“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14) Solomon reigned for 40 years, from 1015-975 B.C., and this period spanned his 4th-11th years as King. He was the son of David and the 3rd king of God’s people in the Promised Land and had gathered all the people of Israel for the Temple’s dedi

“And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.”  (II Kings 3:16, 17) King Jehoram of Israel had solicited the help of Judah’s good king, Jehoshaphat, in going to battle against the Moabites. Since the route they chose was through the wilderness Edom, the Edomites also joined f

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) Hebrews was an epistle written to Jewish followers of Jesus, penned sometime before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD. As with the precise date of writing, the author is also unknown. The writing includes a lot of Pauline language, so many think it is from the Apostle Paul, but I disagree because in Paul’s writings, he usually identifies himself. Because the writ

“…and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.”  (Mark 8:22) We do not deny the free agency of man, as we have sometimes been accused. Man freely does what he does. However, only one Man possesses absolute free agency. Jesus Christ, being one with His Father, does what He wills as He wills in all things. This freedom of will and action is clearly seen in His public life and ministry. His free agency is seen in the great variety of His mighty work. Thoug

“Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (John 7:37) The occasion of this invitation  was the Feast of Tabernacles; the third of three main feasts that the faithful of Israel celebrated annually. The Passover was held in the Spring, our month of April; Pentecost was fifty days after Passover, our June; and lastly the Feast of Tabernacles was in the fall, our October. This feast was held

“Now therefore, give me this mountain...”  (Joshua 14:12) Caleb is a truly wonderful example of strong, unwavering faith. His was no “flash in the pan” faith. At the age of forty, he was one of twelve men chosen by Moses to go in and spy out the land of promise. He and Joshua returned with a good report, but ten of the twelve came back with a negative report. All twelve agreed that it was a land greatly to be desired, but only Caleb and Joshua believed that it could be taken

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”  (James 4:4) The book of James is a New Testament letter by James. He wasn’t one of the twelve Apostles, instead he was one of Jesus' half-brothers, a child of Joseph and Mary (Acts 1:14; Gal. 1:19). He served as leader of the Jerusalem church and penned this letter around AD 45-49 to Jewish Christians scatte

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:15-17) The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Christians living in the small city of Colossae around A.D. 62 while im

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” (Romans 13:11) What does the Apostle mean when he, speaking to believers, says “…now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” ? Was not our salvation a reality the moment we believed. Is it not true that…                         “The moment a sinner believes,                         And trusts in his crucified God;                       

“And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then thou shalt cut it down.”  (Luke 13:8, 9) Fruit-bearing trees follow natural cycles marking the years of their existence. There is a season for digging, pruning, caring, etc. There is a season for harvest when fruit is expected. If no fruit appears then the caretaker must wonder, why. After one fruitless year, the tree is allo

“Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.”  (Job 40:1-5) At the beginning of the book, Job is a wealthy man living in a land called Uz with his large family and extensive floc

“Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”  Jeremiah 18:18 (ESV) Jeremiah reveals to us the words of men in his day. These were the words of men who were very religious, who believed they were the people of God, who believed that they knew the truth, but were utterly

“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.”  (II Chronicles 20:15) A great army surrounds Judah, and all hope seems lost. Earlier, enemies had snuck around the territory, preparing to attack, and by the time King Jehoshaphat discovered the plot, it was already too late. This was an evil, malic

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?”  (Isaiah 53:1) “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”  (Romans 10:16) A number of important facts are revealed in Paul’s statement in our second text, in which he makes reference to Isaiah’s complaint, which was recorded over seven centuries before. Clearly, he realized that he and the Prophet Isaiah shared the very same concern, though their

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”  (I Timothy 6:10) The first letter to Timothy is a Pastoral Epistle written by the apostle Paul, in roughly AD 63-66, to his travelling companion and surrogate son, Timothy. Timothy had a strong upbringing in the faith despite having a Greek father, as he was instructed by his mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:25) The lack of church attendance in America is not due to having so much spiritual life in the soul that church attendance has become unnecessary. This is how our wandering generation likes to paint it. Many say, “I’m good spiritually. I do not need church, or so much church.” Sadly, even churches have bo

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-62) At this point in the Gospel of Luk

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” “There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” “The Law of the LORD is perfect, convicting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”  (Psalm 19:1, 3, 7) We have no way of knowing the time or occasion of this Psalm’s original composition, only that David wrote it and submitted it to the chief musician for use in the sanctuary. We have no need to know

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”   (Titus 3:5-7) Titus was a Greek follower of Jesus and a trusted acquaintance of the Apostle Paul, having provided aid during past crises. Paul had assigned Tit