“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.”...
I recall stating to a friend, “I hear you lost your wife. I’m very sorry.” He replied, “No, I didn’t lose her. You can’t lose something when you know where it is—and I know where she is!” On the authority of the Word of God, we also know what will...
Jesus is with His people no matter where they are. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan told about an experience in his early Christian life that involved this statement. Morgan used to visit several elderly ladies once a week to read the Bible to them. When he came to the end of...
“Not as though I had already attained!” This is the statement of a great Christian who never permitted himself to be satisfied with his spiritual attainments. Obviously, the Apostle Paul was satisfied with Jesus Christ, but he was not satisfied with his Christian life. A sanctified dissatisfaction is the first...
True Christian love seeks to share with others and make them happy. It willingly carries the younger Christians, helping them along in their spiritual development. It does not endure them. It encourages them! Paul shared the two sources of spiritual power from which we must draw if we are to...