The inspired apostle Paul declared, “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” […]

A querist asks, “Does Luke 12:47-48 teach there will be “degrees” of punishment? The text in Luke 12:47-48  states: “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things worthy of […]

Nothing burdens us down so needlessly as does some grudge or resentment held against someone. Resentments usually grow out of misunderstandings or from our unwillingness to honestly face some disagreeable or embarrassing situation. Opposite conclusions are frequently drawn by two people from the same set of circumstances. Opponents oftentimes do not differ so much in […]

In an earlier lesson I related how that God had commanded the children of Israel to worship no other god. He said specifically: Exodus 20:2-6 (2) “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (3) “You shall have no other gods before […]

This past week I saw a video on the news of a man stepping outside with a boiling pot of water, tossing the water into the air and its instantaneously changing into snow. He was near the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire and it was thirty-five degrees below zero. My first reaction was, […]

“And all of the people went their way to eat, … And to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them” (Nehemiah 8:12 KJV). Ezra did something that made the people of Israel happy. This was not an easy task at this particular time. Israel was recently returned from […]

In John 20-NKJV, we read of Thomas’ encounter with Jesus. Thomas had not been with the assembly of disciples when Jesus first appeared to them after His resurrection (John 20:19-23), so he needed the

Once there were four high school boys who couldn’t resist the temptation to skip classes. The next morning they explained to their teacher that they had missed her class because their car had a

From the Scriptures, we know that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27 for the express purpose of glorifying Him (Isaiah 43:7) including nations (Psalm 86:9). The only people (or nations) who “glorify” God are those who are “called by my name” (Isaiah 43:7). Therefore, we see that God is particular as who […]

On Sunday, April 24th, millions of people around the world will celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead, by observing the holiday called “Easter.” The word “Easter” comes from “Eastre,” the Anglo-Saxon name of “Ostara,” the pagan Teutonic goddess of Spring and fertility (see this article too). As the rabbit was sacred to this goddess, it […]

The following are some things we need to think about relative to our service to God and to our fellow man (Matthew 22:36-40; cf. Romans 12:1-2; Romans 13:9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8):

We travel life’s way but once, thus it is imperative that we prepare for the time when we shall change worlds (1 Corinthians 15:42-53). A mistake relative to the security of our soul is too costly. Hence, we ask, “Was our conversion according to the Scriptures?” How may one know? It is not enough to […]

Henry David Thoreau once stated, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” Imagine the difference it would make in our world if that theme were heard as often as those catchy advertising jingles produced by Coca-Cola or McDonald’s.

One of the greatest novels ever written is Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (see amazon.com). After this long novel was finished, Tolstoy continued to write other novels — sometimes to the point of exhaustion, unable to sleep.

Brother Trey Morgan, preacher for the Childress church of Christ in Childress, Texas, has written an article with some good advice for husbands entitled, “10 Gifts Your Wife Would Love This Christmas” (see article for wives).

Human interest stories have always been fascinating and interesting to me, because in reading some of these stories which tell of an ungodly and sinful life, I’m motivated to look inside myself and think, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” These stories also motivate me to ask myself the question, “What causes […]

The story is told of a man who once went inside a telephone booth and dialed the number of a friend. When the connection was made, the friend kept saying, “I can’t hear you; speak louder.” All his friend could hear was the sound of the roar of the traffic in the background. He then […]

God’s love is like an island In life’s ocean vast and wide A peaceful, quiet shelter

King David once asked this question: “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?” (Psalm 15:1). There are two words ancient Jews had for expressing the question “who?” One is similar to our usage. But David used another word here that asks, “What kind of person dwells close to God?” The answer comes in a series […]

We were in a discussion last evening about Jesus being God. I told my husband that Jesus and God were the same person. That Jesus was the three in one…….God, Son and Holy Spirit. He told me that Jesus was God’s son (which I know) and how could he be three in one. I told […]