Three words in Hebrews 11:1-3 summarize what true Bible faith is: substance, evidence, and witness. The word translated substance means literally “to stand under, to support.” Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: it gives confidence that he will stand. When a believer has faith,...
Not every believer is equipped to establish other Christians in the faith. Ideally, every Christian should be mature enough to help others grow in the Lord and learn to stand on their own two feet. Unfortunately, some Christians are like those described in Hebrews 5:11-14. They have gone backward in...
A fire can begin with just a small spark, but it can grow to destroy a city. A fire reportedly started in the O’Leary bam in Chicago at 8:30 p.m., October 8, 1871; and because that fire spread, over 100,000 people were left homeless, 17,500 buildings were destroyed, and 300...
The original Law kept people from forcing the offender to pay a greater price than the offense deserved. It also prevented people from taking personal revenge. Jesus replaced a law with an attitude: Be willing to suffer loss yourself rather than cause another to suffer. Of course, He applied this...
“You seem to imagine that I have no ups and downs, but just a level and lofty stretch of spiritual attainment with unbroken joy and equanimity. By no means! I am often perfectly wretched and everything appears most murky.” So wrote the man called in his day (1864- 1923) “the...
While flying back to Chicago from upper New York via New York City, we had to stay in our holding pattern over Kennedy Airport for more than an hour. When the stewardess announced that we would be landing an hour late, a man across the aisle shouted, “Bring out the...
The Holy Spirit empowered Paul to minister, enabling him to perform mighty signs and wonders. The miracles God gave Paul to do were “signs” that they came from God and revealed Him to others. And they were “wonders” in that they aroused the wonder of the people. But their purpose...
When the Lord returns, there will be a time of judgment at “the Judgment' Seat of Christ.” Each of us will give an account of his works, and each will receive the appropriate reward. This is a “family judgment” as the Father deals with His beloved children. The Greek word...
Often in the, Bible we are warned against a false estimate of our spiritual condition. The church at Sardis had “a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Revelation 3:1). They had reputation without reality. The church at Laodicea boasted that it was rich, when in God’s sight it was...
The phrase “make you perfect” in Hebrews 13:21 is the translation of one Greek word, katartidzo. This word was familiar to the people who received the letter to the Hebrews. Doctors knew it because it meant “to set a broken bone.” To fishermen it meant “to mend a broken net.”...