But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Matthew 6:7-8 Why do people use vain repetitions? Why do we …
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Eph. 2:8 When Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God (8), we should not exclude the “faith” as that to which “it” is pointing as part of the gift …
There are perhaps many more lessons we could draw from this chapter, but we will content ourselves with one more. Numbers 33 teaches us, as we toil in the here-and-now, that Passover inevitably leads to the Promised Land. We must never forget this. We must never forget that the present is only a …
Numbers 33 reminds us that not only does God give our lives meaning and significance in the here-and-now, but that he is leading us along the way in the here-and-now. Even when Israel had sinned and were exiled to the wilderness for 40 years, God never abandoned his people. The pillar of fire and …
To be honest, I must confess that Numbers 33 is one of those chapters that I usually just skim through without giving it much thought. This is because it is primarily just a list of places Israel had been throughout their forty year sojourn in the desert on their way to Canaan. Some of the places …
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. John 21:17 Though this says something about Peter, who was able to appeal to the omniscience of Christ as a witness to his love for him (could you do this?), yet this really says much more about Christ than it does …
And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. Numbers 11:23 This is God's reply to the incredulity that Moses had over God's promise to feed the nation of Israel with meat for a month. Moses couldn't imagine …
We groan . . . we hope . . . we wait. Rom. 8:23-25 In these verses, the apostle Paul is essentially saying to us, “If even the earth cries out for the second coming, how much more should we?” Our glorification does not happen now, so we should not look for it now. We should expect sufferings in …
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Heb. 6:11-12 What is Christian hope? Well, one way to look at it is to see what it does. …
Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Ps. 40:5 God is God and we are not. He is transcendent, exalted above …