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The Fire On The Altar Susannah Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, once said, "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or removes your desire for spiritual things - that is sin to you." Leviticus 6:12-13 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. According to the New Testament, true believers in Jesus Christ are referred to as priests. (See 1 Peter 2:9) As such we need to always keep the fire of devotion to the Lord burning on the altar of their hearts and not become lukewarm or cold. Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will s...

Have You Been With Jesus? Someone once posed a great question, which I will ask here: If you were tried in a court of law for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Court is now in session... Acts 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Stephen was a deacon of the church of Jerusalem. He was a man full of faith and wisdom (see Acts 6:3, 8). He was also a man full of the Holy Ghost. The word full  means "controlled by; influenced by." Stephen was a man who was led by the Holy Spirit. He was a Christian who had spent some time with the Lord Jesus Christ and let that time transform his life and daily walk. When he was faced with a false trial to persecute him, and confronted with the very real possibility of his own martyrdom, his faith shone forth. It was obvious to others that he had been with Jesus! His face was beaming with a spiritual glow, the glow of a soul on fire for t...

Diligently Seeking The Lord Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. The word for “ diligently seek ” means: to search out, i.e. (figuratively) investigate, crave, demand, (by Hebraism) worship.   Crave? Don’t you wish we all had the driving desire to be close to the Lord Jesus Christ, insomuch that we persevere and choose to do so, that we intensely yearn to diligently seek Him on a day to day basis; yeah, even on a moment by moment basis?   This pursuit is something I fail at so often, yet something I should always strive for! Oh, to be so close to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that nothing else matters - none of the trials or troubles we face, none of the glitter and pomp of this world, none of the prestige and honour the people of our society so desperately seek.    Oh to be like Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus an...

Continue When we look through the New Testament, we find the concept of continuing in Christ and the things of God a repeating theme. It is interesting to note that there are twenty one different Greek words that are translated into English as continue (or a form thereof). Eight of these words are relevant to this study, so I wanted to take a look at them here. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary gives this definition for continue : “1. To remain in a state, or place; to abide for any time indefinitely. 2. To last; to be durable; to endure; to be permanent. 3. To persevere; to be steadfast or constant in any course.” For the purpose of this study, I will list the numbers and definitions that Strong's Concordance gives for each Greek word, followed by the main verses or passages relevant to this study that use that particular Greek word. Consider each definition as you meditate on these passages. 1) 3887 parameno - from 3844 and 3306; to stay near, i.e. remain (literally, tarry; or figura...

To hear this sermon preached in 2023, click on the title below: Arise, And Come Away Song of Solomon 2:13b Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away. The Lord is calling His children away from the world to fellowship with Himself. In this Song by Solomon, Jesus (pictured by King Solomon) is the believers' Beloved , and we are His love . (This distinction is clearly used all throughout this song.) In His eyes we are fair - in fact, in Song of Solomon 4:7 He praise His bride in stating, Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee. All true believers (who have placed personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, believing and receiving the Gospel according to 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) have been washed in the precious blood of the Lamb (1 Peter 1:18-19 and Revelation 1:5) and credited and clothed with the righteousness of Christ (Romans 10:4); therefore in the Lord's eyes there is no spot in them. When our Heavenly Father looks at His children, He sees them through the rig...

When Life Doesn't Go As You Planned Joseph was born the eleventh son of a family of twelve brothers and one sister. He was the oldest child of his father Jacob's (Israel's) favourite wife, Rachel. His mother died giving birth to the youngest son in the family, Benjamin. Genesis 37:2-4 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. In the book of Genesis, we can see four major disappointments in Joseph's life - things that he did not plan on, but that had a major impact on his life and future plans...

I preached this sometime last week, but didn't write the date on my notes. I wanted to write up this message because I know at least one friend who could use the encouragement because of some trials he is facing for standing for what it right. I encourage you to read Nehemiah chapters four and six first, as that is the background of this devotion. Building Up The Walls In Our Lives Nehemiah 4:1-3 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. Nehemiah travelled back to Jerusalem and saw firsthand the sad state...

Numbers In The Bible Series: Day 16 - Paul's Final Exhortation To Timothy - Part Three The Preacher And His Graduation The Apostle Paul was a faithful preacher - he was a preacher that fulfilled this nine-fold charge of preaching the Word of God - and he exhorted Timothy and all other men of God to be likewise faithful to this charge. 1) Preach the Word - nothing else is as powerful and lifechanging! 2) be instant in season, out of season - be ready always! 3) reprove - confront and correct the sinner! 4) rebuke - restrain and check their sin! 5) exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine - be patient as you preach the Word! 6) watch thou in all things - be spiritually alert! 7) endure afflictions - be faithful in the midst of the trials and tests! 8) do the work of an evangelist - keep reaching out to the lost! 9) make full proof of thy ministry - fulfill God's will for your life! 2 Timothy was written near the very end of Paul's life, and contains his conclusion (...