If someone is a deeply sincere, devoted, religious person, who believes in the true God, worships God and prays to God, wouldn’t you think that such a person would be in a better-than-average relationship with God and pleasing in His sight?  Such human reasoning can be dangerous and leave one with a false sense of security, an unscriptural conclusion and a lost…

One line can make all the difference in the world. Many have followed the line of a storm. So much of the possible destruction and chaos is determined by that line and how you look at it. Does it really mean that? Are they really serious? These are questions we ask when determining what will be our accepted reality, whether we like…

The history of the beginning of the celebration of Labor Day is not widely known. In the late nineteenth century, working conditions were far different from what we have today. In the industrial world, men were working six days each week, and the workday was usually ten hours. At first, there was opposition for the idea of giving workers an extra paid…

The apostle Paul had the opportunity to stand before powerful men and proclaim the precious message of Jesus Christ.  In Acts 26, after being imprisoned in Caesarea for more than two years and preaching to two governors, Paul was brought before King Agrippa II (cf. Acts 9:15).  Paul presented his early life (26:4-8), his zeal as a persecutor (26:9-11), his encounter with…

Jesus often concluded a lesson by crying out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt. 11:15; 13:9, 43).  Also, in the letters to the churches of Asia, Jesus concludes each with a similar saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).  This should…

The world of Mary and Martha had been turned upside down. Lazarus, their only brother, was sick, and they sent a message to Jesus. We are not sure exactly where Jesus was in Galilee, but he could have been more than 70 miles from these two godly women. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha heard that the…

The fifth chapter of Second Corinthians begins with a wonderful depiction of immortality and the confident assurance that faithful Christians have of eternal salvation.  The early verses focus on the longing (described as even a “groan”) that our spirits have for the “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (5:1-4).  While we cannot see it now, that does not matter. …

He was a Jew, an Alexandrian by birth. He was eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was teaching it accurately, but he didn’t have a firm grasp on the concept of baptism. His name was Apollos, and when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way…