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John writes: “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.” (Revelation 5.1-4).

The book of Revelation is a book of symbols. It is not impossible to understand, but it is difficult. Certainly…  ( Click for more )

Sad realities are nonetheless true and must be faced. One sad reality is the fact that false teachers, some of them, will stop at nothing to achieve their objectives. There is no clearer proof of this than the fact that Jesus, the sinless Son of God was unmercifully ushered to the Cross at the insistence of false teachers.

Paul, a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ , faced the sad reality of false teachers everyday of his Christian life (2 Corinthians 11.26). Peter warned about false teachers in the Christian era just as surely as there had been false prophets in the Old Testament…  ( Click for more )

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.6-8; all emphasis mine above and below, jb).

Love spoken is a token at best; Love shown is a deed greatly blest! God loves us, but He does far more than just speak the words; He demonstrates His love. It is interesting that the tense of the verb “demonstrates”…  ( Click for more )

Today at 1:00 PM, I will witness the interment of my oldest sister, Inez Norwood in an otherwise insignificant little town in south-middle Tennessee. I reflected on matters after a memorial service yesterday and I chose to write about my feelings and two faces of death.

I am not saying that death has only two faces, but it certainly has two. The two about which I speak are the same two about which Paul wrote to fellow Christians in Philippi when he said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor;…  ( Click for more )

The Larger Context: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision…  ( Click for more )

“He [Jesus] said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from…  ( Click for more )

Background: God had graciously rescued Abraham's descendants from Egyptian bondage and miraculously guided and protected them so that they came into possession of the promised land of Canaan. He gave them laws to protect them from themselves and from others. He sent prophets to remind them of their responsibilities to Him and to give them timely direction when they lost their way. Although it was not to His liking, God also gave them kings to rule over them much like the nations round about. His beneficent hand cared for them at every turn, even when His counsel was rejected and when…  ( Click for more )

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5.1-4; emphasis mine above and below, jb).

The Background: Persecutions followed Paul wherever…  ( Click for more )

Background: A new nation was about to be birthed. This nation was the nation which God had promised to Abraham, the nation through which the Promised Seed would come. Before the nation could be birthed, the multitude of the people who were to be her citizens had to be freed from the oppressive hand of the Egyptians where they had been enslaved for centuries. But, for freedom to become a reality Moses had to recognized as their God-appointed leader. Certainly this multitude could not believe that Moses was speaking merely of his own authority, else they would not follow. This was Moses’…  ( Click for more )

“And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.” (1 Kings 4.29-30; all emphasis above and below mine, jb)

Giving is, at least in most cases, a measure of love. Not every gift of man is an indicator of love, but with God this exception does not apply because “…Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no…  ( Click for more )

Beginning today in this column, you will see true daily devotionals in the form of TODAY’S LITTLE LIFTS. I am not ruling out future series, but these seem not to hold reader interests as much as “stand alone” articles. This is the reason you will start seeing the day/month designation (e.g. 4/28) correspond with the primary scripture reference (e.g. 4.28). We begin like this: “For thus says the LORD: ‘The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken.…  ( Click for more )

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1.6-7).

The marvel which sparked Paul's statement was the soon apostasy of the Galatian brethren. Some things are marvels to be held in admiration; others are marvels of dismay and sadness. The apostasy of the saints in Galatia was of the latter sort. Note that their apostasy was one of turning � turning from one thing to another thing. They were…  ( Click for more )

Fulfilled Scripture - - - Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5.17). The fulfilling of the Law (Scripture) was one of the specific objectives of Jesus during His earthly ministry. If He achieved that objective, He is Messiah; if He failed in that objective, He is not Messiah. If I cannot know with certainty that Jesus fulfilled Scripture, then I cannot know with certainty that Jesus is Messiah!

