Peter exhorted the brethren in I Peter 2:2: “ As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby .” Newborn babies want to grow; it is their nature. In fact, they let their mothers know on schedule when they are ready to eat. Not only does their mother’s milk satisfy them, it also calms them. Mostly, it grows them. Without that regular, designed nutrition, well, we know what happens. Peter applies the analogy to us. Regardless of how long you have

The Apostle Paul struggled with a “ thorn in the flesh ” for quite some time. Some think the “thorn” was an oozing eye problem, but Paul calls it “ the messenger of Satan to buffet me ” (II Cor. 12:7). The “thorn in the flesh” could have been a person who antagonized Paul severely. Each time Paul prayed for the removal, the Lord said, “ My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness ” (II Cor. 12:9). The Lord’s grace is the key to all of our stru

The birth of Christ, as recorded in Matthew, begins with a genealogy. Often genealogies in the Bible get overlooked because the list of names is (by and large) unfamiliar and seemingly insignificant. However, Bible genealogies are part of Scripture, which means that are given by inspiration of God. As a result, they are true, accurate, and purposeful. The purpose of a given genealogy can be deduced from its context and often shows qualification. In Matthew’s case, the genealo

The angels on the night of Christ’s birth left heaven and appeared in dazzling glory to the shepherds, who were watching their flocks by night. The angel of the Lord delivered the comforting message to these lowly men: “ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord ” (Luke 2:11). To give certainty of this newborn babe, the angel went on to tell them how they would identify the Christ-child: “ And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shal

The hymn “ Joy to the World! ” presents its text with a joyful, festive tune, strong in direction and resolution. The triple repetition of the end of each stanza portrays the excitement of an amazing event, the kind of event at which a person might repeat again and again an expression with delight and wonder, for instance, "And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing." What is the delight and wonder, the amazement and exciteme

Thanksgiving weekend seems to be the transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving reminds us to give thanks—to God. Christmas reminds us about the birth of Christ, which was all about salvation. In fact, the two holidays overlap, and the one seamlessly transitions into the other, teaching us that we should be ever thankful for the birth of Christ and for salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 9:15, “ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift .” W

“ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not ” (Gal. 6:9). Do you ever wonder if Paul became weary? I’m sure he struggled with things, but perseverance was his characteristic. He maintained his eye of faith on Christ and continued sowing to the Spirit (Gal. 6:8). Reaping comes from sowing. The more you sow, the more you reap. In other words, you get out of it (whatever it is) what you put into it. Put in a little, get out a little.

Faith is required for the Christian life. Without faith, we cannot be saved. Without faith we cannot worship God, we cannot walk with God, we cannot work for God, we will stop waiting on God, and we will allow our weakness to overwhelm and govern us. To be sure, “ without faith it is impossible to please him ” (Heb. 11:6). How essential is faith to the Christian life? Here is the answer: “ Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleas

John the Baptist clearly understood the nature of Christ and preached it. John the Apostle writes, “ And of his fulness have we all received ” (John 1:16). Fulness  is the word plērōma , which means “to fill up, to be complete, nothing lacking.” Paul affirmed this about Christ in Colossians 2:9,  “ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily .” That all the fulness of the Godhead dwells in Christ means that the totality of divine powers and attributes resides in

The Lord made several covenants in the Old Testament. Three of them are the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New...

Samuel anointed David king over Israel when David was a teen. Shortly after that, David killed Goliath. Then for the next 13 years or so,...

When a church is authorized to be an organized, constituted church, it has the authority to preach the Word, to fulfill the Great...

David was a man after God’s own heart. He dedicated his time and efforts to praising the Lord and to obeying the Lord. He wanted to...

The Lord’s will is for churches to have at least one pastor. Sometimes an established church loses its pastor for one reason or another....

The Lord judged Judah for their sins. Essentially, they forgot God and elevated their will above His. What came out of their pride was a...

Mark 4:35-41 gives the account in which the disciples were with Jesus in a fishing vessel on the Sea of Galilee. A great storm of wind...

When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream of the world empires, he testified of the Lord to the monarch, that “ he removeth...

In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. What...

Ocean-going vessels are designed to navigate rough seas—20-to 30-foot seas. But even the largest vessels at times must drop anchor in...

Whose counsel is listened to more: the saved person’s counsel or the unsaved person’s? Typically, people listen to the counsel from the...