During a time of prayer early this morning (17th March 2007) the Lord spoke to me, saying, “Write a testimony to the power of my spoken word.” As I considered this, the Holy Spirit then brought to mind a number of Scriptures, which I shall quote as I write this article. I was reminded of our Lord’s words that part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Church was to “lead into all truth”, and “to bring to mind” words the Lord had spoken. [Read more…]
35b. Our Wilderness Journey. Part 2
The five dangers mentioned by Paul were stated in Part 1. Here is an analysis of each of them, by referring to the Old Testament writings. [Read more…]
35a. Our Wilderness Journey. Part 1
There is a section in Paul’s writing, (1 Cor.9:24 – 10:13) where he likens the life of a Christian to a wilderness journey, based on the example of the children of Israel in their travels from Egypt to the Promised Land. Twice in this passage he emphasises this, by saying, “These things were our examples,” and “These things were written for our admonition.” (10:6,11) [Read more…]
34. The Responsibility Factor
Hebrews 13:5 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Most comforting words.
Paul was quoting from Deuteronomy 31:6-8, where Moses was commissioning Joshua in readiness to cross over into the Promised Land. He said, “Be strong and of a good courage . . . for it is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you, He will not fail you nor forsake you. Fear not, neither be dismayed.” [Read more…]
1. God’s Megaphone
“The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are, the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt. . . . [Read more…]
82. No Escape from the Fire
“Everyone shall be salted with fire.” Mark 9:49 Now let us read what the learned John Gill said in his “Expositor” about our Lord’s words. [Read more…]
73. “Friend, move up higher!”
These words come from a well-known story told by the Master Story Teller. They refer to a Wedding Feast, where guests reclined according to their honour and seniority. It would be foolish for one to plonk himself down next to the President, only to be told to move down. This would invite censure from other guests, and embarrassment to one’s self. However, by taking a lowly position, and waiting for the President to invite one to “Move up higher”, there would be a sense of elation. Such was the Master’s teaching about humility, not getting grandiose ideas about one’s own standing, importance or position in respect of the coming Kingdom of God. (Luke.14:8-10) [Read more…]
35. The Great Tribulation
The words “Great Tribulation” conjure up a deep-seated fear in the hearts of many of God’s people. The fear derives mainly from the way in which the subject is presented by Christian authors. Some believe they will be “whisked away” before “IT” happens, (called the “pre-trib. rapture”.) Others are of the firm belief that all Christians will have to go through “IT”, (called the “post-trib. rapture”.) [Read more…]
31. Neatly Packaged Boxes and Illuminated Signposts
Nearly 400 years had gone by since Malachi spoke, and the Jews had formulated their “Tanakh“, which we now call the Old Testament. The Tanakh was sacrosanct. It was a complete book. Nothing could be added to it or taken from it. There were, of course, many other interesting writings, including such commentaries as the Mishnah and the Talmud, but the Tanakh was supreme above all, and must be preserved and copied with the greatest care. [And of course, we are very thankful to the Scribes, the Sopherim, who preserved their ancient records with such care.] [Read more…]
30. Today is the Secret of Tomorrow
In the Lord’s prayer we read, “Give us this day our daily bread.” But my lexicon reminds me that the word “daily” is a very strange word, not found elsewhere, and its literal meaning is “that which is coming upon”, in other words, tomorrow! “Give us tomorrow’s bread TODAY, .” Here is the secret. Tomorrow is the Kingdom of God. But today we may receive spiritual bread to be ready for the Kingdom. Therein is great comfort, because it is God’s promise, and the Lord Jesus specifically told us to ask for it. [Read more…]