As Jesus dines in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees, we learn not to eat the sour pickle of an unmerciful and uncaring spirit, the sour pickle of self-exaltation, and the sour pickle of self-serving kindness. Compassion, humility and unselfish kindness are good at all times and for everything that you do.
How does our Lord Jesus Christ react to a threat on His life? Jesus does not give into fear but goes ahead and does what God the Father wants Him to do. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to be willing to take a chance under the guidance of God to get the Gospel to men. We need to be followers of our bold, brave, and compassionate Savior. Other passages mentioned: Psalm 23:4; 2 Kings 21:1-16; Revelation 11:3-10.
The ruler of the synagogue who condemns Jesus for healing on the Sabbath reflects a view that the mercy of God is forbidden by the law of God. Our salvation has nothing to do with the law of God or the righteousness of works or surrender or submission. Our salvation is an act of totally undeserved mercy and grace from God. There is no doctrine in Christendom today that is more likely to produce hypocrisy than Lordship Salvation. Lordship Salvation is a problem that strikes at our most fundamenta...
Satan has trapped millions under the bondage of addiction. What do those under the bondage of addiction need? They need what the woman who had a spirit of infirmity needed. They need the power of Jesus’ word and the strength that Jesus’ hands alone can impart. The Christian church needs to be the place, where we introduce people to the delivering power of Jesus Christ, to the power that His word can have in their lives and to the strength that His hands can impart. Other passages mentioned: Matt...
What kind of tree are you? Are your roots down into the waters of God’s word and bringing forth fruit or are you a barren fig tree just waiting for the judgment of God? Who prays for us, that we may have an extended opportunity to do what is right? Other passages: Luke 13:1-5; Psalm 1:1-3.
The weather report for the United States of America is that the storm of God’s judgment lies ahead for this country. What is America’s basic underlying problem? We, as a country, do not do the right thing. A nation is in big trouble when its people refuse to do and say what is right in the sight of God. Repentance is not a condition for eternal salvation. Repentance is a condition for escaping God’s judgment here on this earth. Unless the sinners of America repent, they could all likewise perish...
All born-again Christians will have a day in court that they will not be able to avoid. This day in court has nothing to do with the question of whether a Christian will go to heaven or to hell. When one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior, that person’s destiny in heaven is guaranteed. When Jesus Christ returns, all Christians must stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Are you ready for your day in court? The crucial thing about the Judgment Seat of Christ is not how ...
There are two sides to becoming a king in God’s kingdom. We do serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but He will also serve us. Those little acts of service that we do and the hardships, frustrations and disappointments that are part of serving God in this life, will be repaid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we who are to await Him as servants will find ourselves being served by our Master. Other passages mentioned: 2 Timothy 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
There are 3 real estate robbers in the kingdom of God, wrong priorities, greedy selfishness and thief of hearts. We all tend to pursue our material necessities first, and to give those things our basic priority. If we do that, then we are no different than the unsaved world around us. We should be different, because our Father in heaven already knows that we need these things. Seek the kingdom of God and all these material needs will be added to you. Why should we seek the kingdom of God? God wa...
There probably isn’t a person who doesn’t have a few secrets that he wishes could remain buried forever. Even if you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life and are a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, the fact is that there are no permanent secrets. Hypocrisy does not pay, for every secret thing and every secret word will someday be revealed. Even Christians can fall into the trap of hypocrisy, where we are more concerned about what others think of us than ...
God wants us to regard Him as the kind of heavenly Friend that we can go to in times of emergency at any hour of the day or night. One the most valuable things we can do, is to cultivate friendship and intimacy with God through prayer. A persuader is a man who knows that he has a generous heavenly Friend, who comes to Jesus Christ for the needs of his friends, and who comes to God in boldness. Other passage: Hebrews 4:16.
What are the ABCs of effective Christian prayer? (A) We focus on the name of God. (B) We submit to the purposes of God. (C) We live under the shadow of God. Other passages: Psalm 91:1; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12.
If you think it is bad to lose communication with a partner in marriage, then it is even worse to lose communication with God. Did you ever stop to think what a tremendous privilege it would be to have Jesus Christ as a guest in your home? That was exactly the opportunity given to two ladies in this passage by the names of Mary and Martha. When we turn our attention to the Word of God, it ought to be as if God and I are alone in the world. God must have our undivided attention. The more you comp...
A very real spiritual identity crisis often lies at the root of the frustrations and failures that we experience in Christian living. Sometimes under the pressures of life, we forget who Jesus is and what He is like. We forget the greatness of His power, the sufficiency of His strength, the abundance of His mercy and the plenitude of His grace, and Jesus becomes like a stranger. Jesus Christ has everything we could possibly need or want and yet He is always right there right besides us. The shor...
Imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the secrets of the Christian life. Jesus through prayer was dependent on God, discerning in His relationships with men, and dynamic in His service to others. Prayer expresses our dependence upon God, our need for His discernment as we relate to people, and our urgent reliance upon God’s power to work in and through us. Other passages mentioned: Philippians 4:8; Proverbs 16:7; Luke 6:40.
