Nowhere did the Law teach hatred for one’s enemies. For example, Exodus 23:4 indicates just the opposite: “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.” Jesus defined our enemies as those who curse us, hate us, and exploit...
The successful Christian learns the vocabulary of the Spirit and makes use of it. He knows the meaning of justification, sanctification, adoption, propitiation, election, inspiration, and so forth. In understanding God’s vocabulary, we come to understand God’s Word and God’s will for our lives. If the engineering student can grasp...
“It is written!” is a statement that carries great authority For the believer. Our Lord used the Word of God to defeat Satan, and so may we. But the Word of God is not only a sword for battle; it is also a light to guide us in this dark...
In selecting the bit and the rudder, the Apostle James presented two items in his epistle that are small of themselves, yet exercise great power, just like the tongue. A small bit enables the rider to control the great horse, and a small rudder enables the pilot to steer the...
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...