The Word of God has in it the power to accomplish the will of God. “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37, NIV). It has well been said, “God’s commandments are God’s enablements.” Jesus commanded the crippled man to stretch out his hand—the very thing the man could not...
Our word conscience comes from two Latin words: con, meaning “with,” and scio, meaning “to know.” We “know with” the conscience. It is the internal judge that witnesses to us, that either approves our actions or accuses us. Conscience may be compared to a window that lets in the light...
God wants us to turn loose from the things of this world and stop depending on them. He wants us to center our attention on the world to come. This means that we “hang loose” as far as this world in concerned, and start living for the eternal values of...
In New Testament times, the national and religious pride of the Jews encouraged them to despise the “Gentile dogs” and have nothing to do with them. Paul used this judgmental attitude to prove the guilt of the seemingly pious; the very things they condemned in the Gentiles, they themselves were...
Patience is an important characteristic of the maturing Christian life. If we do not learn to be patient, we are not likely to learn anything else. As believers, we are able to rejoice even in our tribulations, because we know that tribulation brings about patience; and patience, experience; and experience,...
The Lord Jesus repeatedly warned people about the wrong kind of hearing, and His warnings are still needed. “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9). In other words, “Take heed that you hear.” Use every opportunity you have to hear the Word of God. But He gave...
JOB 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?" Millie Dienert worked with the Billy Graham evangelistic team for 40 years. She commented, "I have always appreciated from a moral point of view how the men have been in their...
JOB 28:12, 28 "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" And to man He said, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." A young man got into financial difficulty by loaning a friend in another...
JOB 23:10 "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." It's a well-known fact that many people have become successful by compensating for personality or physical flaws. Winston Churchill, for example, stuttered as a youth yet became a great...
JOB 20:4-5 "Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?" John Bunyan was a Puritan preacher and author of the classic Pilgrim's Progress. A local magistrate...