This past Friday night, an earnest soul recognized their need for a Savior to absolve their sins.  What a precious sight, what a precious reminder — our God will save. What a present need, what a universal need — we need our God. Man sins (Rom 3:23); it has been that way from the first man to the last. This reality holds true for both the wicked and the righteous. It was also true for “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22). The King of Israel, David, found himself in desp

For many Bible students, First Samuel chapter seventeen will always be synonymous with David’s boldness in the face of Goliath’s adversity. Rightly so, it is undoubtedly a focal point of the chapter. Beyond that, the chapter would contrast the boldness of faith with the weakness of carnality. David would confidently stand before the giant, and the armies of God’s people would cower in fear (1 Sam 17:16). David certainly is provided to us as an example of faith, dependency, an

It is estimated that the book of Acts covers the first thirty years of the Church’s history. During these thirty years, we focus on several lives and ministries. In Acts 1-5, the emphasis is on the duo of Peter and John. In Acts 6-9, the attention shifts to the evangelists Stephen, Philip, and Ananias. In Acts 10-12, the focus is on Peter and the Gentiles. In Acts 13-28, the spotlight is on Paul and his various companions. From start to finish, it tells the story of the Churc

If the All-Knowing God commented on your faith, what would He reveal? There are a few times when Jesus comments on the faith of others. Interestingly, those He found most favorable were those of a Gentile background. As for those who were the esteemed teachers of the Law, their faith was lacking (Matt 5:20). As for those who followed Him closely as friends and students, their faith was lacking. In a previous article, we commented on Jesus’s remark to Peter falling into the wa

Last Sunday, our article considered Peter and an occasion where he "hit the nail on the head." In John 6, Peter's fervor was completely right—where else shall we go? Who else has the words of eternal life? By what other man can we come into fellowship with God Almighty? There is no other man (Acts 4:12), no other way (John 14:6), and no other words (Romans 1:16). There is, however, another lesson to be learned from Peter's fervency. We referred to this, a time in which Peter

You have heard the expression, “You hit the nail on the head.” This means that you got it entirely correct. Your understanding is not off even a shade. You are right. In Peter’s life, we can see several instances where he couldn’t be any more wrong. Matthew 16 is an excellent example of such; Peter stands and proclaims he would not allow the Christ to die (Matt 16:22). As we might recall, Jesus returns Peter’s proclamation with the searing words, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matt

If Peter wrote a memoir, I could imagine reading something like this: "One night on the seas, as winds blew and the waves beat about in the darkness, a dear friend approached me. He was the most powerful man I have ever met, for he was no mere man. He was the Son of God. I witnessed many of his powerful deeds, saw the lame restored, saw thousands fed from measly portions, and even saw the dead raised. When he came to our side, standing on the turbulent sea, I asked that he pe

We are familiar with the adage, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." When life is bitter, endeavor to make something great out of it; this is good advice: do not get downtrodden by the tumult of life's storms; instead, maintain optimism and bring something good from the situation. Here is better advice: when life gives you lemons, watch for when God makes the lemonade. I know that is a bit cheesy; however, is this not what we see repeated in the lives of those who tak

Anna Brownell Jameson is credited with the saying, "Modesty and chastity are twins." Of course, we know the Scriptures would support such an ideal—modesty representing what we show to the world, chastity representing what we withhold from the world. There are several applications for these twin ideas: wealth, status, and clothing … a more sensitive topic, however, would be that of sexuality. The societal depiction of womanhood is askew. At the time, we would say that men were

Proverbs 22:4, "The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life." Solomon would pass these words on to his son, the audience of the book of Proverbs. I would imagine that Solomon had seen this lesson repeated in his life and in his father's stories. But it would seem viable that he learned this in the story of his ancestry. Solomon was the great-great-grandson of Ruth, the noble Moabite woman who would marry Boaz of Bethlehem. Ruth was forced into wi

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” - J.R.R. Tolkien How true it is that when the road becomes darkened, faithfulness, loyalty dissipates like the morning dew. Such is the recurring narrative of life. Not merely in our time, but for all of human history. The first humans to experience the threat of consequence turned on each other (Gen 3:12). The chosen people of God would turn against Him at the first signs of inconvenience (Ex 17:3). Even as pressure

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." These are the words of our beloved, round, honey-feeding friend, Winnie The Pooh. These words have motivated generations to believe in their capabilities. From time to time, like the ebb and flow of the ocean, there are feelings of inadequacy and incapability. Such was the case for an eighty-year-old Moses. Moses experienced a surge of confidence when he decided to identify with his people a

John Ruskin is quoted as saying, “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” Such a fitting quote this is when we consider the labor of Moses. Moses was called from the simplicity of shepherding s heep to the strenuous work of shepherding a people. His work of leading the people of Israel undoubtedly had its moments of pleasure, but certainly had its trying moments. Moses stood for the benefit of the people of Israel. When

"He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist." (John 13:4). These statements serve as a transition, namely a transition from the first roughly 33 years of His life to the last hours of His life. When we begin reading John 13:1, we start with the reading of a day that will then span to John 18, where Jesus is found and arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, on this last day, undoubtedly recognized a significant time for instruction - Hi

What type of lives would we live if we knew when they would end? Some might go mountain climbing and bull riding. Others might make it their mission to give all the love and forgiveness they have been denying. However, at the very least, most would be tempted to live lives of absolute wickedness. If we had a guaranteed time of judgment, many would seek to squeeze in all the sins they possibly could and then try to ask for forgiveness afterward. How do I know? People try to do

There come times in every disciple's life when their allegiance to Christ will be challenged. When these tests come, how do we fare? For those who followed Christ in the first century, the testing did not always show positive results - for some, they turned away (I.e., Hebrews, Judas, etc.). For others, when there was a challenge to their faith, they were proven loyal (Antipas - Rev 2:13, Stephen - Acts 7, etc.). Results are mixed. With that in mind, vigilance is essential (1

The Church is eclectic, comprising people with various backgrounds, personalities, and preferences. Some might be part of a heritage of Christians; others might be the first generation, perhaps even one of the few lapses in generations. In the Church, we have some who are more inclined to be outgoing, others who are more kept to themselves, some who are go-getters, and others who exercise an abundance of caution in all they do. Some prefer to keep things as they have been, wh

In John 4:24, Jesus, speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well, said, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Here, Jesus spoke about what was fundamental to worship and what would not change. Before this, Jesus was presented with a statement of division, “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus’ response to this statement is what has changed about worship,

In Romans 6:1-2, Paul wrote the Church in Rome these questions, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" It seems evident that a misunderstanding of grace existed among the Church of the first century that seemingly still exists in the Church and in the religious world at large. The issue is the mistaken idea that once in Christ, we have an all-atoning sacrifice that accounts for every

Recently, I viewed a poll among a small group of Ministers claiming to be members of the Church of Christ. The poll was about when the Law of Christ took effect. One answer seemed immaturely proposed, "We are not under law, but grace." It is true that Paul does make reference to Christians being "under grace" and not "under [the] law." (Brackets given to reflect various translations, KJV included) (Rom 6:14). However, if we read this verse with the understanding that the New