1 Peter 4:3-19

There are areas in our lives where in our effort to be right we may go wrong, so wrong as to lead to spiritual deformity. To be specific let me name a few: 1. When in our determination to be bold we become brazen. Courage and meekness are compatible qualities: both were found in perfect proportion in Christ and both shone in beauty in His conflict with His enemies. Peter before the Sanhedrin and Paul before Agrippa demonstrated both qualities, though on another occasion when Paul's boldness...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 36:1-12

How wonderful it is, in an age where unfaithfulness abounds, to focus our gaze on those Scriptures that point to the trustworthiness of our God. The one before us today is quite wonderful, but consider also these: "O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you" (

For Reading and Meditation:     1 Peter 4:7-19

We continue focusing on the fact that many Christians are persecuted, not because of identifying with Christ, but because of their tactlessness and folly. This eighth Beatitude - "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" - does not apply to such people. Let us...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 76:1-12

We touched yesterday on the truth that the reason why the ungodly are set in eminent places is because God arranges it. The psalmist goes on to say that not only does God raise up the ungodly, but He also brings them down: "You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed –" (

A CHRISTIAN wears the name, possesses the nature, breathes the spirit, lives the life, and devotes himself entirely to the glory of Jesus. All Christ has is his, all Christ has done was for him, and all Christ has promised he may expect. Are you a Christian? Is the matter doubtful? Does Jesus live in you? Are you living by faith upon Him? Is He your daily bread? Do you find that you could as well live without food, as without Jesus? This is a sure evidence. This is the certain effect of the...

THE mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; only Jehovah's word, love, purposes, and perfections remain the same. The world passeth away, and the fashion of it; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The end of all things is at hand; our labours will soon cease; our commerce terminate; our earthly relationships dissolve; our pleasures and sorrows in this world be concluded; the last sermon will soon be preached; and the last opportunity for us to do good will make its...

Hospitality is not only a sacred duty (Be not forgetful to entertain strangers); it carries within it the promise of glorious surprises (for thereby some have entertained angels unawares).

It had started out as just another ordinary day for Abraham. Suddenly three men appeared before him as he sat by the door of his tent. The patriarch reacted in the typical middle-eastern manner - he washed their feet, arranged a cool resting place for them under a tree, went out to the herd for a...

As we approach the end of the age, it is predictable that many will abandon the hope of Christ's any-moment return. But the truth is still there whether men hold it or not.

The fact is that the Lord Jesus may come at any time. We do not know the day or hour of the Bridegroom's return for His bride; this means that He could come today. There is no prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before we hear His shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. True, the church expects to...

Had Peter done as he promised to do, and followed Christ from Gethsemane, content to be bound with him, mocked with him, scourged with him, condemned with him, and crucified with him, what an incomparably exalted place would he have had in our regard. Nothing but his own treacherous heart hindered him from occupying this worthiest and sublimest of places occupied by mere finite men. However, as his Lord generously foretold, he followed him afterwards. He met the same hostility, the same...

Matthew 7:1-12

When someone asked Raphael how he made his wonderful pictures, he replied, "I dream dreams and I see visions - and then I paint my dreams and visions." The teachings of Christ, if reverently received, fill our mind with dreams and visions of spiritual beauty. But there is something we must do if we would receive from these teachings the good they are intended to...