Is there any better time for reflection than the end of a year? In less than three weeks the year 2013 will be history. We are one year closer to the time of our death and one year closer to determining where we will spend eternity. Consider the following thoughts which seem so timely as this year comes to a close. Are…

Last week we discussed how Christians may stink to the world, but there is no stench from godly lives as far as heaven is concerned. Little does the world realize that there is a beautiful fragrance which ascends to heaven from the saints, and that aroma surrounds His throne and perfumes the corridors of heaven.  What a contrast! This fragrance is first…

When Jesus asked for the removal of the stone covering Lazarus’ tomb, the response was, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead for four days” (John 11:39). The stench of death—few have ever experienced it. Perhaps there was the odor from the death of an animal, but never the stench of death from a human body.…

I do not have a great deal of confidence in many polls, for they can be skewed to obtain a wanted result simply by the form of the questions asked in the poll. However, there are those pollsters who are recognized as being more objective than others. The Gallup poll has been around since 1935 and is seen by many as more…

Solomon said, “For everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1). Have you ever considered, not just the time for every purpose, but the purpose itself? More specifically, have you ever considered the purpose for your existence? Have you given much thought to the question, “Why were you born?” The ancient Greek philosophers thought about the…

Sometimes men make a mistake when they come to the Bible and expect God to expressly prohibit actions which displease Him. The Mormons, who used water in the Lord’s Supper, say, “Where does the Bible say you cannot use water?” This approach to the Bible totally ignores the truth that when God expressly commands actions it disallows all other actions. Consider the…

How exciting it must have been for Paul, Silas and Timothy when in a vision Paul heard the Macedonians say, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). They immediately left Troas and landed in Europe and began their work. The reception was not what most would have expected for there was great opposition in all the cities of Macedonia where…

When Jesus arrived in Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples two questions. The first was, “Who do men say that I am?” The second one was, “Who do you say that I am?” Their answers to the first question attest to the amazing life Jesus had lived before the Jewish nation. They saw Him as being equal to Jeremiah, Elijah, other prophets…