Yes, nature determines appetite. The pig wants slop but the sheep desires green pastures. Nature also determines behavior. An eagle flies because it has an eagle’s nature, and a dolphin swims because that is the nature of the dolphin. Nature determines environment: squirrels climb trees, moles burrow underground, and trout...
The accounts of Paul’s conversion tell very little that parallels our salvation experience today. Certainly none of us has seen Christ in glory or actually heard Him speak from heaven. We are neither blinded by the light of heaven nor thrown to the ground. In what way, then, is Paul’s...
Trials are controlled by God. They do not last forever, they are “for a season.” When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. If we rebel, He may have to reset the clock; but if...
What is grace? It is God’s provision for our every need when we need it. Someone has made an acrostic of the word grace: God’s Riches Available at Christ’s Expense. There is never a shortage of grace. God is sufficient for our spiritual ministries as well as for our material...
The word afflicted means “suffering in difficult circumstances.” The phrase in trouble is a good translation. The Apostle Paul used this word to describe the circumstances he was in as he suffered for the Gospel’s sake (2 Timothy 2:9). As God’s people going through life, we must often endure difficulties...
It is God’s will that the marriage union be permanent, a lifetime commitment. There is no place in Christian marriage for a “trial marriage,” nor is there any room for the “escape-hatch” attitude: “If the marriage doesn’t work, we can always get a divorce.”. For this reason, marriage must be...
True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Read that sentence again and let it soak into your mind and heart. This faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter...
When I became a Christian, churches did not have regular follow-up courses for new converts such as we have today. My “follow-up course” was a series of Bible studies from the Book of Hebrews, led by a gifted layman and taught in his living room. Much of what was taught...
What does Job’s story mean to believers today? It means that some of the trials of life are caused directly by Satanic opposition. God permits Satan to try His children, but He always limits the extent of the enemy’s power. When you find yourself in the fire, remember that God...
Jesus warned about the danger of hypocrisy, the sin of using religion to cover up sin. A hypocrite is not a person who falls short of his high ideals, or who occasionally sins; all of us experience these failures. A hypocrite deliberately uses religion to cover up his sins and...