Your Heart In the Old Testament we find this: Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (NASB 2020) When we read about the heart in such contexts we are not talking about the physical organ. Instead, it refers to our core being. It is…
On Assurance of Salvation There are no litmus tests in scripture for ascertaining whether or not someone is saved. People who go around making up tests like “do you KNOW you are saved” or “a person can miss heaven by 18 inches” are doing just that–making things up. Things like that are designed to make…
Victory over the Flesh Galatians 5:16 tells us “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (NASB 2020) That is true every single time, but it sure doesn’t seem that way sometimes. We who are in Christ still have the freedom to choose. We can choose to walk…
Saints, We are citizens of the Kingdom of God, yet we live as ambassadors in the kingdom of our enemy the accuser. Here in the valley of the shadow of death, we face all sorts of difficulties, distractions, and delusions. These come from the fallen world with its corrupt systems and distorted mindset and from…
Do You Know Who You Are? A study of Colossians 2:6-14 (NIV) In this section of Colossians we are given some important information about what Jesus did for us and who we are as a consequence. Over the next few days we will unpack this text a bit. Verse 6 “So then, just as you…
Believing God John 3:16 famously says that whoever believes in Jesus has everlasting life. Then in verse 36 of the same chapter we read that whoever believes on Jesus has everlasting life. In John 5:24 we find that whoever believes on the One who sent Jesus has everlasting life. John 12:44 says that one who…
Feeling Useless In 2010 we bought a house in West Virginia. For five years we spent vacations there. In 2014 it became clear that the roof on one part of the house needed to be replaced right away. I called my brother and a friend, and we went to work stripping the old roof off,…
From time to time, each of us faces painful, disappointing, or frustrating circumstances that seem to keep coming one after the other. Sometimes we are told, or at least think, that our response should be to hunker down and “accept God’s plan”—as if His plans for us can generally be expected to result in pain,…
Easy Yoke, Light Burden Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is…
Keep the Sabbath Holy While driving recently I noticed a large billboard that said, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I like to put my feet up and rest, so the idea of a Sabbath sounds pretty good to me. Nevertheless, the statement on the billboard…
Assurance of Salvation One of the biggest problems in the institutional church is that a mixture of grace and religious rules and laws is taught. Mixing these two things is anathema to the Gospel (see Galatians 1:8-9) and causes people who have been freed by the grace of God to live as though they are…
Sin and Belief As believers, we do not go on sinning as a way of life. We don’t live lives characterized by sinning. 1 John 3:9 “No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.” (NASB…
The Nature of Sin Sin is both a noun and a verb. The word sin is used in scripture in a number of different ways. You are likely to read that sin is “missing the mark.” That’s true. Sin is also described in the Bible as “whatever is not of faith” (Romans 14:23). Elsewhere it…
As Father would have it, it’s not up to us to grow. Certainly we are to take His advice and consciously set our minds on things above, think on true and lovely things, and so on. But many of the improvements we seek come only as a result of our growth over time. It’s like…
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB 2020) we read, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” The reason for this is that God is the source of all that is–seen and unseen. Apart from Him, we would have nothing.Apart from Him we could not make choices at…
You’ve moved. Sometimes the fact that you live in this fallen world may tempt you to question it, but rest assured; you’ve moved. Through Jesus, God has rescued you from the domain of darkness. Make no mistake, this world is the kingdom that belongs to the accuser, that old enemy of yours. The god…
You have been raised with Christ. The old you has died and your new and real life is hid with Christ in God. This is why you should consider your hands and feet and head–your body–to be dead to ungodliness. Think about it. You have laid aside the old self with its evil practices…
Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and the life. He told the religious leaders they should come to Him to have life.He promised that all who come to Him will have life, and it will be abundant.He promised eternal life. Eternal life has no end. That’s as abundant as it gets! When you…
Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit of God (Romans 1:4 and 8:11). He can never die again (Romans 6:9).Death no longer has mastery over Him (Romans 6:9).He died to sin once for all and now lives to God forever (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:12 & 10:10, 1 Peter 3:18). Believe…
God’s Great Love According to Ephesians 2, God loved us even while we were dead in our transgressions, trespasses, and sins. His love and mercy were so great that He made us alive and restored us to relationship with Himself. He made us alive with Christ; but wait, there’s more! He also raised us…
Righteousness is a Gift The Law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus is full of grace and truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the irrevocable gift of the Father, the good tidings of great joy for all people. You can’t work…
Being Used by God God used highly educated and articulate Paul. God used soft-hearted and loving John. God used impulsive regular guy and fisherman Peter. God used a condemned thief. God used a Roman centurion. God used a hated tax collector. God used a broken Samaritan woman. God used Mary and Martha. God used a…
Some good advice Paul gave the Colossians: – Allow the peace of God to rule in your heart. – Allow the word of Christ to live in you. Did you realize that you can allow these things or not allow them? You don’t have to work up faith or strive to accomplish, you just allow…
Saint, You are prone to kindness. You have a tender heart. You are a naturally forgiving person in the same way that it was natural for God to forgive you because of Jesus Christ. That’s why you hear that quiet whisper within suggesting that you act kindly, let your tender heart show, and forgive those…
Resurrection, It’s not Just for Jesus Every year around this time all of Christendom celebrates the highest holiday of all. Most call it Easter. Many call it Resurrection Sunday. Those who are Jewish celebrate Passover at this time of year too. The celebration of Passover is very appropriate because it was at the time of…
