Looking carefully into the heart of Mary, the mother of Jesus, can teach us so much about dealing with what God has said to us even when we do not understand it. She obviously knew the words from heaven’s messenger and believed them. Gabriel said, “You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus”…

I am not sure about all the details of the assembly that the psalmist mentions in Psalm 111, but I do know that a great blessing awaits us in how the assembly applies to our lives. The psalmist said, “Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” He…

When Jesus opened the eyes of the man born blind, the man understood what had just happened. He told the unbelieving leaders, “Why, this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where He is from; yet He opened my eyes!” He then said, “Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of the one…

There is no way that the author of a hymn has of knowing just how widely it may be used. In every generation, there are songs which briefly appear and just a few years later they are rarely used. There are other songs which have been around for decades, and there must be a reason for this. There was no way for…

It had to be frustrating for the Lord as He tried to prepare the apostles for the time when they would be at the forefront in the growth of the church. An illustration of this can be seen in how those men responded to the words of Jesus. “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” The…

The appearance of John the Baptist introduced a religious act that was unknown before his time. It was the immersion of an individual in water in order to bring about the remission of sins. Jesus asked the Pharisees the question, “The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (Matt. 21:25).  Their answer shows just how new it was.…

How often have you heard these words of Jesus in Bible classes and sermons? “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). They touch our hearts, but they may become even more powerful when we look at the words preceding His invitation. Before giving His invitation, He spoke to the Father.…

Judging by the topics discussed in the epistles, almost every congregation had to deal with the problem brought into the church by those whose past religion demanded that for one to be saved he had to be circumcised. The problem really surfaced when uncircumcised Gentiles became members. At first the church was entirely Jewish, but when Saul/Paul led the persecution of the…