And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Acts 22:7 Before he became Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ, he was Saul the persecutor of Jesus Christ. However, he had never actually, as far as we know, met the Lord Jesus before he met him on the …
For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. Gen. 22:12 Abraham's radical obedience is defined by the fact that he obeyed God even when it looked like God was going back on his promise and when it meant losing that which was most precious to …
And Jesus stood still. Mt. 20:32 Here was the busiest man in the world, and busy with nothing that was not truly meaningful and of eternal value. Every moment was well spent and every hour was redeemed. Moreover, here was a man whose time was extremely valuable because he had wisdom and power and …
Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. Acts 18:9-10 Some folks think that because salvation is all of grace (and it is) and because …
For the joy of the LORD is your strength. Neh. 8:10 This was the reason given to the people of Israel that they should not weep in response to the reading of God's word (Neh. 8:9-10). Now, there is a place for weeping and for a godly sorrow that leads to repentance (cf. 2 Cor. 7:10). And there is a …
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. Ps. 138:8 There are three great truths in this verse which are worthy of our meditation. First, there is a promise of God's perfecting work with respect to his people: "The …
And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. Acts 14:1 You will sometimes hear that it does not matter so much how you share the gospel; what matters is that you …
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate. Neh. 3:1 I love the third chapter of Nehemiah. It is a record of the folks who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. You not only have high priests, but people from every walk of life it seems, such as …
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: …
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Mt. 5:9 There are divisions that are unavoidable. Did not our Lord himself say, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword," and "I am come to set a man at variance against his …