This parable has three elements—the sower, the seed, and the soil. While the various kinds of soil have the starring role in this parable, the sower is indispensable. The parable begins with, “A sower went out to sow” (v. 3). We need more sowers in the kingdom of God. We have a lot of sitters, […]
Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah, was a godly king. He was able to rise above the bad example of his ungodly father, Ahaz, who had turned Judah to idolatry, and do what was pleasing to God. He began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he immediately reformed Judah, turning the kingdom […]
Every topic the Bible discusses is of great value. There are some matters, however, that the Bible refers to over and over again. To be sure, those are things to which we should pay close attention. One of those topics is brotherly love. The importance of brotherly love can be seen in what Paul wrote […]
No one denies that we are saved by grace. The Bible makes this abundantly clear. Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. It is […]
God has created us with the ability to remember, and He expects us to take advantage of this ability (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). There are many things that we should remember when it comes to the things of God, but the first thing we should remember is God Himself. It sounds strange to say this, especially […]
The moral compass of this world has been broken for a long time. It might be said that it was originally broken by Adam and Eve in the garden and never completely repaired. That is not to say that we are born sinners, but that once sin was in the world, it influenced everyone in […]
Some find it difficult to take responsibility for their actions. Instead, they blame others for their shortcomings. This is not a new development among mankind; it goes back to the Garden of Eden. Adam sinned and then tried to “pass the buck” to Eve. Genesis 3:11-12 (ESV) 11 He said, “Who told you that you […]
Every Christian should know of and be confident in the power of prayer. God’s people, including some of the most famous biblical characters, have always prayed to God sincerely and regularly. Great lessons for life can be gleaned by simply reading the many recorded prayers of Paul. James closes his epistle with some important points […]
In the practical epistle that is the book of James, James teaches us some important lessons about the future, the brevity of life, and the sovereignty of God. James 4:13–15 (ESV) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and […]
It is better to learn some things sooner rather than later. This is the case with the fact that we cannot tame our tongues. James 3:7–8 (ESV) 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can […]