We should not only love God’s people; we should also love our enemies. The recipients of Peter’s first letter were experiencing a certain amount of personal persecution because they were doing the will of God. Peter warned them that official persecution was just around the corner, so they had better...
“The Word of God” is one of the familiar names of our Lord in Scripture (John 1:1-14). Just as we reveal our minds and hearts to others by our words, so the Father reveals Himself to us through His Son, the incarnate Word (John 14:7-11). A word is made up...
When five missionaries were martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador, some newspapers and magazines considered the tragedy to be a great waste of life. While it did bring sorrow and grief to friends and loved ones, subsequent events proved that their deaths were not a waste either for them...
“I just love that hat!” "I really love old-fashioned peanut butter!” Words, like coins, can be in circulation for such a long time that they start wearing out. Unfortunately, love is one word that is fast losing its value. Christian love, however, has eternal value. In describing the life that...
The sin of Israel was apostasy—“departing from the living God.” Does “apostasy” mean abandoning one’s faith and therefore being condemned forever? No. The children of Israel departed from the living God by refusing God’s will for their lives and stubbornly wanting to go their own way back to Egypt. God...
Paul and his associates had received a special offering from the Gentile churches in Greece for the suffering Jewish saints in Jerusalem. It was an expression of unfeigned love on the part of the Gentiles toward their Jewish brethren. It also meant practical relief at a time when the poor...
Jesus is the Christian’s example, especially in the way He responded to suffering. He proved that a person could be in the will of God, be greatly loved by God, and still suffer unjustly. There is a shallow brand of popular theology today that claims Christians will not suffer if...
Worry is actually wrong thinking (the mind) and wrong feeling (the heart) about circumstances, people, and things. So, if we have a single mind, a submissive mind, and a spiritual mind, we should not have too much trouble with worry. All we need is something to guard the heart and...
No chastening is pleasant either to the father or his son at the time, but the benefits are profitable. Few children believe it when their parents say, “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” But it is true just the same. The Father does not enjoy having to discipline...
Faith, hope, and love are the three cardinal virtues of the Christian life, and the three greatest evidences of salvation. Faith must always lead to works. It has been said, “We are not saved by faith plus works, but by a faith that works.” Love is also an evidence of...