Monthly Archives: December 2017

Sunday, December 31               The year 2017 comes to an end tonight.  What’s interesting is that when we come to the end of  a year, there is a fairly universal pattern:  disappointment with last … Continue reading →

Saturday, December 30             Jesus’ death was a travesty of justice from beginning to end: three bogus trials” false witnesses,  no legitimate charge, and no evidence.  Ironically, after all this illegal activity, when the Jewish … Continue reading →

Friday, December 29                John 15:15.  “. . . everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  This is a wide open opportunity to teach that Jesus became God.  … Continue reading →

Thursday, December 28 Most modern versions record Jesus as saying  “I tell you the truth” when addressing the crowds or in private with his disciples.  He used the phrase six times in that upper room the day before he was … Continue reading →

Wednesday, December 27                  In our men’s Bible study, we studied D.A. Carson’s analysis of Paul’s prayer in 2 Thes. 1:1-12.    He noted that Paul looked for signs of grace in the Christians … Continue reading →

Tuesday, December 26            A lot of people—including us—had a joyous Christmas with family, food and festivities.  But it wasn’t like that for millions of people.  I think of older folks that live in an assisted … Continue reading →

Monday, December 25               A high percentage of the world’s population will celebrate the birth of Jesus today.  I would not have been able to say that when I was a kid.  The gospel … Continue reading →

Sunday, December 24   Today millions of the faithful will be worshiping the “baby Jesus.”   We went to the local high school vocal concert the last week.  It was marvelous singing and a marvelous message.  It was labeled “Christmas Around … Continue reading →

Saturday, December 23              Christmas is upon us.  Actually, Christmas has been “commercially” around since before Thanksgiving.  We’re dealing with more than a month of making lists, buying greeting cards and gifts, wondering how the … Continue reading →

Friday, December 22                  The incredible debt I owe to God remains incredible.  There’s nothing I can do to pay it or even diminish it.  But there’s something I can do and need … Continue reading →

Thursday, December 21              “I don’t own anything.  I owe everything.”  This came to me while praying.  It’s not a new truth for me, but God probably wanted me to think about it again—which I … Continue reading →

Wednesday, December 20                   Jesus spoke of telling the disciples things ahead of time several times during that upper room discourse.  Twice (John 13:19, 14:29) it was so that when it happened the … Continue reading →

Monday, December 18                   The arrest of Jesus in the middle of the night was a very dramatic event.  As Pastor Doug recently noted, the “detachment” of Roman soldiers was about 600 … Continue reading →

Sunday, December 17             In those final days leading up to the cross Jesus often spoke of returning to the Father.  That suggests some underlying realities.  One possibility is that he was eager to be reunited with his Father.  While that … Continue reading →

Saturday, December 16                       Several times in the upper room discourse, Jesus stated that he had been sent by the Father.  If we think about this at all, we think … Continue reading →

Friday, December 15                John 17:20-26 is a very interesting part of Jesus’ prayer for his chosen ones just before he went to the cross.  It’s not only interesting; it’s extremely important.  Jesus reveals … Continue reading →

Thursday, December 14                God’s program to make us more like Christ, i.e., sanctification, is progressive.  The core of that is to love God.  The more we love him, the more we will worship … Continue reading →

Wednesday, December 13                For those of us who are true believers, God had a purpose in searching us out and saving us from eternal damnation.  Yes, he did it out of love for … Continue reading →

Tuesday, December 12                   The account of the two blind men that pleaded for Christ to heal them in Mt. 9:27-31 is short but revealing concerning faith.  What is interesting in this … Continue reading →

Monday, December 11 There are a lot of role models in the Bible.  Peter and Thomas are two of them.  D.A. Carson, in Praying with Paul, p. 26, touches on this—from a slightly different perspective.  “Christians may stumble and fall, … Continue reading →

The Bible is clear that there will be no human marriages in heaven.  That’s a negative for some people.  The sex drive is so strong that it’s been devastatingly abused.  That’s not God’s fault; it stems from the sin nature … Continue reading →

D.A. Carson, in Praying with Paul, makes a startling statement on p. 30.  “ . . . forgiveness is never the product of love alone.”  My first reaction to that statement was to disagree with him, but after following his … Continue reading →

“We want mercy for ourselves and justice for others.”  This is certainly not a new thought, but maybe a reminder would be in order.  When was the last time someone made excuses for your behavior?  When was the last time … Continue reading →

James’ “royal law” deserves a little more attention.  The term occurs only in James 2:8.  The immediate context is that the law is to love one another.  Jesus spoke of this in Mt. 22:37-39, but adds the command to love … Continue reading →

Wednesday, December 6            No one will ever be redeemed without conviction of sin.  Sin is the problem, but knowing our sinful condition and its consequences is essential.  Knowing the problem comes before seeking a solution.  John 16:8 says that when … Continue reading →

Tuesday, December 5                       According to 2 Peter1:5-7, faith is a starting point.  “. . . make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge;  and … Continue reading →

Monday, December 4                 Bunyan doesn’t mince words.  How about this one (p. 24 of Bunyan, Prayer)?  “The great cheat by means of which the devil and antichrist delude the world, is to … Continue reading →

Sunday, December 3                             There was a time when I wondered why I should pray.  One, God knows all things.    He knows the needs of every person … Continue reading →

Saturday, December 2                                After picking out one word of Bunyan’s definition of prayer, I think I need to give you the entire quotation.  It’s rich … Continue reading →

Friday, December 1                                There’s a rather long definition of prayer in the book Prayer, a compilation of  John Bunyan’s comments on prayer (p. 13).  His … Continue reading →