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“Therefore the sisters [Martha and Mary] sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love [Lazarus] is sick.’ When Jesus heard that, He said, ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” (John 11.3-5).

It is interesting that the two sisters, both of whom were the objects of the Master’s affection, simply identified their brotheer to Jesus as “…he whom You love.” They spoke as if Lazarus were the…  ( Click for more )

Do you think you know the world’s most deadly poison? Well, I’ll admit right up front that this is sort of a trick question. You see, the world’s most deadly poison is not one which affects the central nervous system, or the cardio-pulmonary system, or the digestive system, or the liver, or the kidneys, or any other physical organ; the world’s most deadly poison is one which affects the mind and hence the soul.

Actually, there are many, many instances of mind poisoning in the scriptures, but one is explicitly identified by that phrase. Consider the following:…  ( Click for more )

We know what He [God] will do because we know what He did! That is the crux of Paul's argument as he affirms that “...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8.28). What did He do? He proved His love beyond all human expectations or potential! The proof that He yet works incessantly on our behalf lies in a knowledge of how He worked in the past!

I am convinced that God will labor just as hard for one soul as He will for a million. His love is without dimensions when it comes to His creation.…  ( Click for more )

The past is, from a purely human viewpoint, the best predictor of the future. In the world in which we live, the future of things (such as housing sales, the weather, a baseball team's performance, entertainers, automobile reliability, human behavior, etc., etc.) that matter to us are predicted using the past.

The past is not a perfect predictor, but it is the best that we have. The disclaimer that appears on investment portfolios (“Past performance not a guarantee of future performance”) spells out in no uncertain terms the uncertainty of using the past to predict…  ( Click for more )

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8.28-30).

The question of the moment (at least within the focus text), is this: “How do we know that all things work together for good?”…  ( Click for more )

Thank God for Unanswered Prayers was a huge number one country hit for Garth Brooks in the 1990’s. The entire basis for the song is the fact that we just don’t always know what is best for us, even in our prayers. Beyond that, it is also an indisputable fact that God always knows what is best. That is precisely Paul’s point in Romans 8.26 when he says, “For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought…” If we knew how to pray perfectly and we knew what to pray for, we would have much of the battle won. However, we are human! We do not know…  ( Click for more )

Our focus text reads: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8.26-27).

With fear and trembling we enter this brief study! We enter it this way for a number of reasons. First, we enter it with such awe because of the specific subject matter (i.e. God, the Spirit,…  ( Click for more )

“I have some good news and I have some bad news. Which would you like to hear first.” This line has been the lead in to countless comedy routines. Jesus didn't ever use this phrase to the best of our knowledge, but He surely experienced times when He could have said it. Today's message centers around a passage that well could have been a “Good news – Bad news” scenario.

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then…  ( Click for more )

No peeking! Play fairly! Guess who or what I am.

“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primeval dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, When He…  ( Click for more )

Our study today will be essentially a word study, but with a couple of twists. I promise you it won't be dull, so I beg you to stay with me. Specifically, we will look at a Greek word which appears only four times in the New Testament. We will consider the ways this word is translated and used in Scripture.

The first usage we will consider occurred as Paul was writing about a particular religious error of the day. The passage of interest reads, “...not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase…  ( Click for more )

An axe and an adze are tools that are frequently used for hewing. Sometimes the hewing process is intended to give an object a desired shape and at other times hewing is simply intended to divide or chop an object in two. Now hear God's word through Hosea: "Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth." (Hosea 4.5).

This an example of Hebrew parallelism. To hew Israel "by the prophets" is parallel to "I have slain them by the words of My mouth." God's prophets were spokespersons for Him; the words which they…  ( Click for more )

Some of God’s actions cannot be mimicked. All of man’s actions, on the other hand, are capable of being repeated (or even bested) by others with time. Man, by definition, acts within the natural realm. God, on the other hand, is capable of acting within both the natural and the supernatural realms. That is why there is a class of actions that are truly miraculous in nature; they occur in the natural realm and simply cannot be accounted for by natural forces. Today’s message will point out the significance of this difference in our lives.

