Nearly every Christian knows the verse that says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Theexhortation is to “rejoice,” the location is “in the Lord,” and the duration is “always.” Reality demonstrates that Philippians 4:4 is sometimes difficult to apply, however. How can a Christian truly, “rejoice in the Lord always?” The phrase, “rejoice in the…
If you were going to exhort someone not to give up on Christianity, how would you do it? That is exactly the task of the Hebrews writer, who uses the term “better” 13 times in the book. Knowing that people do not easily give up on things that are precious and valuable, the writer of…
In the late 1800’s a group of theologians examined Philippians 2:5-7 and began to teach that Jesus gave up some of His divine attributes while He was here on earth. Twisting the words of Paul, these scholars said that when Jesus became man, He temporarily “emptied” (Phil. 2:7) Himself of some divine qualities like omnipotence,…
In our relativistic world it’s easy to forget that God sees things in “black and white.” He is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16), and His holiness can have no part of sin (Hab. 1:13). God is a God of absolutes. With Him, there is such a thing as absolute truth (John 8:32), and all people will…
Some books and passages of Scripture are admittedly, “hard to understand” and men would be wise to take care lest we, “twist them to our own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16). Perhaps every Christian has been puzzled by the last book of the Bible — Revelation. Unique in scope and purpose, Revelation is written in the…
Jeremiah preached for over forty years, and to our knowledge he never converted a soul. Many in contemporary religious circles would denounce Jeremiah as mean-spirited and divisive, but Jeremiah’s preaching never seemed to displease God. Here is a prophet of God who preached a hard and unpopular message to the his own people, and he…
On a recent trip to Arizona I was amazed at both the intensity of the desert heat as well as the seemingly complete absence of moisture in the air. I had heard about deserts, but had never experienced one during the heat of summer. The heat takes your breath away, and there is no escape….
God was upset with His people. They had returned from captivity in Babylon, and were busy about the work of rebuilding their lives. As people often tend to do, the Jews had forgotten about God’s work as they built fine houses for themselves and lived in luxury (Haggai 1:2-4). Is it possible that people can…
The book of James is written in a style that brings to mind two words: “plain” and “practical.” Not only is the book is so plain that nearly everyone can easily understand it, but it is also immensely practical — it is aimed at putting God’s word to work in your life. A good question…
Elijah is one of the most fascinating characters in all of Scripture. In 1 Kings 17 he suddenly appears, seemingly out of nowhere, and begins one of the most fantastic ministries written in God’s word. Elijah contended with wicked kings and queens, he demonstrated the power of God on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18), and…