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How many times in the last few days have you heard these words, “Happy New Year”? Probably far more than you can remember. These words may have various meanings depending on one’s background and their own personal values. Have you ever considered the spiritual aspects and implications of this phrase? Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount can so easily help us to see that the Bible speaks of happiness, not just at the beginning of a year, but…

There may be certain parts of Scripture that we think only applied to first-century Christians and we just skip over them. But, perhaps we should take a closer look. Consider for a moment the numerous times that Christians were directed to “Greet one another.” That still applies today. First, think about the word, “Greet.” The Greek word literally means, “to draw to oneself.” It is defined as, “to engage in hospitable recognition of another through word or gesture, welcome, express…

When it comes to the Bible, one must be able to answer the question, “Is the Bible the complete revelation of God, or are there verbal revelations from God outside of and subsequent to God’s revelation of His will in the Bible?” The Bible clearly teaches that it is the complete revelation of God. “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). No part of Scripture was ever the result “of any private interpretation, for prophecy…

Can I ask you a question that you’ll just think about for moment? Step back, consider this, and formulate in your mind an answer to this question. “Where did the denominations come from?” Have you ever really thought about that? Depending on what researchers you trust, at the very least it can be stated that there are thousands of denominations in the world. (Let’s not quibble about the exact number but state it generally as “thousands.”) Where did they come…

With the growing egocentric and entitled mentality that is spreading throughout humanity (and creeping into our families and the Lord’s church), we would do well to go back and meditate on the words of the great John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said, “there has not risen one greater” (Matt. 11:11). This forerunner of Jesus—of whom the Holy Spirit prophesied hundreds of years before his birth that he would prepare the way for the Lord (Matt. 3:3; Isa. 40:3)—proclaimed of…

When God heard young Solomon’s request, He responded and gave him wisdom above all men. “All of the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Kings 4:34). The wisest king “… sought to find acceptable words” (Ecc. 12:10) and then wrote these words, so by reading them we can share in his wisdom. Those who read these words of wisdom and write them in their hearts are men who…

The New Testament places a unique emphasis on singing as a part of corporate worship. As examined in a previous article, our singing is directed “to the Lord” for His praise and glorification. In fact, both Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 (two key New Testament verses regarding singing) end with those three words, “to the Lord.” These two key verses underscore another significant element of singing in New Testament worship—the reciprocal nature of singing, not solely “to the Lord” (although…

The serpent said, “God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). Eve was in the “Garden of God” and was surrounded by the evidence of His existence. She was naïve and learning so much as she lived in that garden. The opportunity to be like God was given to her. She looked at the tree that was “…good for food, that…

It is remarkable how easy it becomes to understand a difficult passage if we just look at the precise words found in that verse. Far too often we read a verse and assume we know the meaning of every word, when we do not fully understand how God uses that word elsewhere in the Bible. For example, hear these words from God. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son He receives” (Heb. 12:6). We sometimes are…

Last week, we looked at two vital aspects of Paul’s advice to a young preacher. When he wrote to Timothy, he expected to see him very soon, and this fact emphasizes the importance of the spiritual advice Paul gave to him. When an abbreviated message is sent it contains the most important information that should be remembered. As noted last week Paul told Timothy to first give attention to reading. Young preachers and those of all ages should remember this.…

Years ago, when letters were the primary source of communication those letters often were shorter if you knew it would not be long before you would see those you wrote. Later it was the phone call that was shortened with comments like, “I will tell you the rest when I get there.” Now it is text messages as we shorten them and just send the most important information as an abbreviated form. This same concept is seen in letters written…

Last week we discussed the book in the Bible which has the fewest verses, so this week we look at Third John, which has the fewest words. What truths can be expressed in only 296 words? What is there in this book which caused God to include it in the Bible? This book from the apostle John is written to Gaius. Whether he is one of the three men named Gaius in the New Testament makes little difference. What is…