When Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest” (John 4:35), His disciples really had trouble understanding what was being said. They were in Samaria and the apostles, because of their Jewish background, had never seen that Samaritans had souls. Jews avoided, as much as they could, any contact with this mixed…

I remember as a young missionary the words of another missionary in New Zealand. We were discussing how to better find individuals to teach and how to lead them to Christ. It was hard to find those interested in the Bible in New Zealand as we tried to do our work. He then said something I will never forget. “Dan, are you…

Sometimes we struggle to find the greatest benefit from reading the Bible and understanding what is being said. It may be because we are reading it too fast and not noticing the impact of individual words being used. An illustration can be found in slowing down and asking why the words “wherefore” and “therefore” are found and why they are there. The…

It is hard for us to imagine the spiritual lives of those in the Old Testament, but the life and psalms of David give us so much insight into his worship. The design of the Sabbath was not to assemble (that only began because of the scattering of the Jews as they went into captivity), but to take time every week to…

Paul’s words to young Timothy were so descriptive of the trials he would have to face. Those verses in 1 Timothy 4 were given to Timothy because of what was happening. The gospel was soon to be preached to every creature under heaven, and the future of the church was so promising. Paul warned Timothy that the Holy Spirit of God had…

It might seem as an unusual way to begin writing about God and His concerns for our tears, but take the following quiz to see just how carefully you are reading Bible stories. It is important to read the Bible, but it is far more important to read it slowly enough to remember what it says. Unusual Bible Quiz About Weeping 1. Who…

I am not sure the reason, but it seems that most of us remember the last words spoken to us by those who are deceased. Those words sometimes reflect the last thoughts of those who are dying and the final message they give to us. Consider these last words of the saints of God. The last words of Jacob were, “Bury me…

Sometimes individuals ask as to why we have four different accounts of the life of Jesus. Why did God not simply reveal in one book all that Jesus did? One of the reasons is that each of the gospels has a different audience and a different purpose as they write. Luke’s audience was Theophilus, whom he addresses as “most excellent.” This was…