When I was growing up, I was constantly reminded by my parents, my teachers and my church leaders to resist peer pressure. I was told, “Evil company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33). This was certainly good advice. Our peers can hold a tremendous amount of power over a young person. They want to be liked and feel like they belong. So,…

We do not always know the circumstances in which the psalmist found himself when he took his pen in hand. However, as we can read his psalms, we often find that we have experienced similar circumstances in our lives, which have brought about the same feelings he had. Consider Psalm 43 where David asks, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”…

If you were to ask the average person—“What is man’s greatest need?”—what sort of answers would you receive?  If you were to ask the average person—“What is the greatest gift that man could receive?”—what sort of answers do you think you would receive?  Would the answers to these questions vary?  No doubt!  Did you know that the Bible gives one single answer…

In many organizations, great value is placed in new ideas. A company that once was stagnant may find revitalization from the perspective of a young, visionary mind. However, recently we have seen with companies, that when “fresh, new ideas” lead a company from its original mission, it can be detrimental. Sometimes we bring this mentality into the church. We say things like, “I…

One of the hymns we sing, especially at youth devotionals and events, is entitled “Pierce My Ear.” The song lyrics go through how we will “serve no other God,” and are therefore asking Him to “pierce” our ears. Perhaps we sing this and are touched by how beautiful it sounds, but what do the words really mean? The meaning of the song…

While Jesus taught more than thirty parables, only two of them are explained. He used these earthly stories to convey heavenly truths, and the message of each of these stories becomes obvious to those who seek to understand them. These two parables both deal with the planting of the seed (the word of God) in the hearts of men. After Jesus told…

The apostle Peter was drawing a sharp contrast between children of God and children of the devil in the second chapter of his first letter.  On the one hand is “he who believes” on Christ (1 Pet. 2:6), and on the other hand are “those who are disobedient” (2:7).  In the New Testament, belief and obedience are used interchangeably (John 3:36; Acts…

The Book of Acts records that the followers of Jesus Christ were “first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Why was this moment so important to include in the Scriptures? Is the name really all that significant? The Lord’s church was founded in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Peter gave the first sermon of Christ’s New Testament and over…