“The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.” (Prov. 19:11)                One of the many amazing things about God is that He is “slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Ps. 103:8).  Though He certainly deserves to be enraged with us over our sin, He mercifully sets aside His anger as He awaits our confession and repentance.  Though God is slow to...  Read More

“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)                After Peter and John were released from their temporary incarceration at the hands of the religious leaders, they went right back to the church and reported the things they had experienced.  When...  Read More

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)                Sometimes the evidence of our activity is simply too hard to deny.  If your clothes smell sugary-sweet, then you’ve been around the donuts at Krispy Kreme.  A temporary inability to talk properly mi...  Read More

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!  For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”  (Psalm 75:1)                We have so many reasons to give thanks to God.  Just a quick consideration of His attributes should cause us to rejoice forever.  A theologian once explained to me that all the attributes of God flow out of His two main attributes – holiness and love.  Holy means “s...  Read More

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.  (Acts 2:46-47)                It’s very sad that the church of the 21st century does not more closely resemble the early church of...  Read More

“Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”(Prov. 19:1)                I think everyone yearns for what we call “a better life.”  What does a better life look like?  It depends on who you ask.  If you ask magazines, TV commercials, and social media ads, they’ll tell you that a better life is a bigger home, a nicer car, and designer clothes. ...  Read More

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”(Prov. 18:24)                The Proverbs are wisdom literature that provide us general guidelines for living.  In this case, Solomon wants us to understand that a man with many friends may have lots of companions, but he many not have many true friends.  The NIV translates this verse, “a man o...  Read More

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”(Prov. 18:21)                It’s amazing how something can be used to do so much good, and yet the very same thing can be used to do so much evil.  For instance, money can be used to feed the hungry or it can be used to purchase drugs and alcohol.  The internet can be used to do research on a school project,...  Read More

“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31)                 From any early age you probably learned that the four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – the first four books of the...  Read More

“And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’” (John 19:39)                Nothing has the power to take a person from cowardice to courage better than faith.  Just consider the example of Nicodemus.  We’re introduced to Nicodemus in John 3.  There we’re told that he was “a man of the Pharisees” and “a ruler of the Je...  Read More

“Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, ‘Behold the Man!’”(John 19:5)                The word “behold” is a transliteration of an old English word bihaldan – “bi” means “thoroughly” and “haldan” means “to hold.”  In other words, to behold something is to fix your attention on it for the purpose of thorough examination.  In his attempts to app...  Read More

“He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” (Prov. 18:13)                Have you ever noticed how we don’t like to be interrupted, but we don’t seem to mind interrupting others?  Why is that?  We all think that what we’ve got to say is of great value and deserving of a hearing.  For some reason, we don’t place as much value on what others have to say.  That being t...  Read More