IMMANUEL–GOD WITH US Isaiah gave King Ahaz of Judah this sign from God to show that within only a few years, the kingdoms of Israel and Syria would be gone. Yet, this prophetic sign had a double fulfillment. It’s present-day fulfillment was for Ahaz, but it’s future fulfillment was for the entire human race. For
DON’T BE SWAYED FROM THE SIMPLE GOSPEL The gospel is simple. So simple that people nearly always want to complicate it. Just as the law of the garden was simple: “Don’t eat.” So the gospel is simple: “Take and eat” (Matt. 26:26). The apostle Paul had preached the simple gospel to the Corinthians. But false
THE WAR FOR OUR MINDS Paul used military language to describe his spiritual warfare against worldly arguments and philosophies that are raised against the knowledge of God. He rightly recognized that the flesh (especially pride), the world, and the devil were allies in the spiritual battle for the minds of humanity. So he fought a
ADMITTING THAT WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD David wrote this psalm in repentance after committing adultery with Bathsheba. Although he surely recognized he had sinned against her and her husband, he felt more grieved that he had sinned against God. This is the mark of true repentance. Not that we admit that we have
PRAISED FOR HIS GOSPEL MINISTRY In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he informed them that he was sending three brothers to help with the collection of a gift to help the hurting Christians in Jerusalem. He named Titus as one of the trio who had volunteered to visit them for this purpose
ARE YOU LABORING WITH A DULL EDGE? Take time to sharpen your saw. One of Solomon’s habits long before Covey’s seven. My maternal grandfather knew this habit. Before the invention of weed-eaters, he used a large sickle to clear the creek bank. He always kept a sharpening stone in his pocket and would pause from
WHAT SOLOMON WOULD SAY ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA Solomon warned against being overly sensitive to what others say about you. Guard your heart. For from time to time, even those closest to you may say something disparaging of you. You might even overhear one who works for you, cursing you. Not to your face of course,
THE ONE WHO BRINGS GOD’S COMFORT Paul told the Corinthians that the comfort that Titus brought from his visit with them filled him with great joy. In the midst of both external and internal conflict in Macedonia, news of the Corinthians’ repentance and love for him, was just the medicine Paul needed. Paul attributed
WE LONG FOR THE ETERNAL King Solomon was the writer of Ecclesiastes. He observed the beauty of how God had assigned everything a season and how these things seemed to repeat over time. Yet, he also observed that God had put an eternal longing in man’s heart, so that he wanted to know and experience
A NEW CREATION Becoming a Christian is not about self-improvement. It is an invitation to come and die, that we might be born again. It is not incremental nor partial, but drastic and total. By believing and receiving Christ, we are found in Him. Our old nature we count crucified with Christ. Our new nature