In 1 Peter 1:16, the Bible tells us, “for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” In that verse, Peter is quoting from Leviticus 20:26, where the Bible says “You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy”. In today’s world, many people have a “passion” for the Gospel,…

A lady named Annie Johnson Flint was born on Christmas eve, in 1866, in New Jersey. Her mother died when Annie was just 3 years old, and her father died shortly afterwards. Annie and her only sister were adopted by a good Christian family, and she came to know Jesus Christ as her Savior when…

I’ve been doing some Bible reading and studying this afternoon and was looking again at the Ten Commandments given to us in Exodus 20. One of those is “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…” (Ex. 20:7a) For years people have said that refers to swearing and using God’s…

On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII gave up his throne in order to marry a commoner. King Edward was in love with Mrs. Wallis Simpson, not only an American, but also a married woman already once divorced. The British government was opposed to the marriage, so he gave up being King in order to…

I was sitting at a deli close to my office for lunch yesterday, and I overheard part of a conversation at a table near me. There were two business men eating lunch, and I didn’t hear what the person closest to me said, because his back was toward me. However, I heard the guy sitting…

In Isaiah 55:8-9, the Bible reminds us of an important lesson: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” One of the crucial lessons…

During World War 1, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a famous German fighter pilot. Most people don’t recognize the name Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, but they do recognize him as the nickname that was given to him during the war – the Red Baron. During WWI, Richthofen shot down 80 enemy aircraft, more…

As told by Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor to Zaire… One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; in spite of all our efforts, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We knew we would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as…

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3) With…

J C Ryle in his writing about Holiness, continues to describe what it costs to be a true Christian: (2) For another thing, it will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God’s sight. He must set his face against it, quarrel…

Today we’ll look at the final 2 “costs” that J. C. Ryle mentions in his book on Holiness: 3) It will cost a man his love of ease. He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a successful face towards heaven. He must daily watch and stand his guard, like a soldier…

In one part of his classic book entitled Holiness, J.C.Ryle writes about the true “Cost” of becoming a Christian. I want to share in the next couple of devotionals part of what He wrote. “Let there be no mistake about my meaning. I am not examining what it costs to save a Christian’s soul. I…

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes Water Down as “to reduce or temper the force or effectiveness of”. People have always tried to “water down” the Gospel. That is a MAJOR problem today in our churches and in the lives of many who claim to be Christians. Many argue, “Oh, well we don’t want to hurt anyone’s…

I personally know many people who are struggling with giving God complete control of their lives. Most of them, if you asked, would claim that they believe in God and everything is perfectly fine with their lives. However, they don’t want to admit their almost daily struggles with fear, anxiety, and lack of joy. Suppose…

1 Peter 5:6-7 tell us, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Peter tells us to remember without God we are nothing. “Humble yourself” he says. Realize that we are NOTHING and…

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!…” We should constantly be looking at our life and by it we can tell if our faith in God is true or not. If we have no desire to follow Christ, no desire to spend…

In his classic book entitled Knowing God, J. I. Packer talks about how we receive guidance from God in living this life, the choices we make, and the roads we travel down. He says it is quite plainly by turning away from evil and doing what is good. In Isaiah 1:16-17 God told the people…

In Mark 9 we find a story that is familiar to Jesus’ earthly ministry, people coming to Him asking Him to heal someone or themselves. But, this story is interesting in a different light. “And one of the crowd answered Him, ‘Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;…

In Luke 9:23-24 the Bible tells gives us the words of Jesus, “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for…

In Matthew 7:24-27, after giving what it commonly called the “sermon on the mount”, Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and…

I watched a video this weekend entitled “God In America”. The video was the first in a series produced by PBS in 2010. One of the people in the video was a professor of religion at Boston University. During the video, he said, “Even contemporary Christians now, even many evangelicals, they just don’t believe in…

In Matthew 27, we find the story of Jesus before Pilate. In verses 15-17, we read: “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to…

The Apostle Paul wrote in Galations 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” When…

Last year in Ghana, a five-story building collapsed killing at least nine people and injuring many more. The building had been built only 9 months before the collapse. When discussing the disaster, an official said, “The foundation was not good enough.” That’s what caused it to collapse – a faulty foundation. In building structures, foundations…

In Philippians 3:8-9 Paul writes about his burning desire to KNOW Jesus Christ, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be…

If we were to wrap the entire earthly life of Jesus Christ up in one word, that word would be “others”. He spent his life on this earth healing the sick, raising the dead, and helping others. And then He gave His own life in the ultimate sacrifice for others by dying on the cross….

Isaiah 55:8-9 remind us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” You may have had one of those wooden block toys when you…

I was reading a Christian biography this weekend, and the guy whom the biography was written about served in the army soon after World War II and spent some time in the jungle. He explained how the natives would catch small monkeys to sell to foreigners as pets. They would take a coconut and cut…

Colossae was a Greek city during the times of the Apostle Paul. The Bible doesn’t tell us if Paul had actually visited the city of Colossae prior to writing the letter to them, which we know as the book of Colossians in the New Testament. However, in the letter to the church at Colossae, Paul…

We all know how difficult it is to find something that we’re not really looking for. Kind of like the young boy who’s father tells him to go look in the shed and find the other rake to help him rake the leaves. Well, soon the boy comes back, “I couldn’t find it.” So, the…