Blog Articles
Obtaining Promises
Once, I was reading the devotional, Springs in the Valley. For a particular day, faith was discussed in a few short paragraphs from Samuel Chadwick. Though Chadwick’s comments filled only two-thirds of the page, they were pregnant with meaning, and some of his...
Missing
In our day, we regularly hear urgent appeals from concerned family and friends, law enforcement, and local media regarding someone reported missing. Details surrounding the disappearance, a description of the individual, and contact information are offered with a...
Loving Jesus
In the upper room, in that special time Jesus had with His disciples just a few hours before He went to the cross, our Lord spoke many profound words. In one particular statement, He lays out a sequence for accessing and experiencing Jesus. “He that hath [who is...
Separation: Primary vs. Secondary
Separation is a Bible doctrine. In fact, the word holiness means set apart. The emphasis in Scripture is being set apart to God, and this necessarily demands being set apart from anything that hinders your separation unto God. There is a “separation to” that requires...
Guarding Your Relationship with Jesus
In the last article, Separation: Vitally Important, but Not the Main Thing, we noted that separation, though not the main thing, serves to protect the main thing. The big deal, the main thing, is our relationship with Jesus. Since this is the case, we must obey the...
Separation: Vitally Important, but Not the Main Thing
Some gardeners put up small fences or screens to protect their gardens from little intruders. For the gardener, the barrier is important, but it’s not the main thing; the garden is. This simple picture helps to put into perspective the matter of biblical separation,...
Extremism vs. Balance in Apparel
As we approach the warm weather months of summer, modest apparel becomes an issue. Discussions of modesty, like many areas of life, would benefit from the safety of saying “only” or “all” where God has said such while avoiding the inherent danger of asserting “only”...
Why Choose Bondage?
After God had delivered His people from Egypt’s slavery and bondage, the children of Israel evidenced a strange change of heart and openly yearned for a return to Egypt. It had been in answer to their own cries that God had released them from terrible misery, yet...
What Do the Evidences in 1 John Evidence?
Some years ago, I was corresponding with another preacher over the “evidences” of 1 John. In our back-and-forth bantering, he argued that the saved will inevitably evidence the “love of the brethren” and so forth as mentioned in the epistle. Strangely, his letter...
1 John 1:9 — Salvation or Sanctification?
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” For much of my lifetime, I heard this verse referred to as a cleansing and restoring truth for believers who in some way had stumbled into sin. Such...
Draw Near to God
Recently, as I was reading James 4:4-10, the Spirit stirred me with the truth of the passage. As I took to heart the challenge to draw near to God, soon I became aware that God was reviving my heart afresh. The impact is real. Though the Lord never leaves us, there...
“Holding the Ropes” – Praying for Your Missionaries
In Goforth of China, Rosalind Goforth recounts a “wonderful farewell service” as they left for the first time to their field of China: One story was told at that farewell meeting which made a deep impression on all present and touched a note which sounded through the...
This: The Connection between the Resurrection and Exaltation of Jesus and the Outpouring of the Spirit
In Acts 2, in the sermon preached on the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted three Old Testament prophecies: Joel 2:28-32 regarding the outpouring of the Spirit, Psalm 16:8-11 regarding the resurrection of Christ, and Psalm 110:1 regarding the exaltation of Christ. The...
Alone, Yet Not Alone with Jesus
The fragrance of Jesus produces polar responses. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in...
Everything You Need and Everything You Are Not
At both the beginning and the ending of Jesus’ earthly ministry, angels told different people, “Fear not.” People feared when Jesus came, and people feared when Jesus rose from the dead. The Bible tells us that after the resurrection the disciples saw Jesus and...
Biblical Balance Regarding Standards
Standards. Everyone has them. One may differ from another regarding where standards are set, but everyone operates with them. And what of the guy who boasts about not having standards? His may seem decidedly low, but holding himself to a relative absence of...
The Spirit of Love and Light
The Spirit of Love without the Spirit of Light is no longer the true Spirit of Love. The Spirit of Light without the Spirit of Love is no longer the true Spirit of Light. It is no accident that in the same inspired chapter of Ephesians 5, we are admonished to “walk in...
A Complete God
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” The inspired precision of Genesis 1:27 reveals the image of God has attributes both male and female. In familiar terms, God possesses both fatherly and motherly...
Too Deep? …or Perpetual Milk-Drinkers?
Occasionally, I hear someone say, “I like preaching that is easy to understand, and, I’m sorry, but that was a little deep for me.” Is this legitimate criticism? Well, perhaps. If a speaker is inclined to use complicated, unfamiliar terms or is so tedious that things...
Revival Access: Personal and Corporate
Revival is life again! A restoration to life; to spiritual life. Broadly speaking, it is a restoration to the life of God. On an individual level, revival is the filling of the Spirit, the action of the Spirit filling you with the life of Jesus Christ and restoring...
New Book: Experiencing Jesus
Is experiencing Jesus the supreme reality of your present experience, or is it otherwise—perhaps, quite otherwise? Bad habits…have any? And are they getting worse rather than better? As for besetting sins—have you overcome them, or does sin maintain its...
Fresh Joy
What a prospect for a new year—fresh joy! Isaiah 29:19 declares, “The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord.” The idea is that the humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. With the prospect of a fresh year, I want that fresh joy! I’m assuming you...
No Impossible “Rhema”
Many are quite familiar with the verse, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Certainly, this is a wonderful promise! But understanding the context and specific nature of this promise makes it even more blessed. The context is part of the Christmas...
Spirits versus Spirit
The authority of Scripture commands, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess [dissipation]; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Many today in the Christian realm seem to be re-thinking the matter of drinking alcoholic beverages. Re-thinking is not...
Let Go and Let God
“Let go and let God.” Is this language to be embraced or shunned? Saints of God from the past gladly used this phrase. Today, some disdain it. It seems there is great misunderstanding. That some may use this terminology carelessly or inaccurately is possible, although...
Bless the Lord!
The psalmist said, “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). “I will bless the Lord.” Usually we think in terms of the Lord blessing us—and God knows how much we need it. But the inference here speaks of us...
Second Blessing or Second Rest
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Most agree this is a beautiful invitation to salvation. This is the “first rest.” But then Jesus continues, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am...
Lifting Up Holy Hands
In my journey with the Lord there have many times, whether individually or in a corporate gathering, where I have been stirred to raise my hands to God in either prayer or praise. In earlier years if I was in a corporate setting, I either did this during prayer—so no...
The Necessity of Hunger
God satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 107:9). My father used to say that hunger is a major key to growing spiritually. When we think of the physical analogy, this really makes sense. Hungry people eat, and nourished people...
4 Steps to Using Gospel Tracts Effectively
“But a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds … fell into good ground” (Matt. 13:3-8). Throughout my years in evangelism crisscrossing the country, from time to time I meet people who were saved through a gospel tract. God uses gospel tracts to the...
