A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted. New believers must expect their faith to be tried, because this is the way God proves whether or not their decision is genuine. Faith, like a muscle, must be exercised to grow stronger. Tribulation and persecution are God’s ways to strengthen...
A famous British writer leaving Liverpool by ship noticed that other passengers were waving to friends on the dock. He rushed down to the dock and stopped a little boy. “Would you wave to me if I paid you?” he asked the lad. The boy agreed. The writer rushed back...
Paul instructs that Christians should pray for “all men” (1 Timothy 2:1), making it clear that no person on earth is outside the influence of believing prayer. This means we should pray for the saved and the lost, for people near us and people far away, for enemies as well...
To reckon means to “put to one’s account.” In Romans 6:11 it means to believe that what God says-is true in His Word is really true in your life. Paul didn’t tell his readers to feel as if they were dead to sin, or even to understand it fully, but...
Because Satan is a subtle enemy, we must be vigilant—always on guard. His strategy is to counterfeit whatever God does. According to the Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30), wherever God plants a true Christian, Satan seeks to plant a counterfeit. He would deceive us were it not for the...
Today the cross is an accepted symbol of love and sacrifice. But in Jesus’ day the cross was a horrible means of capital punishment. The Romans would not mention the cross in polite society. In fact, no Roman citizen could be crucified; this terrible death was reserved for Rome’s enemies....
Paul had written the Corinthians a stern message (2 Corinthians 7:8-9), and then had regretted it. But the letter achieved its purpose and the Corinthians repented, and this made Paul rejoice. Their repentance was not merely a passing regret; it was a true, godly sorrow for sin. The difference is...
When my wife and I visited the Tower of London and saw the royal jewels, we noticed that the crowd was kept moving—and the guards stood still. They were constantly watching the visitors; nothing could move them from their appointed places. Similarly, you and I are helping to guard the...
A man should “prove his own work,” Paul wrote in Galatians 6:4, and it should be proved in the light of God’s will and not in the shadows of somebody else’s achievements. There is no place for competition in the work of God, unless we are competing against sin and...
The Canaan rest for Israel is a picture of the spiritual rest we find in Christ when we surrender to Him. When we come to Christ by faith, we find salvation rest. When we yield and learn of Him and obey Him by faith, we enjoy submission rest. The first...