All hope that we should be saved was then taken away.—Acts 27:20
Paul was, in many respects, a law unto himself. On more than one occasion the political leaders were sent into a huddle to determine the best disposition of his case. Claiming dual citizenship or citing an ancient law, the Apostle would frustrate the authorities. King Agrippa had such an experience with him. He called Festus, the governor of Judea, into counsel. After weighing the evidence, they concluded that “this man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” Now he must go to …
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” This question was asked by a believer, not an unbeliever; in fact, it is found in the book of Psalms. In Psalms 42 and 43, you will find the writer asking three times, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me?” You see, he was going through that terrible experience of depression. His world had fallen apart, and he was wondering where God was. He was wondering if he would ever get out of the dark pit of …
The chief character in the Second Book of Kings, the fifth chapter, is a general, a great leader, a commander-in-chief of the armies of the country of Syria. His name is Naaman. He was the idol of the crowd, the hero of his day. Wherever he went, he would be feted and admired. He was the Eisenhower of his time. A man of great reputation; a man of great popularity; a man of great courage who had earned his right to popularity by the sheer bravery of his deeds on the battlefield. This man, however, was stricken with a very …
On The Hour of Decision program recently, a man saved during the Greater London Crusade said that in the course of a service he didn’t so much notice what Billy Graham was saying—all he became conscious of was a voice speaking to his heart and claiming his decision, his surrender, and there could be no possible resistance to it.
I wonder what it is that brings a life into living touch with Christ. What is it that makes a service so different? Well, it is just when God speaks to the heart. I believe that sort of thing happens by …
These words fall from the lips of Jesus again and again: “The kingdom of heaven is like”—and are recorded for us in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Picture Him standing there in the little boat as it rocks quietly in the water, and before Him crowded right up to the water’s edge a great multitude, listening intently to every sentence from His lips.
“The kingdom of heaven.” These are surprising words. Is there then to be a kingdom heaven born, heaven bought, and heaven sent? That is exactly what Jesus is saying, and furthermore …
The older we become, the more difficult it is for us to face changes. We get our roots down deep and we don’t like them to be disturbed. The new fashions, the new ideas, and even new friends are a bit of a threat to us. We’re very comfortable in our own little world, and we see no reason why anything has to change.
But you and I know that life just doesn’t stand still. Where there is life there must be growth, and where there is growth there must be change. The only things that stand still are things …
“Unto the tribe of Levi, Moses gave not any inheritance. The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them” (Joshua 13:33).
The first verse of Joshua 13 begins with the Lord’s reminder to Joshua, “there remains yet very much land to be possessed.” We have seen how true that is in relation to the spiritual experience of us all. We remind ourselves that possession of the land by Israel was by lot. In other words, God determined the precise area which each tribe was to occupy, and each was responsible for applying the principles they had …
Among the many characteristics of Christian love listed in 1 Corinthians 13, one of the most neglected is this: “Love thinketh no evil.” If you and I would practice this, what a difference it would make in our relationship with the Lord and with one another. “Love thinketh no evil.”
Even people who do not believe the Bible admit that 1 Corinthians 13 is the greatest statement on love found in any literature anywhere. Inspired by the Spirit, Paul describes true Christian love in terms that excite us and convict us. Apart from God’s love in our hearts, we could …
You give your anxiety to God, but an hour later its weight is back on your shoulders. You ask God to control your temper, but you blow your top. You pray that you will not lust; you even “reckon” yourself to be dead to sinful impulses. But the next day you can’t push that tall blonde out of your mind.
You surrender yourself to God. And then so soon, so soon, so easily, revert to your old habits. You mean so well; I mean so well. Yet we fare so poorly. Why?
Psalm 77: “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me…”
This psalm tells the story of David and how he got out of the cave. As Professor James G. Murphy of Belfast says in his commentary, “The psalm was most probably composed on some critical emergency in the eventful life of David. The hiding of David in the cave of Adullam has been suggested by different writers.”
It is the devil’s peculiar joy to get us into a hole, and it is God’s particular delight to get us out …
