The Judeo-Christian Scriptures are a providential recording of God’s dealings with His people. The LORD definitely doesn’t try to hide the failings of His people. Foe example, in Jesus’ genealogy, which opens the entire New Testament (Mt. 1:1-16), we see ancestors of Jesus who were born of prostitution and adulterous relationships (Mt. 1:3,6). In Genesis […]
Living the Kingdom on Earth
The bulk of our reading today covers the life of Abraham. In the book of Genesis, the beginning of a major new section is frequently marked by the formula ” This is the account of …………….”. For instance, we find “This is the account of Noah” (Gen. 6:9), “This is the account of Abraham’s son […]
Welcome to our 90-day journey through the Bible. May the Lord grant us grace, insight and blessing as we read His word. J.Sidlow Baxter has compared the major themes of Scripture to great rivers ever deepening and broadening as they are developed throughout the Bible. In the Book of Genesis we have many of these […]
In the last 4 months we have been doing a Bible Study in Sunday School through the Book of Revelation. I have found it personally rewarding, but it has also been a difficult study. Trying to interpret Revelation is difficult, especially Revelation 6-18. I have read where some Bible commentators have said that when they […]
When the Apostle Paul wrote his Letter to the Philippians, he was in jail. Even though he was fettered in chains, the grace and power of the Gospel was still being ministered through the Apostle. Palace guard officials were being witnessed to by the imprisoned Paul (Phil. 1:12,17). In addition, Christian brothers and sisters, outside […]
In my early years as a Christian, I read many books on prayer by such spiritual giants as Arthur Mathews (“Born for Battle”) and E.M.Bounds (“Power Through Prayer”). I think I was naive to think that I could become an effective prayer warrior on my own by simply reading these kinds of books and just becoming more disciplined in my life.
These things are obviously helpful. But they also reveal a very individualistic way of looking at prayer, spirituality and discipleship. In the Christian Scriptures, learning to pray and practising prayer in a corporate context is also very important.
Many people in North America bemoan the busyness of their lives. It seems that our lives get cluttered with all sorts of “necessary” things that we just believe we have to do. I’m not sure if it’s this busyness or my age which causes me to go into a certain part of my house and then forget why I had to go to that part of the house in the first place. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who experiences this temporary “amnesia”.
This past weekend we celebrated Pentecost Sunday. Fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead, and ten days after He ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out on those who believed Jesus was the Messiah/Christ of God (Acts 2:1-4). In some ways, you could say it was the beginning of the Church. It is the Holy Spirit who baptizes the believer into the body of Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free (1Cor. 12:13). The body of Christ is another name for the Church. The Holy Spirit not only baptizes the believer into Christ’s body but He indwells every believer (Rom. 8:9).