January 6, 2021

“Follow Me”

Jesus Calls the First Apostles

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

In the Great Commission, Jesus told His apostles to go out and make disciples. A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Therefore, the Great Commission was about finding people who would follow Jesus.

This is also what Jesus did while on the earth – He made disciples. But while His apostles would call people to follow Jesus, He would tell them, “Follow Me.”

There are a few examples in the gospels in which Jesus offered this invitation – “Follow Me.” In this article, we are going to look at these statements in the book of Matthew and make some applications.Continue Reading

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December 16, 2020

What Has This Year Taught Us?

Masked couple

With a global pandemic, lockdowns, economic woes, a contested Presidential election, and more, this has been quite an unusual year. While the wise man noted that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), from our perspective it can seem like we are living in unprecedented times.

As the events of this year have unfolded, there are some important truths that have been highlighted. These have always been true, but they are more apparent in light of recent events. Let us briefly consider a few points.Continue Reading

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December 2, 2020

Why People Do Not Receive Jesus

Scribes and Pharisees

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12).

When Jesus came and preached to the Jews, many “did not receive Him.” What does this mean?

Some today might explain this as receiving Jesus as their Savior and inviting Him into their heart. Certainly, we must see Jesus as our Savior; however, this is about more than that. This is about receiving Jesus as the Son of God and obeying Him as Lord. John said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). To believe in the Son is to accept that Jesus is the Son of God. To obey the Son is to recognize Him as Lord – the one with the right to rule over us and expect us to do His will.

In his gospel account, John recorded certain events in Jesus’ life. The purpose of this record was to produce faith in us (John 20:30-31). Yet today, many are like “His own” who “did not receive Him.” Why? People today will often reject Jesus for the same reasons that people did during His time on earth. We will not be considering an exhaustive list of the reasons why people refuse to accept Jesus, but will notice some of the reasons recorded for us in the gospel of John.Continue Reading

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November 18, 2020

Faith, Hope, Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

This is a familiar and favorite Bible verse for many people. Yet do we understand what it means? This is an important verse, but we need to consider it in its context so that we can learn the lessons we ought to take from it. So let us consider this passage and see how we should understand it.Continue Reading

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November 4, 2020

How to Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Man in Forest

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The statement above is found in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. We could say that this is the fundamental idea behind being a Christian. But what does it mean? How do we “walk by faith” and “not by sight”? To answer that question, we can look at the context.

In this context (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9), Paul described six great contrasts. Examining these will show the meaning of our text above. Let us consider these here.Continue Reading

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October 21, 2020

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone

Bread

The book of Deuteronomy contains many reminders for God’s people that were given to them before entering the promised land of Canaan. They were reminded of the law, of their wilderness wanderings, and of God’s care for them. In the passage below, they were reminded of some of the blessings the Lord had provided, including how God sent manna from heaven for them to eat.

“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

The Israelites needed food and God provided it. It may not have been what they would have preferred, but it was what they needed.

We continually face challenges in our lives – just as the Israelites faced after they left Egypt. During these times, we should consider some of the lessons from this passage.Continue Reading

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September 30, 2020

What the Bible Says about Sleep

Bed

Sleep is one of the few activities in which all humans participate. Our health, mood, mental ability, and performance of tasks depend on the quantity and quality of our sleep.

The Bible speaks of sleep – both literally and figuratively. In this article, we are going to consider four types of sleep discussed in the Scriptures.Continue Reading

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