On more than one occasion the Apostle Paul had been imprisoned for the gospel he preached, but on no occasion do we find him sitting there in despair and gloom. Remember in Acts 17 he and Silas conducted a prayer and praise service in a jail cell at Philippi with their feet fastened in the […]
We are living in times of great darkness upon the earth, times like are described in Isaiah 60:2, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people …” While this chapter gives Israel hope of restoration from captivity, it also embraces Messianic and Eschatological times. Darkness speaks figuratively of misery, destruction, […]
In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus taught His disciples – and He teaches us – not to worry about life’s needs. To be certain He is not teaching a Christian welfare state where His followers do not work and just expect everything to be handed to them; indeed the Bible teaches the exact opposite, “…if anyone will […]
Winter is known as the coldest season of the year, the weather can become tempestuous, the nights are long and in many agricultural zones the earth seems mostly barren; all this can contribute to loneliness and despair. Winter in human life can express times of distress, loneliness, pain, suffering, lack, or hurt. Perhaps you are […]
When we see the beauty of the world all around us, the flowers that bloom, the grass that grows, the sun that shines, the stream that flows, the birds that sing, the animals that roam, the fruit of the ground, and the people that populate the earth, we remember that all are the handiwork of […]
Often the pathway of life is obscure in the distance to our vision. In Joshua 3:3-4 the Israelites have come to such a place having reached the border of Canaan, the land God had promised to give to Abraham and his descendants. The final hurdle was to get across the Jordan River, now in flood […]
In Jeremiah 29:11 God assures His people that His thoughts (His intentions or His plans) are to “give you a future and a hope”; although they were in captivity at that time the inference was that they should look to Him in hope. Today we live in a world that is dominated by flesh, with […]
In 2 Chronicles 15:2 Asa has inherited the throne of Judah, and Azariah is speaking in the power of prophetic voice, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him…” This absolute statement applies to every one of us throughout all ages as well, and is […]
During the Christmas season the heart of our attention seems often to be focused on the coming of King Jesus to this earth, on the joy of birth, on the joy of new life; but unlike the first Adam who was created to live but entered into a contract with the enemy and death, Jesus […]
If we consider Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, let us consider what His birth really means. We have a tendency to focus our attention on the humble surroundings of that magnificent occurrence, the heavenly annunciations of it, and the visitors that came in witness of it. His birth was not […]