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Newsletters

  • Jesus Versus Satan

    Every year during the busy holidays, Christians remind themselves of the real significance of Christmas: the coming of Jesus. Our hearts are filled with gratitude that God the Father sent a Savior to redeem us. And celebrating Christ's birth is a sweet and pleasant time, filled with blessings of all kinds. We love seeing colorful presents around the tree in our living room. We enjoy singing carols and hymns, thanking God for his many blessings. Some of us even enjoy "A Charlie Brown Christmas," with Linus quoting from Luke 2 at the end.

  • God Will Never Forsake His People

    For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake his godly ones; they are preserved forever; but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off” (Psalm 37:28).

    In Luke 22, Jesus delivered a serious warning to perhaps his most devoted follower. Christ called the apostle Peter aside and told him the following in no uncertain terms: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31–32).

  • An Eclipse of Faith

    “[Jesus] said Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

    “And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me” (Luke 22:31–34).

  • Forgive Me, Lord, for Making You Weep

    Luke 19 gives us a powerful picture of Jesus making his final entry into Jerusalem. The image is of Christ approaching the city on a donkey to shouts of praise from great throngs. He started at the Mount of Olives, and the closer he got to the city gate the larger the crowds grew. Soon the people were casting down their garments before him, waving palm branches and crying, “He’s here! The hour has come for the king of Israel to arrive. Peace has come to Jerusalem. Finally, the kingdom is here!”

  • The Coming of the Lord

    When I was a boy, the cry of the church was, “Jesus is coming! Like a thief in the night, he will return when you least expect him. He’ll come in the twinkling of an eye, with the sound of the trumpet. Be ready at all times.”

    Throughout my teenage years, this cry was heard at every Sunday meeting. Every evangelist who came to preach in my father’s church had a stirring message about the soon return of Christ. Their cries are burned into my memory. And the message formed in me a godly fear and expectancy. I learned to live expecting the Lord to return at any moment.

  • The Touch of God

    Daniel testified, "Behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands" (Daniel 10:10). The word for "touched" here means to violently seize upon. Daniel was saying, "When God placed his hand on me, it put me on my face. His touch gave me an urgency to seek him with all that's in me."

    This happens anytime God touches someone's life. That person falls to his knees. And he becomes a man or woman of prayer, driven to seek the Lord.

  • The Secret of Spiritual Strength

    The prophet Isaiah pronounced a woe upon Israel: "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 30:1). The Hebrew word for woe here signifies a deep sorrow and grief. What had God's people done to hurt him so deeply? And why did he call them rebellious? After all, these weren't heathen; they were his own children. What awful sin did they commit that caused him to say they were rebellious?

    The word Isaiah uses for rebellion in this verse means backsliding, stubbornness, a turning away. What, exactly, were God's people turning away from? And what caused their backsliding?

  • Tempting the Lord!

    "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."

  • The Perils and Sorrows of a Contrite Heart

    To me, one of the most interesting people in the Old Testament is Jacob. Here was a cheating, deceiving, conniving, manipulating, supplanting man - an incredible character. Yet God loved this man dearly! In fact, his life is filled with marvelous lessons for us about God's dealings with human nature.

    I'd like to pick up Jacob's story just as he's fleeing for his life from his older twin brother, Esau. Jacob had already outwitted Esau twice - and now his brother was full of wrath!

  • Taking Up the Towel

    In a famous passage in John 13, Jesus took a towel and a basin and washed the feet of His disciples. He told them:

    "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13:14).

    Some devout Christians take this verse literally. They have made it their custom to have "foot washing" services. This is commendable — yet, if it remains only a ritual, the true meaning of foot washing has been lost.