In Genesis 2:9 we are introduced to two trees “The tree of life” representing the life of the Spirit, and “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” representing the life of the flesh with its “passions and lusts” Galatians 5:24. Adam, the man God “made… upright” Ecclesiastes 7:29, obviously refused to eat from […]
In Psalm 16:11 having just spoken prophetically of Messiahs resurrection (attested to by Peter in Acts 2:29-32) David declares “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In spite of being “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (while in […]
As we travel through life we often find it filled with sorrows, pain, hurt, and heavy burdens. The Bible recognizes this in Job 5:7 saying, “man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.” The same sentiment is expressed in 14:1. There are two different Hebrew words used in these verses, respectively meaning trial, […]
We live in a broken world filled with sadness, suffering, pain, and uncertainty; Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” John 10:10. So how do we coordinate the two and experience this abundance in the midst of the brokenness? First we must be confident […]
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 […]
The word gospel means “a good message” or as someone said, “Good news”. And “The gospel of the kingdom” is super good news, the news of the heavenly realm and rule brought to this earth by Jesus the Royal King! His message from the very beginning was “…the kingdom of God is at hand…” Mark […]
“…the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23. This is what the birth of Jesus is all about; the celebration is not primarily about His birth, after all every one of us have been born and except for His conception there was nothing unusual about that; neither is it […]
Growing is a phenomenon that we are all familiar with, and it includes every living thing on earth whether people, animals, or plants. As long as we live we grow! Plants and trees grow producing their fruit and beauty; even as “mature” adults we are told that cells in our body continually die off and […]
Jesus was the greatest teacher that ever walked the face of this earth, often using stories or parables to teach the principles of the kingdom of God. In Matthew 7:24-27 is one such allegory of two carpenters who each built a house, the difference being that one of them made sure he had a solid […]
The Resurrection of Jesus was an essential part of God’s redemptive plan and work, occurring on “the first day of the week”, Matthew 28:1-8. The first day of the week is the eighth day of the weekly cycle, and the number eight in the Scripture is associated with new beginning. The Old Testament era of […]