When I was a young preacher, I had an important lesson to learn about people responding to my teaching and preaching. In those years, I tended to measure the impact of my efforts by the numbers who responded immediately. I failed to see the many different ways the Bible describes how individuals respond when they are taught. In the parable of the…

In our day of modern warfare, when a skilled sniper can kill an enemy from two miles away, we tend to forget in Bible times how devastating a skilled marksman could be with nothing more than his bow and quill filled with arrows. An unexpected volley of arrows from a troop of warriors could bring immediate death when it arrived. One event…

I remember the very first time I ever saw cotton candy. When I was very young the highlight of every year was the county fair in Huntsville, Alabama. Today when there is Disney World, Universal Studios and “Six Flags Over Everywhere,” it is hard for anyone to imagine just how special those “scary” rides were at the fair and how much I…

Whenever you think of the Day of Atonement just remember the importance of that day to the Jews. Each year on the tenth day of the seventh month, God remembered all of the sins of that nation. Atoning sacrifices were always connected with appeasing the wrath of God (see Numbers 16:41-46; 25:1-13), and it was imperative that this holy day of atonement…

Because we do not fully understand the significance of the word atonement, we fail to see several great truths of the Bible. There are many words we use in describing the salvation process—sanctification, justification, redemption and atonement. Each of them refer to the same process, but each emphasizes a different aspect of how God’s mercy is shown. Take a look at the…

As strange as it may seem, the eternal plan that God has had for this world can be summed up in just a few short statements. Just suppose that you were asked to give an overview of this plan, what phrases or words would you choose? With this in mind, let me suggest four eternal truths about God’s plan. Here’s my list.…

Understanding the nature of inspiration will open doors to deeper understanding as you study the Bible. Consider that when Moses brought the tablets of stone down from Mount Sanai there were no misspelled words on those stones. Every word was chosen by God. Every single letter of every word had been chosen and written by the hand of God. Jesus believed in…

There are no words in the Bible that are there by accident. When the Bible speaks of inspiration, it is not in vague terms as though God gave His thoughts to His prophets and they did their best to put heavenly thoughts into human words. Think of how “inspired” the words were on the tablets of stone Moses received from God. Every…