June 29, 2022

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Baby

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

The Bible clearly identifies God as the creator of all things. The verse above makes this personal, showing that each one of us has been created by Him. The psalmist used two words to describe this:

  • Fearfully – This word signifies something that causes one to revere or to stand in awe of something. The way God has formed each one of us is awe-inspiring and is a reason to approach Him in reverence.
  • Wonderfully – This word is used to describe something that is distinguished or set apart. God created us to be special among all the other things He has made.

The fact that we have been “fearfully and wonderfully made” teaches certain things about us. These are important to note, especially given certain mentalities and behaviors that are pervasive in our society.Continue Reading

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June 1, 2022

Love Perfected

Love

“No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12).

John spent much of his first epistle writing on the topic of love. One of the ideas he discussed was about love being perfected. To be perfected means to be completed, accomplished, or fulfilled (Strong’s).

What does perfect love look like? Let us notice four points made by John in his epistle.Continue Reading

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May 18, 2022

Joy in the Assembly

Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1).

This is a familiar verse to many of us (and for good reason). In this psalm, David described the attitude that God’s people should have toward worship – particularly the opportunities to assemble for worship. The psalmist described going to Jerusalem and worshiping in the temple (“the house of the Lord”). The parallel for us today is in our gathering with the church as we assemble for worship.

This psalm is a “Song of Ascents” – part of a collection of fifteen psalms (120-134) which are generally recognized as songs that would be sung by those ascending the road to Jerusalem to worship. This would happen at least three times a year (Deuteronomy 16:16) – at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. This psalm began with an exclamation of joy over the mere mention of the journey to the place where the people of God would be gathered to worship Him.

Today, worship is not something that is confined to Jerusalem (John 4:21); it can be done anywhere. Yet wherever we gather to worship, we need to have the same attitude expressed by the psalmist.Continue Reading

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May 11, 2022

A New and Living Way

Garden path

Throughout the book of Hebrews, a comparison is made between the new covenant and the old covenant. In every way, the new covenant in Christ is far superior to the old covenant. Because the new way is better, we should respond to it in a certain way. Notice what the author of Hebrews wrote:

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us…” (Hebrews 10:19-22).

Following that statement, the Hebrew said, “Let us” do certain things. In the subsequent verses, we find three things we are to do now that we are a part of the “new and living way” in Christ. In this article, we will consider each of these.Continue Reading

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April 20, 2022

Growing in Wisdom, Stature, and Favor

Jesus as a Boy in the Temple

The four gospels focus primarily on the public ministry of Jesus leading up to His crucifixion and resurrection – a period of approximately three years. In addition to this, Matthew and Luke include some information about His birth and infancy. Luke also briefly records one event in Jesus’ childhood – the time when He was “lost” in the temple at twelve years old (Luke 2:41-51).

We may be curious about what happened as Jesus grew up, but the Scriptures are mostly silent about this. However, the Holy Spirit did see fit to include a statement about the growth of Jesus:

“And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

This may seem somewhat obvious and, therefore, almost insignificant. Yet this statement was given for a reason. If Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor, then it should be expected for us to do the same. In this article, we are going to consider how we can grow in each of these areas.Continue Reading

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April 6, 2022

When We Disagree

Two Men Having an Argument

In our polarized world, disagreements are more pronounced, arguments are more public, and differences seem to be irreconcilable. Though we may immediately think of this in the context of social and political issues, it can also be true in matters of religion.

In reality though, there have always been disagreements on matters pertaining to faith. Some believe there is a God; others believe there is no God. Some believe that Jesus is the Son of God; others believe Jesus was only a prophet, teacher, or wise rabbi. The “Christian” world is filled with different ideas regarding salvation, sin, worship, the church, morality, and more – too many topics to list. Disagreements on such matters will always be present.

In this article, we will primarily be discussing disagreements between those who believe in Christ and recognize the Bible as the word of God.

If you and I disagree on some point pertaining to religious matters, there are four possibilities:Continue Reading

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March 2, 2022

Shout Joyfully to the Lord

Man under the Northern Lights

“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:1-5).

This psalm begins with a universal call to praise God. It gives us some insight into how we offer praise to Him and describes some of the reasons why He is worthy of such praise.

Let us notice some of the things this psalm tells us about how and why we are to praise the Lord.Continue Reading

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