Possessed, tormented, self-destructive, naked, screaming, alone, hopeless. This was the state of the Gadarene in Mark 5 before he was released by the Lord. He then made a request to the Lord: “And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him” (Mark 5:18)—which…
Probably every Christian has heard of the Holy Spirit, often known as the “third person of the Godhead.” But when it comes to who this Spirit is and what He actually does, opinions often differ largely. It is, therefore, worthwhile to check our Bible to examine who the Holy Spirit really is and what this…
The Christian has been enlisted by the Lord, and is on active service for Him. He must not entangle himself in the affairs of everyday life. The emphasis here is on the word entangle. He cannot completely divorce himself from worldly business. He must work in order to provide the necessities of life for his family….
The importance of food in prolonged battles It is indeed a wise instruction to leave fruit trees standing while cutting down other trees to build siege equipment for battle. This is the intelligent management of resources. As believers, we often fight battles. They may be in defense of our spiritual blessings in Christ and their…
At my father’s house in the country, there is a little closet near the chimney, where we keep the canes, or walking sticks, of several generations of our family. During my visits to the old house, as my father and I are going out for a walk, we often go to the cane closet and…
Everyone of us has a subtle desire for numbers and a tendency to judge success by statistics. There is a measure of reproach connected with small groups whereas large crowds command attention and respect. What should our attitude be in this area? Large numbers should not be despised if they are the fruit of the…
The devil has two main ways of tempting believers: Either he offers up attractive, appealing, and impressive preachers to whom believers go, thus luring them out of their homes to him. Or he sends these seducers into the homes. The latter is probably the most dangerous. We read about it twice: 2 Timothy 3:6: “For…
One of the most deep-seated frailties of fallen humanity is the persistent tendency to judge according to appearance. We judge a person according to his looks. We judge a used car by its body. We judge a book by its cover. No matter how often we are disappointed and disillusioned, we stubbornly refuse to learn…
Question: How do I recognize whether I have the gift of singleness according to 1 Corinthians 7:7,37? There are some articles on being single, but mostly addressing the question: How can I make the best of this situation, which I did not choose for myself, with the help of the Lord? But what if you…
In a passage in Romans, Paul states that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). A few verses earlier, the apostle quotes from the Old Testament with similar content: “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who…
Who has not come across Siri, the Apple software, the “woman in the iPhone’, who replies to you when you ask her where the next restaurant is? Imagine she suddenly says to you, “I love you!” Would you find that nice? Imagine a robot sitting next to you, putting his arm around your shoulder, and…
The liberty of the child of God is one of his priceless possessions. Made free by the Son, he is free indeed. But he is called to responsible freedom, not to license. Children want to be free from the restraints of home. Young people want to be free from the discipline of study. Adults want…
A very interesting word used in Titus 2:3 shows how seriously God takes slander, defamation, half-truths, blasphemy (even in a pious guise), or gossip. When older women are told not to slander, we find the Greek term “diabolos” – the word used for the devil. It means “confuser, slanderer”. No wonder since he is called…
Luke’s gospel is the gospel of grace. It speaks of the undeserved grace of God that has appeared in order to offer salvation to all men (Titus 2:11). God’s grace and mercy flow out to each and every person who accepts the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. We can take chapter 19:10 as the…
Not only these but a number of other scriptural passages that deal with looking at or seeing God seem to contradict each other at first glance. In 1 Timothy 6:16, Paul writes of God: “… who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see …” (cf. John 1:18:…
Job was very righteous and could not understand why a great calamity had befallen him. He felt it was unjust and fought eloquently for his innocence, even making accusations against the Almighty. With the statement quoted above, Elihu made it clear that he was missing four statements in the words Job had addressed to God:…
There is a subtle temptation, even in Christian service, to become great, to see one’s name in the magazines or hear it over the radio. But it is a great snare. It robs Christ of glory. It robs us of peace and joy. And it makes us prime targets for the Devil’s bullets. It robs…
God ordained the home as the institution to train children in the way they should go. God didn’t expect the church, the preacher, the school, or any other agency to do this. Parents dare not blame such agencies when their children go wrong. The Deuteronomy passage quoted above says that parents shall teach diligently. Spiritual…
How can we lead people to Christ? The passage of the four friends becoming creative in order to bring their paralyzed friend to the Lord is very helpful in regards to this question. We learn the following lessons from this story: A paralyzed man cannot walk. The man must be carried to the Lord because…
Question: Does the devil produce evil thoughts in me? I am also troubled by the idea that the devil could read my thoughts. Answer: It is not the devil who is the source of evil thoughts in us, but the flesh, that sinful nature which is still present in the believer. Although we are no…
