Thought for the Day

"And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." (Matthew 1:25) (The following is an amended and edited response to an inquirer who had read a Catholic writer's attempt to counter the idea that Jesus had siblings born later to his mother, Mary: a real problem for the Catholic belief in the so-called Perpetual Virginity of Mary. In defense of that error, the Catholic writer had tried to dismiss the clear implications of our text today [MAT 1:25] by pretendi...

Luke 8:49-56 49While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53And they la...

In today's Christianity, the general consensus is that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of every single person that has ever lived throughout all time. This meditation will provide a logical and biblical examination of whom Christ died for. This meditation is a bit long, but very interesting, so please do not be like Eutychus (Acts 20:9). Possibility number 1: Jesus died for the sin of nobody. This scenario is a logical possibility. The conclusion of this possibility is that every person wh...

This short meditation was sparked by something Eddy Duke said in part two of his meditation on Luke 4:16-29 (particularly concerning verse 24). We love God, because he first loved us. Have you ever found yourself thinking, "If only I lived during the days of Jesus. I would love to have seen the miracles, beheld the Saviour during his earthly ministry and heard him preach. How could I possibly not believe on him and follow him faithfully? Surely my faith would be stronger if ...

Luk 4:23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. Luk 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country, Luk 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; Luk 4:26 But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save un...

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recov...

Psa 104:25-29 (25) So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. (26) There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. (27) These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. (28) That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. (29) Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. The...

Mat 15:21-28 (21) Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. (22) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (23) But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. (24) But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (25) Then...

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. The apostles were here given a monumental task. The glad tidings of the saving work of Messiah had "from the beginning of the world...been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Eph 3:9), hidden considerably to Israel due to the shadowy nature of the Law (Col 2:16-17; Heb 8:5; Heb 10:1), obscured to that nation which alone was "kept under the law, shut up unto the faith that should afterwar...

2Ti 2:24-25 (24) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (25) In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; The nature of the previous meditations in this series has been somewhat critical---critical of doctrinal self-contradiction and doublemindedness. In a generation of effeminate Christianity that has sold its birthright of knowledge and duty for a mess ...

Mk.11:27-30 27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; As we consider the problem of opposing oneself, we pause here upon a sobering point. The person who opposes himself may only be delivered from his contradiction "if God peradventure will give [him] repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." The acknowledging of the truth is entirely by the discretion of Almighty God Who reserves the right to speak parables...

2Ti 2:24-25 (24) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (25) In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretian a few years ago was uncharitably reproached for his habit of speaking out of the corner of his mouth (a trait owing to a facial paralysis). His response went something like, "Better that I should speak out of one ...

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46) Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matt 13:45-46). Before getting in to the meat of this meditation, it is necessary that the reader understand what the "kingdom of heaven" is that Jesus is referring to in this parable. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are two phrases that are used interchangeably in the Bible. The book of Matthew uses both phrase...

In our modern society, the festive occasion known as Halloween is taken for granted. It is a time of curious, rather morbid activities for children and adults alike when some of the darkest themes of a sin-burdened creation are exhumed from history's graveyard for public display and for the profit of carnal merchants who promote the entire affair. Yet, how many people (especially Bible-believers) have given honest, serious consideration to the nature of this seasonal celebration? This paper is a simp...

2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; As noted previously Paul here describes some who "oppose themselves," i.e., they are by their opposition to truth and consistency their own foe. Remember that heresy is marked by self-contradiction; the heretick by his own doctrine is "condemned of himself" (Tit 3:11). "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee..." (Luk 19:22), said Jesus. It has been...

2Ti 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; Today's text is gleaned from the Apostle Paul's instruction to Timothy as to how a minister should conduct himself in his oversight of the house of God (c/w 1Ti 3:15). He here describes some who "oppose themselves," i.e., they are at odds with themselves morally or doctrinally, holding at the same time two or more irreconcilable propositions. This is essential...

"37) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38) But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. 39) No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better. " (Luke 5:37-39) Some have observed that in the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, wine was evidently made by putting grape juice into wine skins for it to ferment and become wine. Wine is produced w...

Job 41:16-17 (16) One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. (17) They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. Were it not for the context, the spiritually-minded might hope that today's text is a candid description from Paul's writings of the very special internal relationship that Christ intends for His churches. If one can allow the scales of leviathan (the subject of God's address here to Job) some latitude, there are some instructive appl...

Joh 7:12 "And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people." Some Jews who were themselves deceived ironically thought that Jesus was a deceiver. Today, many who name the name of Christ would likewise consider Jesus to be a deceiver if pressed to come to terms with certain aspects of his doctrine. As an example, there are those today who believe in decisional regeneration (free will salvation) and there are thos...

1Sa 13:8-14 (8) And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. (9) And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. (10) And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. (11) And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul sa...

1Sa 13:8-14 (8) And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. (9) And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. (10) And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. (11) And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul sa...

Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. In our text we see the three powers of government; judicial, legislative, and executive. Our founding fathers created a system of government which took into account the sinful nature of man and his ever present desire to accumulate more power in his hands to lord it over his fellow man. They had enough Biblical wisdom to create a constitutional republic which keeps these powers separate and has them...

Matthew 8:23-27 (23) And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. (24) And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. (25) And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. (26) And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. (27) But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man...

Psa 107:23-31 (23) They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; (24) These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. (25) For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. (26) They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. (27) They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. (28) Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and h...