The hour had come. Jesus finished His talk in the Upper Room and led His disciples toward Gethsemane. “I have overcome the world,” the Savior announced to them just before this. He pronounced this as a statement of reality. And yet the climactic elements of His victory were still to...

Once Jacob distanced himself from all that he valued and possessed on earth, he was available to give the Lord his undivided attention in a wrestling match, refusing to quit until the Lord blessed him. He prevailed, and one of the greatest blessings he came away with was that the...

"He that sits down in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty, Whose power no foe can withstand." (Psalm 91:1, combined translation)

Some days no thoughts come. Too much sugar in last night’s snack? Maybe. The Complexity of a man’s soul; body and spirit also, make for an exciting life of wonder. Victor Frankl defined some of the complexity as the tension between objectivity and subjectivity in a person’s inner being. He...

Two brothers approached and offered God yield of their life occupations. One offered a sheep, the other fruit. God respected one offering, the other, He rejected. The Genesis story describes two men and their God, two men shaped in iniquity, two men born outside the presence of the Almighty, two...

“But with You there is forgiveness, that You might be feared” (Psalm 130:4). This verse defines just why we should hold God in reverence and awe. He forgives. It is the most potent and effective revelation of His power. The Lord shows mercy. In fact, He rejoices to show His...

Two tables. Two hosts. Two salvations. The episodes I want to examine are both found in the gospel of Luke. The first one is toward the end of Luke 7 and involves a Pharisee named Simon who asked Jesus to come to dinner at his home. The word on the...

“The world always has had a cross between two thieves for the one who comes to save it.” And yet: ” If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 “The graceful gait of virtue is always followed by and scoffed with grimace and travesty.” And yet,...

The apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians to set the record straight. The Gospel message is this: Salvation comes only by grace through faith in Christ alone. The message is a declaration of independence from our own efforts to make ourselves right with God. To believe, that is to...

Hope was planted in a heart. It would not be denied. The heart belonged to Ruth. That hope that took root in her must be classified as a true work of God, for she had many reasons to be hopeless. Her husband was dead, so were her father-in-law and her...