Thought for the Day

(Jer 16:14) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; (Jer 16:15) But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. There has been for some time a great interest among professing Christians in the establishing of the nati...

(Revelation 11:10) And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. The Book of Revelation is rich with intriguing figures that have profound spiritual significance. In the eleventh chapter are described two powerful witnesses of God whose testimony serves as a torment to men. There has been much speculation as to the identity of these two witnesses and some have suggested...

(John 10:22) And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. Beginning on the evening of December 2nd this year (2018) the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah began its eight-day season of light (it is alternately called the Festival of Lights) and feasting. It is the “feast of the dedication” noted in our text. Commonly in the New Testament in the King James Version of the Bible, one can find cross-references that a publisher has provided to many of the prophecies, laws and feasts...

Thanksgiving Day in America has a noble history of national pausing to give thanks to the Creator for His benefits. But the reverence and humility once associated with the custom has been considerably displaced by what is now truly important to our culture: pleasure (long weekend, football, feasting, shopping). Pleasure in and of itself is not evil, but when it becomes the summum bonum of a nation, watch out! The Governor of nations (PSA 22:28) still reigns on high. When warning imperi...

(The following meditation was authored by Brother Stephen Pham) “28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.” (Jeremiah 2) In this day and age we are surrounded with a flood of professors that claim the Baptist name (Isaiah 9:6-7), but within this denomination (speaking of Baptist churches indeed) we see a wide variety of differing opinions and practices. ...

(1Co 1:19) For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. (1Co 1:20) Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? In a recent mid-week study I mentioned the struggle which developed in Western Civilization between the Renaissance/Enlightenment and the Gospel.  The Enlightenment through “science” and “wisdom” sought to overcome the “superstition” of re...

(Philippians 2:12) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. On a flight out of Calgary last year I was seated between two ladies. The flight attendant was going through the standard safety repertoire which included the admonition: “If there is a sudden drop in cabin air pressure, oxygen masks will release from the compartment overhead...those travelling with small children should put...

The festive occasion known as Halloween is now 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? Following is a summary of the reasons why ou...

(This meditation was authored by Brother Stephen Pham) “10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.” (Ecclesiastes 12) The purpose of this meditation is to set forth in order a despised method of bible study called “Proof Texting”. In our text above we read of acceptable words, that is to say, agre...

(DEUT 22:9) Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. (DEUT 22:10) Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. (DEUT 22:11) Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. As noted in a previous meditation, while we earnestly contend for not separating what God has joined together (MAT 19:6), we should also be zealous to not join together what God has separated. ...

(Leviticus 16:14) And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. (Leviticus 16:15) Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: (Leviticus 16:16) And he shall make an...

(DEUT 22:9) Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. (DEUT 22:10) Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. (DEUT 22:11) Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. The principle of separation ensconced within these statutes (as they are called in LEV 19:19) is instructive for us: for our learning (ROM 15:4) and even our convictions as Christians...

(DEUT 22:9) Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. (DEUT 22:10) Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. (DEUT 22:11) Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. The Law of Moses had numerous laws such as these that regulated minute details of everyday life and were typical of that Old Testament yoke of which the Apostle Peter said, “...neither our fath...

(GEN 6:1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, (GEN 6:2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (GEN 6:3) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (GEN 6:4) There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto t...

(The following meditation was authored by Brother Stephen Pham) “ ‘They were called Bible men, because they confined themselves to the Scriptures in every thing they said or did…’ In 1589, Burnett says, ‘there were many Anabaptists in different parts of England. They held that Romish baptism was no baptism at all.’ In this century Beacon Cramer cried sadly against those men he calls gospelers. He says, ‘Their tongues are tipped with the Scriptures; they can dispute very copiously for ju...

(Genesis 8:22) While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. My calendar tells me that April 22 is Earth Day, the genesis of which was in 1970 at a time when global cooling with extensive glaciation was a trendy environmental “crisis du jour.” How things have changed (viewpoints, not earth's fate)! There are legitimate concerns about the environment, not from the standpoint of humans violating a perceived sacredne...

Esther 3:5-7 (5) And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. (6) And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. (7) In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and fr...

(Acts 2:26) Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: (Acts 2:27) Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. The Easter season with its days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, fish, etc. has come and gone again. But good protein does not equate with good doctrine. While Christians can and should rejoice in the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, how much better would that r...

(Genesis 13:11) Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Lot was hardly a model Christian. Peter tells us that he was a just and righteous man (2PE 2:7-8) but you would be hard pressed to conclude that from his conduct and choices in life. Our text today is speaking of the time when Lot made his ill-fated decision to choose the environs of Sodom (a bountiful place, GEN 13:10), “But the men of Sodom were ...

Matthew 12:38-40 (38) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Today's text sets forth the definitive sign to th...

(Num 6:1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (Num 6:2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: (Num 6:3) He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. (Num 6:4) All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is ...

(Acts 17:16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. (Acts 17:17) Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. (Acts 17:18) Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them...

(Acts 16:1) Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: (Acts 16:2) Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. (Acts 16:3) Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. This passage introduces Timotheus (Timothy)...

(Acts 11:25) Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: (Acts 11:26) And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. This is the first of only three occurrences in Scripture of the word “Christian(s).” The other two are in 1PE 4:16 and ACT 26:28. 1PE 4:16 shows that one should not be ashamed for suffering as a Christian. ...

(John 10:22) And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. Beginning on the evening of December 12th this year (2017) the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah began its eight-day season of light (it is alternately called the Festival of Lights) and feasting. It is the “feast of the dedication” noted in our text. Commonly in the New Testament in the King James Version of the Bible, one can find cross-references that a publisher has provided to many of the prophecies, laws and feast...