I believe that the Old Testament law lays out to us the standards by which to live that God created in us, but one act of disobedience broke the relationship with God allowing sin to dominate the earth and the entire human race, robbing us from our ability to live up to those standards! In […]
Distress, a close relative of pain, anxiety, and grief, are among Satan’s “big guns” in his attack on Christians. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from joy and gladness! Jesus wants His followers to be joyful, telling us, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, […]
Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7. To me that sounds like persistence which He also teaches in Luke 18:2-8; no, this is not trying to “twist” God’s arm or to manipulate Him, but by persistently pursuing […]
Paul was not a Pastor; he was an Apostle (a delegate, ambassador, or commissioner) of Jesus Christ, an office he refers to many times as he writes his epistles. He visited many cities either starting, or strengthening and edifying churches. As he moved on to other cities, the love and concern for the people he […]
God is a communicating God that loves to communicate with His people. Often we want to communicate to Him telling Him our needs and requests; but never forget that He wants to communicate with us as well! Certainly the Scripture encourages us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with […]
In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said “You are the light of the world…” But wait a minute, did He not say in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world”? Yes He did, and He is “the true light that gives light to every man coming into the world” John 1:9. Again He said in […]
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, Matthew5:10-12. To be persecuted is to be afflicted so as to cause you injury, distress, and annoyance. Now if being reviled and persecuted come because you have done something stupid, or you have acted outside of wisdom, and without […]
“Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” Matthew 5:7. The Greek word that is used here is ELEEMON which means “compassionate”. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:4 that God “is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us”. And in Titus 3:5 “according to His mercy He […]
In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said “Blessed are the meek”. So how do we define meekness? It is not to be confused with weakness, indeed it is quite the opposite. The Greek word Jesus used here means mild and by implication humble, not weak. Looking at Bible examples of people who were meek I see it […]
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, this is the first of nine blessed’s in Matthew 5:3-12. The Greek here means to be supremely blessed, and through extension to be fortunate or well off, the Amplified Bible using happy as an alternate or explanatory word. To be poor in […]