The Sword of the LORD

"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together." (Psalms 34:3).   I remember being very curious as a boy - I guess most boys are.  There was no end to my exploring, examining, and dismantling of anything and everything.  One of my best memories, though, was when my parents bought me a microscope one Christmas.  There was very little that escaped being placed on a slide and smashed under a cover slip so that I could peer at it.  It was like opening a brand new world to me.  Things that were commonplace and familiar became exotic and alien when zoomed in at high magnification.  The intelligent design, and intricate construction, of even a blade of grass, or a human skin cell, turned the mundane into the divine.   Years later, when I was introduced to the verse above, it made perfect sense to me.  As we go through our life, there are many things that confront us that seem very large to us.  Even the simplest of dif...

We read in the fifth chapter of St. Luke about Jesus preaching the Word of God by Lake Gennesaret.  Because of the press of people, He entered into a fishing boat and taught the multitude from there.  As He finished speaking, He told Simon Peter, the fisherman who owned the ship, to launch out into the deep part of the lake and let down his nets.  Right away Simon Peter began to protest, but gave in to the request saying, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net.”                 Just like these fishermen, it sometimes seems like our best efforts to do the will of God and to win souls to Christ just seem to come up empty.  Many churches put together evangelistic campaigns, and special revival services, and even door-to-door initiatives; but for all their labor, very few souls are touched.  The key element that...

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.  But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him ." (Hebrews 11:5, 6).   It should be evident that the goal of every Christian is to please God, although many live as though it were God's sole task to please them.   If asked, however, they would still tell you that they wish to please Him.     Scripture tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.   We are then presented with two truths which faith must embrace.   First, we must believe that God is - that He exists.   Secondly, we must believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.   Let's examine these two beliefs so that we can better understand what is necessary to ple...

"Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her." (Matthew 26:13).   Two days before the Jewish Passover, Jesus and His disciples came to Bethany where Lazarus and his two sisters lived.  It was Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  Jesus was invited to dine at the house of a man named Simon, who was a leper.  While there, a woman entered the room carrying an alabaster box that was filled with a very expensive ointment.  The box itself was very beautiful.  Alabaster was similar to onyx in appearance and must have been fashioned into a very attractive container to house such a precious ointment.  The cost of the ointment was equivalent to about $50.00 in today’s currency.  This would be an expensive possession today, but at that time it was a very valuable treasure.  It was certainly this woman’s greatest possessio...

“Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” (Genesis 13:18).   “And the LORD appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre.” (Genesis 18:1).   Abram (whose name means “exalted father” ), who God later named Abraham ( “father of a multitude” ), is considered to be the father of Jews, Arabs, and Christians alike.   Jews and Arabs both trace their natural lineage back to him – the Jews through Abraham and his wife Sarah, and the Arabs through Abraham and his wife’s maidservant Hagar.   To Christians, however, he is the father of faith through his spiritual seed Jesus Christ.   It was the fact that Abraham believed God that set him apart from others in his generation.   Faith, therefore, and not natural lineage, is the thing that qualifies a person to be a child of Abraham.   As the scripture teaches, “...Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to h...

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm 133).   As we read in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we find that an important feature of the early church was their love and unity.   The Greek word “homothumadon,” which occurs 10 of its 12 times in Acts and is translated “accord,” means “of one mind, or, of one passion,” and is used to describe the bond that existed between the believers.   This unity in the Spirit that the early church enjoyed was like the blend of instruments in a great orchestra: each sounding their various parts, but all blending harmoniously into a mighty symphony, each note complementing every other. ...

Christian Baptism is often overlooked as simply a ritual that Christians perform as an act of obedience to the Lord.  Once baptized, many Christians never think of it again - the obligation has been fulfilled.  I pray that after reading this today, your view of baptism is changed, and that your whole walk with God is transformed forever.   In the sixth chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul plainly teaches the basic principles of baptism, beginning with the question: “Shall we continue in sin?”   The answer is clearly, “no;” but the reason Paul gives is enlightening.   He asks how we, who are dead to sin, can live any longer in sin.   Many Christians I know struggle from day to day to do the right things, make the right choices, and live a life that is pleasing to God.   They live their life in full awareness that they are open to temptation and subject to attack and, therefore, are always busy fighting and resisting those temptations – sometimes suc...