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Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). How should we deal with those who hate and fight against us? Two passages from the Sermon on the Mount are worthy of our consideration. First, consider Matthew…

Throughout history, the Lord has chosen to accomplish His will in some very unorthodox ways. The occasion of Judges 7:1-8 is a prime example. As Jehovah prepared Gideon to wage war against the Midianites, He commanded a strange way of mustering his troops. Israel’s army of 32,000 was scaled to a mere 300 men. Twenty-two thousand left for fear (Judges 7:3) and the rest were removed because of how they drank. As they arrived at the water the Lord commanded,…

The 19th Psalm is one of the most memorable in the Psalter. The first 6 verses magnificently describe the general revelation of God in nature. It calls us to behold and stand in awe of the creative genius of Jehovah as we see His fingerprints all around us. But the God who created has also commanded, and this theme is taken up in the next portion of the Psalm (vss. 7-11). Note how God’s Word is described (vss. 7-9). The…

A young man walked into the preacher’s study. “I’ve found her!” he said. “I’m in love and I’ve found the girl I’m going to marry!” “That’s wonderful!” the preacher replied. “Tell me about her.” For the next several minutes the wise old minister sat, carefully listening, as the smitten youngster explained how wonderful and beautiful his love was, and how he couldn’t imagine a love more potent that what he felt for her in that moment. Then it was his…

That life is precious seems like a fairly obvious truth, and for many it is. Childbirth, the death of a loved one, frightening medical diagnosis’, and other things provoke reflection on the fragile and wonderful nature of human life, regularly. But for too many, the precious nature of life is of little or no concern. Typically, figures like serial killers and malevolent genocidal rulers come to mind when considering those who think little of life, and for good reason. Illustrations…

People have an interesting tendency to adopt their surroundings. A native North Easterner who moves to the south will find themselves saying “ya’ll” and enjoying chicken fried steak if they stay there long enough. Like a sponge we absorb bits and pieces of language and culture until they become a part of who we are. This principle applies spiritually as well. Jeremiah 2:5 asks, “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me, have…

You have heard it said, “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!” George Mallory learned that lesson tragically. He is thought to have been the first to ever climb to the top of Mt. Everest. The problem is that he never made it down. Thus the honor of being the first person to ever successfully scale Everest officially belongs to Edmund Hillary, because he finished the trek and made it down safely. The principle applies spiritually as well.…

To be sure, each of us understands the importance of practicing what we preach (cf. Rom. 2:21). But, we must also believe what we preach. You may remind someone struggling with loneliness that the Lord is always with them (Heb. 13:5), but do you believe that to be true when you struggle with loneliness? You may comfort a brother working through financial stress by reminding him of Matthew 6:33, but do you find comfort in that passage when you endure…

First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The first century church had the responsibility of guarding the truth. The Church of the twenty-first century has that obligation as well. John begins his exhortation with the term “beloved.” It appears eight times in his epistles, three of which are in 1 John 4. It is a term of affection and…

Psalm 107:1 calls us to give thanks to God for His goodness, and how we need to do so! The goodness of God is a deep and enriching study. His goodness is associated with His mercy, His faithfulness, and His loving kindness. To say that God is good is to say that He is generous, and that He has the capacity and desire to give and provide in abundance, without any ulterior motive. We see His goodness on display in…

The Lord proclaims His goodness in Exodus 34:6-7. Note that His goodness summarizes all other qualities listed in the passage. It is not an abstract idea, but that which is seen in His action toward man. In a more specific sense, the goodness God is most clearly seen in His generosity. “When the biblical writers call God ‘good,’ they are thinking in general of all those moral qualities which prompt His people to call Him ‘perfect,’ and in particular of…

A judge’s responsibility is heavy, indeed. The ability to administer justice with a word and affect countless lives in mere moments necessitates careful consideration and impartial decisiveness. A failure to do so could prove disastrous. Could a better example be found than that of Pilate in Matthew 27:15-25? As the Roman Procurator heard the case against the Christ, he asked “What shall I do with Jesus?” It is a question we all must ask. It implies a decision to be…