Matthew 23:23-39

Undoubtedly God goes along with us as far as He can in this weak and one-sided treatment of the Holy Scriptures, but He cannot be pleased with this way of doing. Our Heavenly Father takes pleasure in seeing us develop and grow up spiritually. He does not want us to live entirely on a diet of sweet stuff. He gives us for our encouragement Isaiah 41, but He gives us also Matthew 23 and the book of Jude,...

. . . There are two questions before us. The first question is: How many of us are willing to hear the voice of God" Jesus said, Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were...

God is far more interested in how we treat other people than in how many religious ceremonies we go through. He prefers mercy to sacrifice. He places practical morality above ritual. It might seem strange to read that God doesn't desire sacrifice, because it was He who instituted the sacrificial system in the first place. But there is no contradiction. While it is true that He ordered the people to bring sacrifices and offerings, He never intended these to take the place of justice and...

It has been called the passing of religious opportunity. It means that people are favored with a marvelous visitation, a glorious opportunity, but they fail to seize it.

That is what happened to Jerusalem. The incarnate Son of God walked its dusty streets. Its ochre-tinted buildings looked down on the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The people heard His matchless words and saw Him perform miracles that no other man had ever performed. But they failed to appreciate Him. They...

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night. § He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge. § As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. § He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. § The darkness shall...