Buy The Truth

God’s Greatest Poem Please read this whole post so you don't misunderstand where I am going with this devotional. God gives each of us (mankind) one or more talents; talents we can squander on ourselves, for the world, or use for God's glory. If we come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, the Bible teaches the Holy Spirit also gives us spiritual gifts to be used to build up and strengthen our fellow believers. One talent I have had since I was a child was the ability to play with words and make a poem out of them. Granted, I do not consider most of the poetry written before I came to the Lord to be worth much in the eyes of eternity, nor when compared to the poems I have written since I have gotten saved. Now I use my spiritual gifts (exhortation and teaching) to make my natural talent better and to make a difference in the lives of those around me, especially to edify my brethren and remind them of the promises of God. Truly, my talent and gifts in this area would be nowhe...

A New Name Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Knoweth is ginosko - personal experience, personally knowing something. I don't know how in eternity we can have a name only we know, but if Jesus gives us a name based on our walks with Him or our victories in Him, then it is something only we can personally know. I can tell you Jesus gave me a name that meant such and such - but only I would personally know the true significance of it, only I would have personally experienced its meaning in my own life. 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. Good thing the...

The Song Of The Redeemed I like it when something in a passage gets explained and it opens up. I’m sure I knew some of this before (though this old brain gets forgetful), but it struck me more today. Rahab , when used as a symbol through the Old Testament, refers to Egypt. Now read this: Isaiah 51:9-10 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? God defeated Egypt and made it so His people - the redeemed - could pass over the Red Sea to go to the Promised Land/Jerusalem (well, what would one day be called Jerusalem/Mount Zion). Now read the next verse which most of us probably know as a song. Literally, it refers to the nation of Israel; spiritually it applies to all God's people being delivered from their old maste...

Thy Gentleness Hath Made Me Great Was just reading some poetry by king David, and came across one of my favourite verses again. Focus on the last part of this verse: Psalms 18:35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. In the world’s eyes, we may not be much or accomplish much, but in God’s eyes, we are great - because of Him. Who we are in Christ never changes from day to day, so we can always be confident as we walk with our Saviour and serve Him. Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Did you know the word for “workmanship” is the Greek word poiema , where we get our word “poem” from. True believers are God’s poem - and He will continue His work in us until He takes us home to glory. Like the Potter with the clay, even though our vessels were marred and scarred by sin, He keeps molding and ...

Thou Tellest My Wanderings Have you ever read a familiar passage and suddenly had a word or a phrase in it leap out in such a way that it affects you and catches your attention? That is what happened today with this verse: Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? I don’t know how many times through the years I have thought of or referenced that verse to others, focussing specifically on the second part of it - put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? And truly, knowing the Lord our God sees every tear we cry, makes a note of them, and puts them in a bottle, storing them up for us is a tremendous comfort. Often we see those same tears being used to comfort and strengthen someone else down the road who finds themselves going through that Vale of Tears, that Valley of Weeping spoken of in Psalm 84. Psalms 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. But today I ...

Does Jesus Care? Please read Exodus 14 for the context. Exodus 14:23-25 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud , and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. I was reading this chapter a couple of days ago and was curious what the definition of “looked” in verse 24 was. Strong’s defines it as: to lean out (of a window), i.e. (by implication) peep or gaze (passively, be a spectacle). The idea is the Lord leaned over and looked down to earth to see how the nation of Israel and the Egyptians were doing. The verse gives the picture of the Lord leaning through the pillar of fire an...

(To hear the audio of this sermon preached in church, please click on the title below) What Is Your Name? Proverbs 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? 1. God’s Names: A name in the Bible is who a person is, what they represent, basically their character. Every time God revealed a new name to His people, He was showing them more of what He could do in their lives. He was showing them who He was, and what He could do for His people, in them, and through them. One of my favourite passages in the New Testament is: Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is giv...

  Ordained And Predestined Acts 13:48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Webster's 1828 Dictionary  for  Ordain : 2. To appoint; to decree. As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. Acts 13. Webster's   1828 Dictionary  definition for  Decree :  6. In theology, predetermined purpose of God; the purpose or determination of an immutable Being, whose plan of operations is, like himself, unchangeable. Way of Life Encyclopedia  for  Predestination : God planned man's salvation before the creation (Ephesians 1:5,11). This does not mean God arbitrarily chooses who will be saved and who will not be. He has revealed that He wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9). God knows the future and knows who will receive His offer of salvation; predestination is based on God's foreknowledge and has more to do with...