THE LOVE THAT COVERS SIN The apostle Peter emphasized the importance of staying together as a Christian community in the face of increasing persecution. He wrote that the “most important” feature of such a unified community is love. For love doesn’t look for offense or imperfection. Indeed, it overlooks such things, keeping “no record of
ARE YOU ALWAYS READY TO TALK ABOUT JESUS? The apostle Peter wrote to encourage those who were being persecuted not to fear nor worry about those who threatened them. Instead of giving into fear and worry, they were to worship Christ as Lord in all areas of their lives and to always be ready to
RISING UP TO GIVE THANKS Psalm 119 was written as a tribute to God’s Word. Written as an acrostic poem based on the Hebrew alphabet, the psalmist described the many ways he was thankful for God’s righteous law. His thoughts concerning God’s revealed Word were so wonderful that he arose at a time when most
A PRAYER FOR GOD’S PERSPECTIVE The psalmist asked the Lord to help him turn his eyes from “worthless things,” so that his life might be revived by following God’s perspective. He recognized his temptation to focus on things that do not last and to spend his life pursuing them. And in the process of pursuing
DO YOU KNOW THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS? Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, have you learned the art of being truly glad? The apostle Peter knew this gladness. In this one verse, he shared his spiritual secret of happiness. First, focus on the “wonderful joy ahead.” For we have a priceless inheritance being kept for
WHO DO YOU CALL? Today, when someone complains of an illness or pain. The first question they are asked is: “Have you called the doctor?” Yet, when James was writing his epistle, the first question would’ve been: “Have you called the elders of the church?” Having available modern medicine, we forget the benefit of prayer
WILL WE EVER HAVE PEACE ON EARTH? We may blame conflict on external circumstances caused by others, but James said that war actually originates within each of our hearts. How long in human history did man exist before his first quarrel? Not long. Just long enough for two brothers to be born. Yet God saw
HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD? The psalmist’s view of God was greater than his fear of man, therefore he did not fear. Why should the child of God fear anything? What is so great or terrible that it should trouble the believer’s heart with anxiety? The apostle Paul seems to be thinking of this verse
THE AMAZING PROMISE OF RESURRECTION Ezekiel was called to prophesy to the Jewish exiles in Babylon and those scattered throughout the nations. This was a time when Israel had ceased to exist as a nation. In the national sense, it was dead. So, this resurrection prophecy might first be considered symbolic of a day when
MOVING TRIALS FROM THE SAD COLUMN TO THE GLAD COLUMN James described the spiritual mindset that the Christian should have when facing trials. What is this mindset? “Great joy.” Not happiness, which is based on external happenings, but “great joy,” which comes from within and is the fruit of the Spirit for the believer that