A minister [of a large church] was praying at the bedside of a dying woman. “Wait a moment,” she said, as he started to rise from his knees. “I want to pray for you.” Very tenderly, she prayed with her hands upon his head. “For ten years, ever since you became my pastor, I have […]
During Solomon’s reign as King over Israel, God made the following promise to him and his people. (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by […]
Many Charismatic churches seem to overemphasise the Holy Spirit. In contrast, most Independent Baptist churches underemphasize the Holy Spirit. He is rarely mentioned other than in doctrinal lessons. Perhaps that is the reason I was attracted to the phrase “praying in the Holy Ghost” as I read the book of Jude several weeks ago. It […]
The scribes and Pharisees had attacked Jesus, probably at Capernaum, for allowing his disciples to eat without the traditional hand-washing ceremony, Jesus countered their words with a sharp rebuke (Mt 15:1-20). Perhaps, that evening as Jesus and his disciples sat around the fire eating, he said, “Early tomorrow morning, we will travel north for a […]
NUMBERS 8 November 2023 Lesson: 10 Numbers 16 The Failure of Israel in the Wilderness Once again, the main outline is from the Open Bible, slightly edited. Rebellion of Korah Korah’s gang rebelled against Moses and Aaron (16:1-14). The members of Korah’s gang included Dathan, Abiram, and On. Korah was of the tribe of […]
Though Haman was ruffled, and bit concerned after being forced to parade Mordecai around the city to honour him, he joined the king and Queen Esther for the second banquet. The king again asked Esther to share with him her request. Likely, after uttering a silent prayer and taking a deep breath, Esther spoke. Read […]
In Colossians 4:2, the Holy Spirit had Paul challenge the Colossian believers to pray steadfastly, to watch for the tempter, and to thank God for His grace. Continuing this theme, he urges them to pray for others. Transition I find, in Colossians 4:3-4, three duties relating to praying for others that I want to share […]
After addressing salvation (Colossians 3:1-4), separation (Colossians 3:5-8), sanctification (Colossians 3:9-15), and saturation (Colossians 3:16-17), he then made several specific applications. Those applications are the duties for wives to submit to their husbands (Colossians 3:18), for husbands to love their wives without bitterness (Colossians 3:19), for children to obey their parents in all things (Colossians […]
The year was about 479 BC. The place was Persia. Esther, the beautiful, young, Jewess had been Queen of Persia for about four years. In the previous chapter, we learned that Haman, the proud, top prince in Persia, was furious that Mordecai the Jew would not bow to him. His anger led him to plot […]
Have you ever noticed how frequently believers in the Bible included thanks in their prayers? It was a common practice. A large part of our prayers for others ought to include thankfulness. As Paul and Timothy began this letter to the Colossian church, they devoted 1:3-8 to the topic of giving thanks to God for […]