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Nothing In My Hand I Bring
When I was young a common practice at children’s Bible services was to employ object lessons. We youngsters were invited to bring an object; a piece of bread, a ball of white wool, a nail. The objects had to be linked to a Bible verse such as John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: or Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool, or John 20:25 Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my…
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Happy New Year
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope you are not discouraged. I hope you are facing this new year with peace and faith in Christ. Our Saviour tells us, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me”. Whatever it is that weighs upon on your mind or tries your spirit, may the Lord God give you grace to trust in Christ and strength to carry you through your trial. In his message to the Ephesians the Apostle Paul pictures the Lord’s people as a building made up of individual believers, like you and me, fitted together, located by design, and gathered to serve a high and holy purpose. Perhaps to mitigate the discouragement the apostle knew would affect the…
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Woe Is Me – No Wait
“Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.”—Micah 7:1 It is always encouraging to discover we are not alone when we face a problem or have to struggle with a challenge in life. For believers in Christ the scriptures provide practical examples of men and women who have travelled the pilgrim’s way before us, learning and experiencing what it is to be a stranger in a strange land. When Micah said “Woe is me” at the beginning of chapter seven in his little prophecy he was declaring effectively, “What a miserable man I am. How wearisome my life has become.” It…
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There Is No Fear Of God Before Their Eyes
"There is no fear of God before their eyes." (Romans 3:18) Commenting upon this verse J.C. Philpot said, “Those who have every reason to fear as to their eternal state before God, have for the most part, no fear at all. They are secure, and free from doubt and fear. The depths of human hypocrisy, the dreadful lengths to which profession may go, the deceit of the carnal heart, the snares spread for the unwary feet, the fearful danger of being deceived at the last; these traps and pitfalls are not objects of anxiety to those dead in sin. As long as they can pacify natural conscience, and do something to soothe any transient conviction—they are glad to be deceived! God does not see fit…
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A Famine Of Hearing God’s Word
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.”—Amos 8:11 What a terrible condition for a land, a nation, a church or an individual to be in. Starving souls and a famine of hearing God’s word, that is, the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”, says Paul. Then what else can this famine mean, what else can this famine produce, but a scarcity of faith? A deprivation of true spirituality imposed by God Himself. Men imagine they can exercise faith as they please, by their own free…
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Seeing God’s Glory
“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”—Exodus 33:19 A Daring Request Have you ever thought what an daring request Moses made when he asked God, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory”? What would possess a man to ask such a thing? Was he merely curious? Was he presumptuous? Was be being foolish or bold? Have you considered that Moses might be desperate? If he was, it was with good reason. Moses’ confidence in God had been shaken. He no longer knew whether God was with the Children of…