Sometimes we get the chance to pretend to be something we are not. John the Baptist had the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to play the role of the Christ of God. What is really important in life? It isn’t you, it isn’t your personal affairs, and it isn’t even the work that you do for God. What is really important in life is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior and Lord. Happy is the Christian man and woman who paints Jesus at the very center of the canvas of their lives. Other passages ...
For believers, the Lord Jesus Christ is not only our Friend, but also our Brother. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that is the greatest act of friendship that was ever done. We should be challenged so that we resemble our Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. Two of the great themes illustrated by the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ are the themes of submission and humility. Expressing submission and humility is not something that we naturally do the best, but it is the only way we ca...
Elizabeth and Zacharias are obeying the word of God. They are united by the strongest tie that can bind parents together. They are deeply committed to the will of God for their child, John. Blessed is the home where God is working and where the neighbors can see it. The only way to be a good neighbor is to have a home filled with the obedience and worship of God and where the mercy of God is magnified before men. Other passages: Psalm 127:3; Luke 1:13-7.
Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab and the mother of the recently deceased King Ahaziah, steals the throne of the kingdom of Judah from the sons of David. The theft of power is a widespread human sin, that also happens in the Christian church. However Jehosheba, sister of King Ahaziah, in compassion hides the baby boy Joash, a descendant of King David from Athaliah. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of eternal life, that gift can never be lost and it is ours forever. Bu...
Jehu fulfills the word of God, because he destroys the house of Ahab. However, Jehu goes too far in acting deceptively in destroying Baal from Israel. You cannot serve the God of truth by telling lies. Later, Jehu does not go far enough by allowing the golden calves to remain. If we have the nerve to add to the word of God, rules that God has not spoken, then we are dummies, but if we fail to move on matters that God’s word has told us to move on, then that is even dumber. It doesn’t matter how ...
In this passage, we see how the apostle Paul values his Roman citizenship. Is it appropriate for a Christian to be patriotic for his country? How should patriotism affect us? What should patriotism lead us to think and do?
God’s newly appointed king of Israel, Jehu, ignores the difficulties and pain and focuses on doing the word of God. Sometimes we know what God wants us to do, but we don’t want to do it because we are afraid of the pain. The solution is that we should ignore the pain and do what the word of God teaches. Other passages include: Kings 3:1-2; Galatians 6:7; 1 Kings 21.
Over and over in the northern kingdom of Israel, men have seized the kingship, but now God is going to match the kingship with the man that God has chosen. God wants to match each believer in Jesus Christ with the kind of work that He wants that believer to do. Does God lead us by our feelings? Never once, does the Bible tell us that God leads us by our feelings. The Bible teaches us that God guides us through His word. We do not get to choose our spiritual gift or our ministry for God. Instead,...
In this passage, we see the contrast between Gehazi and the Shunammite woman. Gehazi’s greed causes him to lose opportunities to serve God, that he will never find again. The Shunammite woman’s obedience to God leads her to recover everything that she has lost. If you lose it, will you find it again? You will find it again, if you lose it for God. No loss in service to God or in obedience to God’s word is a real loss, but rather a gain through God’s gracious provision and reward. Other passages:...
In God’s miraculous victory over the Syrians, we learn the lesson that it is always dangerous to make light of the word of God or to receive the word of God with proud unbelief. The word of God is the answer to our helplessness, despair and fear. Zane recounts his March 1998 heart attack and the comfort of God’s grace by relying on His word. Other passages mentioned: Ephesians 2:8-9; Revelation 22:17; Proverbs 8:4.
Note, original recording cuts out at around 22 minutes. It is in the crises of life, that our true nature and character are best revealed. In this latest invasion by the King of Syria, the King of Israel has become impatient with God. When we are going through a trying time and we are tempted to become impatient with God, it is good advice to say to ourselves, "Be calm and be patient." If we become angry with God because of our impatience, and we make up our minds that we are going to defy Him, ...
In this sequel to Naaman’s story of leprosy, Naaman learns that the mercy and grace of God are absolutely free. One of the tragedies of the American church is that there are so many churches who teach and believe, that you cannot get into heaven unless you are willing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ or surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. People who think that way about the God of the Bible, do not understand the God of the Bible. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is afflicted with the disease of ...
The famous story of the healing of Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, from the disease of leprosy, is an illustration of one of the great principles of the Bible, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We learn that the most important person in this story is not Naaman or even Elisha, but the unnamed slave girl from the land of Israel. God makes Himself known, not to the mighty and the wise and the educated but to those who are childlike in heart. In this message,...
The story of the sons of the prophets and the poisoned stew serves as an illustration, that man’s biggest problem with God’s religion is that man is always poisoning God’s religion by adding to God’s religion. The antidote to poison stew in our religious experience is an extra dose of the truth of God from the word of God and an extra dose of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the word of God. Other passages mentioned: Proverbs 30:5-6; John 6:35; 1 Corinthians 5:8; Matthew ...
The Shunammite woman’s response to the hit of the death of her son, shows us how we should respond to the hits in our life. Every time you take a hit in life, it is an opportunity to trust God, to believe in His sovereign and controlling power, and to grow in faith that God can take care of His business. The way to take the blows of life is not to worry about how our affairs will work out, but to trust God, to take care of His business, to work His will and to glorify His name.
