Paul was not the victim of circumstances but victorious over circumstances. Instead of having spiritual ups and downs as the situation changed, he went right on, steadily serving Christ. He found contentment in things Christ provided. At times Paul experienced definite fi …
The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John is the setting for one of the great discourses of our Lord, “bread of life.†This discourse takes place in the synagogue at Capernaum. The people demanded that Jesus perform a greater sign than Moses (vv. 30-35). They must have felt that the feeding of …
Paul tells Titus that he must instruct the members with sound doctrine (v. 1). This is in contrast to the myths and man made prescriptions the false teachers were giving. Paul probably starts with the older men because they should set a godly example to the next generations.
It was the time of Pentecost, and Jews were present in Jerusalem from all over the world. Some Asian Jews saw Paul and his companions in the Temple area. In their mind Paul was a strong opponent of Judaism, the temple, the priesthood, and the law. They had heard him preach against …
Assurance (vv. 19-20) – No Christian should treat sin lightly, but neither should he be harder on himself than God is. An “accusing conscience” robs a believer of peace. We need to be careful or the devil will accuse us and rob us of our confidence ( Rev. 12:10). His vo …
In John 1:19-23, the religious leaders from Jerusalem asked John “Who are youâ€? In today’s passage, we see them asking another question, “Why are you baptizing?†It is evident that this investigation committee was very concerned about all the people John was baptizing (vv. 24-25)…
Some people must have thought that since God’s grace increases “all the more” when sin abounds, then believers ought to sin more so they could experience more grace (v. 1). Paul explains how …
Manasseh was the longest reigning king. He was 12 years old when he took over and he ruled for 55 years (v. 1). His father, Hezekiah was a great king who led his nation back to serving God. However, as soon as Manasseh got opportunity, he undid everything his father had done for the …
Some Bible scholars say there was an interval of two to four years between chapter one and this chapter. It appears that the king begins to wonder as to whether he had done the right thing in being so harsh with Vashti (v. 1). His attendants became afraid that the king would take out on them his …
This passage concerns an interesting event in Hezekiah’s life. This took place before the Assyrian invasion and it was front-line news. Imagine how the people of Judah must have reacted when they heard their king was “sick unto death” (v. 1) and at the same time …