The words of the song are over 180 years old. One would think that something written that long ago could not retain its meaning in modern times. Such a conclusion would be mistaken. John R. Wreford (in 1837) wrote the hymn, “When My Love to Christ Grows Weak.” The words of that hymn are so moving. Consider this fourth verse, “There behold His agony, Suffered on the…

When the Bible says that something is “not wise,” it ought to cause us to really pay attention. In 2 Corinthians 10:12, Paul shows us that it is “not wise” to spend any effort in “measuring” ourselves or “comparing” ourselves with others. Doing so will usually make us either feel guilty or feel better. But what others do or don’t do is not our standard! Consider…

Sometimes as Christians, we may approach our Christian life like we do a grocery list or a honey-do list. At the grocery store, we mark off the things as we put them in the basket. “Got it!  Done!” We may sometimes drag our feet to do things on a honey-do list, but once they’re done, we check them off and gladly say, “Finished! Don’t have to…

Jesus. Truly, He is our perfect example in all things regarding righteous living. Consider what Peter (an eyewitness) reveals to us about the interaction of Jesus with those who mistreated Him. “When He was reviled, [Jesus] did not revile in return” (1 Pet. 2:23). Secondly, “when He suffered, He did not threaten.” Of course, you expect that out of Jesus! But, Peter’s point is that Jesus was “leaving…

The nature of the Lord’s church (by definition and by design) is to be an assembling people, who “come together as a church…in one place” (1 Cor. 11:18, 20). Rather than view that merely as a “requirement,” children of God ought to share the heart of the hymnist Joseph Swain, who wrote of “How sweet, how heavenly” it is when God’s people “delight”…

We are living in a time when personal interactions are intentionally being limited and even eliminated, and it is deemed as progress. Instead of going into a store, just do curbside pickup. Instead of going to a restaurant, just have delivery. Instead of speaking with a customer representative on the phone, just interact with the automated system. We shop online, we bank online, we have virtual…

A leading disinfectant spray claims that it “kills 99.9% of germs.” That sounds pretty impressive. You can’t get much closer to 100% than that. Due to scientific limitations and the existence of resistant microbes, it cannot guarantee 100% elimination of all germs. But 99.9% is good enough. What if Bible promises worked that way? What if the blood of Jesus cleansed us from 99.9% of our sins? That…

The denominational world seems to say many things about baptism, except (unfortunately) what the Bible actually says about baptism. Some describe baptism as “the solemn and beautiful testimony of a believer showing forth his faith” and “a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible body of Christ.” However, the Bible never uses this terminology and never calls baptism a “testimony” or a “sign.”…