John said that when the Word became flesh we beheld His glory and that His glory was full of grace (John 1:14). There is no way to separate God’s glory from His eternal grace and mercy. To look at the events in the life of Jesus is to see a mirror of heaven’s grace as revealed throughout the divine history of God’s…

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). There is so much more in this verse than the average reader of the Bible may see. This is likely because we fail to notice the uses of the expression, “the…

In one of the most practical, real-to-life books in the Bible, James urges his readers to be more than just passive, forgetful hearers of God’s Word.  He charges us to be “doers of the word” (1:22), which requires “looking” into God’s Word (1:25).  The word “looks” in verse 25 involves a close, intent examination.  It’s the same Greek word used of Peter,…

So, you know what you are supposed to do. You know what is expected of you. You know what you want and need to do, but how do you get motivated to do it? In Romans chapter twelve, amongst a list of Christian attributes, there is this phrase, “not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (12:11). If we…

Have you ever grown increasingly frustrated with someone who would not respond positively to your efforts to touch their lives with the gospel?  You tried and tried and tried, but they rejected and rejected and rejected at every turn.  Most likely, every one of us have been there, and every one of us have been tempted to just give up trying.  But,…

There are those events in our lives which become a catalyst to enhance spiritual truths we have known for years. It is not that we have forgotten the truths, but familiarity may have dimmed our appreciation of them. Let me share with you truths made more vivid as we dealt with the hurricane, Irma. Irma reminds us that God is omnipotent. He…

It has been said, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” I would like to suggest that what you do know could keep you from hurt. Sometimes knowing makes all the difference. In the case of Paul, there were some things that he knew that made all the difference in his life. He knew Jesus. “For this reason I also suffer these…

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…