When the twelve spies came back from their 40-day reconnaissance mission into the Promised Land, the majority reported that “the people” and “the cities” in the land were “greater” and seemingly indestructible. The report, although based on false information, “discouraged” (literally, “melted”) the “hearts” of the people (Deut. 1:28). What a negative influence! Compare that with Philemon in the New Testament. Paul wrote that he…
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Let's Go Back to the Bible
Posts by David Sproule
God foresaw the time when His people would demand a king, and He set out some parameters for those who would reign over His nation. Consider these two responsibilities. First, the king was to “write for himself a copy of this law in a book” (Deut. 17:18). Do you remember when you used to study for tests in school? Did it help you to get the…
There are fewer subjects that will get some denominational folks charged up as much as the discussion of works and salvation. It has seemed over the years that some very sincere religious individuals consider “work” (as used in a “Christian context”) to be a four-letter word that should be avoided. Unfortunately, some have tried to pit some Bible verses against other Bible…
We need to read the Bible slow enough and carefully enough to catch expressions that we would not normally expect. And, sometimes, we skip right over the beginning or end of a letter, because we think it’s “just going to say the same thing.” They don’t! Consider the very last words of the letter to the Ephesians. “Grace be with all those who love our…
How much of your life does your work consume? Quite a bit? Then you get your paycheck. How much of that is consumed by bills (blah!) and family and recreation (yay!)? Have you ever wondered, “What is all of this for?” Tie the following two verses together. In Ephesians 4:28, Christians are instructed, “Let him labor, working with his hands what is good…” Why work? The rest of the…
It is very likely that we disconnect Matthew chapter 3 from Matthew chapter 4 in our minds. We usually do that with chapters—when we see a division, our minds draw a line of separation. Additionally, there are certain chapters that we have designated their themes into differing categories. Matthew chapter 3 is about “The Baptism of Jesus.” We probably memorized that some…
On the night that He was going to be betrayed, Jesus was offering comforting words to His apostles in an upper room, including an insider’s scoop on what He was going to do when He left the earth. “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). All of the descriptions of heaven in the New Testament offer a mouth-dropping description of an…
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the walls, he was faced with considerable opposition, particularly from Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab. They “laughed,” “despised,” “mocked” and “conspired” against Nehemiah and the Jews in their rebuilding efforts (Neh. 2:19; 4:1, 8). They tried to trick Nehemiah into working with them and compromising his efforts (6:1-2).…