First, we will begin…  ( Click for more )

Pat and I were recently privileged to see some wonderfully scenic landscapes and seascapes in the state of Maine. I know we used the word beautiful repeated to descripe the things that we saw, but physical beauty really is quite subjective. I knew of a person who was actually frightened by trees and saw them as an ugly reminder of an unhappy past. When we speak of beauty, we usually realize that it is a matter of perspective. However, we need to realize that even the most breathtaking and glorious earthly objects are nothing when compared to the features of a world yet to be revealed.…  ( Click for more )

To “Owe no one anything…” according to Paul’s written admonition (see Romans 13.8) is but one of the moral and ethical rules that ought to govern our lives. However, the believer is in debt from the time he or she commits the first sin until death takes us away. This debt is not a material indebtedness from which we can extricate ourselves by working really, really hard; it is a spiritual debt that can only be erased by the biblical application of God’s grace to our lives.

However, the point that I wish to make just here is this: The lifelong indebtedness…  ( Click for more )

No one has to tell you, the reader of this article, the importance of words. Verbal communication is as old as mankind and it is one of the unique and significant differences between humanity and other living creatures. Just as human communication via words differs substantially from the various forms of communication that are existent in the animal kingdom, so God's word differs from man's. Today we will highlight how different a word is from God when compared to words of human origin.

“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his [Peter's] wife’s…  ( Click for more )

We hear a lot about truth. Witnesses in legal proceedings are duty bound to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Under many circumstances, consumers are advised of certain facts under the truth in lending laws. Children are taught the value of truth and the honor that inheres with always telling the truth. Truth is a small word that packs a tremendous wallop when it comes to our lives, our country, our society, our economy, and most importantly to our spiritual welfare.

“Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him,…  ( Click for more )

I suppose it would be nice if life had no downs, no moments in which the spirit takes a nose dive and expresses it with a sigh. One popular public definition of sigh is “...an audible exhalation of air arising from tiredness or emotion, usually sadness, which itself could be stemming from feelings of sadness or futility. A sigh can also arise from positive emotions such as relief. Some people do it just to cool down organs or suppress emotions.” I sometimes sigh only to have someone near me say, “What's the matter?” Usually a sigh is taken in a negative way…  ( Click for more )

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This is not scripture, but it has a scriptural basis. This modern proverb evolved over centuries to its present form, having in earlier days simply been stated, “Hell is paved with good intentions.” In today’s message, our interest is in the scriptural basis for this saying and how it can be applied to our lives today.

Before quoting today’s focus text we will review some critical background information. The Church for which Jesus died (Acts 20.28) was not exclusive of any person due to his or…  ( Click for more )

The time was almost eight centuries before Christ (BC). The powerful nation of Assyria was breathing out threats to all who stood in her aggressive ways. Israel was no exception. However, in spite of the fact that Israel was steeped in sin and stood under God's condemnation for her worldly ways, God's warning to Assyria stood fast. He was going to use Assyria to teach Israel a lesson, but their military success was not to be mistaken as a sign of God's approval. It was in this context that Isaiah wrote about Assyria, saying, “Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;…  ( Click for more )

I asked my friend what was the most radical position, in a religious context, he had ever seen where a matter of judgment was held to the exclusion of doctrine. In other words, what had he witnessed people do that may have been right in itself, but when pressed to extremes, became harmful or even contradictory to other Bible teachings. He began to talk about a couple of things, one of them being the Lord’s Supper and how it was observed; he also mentioned how some had pressed the idea of one [communion] cup to the point of making it a matter of fellowship.

I had a hidden…  ( Click for more )

Jesus was “…declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1.4). Paul further wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1.16).

These truths were foundational to the whole of Christianity. Since Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the truth of the gospel could stand the scrutiny that a skeptical world might be expected to offer. Because of the…  ( Click for more )

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Romans 1.1). This text has for long ages been called the thesis statement of the book of Romans.

As such, this statement that Paul puts forth in advance of argument is one which captures the essence of his entire book to the believers in Rome. There are no wasted words in it. It is concise and entirely relevant. That being the case, we will stop to examine why Paul and the Holy Spirit thought it necessary…  ( Click for more )

Ready is such a common word! It simply carries the idea of preparedness, maybe even without desire. I may be ready to go to the dentist, but I may not want to go. I may be ready to pay my monthly bills, but that exercise is seldom executed with exuberance. The word Paul used in Romans 1.15 is a word that not only indicates preparedness, it indicates an eagerness to perform the task for which he had declared himself ready. The New American Standard Version translates the verse, “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Today’s…  ( Click for more )

A debtor, very simply put, is someone who owes a debt, or is bound by some obligation to another. Paul declared himself to be a debtor when he wrote, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.” (Romans 1.14-15). However, the debt was an unusual one in a number of ways. We will consider this unusual debt as Today’s Little Lift.

First, the debt was unusual due to the identity of those whom Paul owed. Specifically, he owed the Greeks and the…  ( Click for more )