The Sword of the LORD

"For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias [Isaiah] , which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them .  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear ." (Matthew 13:12-16).   There has never been a time in the history of the world when the gospel message has been so thoroughly proclaimed.   Volumes of books, magazines, and tra...

During a Sunday fellowship meeting recently, one of the sisters was testifying/exhorting about the battle with cancer that she had experienced years earlier, along with other challenges that the Lord allowed her to walk through in her life.  She emphasized the importance of persevering through our trials and not giving up or getting discouraged because things are rough, or God isn’t answering as quickly as we would like.  A phrase that the sister used stuck with me and inspired me the more I thought about it.  The phrase was “Stay in the process” , referring to the importance of acknowledging that God is working something good in all of our difficulties.  We must not give up until He has worked in us what He wishes.  James was referring to this principle when he wrote, “…let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:4).   There is plan and purpose in everything that God allows to enter our lives. ...

"Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He , and that I do nothing of Myself; but as my Father hath taught Me, I speak these things." (John 8:28).   There is an old hymn that we sing that says:   Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free? No, there's a cross for everyone, And there's a cross for me.   Unfortunately, these words are lost on many Christians today.  It's easy to understand and believe that Jesus carried a cross to Calvary, and there died for our sins; but it is more difficult to grasp the idea of bearing crosses in our lives.    The whole idea of resurrection power working in us to make us more Christ-like is based on the concept of life from death.  Jesus' illustration of the kernel of wheat being buried in the ground and dying before it can sprout and grow is the perfect picture of what our spiritual life must be.  It is a continual proc...

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world .” (John 2:1, 2).   “What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us ?  He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He [God] not with Him [Jesus] also freely give us all things?  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?  It is God that justifieth.  Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us .”  (Romans 8:31-34 KJV).   Imagine that we are sitting in a vast hall of justice in heaven.  We have been brought up on some very serious charges before the Court of Heaven and before the Jud...

OVERVIEW It is generally agreed that the letter of James in the New Testament was written by the half-brother of Jesus, who was known as James the Just.  He and Jesus shared the same mother, Mary, but not the same father - James’ father was Joseph while Jesus’ Father was God.  This James was not one of the original twelve apostles.  He was neither James the son of Zebedee and brother of John, nor was he James the son of Alpheus, both of which were part of the original twelve.  None of Jesus’ brothers accepted Him while He was growing up or during His public ministry (see John 7:1-5).  After Jesus’ resurrection, however, James became a believer and was present with the 120 when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost.  James later received the office of apostleship sometime after Jesus’ resurrection and became a pillar of the Church at Jerusalem.    James’ epistle is thought to have been written around A.D. 45 which woul...