Romans 12:1-21

If you do not have this fascination, it could be that you are but another Esau. What a tragedy to be born of the red clay and live and die and be buried in the red clay. Shakespeare said of Caesar, "That though he be the emperor yet give nature time and nature will reduce him to a bit of clay that might be used to keep the wind away." The great Persian poet Omar Khayyam said, "When you drink out of that vessel, drink reverently; it may be your grandfaither's dust out of which it is made."...

For Reading and Meditation:     Romans 5:1-11

We have come now to the seventh positive attitude that makes for good spiritual and mental health: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). This Beatitude seems to have a special relevance to the age through which we are passing, for if...

For Reading and Meditation:     James 3:1-18

We continue meditating on the meaning of the word "meek" as used by Jesus in His third Beatitude. "Meekness," said one commentator, "is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others." If that is so, then meekness involves two things: (1) our attitudes towards...

For Reading and Meditation:     1 Corinthians 2:6-16

We have been seeing that by going "into the sanctuary" - the place where God had made provision to meet with His people - the psalmist has put himself in a position where his perspectives can be changed. This section of the psalm is probably the most vital part, for it is here that his thinking begins to change...

For Reading and Meditation:     Romans 12:1-8

The second thing the psalmist learned about himself as he paused in self-examination was this: "I saw myself so stupid and so ignorant" (Psalm 73:22, TLB). There were things he knew which he had foolishly chosen to forget. He forgot that God was in control. He forgot the...

WHEN a beast was set apart for sacrifice, it was considered sacred, and was carefully preserved from all injury. The Christian is devoted, he is intended for the altar, his body as well as his soul, and he is required to present it to God holy, acceptable, as a reasonable service. It is not to be defiled by fornication, by intoxication, by gluttony, by filth, by pride; he is to look upon it as the Lord's, bought with the blood of Jesus; consecrated as the temple of the Holy Ghost, set apart...

THE believer cannot always rejoice in possession, for he appears stripped of every thing; but he may rejoice in hope even then. He is warranted to hope for eternal life; for righteousness by faith, that God may be magnified in his body, by life or by death; for the resurrection of the body, and its reunion with the soul; for the appearing of his beloved Savior, and complete salvation through Him. The hope which is laid up for him in heaven, of which the gospel now informs hima weight of...

If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as...

Goodness means excellence of character. Someone has defined it as "virtue equipped at every point," which simply means that the person possessing it is kind, virtuous and righteous in every area of life.

Goodness is the opposite of badness. A bad man may be deceitful, immoral, treacherous, unjust, cruel, selfish, hateful, covetous, and/or intemperate. The good man, though not perfect, exemplifies truth, justice, purity and other similarly desirable traits.

The Apostle Paul...

One of the surface lessons we learn from this passage is that Christians should not be prone to engage in lawsuits. It is a natural reaction to rush to court to seek redress for grievances and damages. But the believer is guided by higher principles than natural reactions. The will of God often cuts across the grain of nature.

Our law courts today are glutted with accident claims, malpractice suits, divorce cases and inheritance claims. In many cases, people rush to the lawyer in the...