The God of the Bible is a God of truth. On the other hand, the Devil is the great enemy of truth. The Bible says of him, “there is no truth in him.”
God has a calling on each man’s life. Furthermore, He enables men to fulfill their appointed work. Man, however, must be strong and DO the work.
Sin and those who participate therein anger Lord. In the days of Noah, sin grieved the Lord so badly that it repented God that he had made man on the earth.
Scripture provides examples of specific sins; however, no example DEFINES sin. John's first epistle defines it as the transgression of the law.
Everything in the Christian life is dependent upon prayer. Thankfully, we serve a God who hears, answers, and has respect unto prayer.
Elijah was a good man who loved the Lord. He could not bear the thought of the people of God rebelling against the Lord. Although misguided into thinking that he was the only remaining person who cared about the things of God, he certainly did care. Elijah took things personally when the people forsook the Lord’s covenant, threw down His altars, and killed His prophets. Elijah constantly pleaded with them to make things right. The apostle Paul felt the same way, but his feelings even extended to a jealousy over the people of God (2 Corinthians 11:2). Unfortunately, few people today seem to take such a personal interest in the Lord or His people.
Historically, the word jealous is connected to the word zeal rather than to envy. Unfortunately, the world has perverted man’s understanding of jealousy by likening it to a detestable sin. The Bible student recognizes that jealousy cannot always be sinful because God says that He is a jealous God (Nahum 1:2) and God does not sin. A scriptural study proves that jealousy can be righteous, or it can be wicked depending upon the intent of the one in whom this jealousy originates. In a very basic sense, jealousy is the unwillingness to share or allow anything to rival the object of one’s desire. Since man has sinful desires, jealously is often viewed as sinful and can lead to other sinful practices. In the Lord’s case, His righteous desire to be man’s only true and living God drives Him to just judgment and godly jealousy.
One day, the world’s hope will come to an abrupt end. Although the world (apart from Christ) derives its hope from several sources, their common ground revolves around the fact that their hope is not in God. The Bible points to the results: “the hypocrite’s hope shall perish” (Job 8:13), “all that forget God” (Job 8:13) will see their hope “cut off” (Job 8:14), and the hope of the wicked “shall be as the giving up of the ghost” (Job 11:20). Unfortunately, the world can only focus upon the here and now. They judge everything by how things are presently taking place. If they gain (riches, health, material goods, promotions), they assume that they have hope, yet they fail to see that there will be no hope when God brings judgment upon their souls (Job 27:8).
Learning how to be the right kind of steward can seem difficult, but never without reward. The Lord Jesus taught and explained His parables of stewardship. In these teachings, He presented the faithful steward receiving his reward at the time of accounting for his stewardship. The apostle Paul confessed this truth in 1 Corinthians 9:17 when he said, “if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.” Paul knew God had a special calling upon his life and also knew he would stand before God to give account for his service. In like manner, each believer will one day stand before the Master (Jesus Christ) to give an account of his stewardship. Those who have served as good stewards will receive reward, while those who failed to do so will suffer loss (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
When a lost man leaves this world, he finds himself in the midst of the inconceivable judgment of hell (Luke 16:19-31). Yet, when a saved person leaves this world, he finds himself in the glorious presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8) and in the midst of inconceivable joys (Psalm 16:11). Most Christians have heard about the many mansions in the Father’s house (John 14:2), but the Bible also speaks of the absence of tears, death, sorrow, and pain because “the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Not only is eternal life going to be great for the believer because of the absence of these things, but even more so because of the presence of the One who died so that believers might have that life.
