Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9). This is a question that raises concern for a lot of people, especially for those who do not understand the role Satan has played in God’s plan. As hard as it is to imagine, even Satan...
“We Cannot But Speak”
But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations (Mark 13:9-10). The Lord promised to build His church upon a firm foundation of solid rock (Matthew 16:18). While some have been persuaded that this foundation was Peter, he himself tells...
Building the Temple
Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon...
Almost Persuaded
King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:27-28).
While it is impossible to nail down the precise date of Saul’s conversion, it is generally believed—based on a few scarce hints in his epistles—to have taken place only a few years after the establishment of the church in Jerusalem. Following his...
Darwinism—A Deadly Doctrine
As the words of a certain hymn say, “We live in a changing world.” In the past few decades we have seen men of science rid the world of dreaded diseases like smallpox and polio. We have seen these men strap astronauts into rocket ships, send them into orbit around the earth, and even land them on the lunar surface. They have probed the depths of space and unlocked many of the secrets of the human genome. Today’s...
David and Goliath
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32).
On March 19, 1966, the NCAA Division I basketball championship was played between the perennial powerhouse University of Kentucky (led by legendary coach Adolph Rupp) and little-known...
Fishers of Men
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs” (John 21:15).
In this text, we find Jesus once again on the shores of beautiful Galilee, on this occasion recruiting disciples from among the fishermen of Capernaum. It is remarkable to see how Jesus was able to take...
The Sermon on the Mount
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying… (Matthew 5:1–2)
Perhaps the greatest sermon ever preached on the planet Earth can be read in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the gospel according to Matthew. This short, simple, but powerful sermon was presented by Jesus near...
The Good Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1).
Probably a close second to John 3:16, this verse is (for good reason) among the best known in the entire Bible. What a comforting thought it is to us today––as it must have been to David, this psalm’s author––to know that the Lord is watching over us and has our well-being in mind at all times! The mystery behind God’s abiding love for man is one of which...
A Mansion Over the Hilltop
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know (John 14:1-4, KJV).
After a recent hospital visit, I found a...