46 And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. Luke 1:46-48 (NASB)
A good deal of pride lurks behind the outward show of humility we see in the world today. People put themselves down but don’t want others to look down on them…. Continue reading
33 The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:33 (NASB)
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Matthew 10:30-31 (NASB)
33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (NASB)
22 Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalms 55:22 (NASB)
I was not part of the discussion. All I did was put my “like” on the original statement, which showed the contrast between the fallacy of Easy-believes/Works-Righteousness and genuine salvation that is based in the Biblically sound teaching of the sovereignty of God…. Continue reading
13 And rend your heart and not your garments.”
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil. Joel 2:13 (NASB)
Over the years I written much on this blog about the necessity of repentance in the heart of the believer. First, no one comes to Christ without it and second, no believer grows in Christ without walking in daily repentance. This walk of repentance on a daily basis is actually something we are called to do continually…. Continue reading
One of my favorite books is The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This book was published in 1678 after Bunyan had been in prison from 1661 to 1672 then again for six months in 1677. He worked on the manuscript for The Pilgrim’s Progress during the second half of his first imprisonment and finished it during his second imprisonment. Why was he in jail? He was a non-conformist Baptist preacher. He would not submit to the Church of England. He could have been freed after the first three months of his first imprisonment if he would agree to stop preaching. However, he would not do so. Continue reading
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:they will be still praising thee. Selah.5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. Psalms 84:4-7 (KJV)
As many of you know, I turned 70 this last October. As my wife and I enter this decade of our 70’s together we are discovering that there is indeed many things unanticipated about our health that neither of us saw coming…. Continue reading
7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NASB)
In the passage above (1 Timothy 4:7-8) the Apostle Paul used the Greek noun εὐσέβειαν (eusebeian) in v8, which is translated here as “godliness.” What is godliness?…. Continue reading
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NASB)
I recently became aware of someone I am acquainted with who was discouraged because of the lack of faith or trust that he saw in people he came in contact with in his job and in society. He claimed that it is rampant and much worse than he had ever seen before…. Continue reading
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (NASB)
Efficacious adj. producing the desired effect – from The Oxford New Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus Third Edition. Continue reading
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written,“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” Romans 9:30-33 (NASB)
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ must always be offensive to the unregenerate. It is that offense that makes it clear to people that they have nothing with which to bargain with God…. Continue reading
26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NASB) Read 1 Timothy 1:15 on the site.
I rejoice in amazement that God had mercy on this sinner. When Paul proclaimed himself the foremost of all sinners we must examine ourselves to see if we have any self-righteousness brewing inside us that is attempting to get us to believe that we somehow earned or deserved this salvation…. Continue reading
6 Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:6-9 (NASB)
As we live in a time of great deception, let us reflect on our Lord’s ways in contrast to the way of men. God’s ways are not man’s ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts…. Continue reading
7 “ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:7-11 (NASB)
While the passage above (Matthew 7:7-11) has been abused greatly by many false teachers in the Health, Wealth, and Prosperity part of the visible church, that does not mean it does not hold the truth for those of us who are truly in Christ…. Continue reading
9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10 (NASB)
As many of you know if you have been following me for awhile, I am preparing to retire. My wife and I are really going through the wringer getting ready for this. Both of us are 70 year old…. Continue reading
7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Song of Songs 4:7 (KJV)
I am no different than any of you. I struggle at times to maintain that all-important eternal focus, that is, to abide in Christ no matter what, to continue to take up my cross and follow my Lord in the midst of all-consuming distractions, et cetera. I am preparing to retire. The pressures are enormous both at my current job and also on the home front to get our finances in order so we can “do it.”…. Continue reading
Does prayer make any difference? Does it really change anything? Someone once asked me that question, only in a slightly different manner: “Does prayer change God’s mind?” My answer brought storms of protest. I said simply, “No.” Now, if the person had asked me, “Does prayer change things?” I would have answered, “Of course!”
The Bible says there are certain things God has decreed from all eternity. Those things will inevitably come to pass. If you were to pray individually or if you and I were to join forces in prayer or if all the Christians of the world were to pray collectively, it would not change what God, in His hidden counsel, has determined to do…. Continue reading
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39
Rushing children to urgent care for stitches is not a fun aspect of parenting. Even when the blood has been running down their face, they fight the doctor coming at them with needle and thread…. Continue reading
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:1-6 (NASB)
It is one thing to confess Christ or profess to be a Christian and quite another to live and walk before the face of God within that confession or profession in obedience to God and His Word. There are so many in our time who claim to be Christians, but whose lives are marked by them speaking and living according to the world and its ways…. Continue reading
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23).
A number of decades ago at the Ligonier Valley Study Center, we sent out a Thanksgiving card with this simple statement: “The essence of theology is grace; the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude.” In all the debates about our role versus God’s role in sanctification—our growth in holiness—we’d stay on the right track if we’d remember this grace-gratitude dynamic. The more we understand how kind God has been to us and the more we are overcome by His mercy, the more we are inclined to love Him and to serve Him. Continue reading
“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).
Thanksgiving is an American holiday that stretches all the way back to a time long before America became a nation. The Pilgrims landed in 1620. They faced brutal conditions and were woefully unprepared. Roughly half of them died in that first year. Then they had a successful harvest of corn. In November of 1621 they decided to celebrate a feast of thanksgiving.
Edward Winslow was among those who ate that first thanksgiving meal in 1621. He noted: Continue reading
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NASB)
All of the mature Christians I have known were not focused in any way on themselves except where it came to self-examination, repentance, prayer and service. We all have to live in this sin soaked, evil world, which God uses as part of our sanctification so that means we must not do what the monks do, that is, escape from the world in an attempt to earn God’s favor through asceticism. No, we are to be in the world, but be not part of it. Continue reading
8 “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel. 9 “For the LORD’S portion is His people;
Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 (NASB)
Over the years I have been part of and have witnessed many debates and discussions about our salvation and what parts God and we play in it. I have heard more than a few times professing Christians protest against the truth of passages such as John 6:44 and Ephesians 1 & 2 saying things like, “Whatever Jesus or Paul meant there, it couldn’t mean that!”…. Continue reading
37 And He said to Him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your understanding. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)
In v37 (above) the word “heart” translates the Greek noun καρδίᾳ (kardia). It is from this word which, of course, is derived the medical terms such as cardiac and cardiologist. Its significance is enormous…. Continue reading
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9 (KJV)
Just a few years after God had mercy on me back in the mid-1980’s we moved from the Tulsa area to Edmond, OK. then just a few months later we moved again back to my home town, Yukon, OK…. Continue reading
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms by A.J. Showalter (on the site)Growing up in Southern Baptist churches in Oklahoma in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s I learned to love some, but not all, of those old hymns we sung. Even to this day I can still hear those voices in our church sing in those tones that were not loud or harsh or meant to entertain, but were directed to the throne in Heaven in praise…. Continue reading
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. John 15:18-19 (NASB)
I grew up as a Southern Baptist, however God did not haver mercy on this sinner until I was 34 years old. I have remained in Baptist churches for the most since then except while living in Kansas. The SBC churches there were either very pragmatic or too far away…. Continue reading