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THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED

I can easily identify with the sentiment that the apostle Paul expresses in the tenth chapter of Romans.   He writes, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved .  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God .” (Romans 10:1-3).   As a child, and into my early teens, I was made to attend a church that was void of any spiritual fervor.   The pastor, by his own confession, did not believe in much of the Bible, including the miracles of Jesus and the virgin birth.   The members came to church to show off their new cars and fine clothes, and leave feeling better about themselves because they made the “sacrifice” to come.   Some embraced unbiblical beliefs – such as reincarnation – and yet claimed to be Christi...
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THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE

Jesus’ teaching was very hard for the people to accept.   Just the day before, He had multiplied a few loaves and fish to feed over five thousand people.   They had come out to see Him then because of the miracles that He was performing on the sick and afflicted.   They loved Him then, but their focus seemed to be more on those miracles than on trying to understand the words of life that Jesus was speaking to them.   They were ready to accept Him as a prophet, and they would have even tried to make Him a king; but they couldn’t see that Jesus was much more than that: He was the Son of God and their long-awaited Messiah.   Jesus had sent His twelve disciples over the sea to Capernaum the night before.   It was then that He had appeared to them walking on the sea as they struggled against a great storm.   When the people realized that Jesus had gone, they found means to cross the sea also and found Jesus at Capernaum.   Jesus called them out by ...
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THE STILL, SMALL VOICE

Elijah was a prophet of the Lord who lived around 900 B.C.   God worked many miracles through Elijah including sending fire from heaven in a great contest between him and the prophets of Baal.   The story with which I most identify from Elijah's life, however, is found in the 19th chapter of 1 Kings.     After Elijah's confrontation on Mt. Carmel with the Baal worshippers, Queen Jezebel of Israel was furious with him and commanded that he be put to death.  Elijah's response was like what yours or mine might be: he fled for his life, traveling a day's journey into the wilderness to hide.  While there, Elijah began to feel sorry for himself, and asked God to end his life.  Instead, the Lord sends an angel to minister to him, providing food and water to sustain him.  On the strength of that food, Elijah is able to travel 40 days to Mt. Horeb, where he finds a cave to hide in.  It is there that God asks him this pointed question, "What doest ...
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