The paragraph above succinctly identifies a “chain of evidence” that is…  ( Click for more )

Fulfilled Scripture: Jesus was declared to be Messiah because He fulfilled the Scriptures. Here is the quintessential point: God always distinguishes His word from the words of men! If this fact is missed, then God's voice will be missed! If this fact is missed, then God's written word (Scripture) will be missed. If this fact is missed, Messiah will be missed!

The proof of Jesus' Messiahship rests almost exclusively on three related facts. Fact number one is that God's word (Scripture) is distinguishable from the word of man. The second fact is that God's word predicted the…  ( Click for more )

"Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.' Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed." (1 Peter 2.6-8).

Peter quotes three Old Testament passages in the text just noted (Isaiah 28.16; Psalm 118.22,…  ( Click for more )

Fulfilled Scripture - - - Concerning the soldiers who took Jesus' clothing at the cross. John said they did these things “...that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 19.24). Peter said that the things which “...God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” Acts 3.17). John said it was Scripture; Peter said it was the things which God foretold by the mouth of His prophets. There is a wonderful truth, a truth which many fail to see today, contained in these two passages.

The truth of which I speak…  ( Click for more )

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,' that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: 'They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.' Therefore the soldiers did these things.” (John 19.23-24; emphasis mine, jb).

Fulfilled Scripture

“Therefore the soldiers did these things.”…  ( Click for more )

The Sermon on the Mount was no ordinary sermon; its contents were not ordinary; its speaker was not ordinary; its purposes were not ordinary; its implications were not ordinary. About the only thing ordinary about the Sermon on the Mount were the issues with which the hearers were dealing. These were as old as time; they have not changed since then by any appreciable amount. The names are different, the customs are different, but the struggles are the same. The Sermon on the Mount is a timeless message aimed directly at the heart of humanity.

While men of lesser minds and lower…  ( Click for more )

The scene is the trial of Jesus and the participants are as named: “Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.”’ But not even then did their testimony agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, ‘Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?’ But He [Jesus] kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, ‘Are…  ( Click for more )

Anyone who lived through the depression will vouch that it was most difficult. I did not have to experience those terrible times but I have known plenty of people who did. The stock market crash of 1929 and the years that followed were days of horrific hardships and untold human suffering. Prices were low, but money was so scarce that only the most fortunate were able to buy. Many, many families lived off the land rather than out of the grocery store and/or fast food havens like we do today. Rabbits, and squirrels were the only meat that some could afford – simply because it…  ( Click for more )

The signs come in all sizes and shapes. They are intended to deter would be intruders from entering the property of others to steal or destroy. "Warning! This property protected by (fill in the blank) Security Company." By paying the dues, anyone can procure such protection. What would it be worth to have God's sentinel guarding your most prized possessions? Paul gives four conditions under which He will do this. Read on to find out how to secure His services.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord…  ( Click for more )

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.’” (John 19.23-24; emphasis mine, jb).

The Seamless Tunic (3/4)

Jesus was stripped of His clothing and publicly humiliated in a way that was absolutely beyond comprehension! We can only imagine what went through the minds of those who passed by, but there is…  ( Click for more )

Want is a great word and it is a horrible word. How one uses it and how one reacts to it determines whether it is positive or negative. While we ought to want to follow God and do His will, it is also true that He is our Shepherd and we ought not to want! Today’s message will deal with legitimate and non-legitimate wants of the believer.

Want

I once talked to a man who said, I don’t want much! All I want is the land I have and all the other land that touches mine.” After scratching my head a bit, I finally figured out what he was saying. His cute little quip…  ( Click for more )

Garments played an important part in the events of biblical history, many of which we readily remember. For instance we remember the many-colored coat of Joseph as well as the fact that the children of Israel were forbidden from taking their neighbor's garment as a pledge (see Exodus 22.16 & Amos 2.8). However, who would have thought that soldiers taking the garments of Jesus would play a significant part in confirming the fact that He was Messiah?

The Seamless Tunic (2/4)

The book of Psalms was a collection of songs – a songbook if you will – of the Hebrews.…  ( Click for more )