Galatians 1:1-12

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 27:32-44

What humiliation and shame our Lord endured for us on the cross of Calvary. Cicero, a Roman philosopher, said of crucifixion: "Far be the very name of a cross not only from the bodies of Roman citizens, but from their imaginations, eyes and ears." But He, our Lord, though sinless, was crucified on a cross. Although...

For Reading and Meditation:     Romans 5:6-21

An ancient theologian - St. Augustine - suggested that "the answer to the mystery of the universe is God and the answer to the mystery of God is Christ." If this is so then I would like to make a further suggestion: the answer to the mystery of Christ is to be found in His sacrificial spirit, the supreme evidence of...

THE whole world lieth in the wicked one, as the devoted child in the arms of Moloch; or as the putrid corpse in the grave, over which is written, "HERE LIETH." We were once dead in sin, and buried in corruption, but Jesus Christ interfered for us. "He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from the present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." The world is evil, therefore we are delivered from it. Jesus died to deliver us from its spirit, by which we are...

By these words our Lord indicates that we cannot at the same time seek man's approbation and the approval of God. He also affirms that once we embark on a quest for human accreditation, we have dealt a body-blow to the life of faith.

In similar vein the Apostle Paul expresses the moral inconsistency between coveting man's praise and God's: "…for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10 b).

Let me...

Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. §  I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you. § With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb...