“The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught.” Isaiah "50":4 These words are written prophetically about the Lord Jesus. They can be rendered “the tongue of a disciple”; one that is who has disciplined himself to learn. The secret of spiritual advance is openness to be taught by God. We […]
“No man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it even as Christ also the church.” Ephesians "5":29 We are told in verse 25 of this paragraph that Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. The verbs in the past tense point to the purpose of His death that He
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy "1":15 This Paul who fought the good fight finished his course and kept the faith called himself the chief of sinners. The words “I am” are in the present tense. This reveals his own unchanging appraisal of himself. He
“In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.” Luke "10":21 We read only once in the Gospels about the Lord Jesus rejoicing so it should be easy for us to learn something from this passage. It seemed as though He had failed in His ministry to these cities of Galilee and yet He
“The river of God is full of water.” Psalm "65":9 A tide has ebb and flow. Can God’s life and power in the Spirit be characterized by like phenomena? By no means! His life knows no ebb but is forever flowing. It does not rise and fall as the ocean but is like a river
“But Jesus saith unto him Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew "8":22 Here is an unbelieving father who is still living and a son who thinks it would be better to go home and wait for his father’s death and burial before he begins to follow the Lord. Jesus
“Because I live ye shall live also.” John "14":19 God has given to us His Son to be to us our life as well as our substitute on the cross. To understand this we must first be clear on what life is. When someone who is difficult calls on you you know at once that
“And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.” John "1":5 There is a great danger today of concentrating attention on questions of dark things and making them the subject of conversation. We invite darkness by discussing it seeking to deal with it or even thinking about it. The Christian must
“Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.” Exodus "14":15 Paul prayed three times asking the Lord to remove the thorn from his flesh but was told “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Did he then pray a fourth time? No. Once the Lord had spoken the issue
“A good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith.” 1 Timothy "1":19 A ship which is wrecked cannot sail. Whether a Christian can proceed with his service for God depends therefore on whether he has any offense outstanding on his conscience. Confession to God will remove the offense; but as
