2 Corinthians 5:11-21

About the intimate workings of the Holy Spirit in the human heart there is a highly personal relationship in which no third person can share. The sacred work of redemption was wrought in darkness. No strange eye could see what was taking place when the sins of the world entered the holy soul of Christ that He might die under their weight and thus make "his life a guilt offering" (Isaiah 53:10; 2...

Neither the word adoration nor any of its forms is found in our familiar King James Bible, but the idea is there in full bloom. The great Bible saints were, above all, enraptured lovers of God. The psalms celebrate the love which David (and a few others) felt for the person of God. As suggested above, Paul admitted that the love of God was in his breast a kind of madness: "For whether we be beside ourselves, it is of God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ...

Excerpted from The Divine Conqest

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. (1Ths. 1:5)

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Revelation 3:1)

To one who...

A great preacher whom I heard a few years ago said that the word "renew" in Isaiah 40:31 really meant "exchange"; so the text should read, "They that wait upon the Lord shall exchange their strength." Oddly enough I do not now remember how he developed his sermon or just how he applied the text, but I have been thinking lately that the man had hit upon a very important idea; namely, that a large part of Christian experience consists of...

For Reading and Meditation:     Philippians 3:1-14

We spend one more day setting the stage before lifting the curtains on this most important subject of the nature and character of God. It must not be assumed from what has been said over the past couple of days that the study of Scripture and contemplation of the principles which God has built into His Word are...

For Reading and Meditation:     1 John 2:28-3:11

Peacemaking is a positive attitude that produces good spiritual and mental health, and the one who has this attitude, according to Jesus, is to be envied and congratulated. The promise of the seventh Beatitude is that peacemakers "will be called sons of God". Why called? Because they are sons of God. This is their...

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Now that we have looked at the aspects of our faith which make it unique among all world religions, we must face some other important issues before finally drawing to a close. Being Christians does not mean we therefore have to believe that all other religions are completely wrong. As C. S. Lewis pointed out:...

For Reading and Meditation:     Romans 3:21-31

Herbert Spencer, whom we quoted earlier, wrote: "The task of religion is at-one-ment: atonement. If it fails to do this it fails at the vital point." Its ritual may be beautiful, its sanctions may be ancient, its precepts may be good, but if it fails to bring men and women into correspondence with God it fails vitally...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 8:31-47

Jesus publicly made the challenge: " Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" Here we are face to face with a kind of person who had not been seen since Adam in his pre-fallen condition - a man without sin. The disciples had shared every kind of experience with Him that mortals can share, had seen Him at all hours of day...

Is there any thing but love between God and your souls? There ought not to be. God hates nothing but sin. He is offended with nothing but sin. This we profess to hate and forsake. We were once enemies, but Jesus died to reconcile us to God.

We are now professedly friends, but do we act towards God, and speak of God, as though we were His friends? Are we offended at any thing in God, or at any thing done by God? Why should we be? His nature is love. His ways are all infinitely wise. His...