From Matthew 15:8-9, we see the Lord’s condemnation of religious folks who worshiped God after the commandments of men. When we worship God after man’s commandments, we become hypocrites, simply because if we truly loved and honored God as we claim, we would worship Him precisely as He directs (Matthew 7:21).

1) Daily thank the Lord for providing the many spiritual benefits we enjoy (Psalm 68:19). 2) Daily cry to the Lord for His mercy (Psalm 86:3). 3) Daily make application of the wisdom found in God’s word (Proverbs 8:32-35).

There are past mistakes that members of the Lord’s church have made, which have contributed to an anemic, dwarfed discipleship. One of the saddest mistakes of all, is baptizing a believer in Christ, and then leaving him or her to struggle with temptations and perplexing questions alone. That is nothing short of spiritual cruelty and […]

The story is told of a ship Captain who was once standing on the bow of his ship with binoculars, carefully watching every rock that protruded above the water. Being sorely frightened, one of the passengers came to the Captain and asked, “Sir, do you know where all the rocks are?” The Captain answered, “No, […]

The story is told of a pioneer preacher was one day preaching on the topic, “The Bible can be understood” to a small group who had gathered on the street, when an atheist ridiculed him saying, “Preacher, if the Bible is so easily understood, who don’t more people understand it?”

Elijah’s question that he asked in 1 Kings 18:21, is just as forceful and applicable today as it was when he asked it. Brethren, it is extremely important the we “stand fast” in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13) and “stand fast” in the Lord (Philippians 4:1),

Most of us wouldn’t ignore a dollar lying on the ground. We would gladly pick it up and put it in our pocket. Yet we often ignore the Bible, a treasure chest overflowing with God’s precious promises (2 Peter 1:4; cf. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1). David, the likely author of Psalm 119), recorded […]

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers,  was one of only two men to ever coach three consecutive NFL championships (source).

We can learn a lot from listening to the elderly. This writer used to sit for hours listening to my Aunt Lee tell about the true and exciting stories she was a part of when growing up on a ranch not far from Weatherford, Texas.

In looking at the many religious doctrines and proponents of those doctrines that existed in the first century, the apostle Paul encourages the Ephesian brethren:

A querist asks, “Do you believe demon possession happens today?” From this Bible student’s study of the Scriptures, God allowed demons to inhabit people in the first century in order to demonstrate and establish Christ’s superiority and authority over the devil and his agents (Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 11:20-22 cf. Luke 4:36; Matthew 17:18).

Murphy’s Laws are observations about life that have been brought about by the negative experiences behind them. We’ve all heard this one: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

According to the theory of aerodynamics, the butterfly should be able to fly as fast as the bumble bee, and the bumble bee should not be able to fly at all. The reason being is that the butterfly has a small, light body and a large wing-spread, while the bumble bee has a short, stubby […]

In the Old Testament, God set up six cities of refuge so that if anyone accidentally killed another person, he could flee to those cities for safety (Exodus 21:13; Numbers 35:6-29; Deuteronomy 19:1-10; Joshua 20:1-9).

With all of the religious division in the denominational world as well as in some churches of Christ, followers of Christ have become afraid of speaking plainly and boldly the things of God’s word (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:11-12).

In an article several years ago, the Associated Press made an interesting concession (Associated Press, September 14, 1992). After evaluating 4,000 self-help books on the market, they concluded that the best book on happiness and contentment, was in the original self-help book, the Bible. Brethren and friends, we undergo constant change in our lives, either […]

In addition to the spiritual blessings we have in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), Christians have been given a great responsibility of taking the saving gospel to a world lost in sin (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; cf. 2 Timothy 2:1-2; 2 Timothy 4:1-2).

Have we ever thought about things that are non-recoverable once they are gone from our midst? The following are five things we can never recover once they are gone:

In writing to Christians in 1 John, the apostle John urges them not to sin, but if they should sin through weakness or ignorance, they have an “Advocate” who stands in their behalf before the Father. In 1 John 2:1, the word “advocate” refers to an attorney who speaks for an accused person to gain […]

In the 2011, volume 49, number 1 edition of The Sword and Staff publication, pg. 2, comes the following proverbs of wisdom (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added): If you have never become a Christian, you are not a Christian. If you would know the Father, first become acquainted with the Son (John […]