Today, we continue from last weeks meditation, Full Surrender, looking at the picture Jesus drew from Luke 9; but now we’ll focus on Matthew’s account in 16:24-25, and the two words we are emphasizing is “save” and “lose”. In verse 25 He said, “For whoever desires to save his life, will lose it, but whoever […]
In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone decides to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” There are three words here that I want to call special attention to; they are “deny”, “cross”, and “daily”. In the language Jesus spoke, to deny is to utterly deny, […]
Heaven; a place many people talk about, but relatively few are preparing to go to! It is a place of indescribable beauty, splendor, abundance, and tranquility from the description of its capitol city given in Revelation 21:1-22. In John 1, Jesus tells His disciples (who were probably troubled because of His impending departure from them) […]
Both old age and youth are beautiful in the sight of God. “Behold, children are heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). And Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Yes “The glory of young […]
Psalm 139:3 in the Amplified Bible reads, “You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.” In the language of the Psalmist David, to sift out meant to toss about, by implication to diffuse and winnow; so the picture is that of threshing grain, in which the grain is removed […]
Throughout the Scriptures we find numerous calls to bring praise to the Lord with thanksgiving, or examples of people doing so. The book of Psalms contains a great collection of praise and worship “songs”, and encourages us to follow the pattern it sets. “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song” Psalm 98:1; “I will […]
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills – From whence comes my help?” (Psalm 121:1). The KJV places a period at the end of this verse, but six other versions I have looked at place a question mark. Looking at it from that angle, the Psalmist recognizes that the hills and mountains in […]
In 1 John 4:19, the beloved Apostle wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us.” The first and foremost thing that God desires from us is that we love Him in return for His love for us. In Deuteronomy 6:5, He said to His people, “you shall love the Lord your God with all […]
The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians of that future day when Jesus will be revealed from heaven, giving rest to those who have fought “the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12), and to render the vengeance of judgment “on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the […]
Elijah had just witnessed a great victory in a contest where he, the prophet of God, versed the 450 prophets of Baal; he then eradicated the prophets of Baal, enraging Jezebel, who threatened his life. Despondent, discouraged, and probably depressed, Elijah flees fearing for his life, sits down under a tree, and asks God to […]