings as they were verbally or personally to those……..[Read More]

I’ve heard a lot of people say that, “All sin is the same. There’s no big sin or little sin in God’s sight.” I understand why they say it, and there is some truth to it, but this is not a correct statement except in one thing – that all sin, if not forgiven in……..[Read More]

  Christians sin. Tonight I had the privilege of attempting to explain to my three young daughters (two of which were more interested in the stickers they get after Bible time) the difference between wrath being laid up for a person, and what we mean when we say, “Temporal judgments” for those in the faith.……..[Read More]

  Natural men have always demanded signs to believe. If you spend any time in debate with the self-professed atheists of our day they’re often quick to demand proof or “evidence” for God. By denying the evidence of creation as from God Himself they are left, by their own sinful suppressions (Romans 1:18) groping for……..[Read More]

  In Ephesians 1:18 Paul prays that that church would come to know, “…the hope of His calling.” This is only one part of his prayers for them. Considering the fact that the Biblical use of the word “hope” is easily missed by us today I’d like to talk a bit about what I believe the glories……..[Read More]

  Christ Himself is spoken of as “The mystery” of God that’s now been revealed in Colossians 2:2. The following is an interesting prophecy from about 1405 B.C. It’s Numbers 24:16-17 and is the 4th prophecy of Balaam. In it he says, 16 “The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has……..[Read More]

  I worship Jesus of Nazareth, the one the Bible calls the Christ. He is the One who Created me. I have met Him. He has changed my life, and I have forensically discovered how on each page of the Scriptures. It is He who fully revealed to a new church made up of both……..[Read More]

From the Puritan prayer book The Valley of Vision–   Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,  where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;  hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory. Let me learn by paradox  that the way down……..[Read More]

The phrase, “Short and sweet” may apply to the shortest verse in the Bible which says that, “Jesus wept,” John 11:35. How sweet is it to read where the untouchable One was touched? It may also apply to another of the shortest which says, “Pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. This is simple instruction. It……..[Read More]

  If I ever lose my joy in the Lord I’m done for. Ultimately, since my joy is rooted in a life to come that’s been attained for me in Christ (1 Peter 1:4) I cannot actually lose it at all; all I can do is lose a proper perspective on it. In this life……..[Read More]

  Romans 8:31 reads, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” The immediate context of the statement is in regard to the salvation of the believer. Because God has eternally predetermined to save an individual (see vv. 29-30) if a person is now living in Christ and walking worthy of……..[Read More]

  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the……..[Read More]

  At the outset of every letter that we’re certain the Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament he uses a phrase that reflects his love for the church. In all 13 letters in the Pauline Corpus, with only slight variation he writes, “…Grace to you and peace from God our Father…” (Romans 1:7; 1……..[Read More]

    The following is a bit of biographical information on St. Paul from a class introduction to Colossians. Along with this was some compiled information on the city of Colosse and how we date the Scriptures.   1) He spoke several languages. Hebrew, Greek and possibly Latin (desiring to go to Italy/Spain). 2) St.……..[Read More]

    Without the Person of Jesus there is no Christianity! No one could replace Him as the proponent of The Way. Any other "prophet" could've founded any other system of religion, but Christianity, the only true religion among men, could not have been started or endured under anyone but God The Son Himself. Jesus,……..[Read More]

  In Isaiah 55:9 we read, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Now this passage, according to vv. 7-8 is not written to the righteous, but rather to the wicked. Nonetheless there is truth to it for the righteous of……..[Read More]

  There are what we call, “Means of grace” available to every believer. One of the greatest mysteries to me regarding my faith is just how this sanctification exactly works. Whenever I enter into contemplation on the idea I must confess an overwhelming sense of loss of any ability to comprehend it. How far can……..[Read More]

       Without the Person of Jesus there is no Christianity! No one could replace Him as the proponent of The Way. Any other "prophet" could've founded any other system of religion, but Christianity could not have been started or endure with anyone but God the Son Himself. Jesus, in His very nature even……..[Read More]

       The revival of Lazarus from the dead found in John 11:1-44 is incalculably rich in its display of power and truth for Jesus. It is an incredible story. It was not at all random. Its grandeur never even entered into the minds of the people present. No one had the wherewithal to……..[Read More]

  I haven’t written to you in a bit due to some difficult but necessary website upgrades. Please pardon the absence.      I greatly mean to encourage anyone reading this by writing these devotionals. One ditch many fall into is the idea that the Christian life is always supposed to be some great mountaintop of……..[Read More]

Picture an exhausted man treading water in a torrent a mile upstream from sure death. Along comes a boat to rescue him. The rescue workers, despite their best efforts, have only six feet of rope. The problem is that he’s nine feet down from the side. Even with everyone’s outstretched arms there’s still several inches……..[Read More]

Here’s an excerpt from a book I’m writing:      Can I honestly say that God “wants” Judas Iscariot saved in the same way He wants Peter saved? I can’t. Peter would betray Jesus. He was warned, Luke 22:31-32. He was restored, John 21:15-17. Judas was given no such warning, and no restoration was sought.……..[Read More]

  1 John 4:7 reads, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”       How can love be so simply and surely identified? How is it that the Apostle John can say in a blanket statement that “everyone” who loves……..[Read More]

  There is a form of Christianity that ultimately bases all of its hopes of salvation on the flesh. It contains the idea that demands a man’s “free-will” be the deciding factor in salvation. It is the idea that Jesus did only “His part” regarding one’s salvation and now seeks men who will do “Their……..[Read More]

       When I read a solid church’s confession of faith I find in it a 1 Corinthians 13 kind of labor of love. This is true even with ones that I would call Christian, but not necessarily statements that reflect my own understanding of the Christian religion. Confessions of faith are never “easy”……..[Read More]