Psalm 139 has been my go-to passage for encouragement and comfort for decades. I’ve always loved it. It’s a prayer, offered by David, that speaks of God’s omniscience. He sees everything from my surface to deep inside, including my deepest fears, longings, joys, sorrows, insecurities, and frustrations. Others might think…
John declared that God is love. He must be to send His Son to a lost world. God is love, and when we receive His Son, He expects us to share that love with others. Our loving acts of kindness, benevolence, service, choosing unselfishness over “looking out for #1”—all of…
The salvation process begins with a sincere proclamation: Jesus is the sinless Son of God, sent into this world to be the sin sacrifice for all who choose to believe. When a lost sinner comes to the reality of his need for a Savior and asks Jesus to save him,…
HYMN DAY! “What a Wonderful Change in My Life Has Been Wrought” by Rufus Henry McDaniel overflows with the assurance and joy of salvation. “I’m possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure”—amen! Feel free to sing it as your testimony today! What a wonderful change in my life…
Do you see those opening words, “And we”? Those are special words. John was writing specifically to Jesus’ followers—those who believed back then that He was the risen Son of God, and those who believe in Him now. John might have been thinking more about the first disciples, who walked…
At the time of this writing, Christ-followers were suffering mistreatment because they professed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Jesus Himself had warned His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble,” so John follows up with a reminder that the circumstances shouldn’t be unexpected. This world hates Jesus because…
When we have the Holy Spirit bolstering us, we are never helpless victims. God’s children are assured they will have victory over their enemies. Even in the midst of suffering and hardship, God has the last word through Him who loved us, laid down His life for us, and then…
If you’re seeking eternal security, look no further than Romans 8:35-39. Paul gives another of his rhetorical questions that has only one answer: No one! There were (and are) unpleasant life situations. Affliction (trouble), distress (hardship), persecution (mistreatment for Christ’s sake) were all familiar to the early believers; they’re realities…
HYMN DAY! This isn’t exactly an old hymn (it was published in 1971), but I’ve loved it since I first heard it at the Greensburg Mennonite Church. Written by Bill and Gloria Gaither, “Because He Lives” offers beautiful assurances to the believer. God sent His Son, they called him Jesus,…
The Apostle Paul was fond of rhetorical questions. Earlier in the chapter, Paul stated several realities about a believer’s relationship with God—that we’ve been adopted into God’s family and are His children forever (in Jewish law, a man could disown his birth child but not an adopted child; adoption was…
