The Sword of the LORD

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled .” (Hebrews 12:11-15). In the twelfth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Hebrew believers the Apostle uses some very plain language to both encourage and admonish those he is writing to.   Paul is warning the believers against falling short of the grace of God, and allowing a root of bitterness to grow up in their lives .   The “root of bitterness” that he is referring to is actually an...

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27).    “Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice.” (John 18:37).   “And this voice which came from heaven we heard...” (2 Peter 1:18).   God wants every one of His children to learn to hear and recognize the voice of his Master and Lord.  God delights to speak to His children and to have them speak to Him.  It is this intimate relationship – this divine fellowship – which God has desired from the dawn of creation.  Man lost that close relationship with God by Adam’s fateful error; but now, in Christ Jesus, it is regained.   When the Lord called Paul to serve Him, He sent a disciple by the name of Ananias to lay hands on Paul to restore his eyesight and speak these words to him: “ The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth.  For thou shalt be His wit...

At a certain point in the Apostle Paul’s ministry, the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he must go to Jerusalem and testify to the Jews about how the gospel of Jesus Christ had transformed his life.   This was no small thing.   The Jews hated Paul, and he knew that they would use any means necessary to have him killed and silence his witness.     As he sailed toward Jerusalem, Paul made stops along the way to strengthen and encourage the faith of some of the churches that he had helped to plant.   He knew that this would probably be the last time that he would see them in the flesh.     One stop on his voyage was at Miletus, in present day Turkey, and close to Ephesus.   From there, he called for all of the elders at Ephesus to come to Miletus and meet with him.   He ministered to these men and exhorted them to stay faithful to the Lord.   He also said the following to them: “And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusa...