Discovering Truth - Verse of the Day

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ http://bible.com/114/luk.11.13.nkjv

Wisdom to Understand When Jesus uttered His words of comfort in the first few verses of the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, concluding with, “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14:4), Thomas said unto Him, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Jesus answered him with a statement which has in it the ring of eternity. It was sublimely simple and yet profoundly deep. Its surface meaning was clear to all, and yet the great theologians have never completely sounded its mighty depths. This is that statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  In one majestic sweep, these words silenced Thomas’ questioning tongue and brought reassurance and peace to the hearts of the other disciples. Within the marvel of that authoritative sentence from the lips of the Son of God, there was enough comfort to assuage the sufferings of the tormented, enough wisdom to satisfy th...

The Ability to Believe It is impossible to believe anything into existence. The Gospel did not come into being because men believed it. The tomb was not emptied of Christ’s body that first Easter because some faithful persons believed it. The fact preceded the faith. We are psychologically incapable of believing without an object of our faith. The object of Christian faith is Christ. Faith means more than an intellectual assent to the claims of Christ. You are not called upon to believe something that is not credible, but to believe in the fact of history that in reality transcends all history. Faith actually means surrender and commitment to the claims of Christ. We do not know Christ through the five physical senses, but we know Him through the sixth sense that God has given every man—the ability to believe. Daily Prayer As I keep my eyes on You, Lord, my faith does not waver. Too often I look down and stumble. Let me comprehend today afresh the power that raised You from the...

Transformed By Grace Augustine was one of the greatest theologians of all time. He was a wild, intemperate, immoral youth. In spite of his mother’s pleadings and prayers, he grew worse instead of better. But one day he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ that transformed his life. His restlessness and the practice of sin disappeared. He became one of the great saints of all time. John Newton was a slave trader on the west coast of Africa. One day in a storm at sea he met Jesus Christ. He went back to England and became an Anglican clergyman. He wrote scores of hymns, one of which has become the modern popular song, “Amazing Grace.” This is what Christ can do for anyone who puts his trust in Him. Daily Prayer Your amazing grace transformed even my unworthy life—I love You, Lord Jesus!

Don't Trust Your Heart. One of the ironies of human nature is that it often has a way of rejecting the best and accepting the worst. Why did the crowd ask for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus? The answer is in the biblical statement, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Jesus is just as divine today and just as much alive as He was on that first Good Friday. Yet millions today don’t accept Him. His goodness is still a rebuke to our badness; His purity still shows up our impurities; His sinlessness still reveals our sinfulness; and unless we allow Him to destroy the evil within us, the evil within us still wants to destroy Him. This is the conflict of the ages. Daily Prayer Lord Jesus, when I reflect upon the agony of Your death at Calvary, my heart is once again humbled at the magnitude of Your love for all mankind.

What Makes Christianity Different? Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world. Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again. Only the Christian faith claims that its Leader died and rose again and is alive at this moment. Many gravestones carry the inscription, “Here lies . . . ,” but on Christ’s tomb are emblazoned the words, “He is not here.” Christianity has no shrines to visit, no dusty remains to venerate, no tombs at which to worship. Many good men have lived, and still live, in the memory of those who knew them, but there is only one Man who conquered death—Jesus Christ—and He will live forever. Daily Prayer The account of Your resurrection never ceases to bring me joy, Lord Jesus

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:18‬ ‭ICB‬‬ http://bible.com/1359/psa.34.18.icb

Glory in the Cross What glory is there in the cross? It was an instrument of torture and shame. Why did Paul glory in it? He gloried in it because the most selfless act ever performed by men or angels took place upon it. He saw—emanating from that rough, unartistic beam upon which the Son of God had been crucified—the radiant hope of the world, the end of the believer’s bondage to sin, and the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of men. A lone man dying on a cross did more to restore man’s lost harmony with God, his fellowman, and himself, than the combined genius and power of earth’s mighty. With my finite limitations, I cannot fully comprehend the mystery of Christ’s atonement. I only know that all who come to the cross in simple, trusting faith lose all their guilty stains and find peace with God. Daily Prayer Like the Apostle Paul, Father, help me to glory in the cross of Jesus and more fully understand the tremendous meaning it has for me as a believer and for all who wo...

Endless Forgiveness Look at Christ’s death. In one biography of the great American, Daniel Webster, 863 pages deal with his career and just five pages are devoted to his death. In Hay’s life of Abraham Lincoln there are 5,000 pages but only 25 are devoted to the dramatic story of his assassination and death. In most biographies the deaths of the subjects are mere incidents at the close of the books. But when we come to the four “biographies” of Jesus, the four Gospels, we are confronted with a strange fact. One-third of Matthew is given to a description of the death of Christ. One-third of Mark, one-fourth of Luke, and one-half of John are given to His death. All these pages are devoted to the last 24 hours of His life. The death of Jesus Christ is a significant fact in human history, because Jesus Christ came for the express purpose of dying for sinners. When He left heaven, He knew He was going to the cross. Daily Prayer Lord Jesus, what agony You suffered for me upon the cro...

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭54‬:‭17‬ NIV)

Cleansed by Blood Blood is mentioned 460 times in the Bible. Fourteen times in the New Testament Jesus spoke of His own blood. Why? Because by the shedding of His blood, He accomplished the possibility of our salvation. He paid the penalty for our sin and redeemed us. The penalty for our sin and rebellion is death; Jesus stepped out and said, “I’ll take that death.” He voluntarily laid down His life and took the penalty we deserve. That’s what the cross is all about.  The blood of Jesus Christ not only redeems us, it justifies us. Being justified means more than being forgiven. I can say, “I forgive you,” but I can’t justify you. But God not only forgives the past, He clothes you in righteousness as though you had never committed a sin. Yet it cost the blood of His Son on the cross. Daily Prayer Lord Jesus, with a deeply grateful heart I thank You for Your sacrifice upon the cross. Your blood has cleansed my sin and made me worthy of forgiveness.

He is the Light Under the picture of Peter Milne, hanging in the church he founded on the little New Hebrides Island of Nguna, these words are found: “When he came, there was no light. When he died, there was no darkness.” When Christ came into the world, there was no light. Matthew (quoting Isaiah) said of Him, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up” (Matthew 4:16). Harry Lauder once said that during his boyhood, he could tell where the lamplighter was “by the trail of light he left behind him.” Christ was the heavenly Lamplighter. Everywhere He went, the midnight gloom of sin and despair disappeared before Him. Daily Prayer My heart and soul praise You, my risen Redeemer, for the light that pervades the deepest gloom and transforms our lives with Your love.

Let Your Light Shine The world’s difficulty is summed up in the words, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness understood it not.” The light of Easter is shining, but men refuse to turn to its healing rays for forgiveness, redemption, and salvation. Thus Christ is being rejected by the overwhelming majority of humanity today. As a result, men stumble on in spiritual darkness blindly toward destruction, judgment, and hell. In the midst of the darkness and “void” at the creation of the world, God said, “Let there be light.” In your own mind-darkened, will-paralyzed, conscience-dulled soul, God can make the light penetrate and turn the darkness of your own life into day, if you will let Him. Many of you are living in spiritual darkness, confused, frustrated, disturbed, and fearful. Let the Light come into your heart by faith. Daily Prayer At Easter time, as nature breaks through into glorious re-creation, I am reminded of the glory of Your resurrection! I praise You, ...

God's Endless Love Who can describe or measure the love of God? God is love. But the fact that God is love does not mean that everything is sweet, beautiful, and happy, and that God’s love could not possibly allow punishment for sin. God’s holiness demands that all sin be punished, but God’s love provided a plan of redemption and salvation for sinful man. God’s love provided the cross of Jesus Christ by which man can have forgiveness and cleansing. It was the love of God that sent Jesus Christ to the cross.  No matter what sin you have committed, no matter how black, dirty, shameful, or terrible it may be, God loves you. Yet this love of God that is immeasurable, unmistakable, and unending, this love of God that reaches to wherever a man is, can be entirely rejected. God will not force Himself upon anyone against his will. It is your part to believe. It is your part to receive. Nobody else can do it for you. Daily Prayer Your love overwhelms me, Father. In spite of my sin, ...

Jesus Never Changes The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die,” and to the average person this seems a stark and hopeless situation. Hundreds of philosophies and scores of religions have been invented to circumvent the Word of God. Modern philosophers and psychologists are still trying to make it appear that there is some way out other than the path of Jesus. But people have tried them all, and none of them leads anywhere but down. Christ came to give us the answers to the three enduring problems of sin, sorrow, and death. It is Jesus Christ, and He alone, who is also enduring and unchanging, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” All other things may change, but Christ remains unchangeable.  In the restless sea of human passions Christ stands steadfast and calm, ready to welcome all who will turn to Him and accept the blessings of safety and peace. For we are living in an age of grace, in which God promises that “whosoever will” may come and receive His Son. But...

A Pure Heart The Pharisees were not happy men. They had furrowed brows, nervous tension, frustration. They were full of resentments, bitterness, prejudices, and hatreds. Why? Simply because they had lost sight of God’s conception of the pure in heart. They thought that as long as they kept the letter of the law that was enough. But this was not God’s plan. This did not produce purity of heart. This did not bring about happiness of soul. Jesus taught that God looks deeper than the outside actions of an individual. He searches and ponders the heart. God judges not so much the outside as He does the inside. He looks to the motives, thoughts, and intents of your heart. Daily Prayer Father, give me purity of heart that in true humility I may serve and praise You