One of the most difficult things for most of us to do is to forgive some wrong, whether real or imagined, committed against us. In my reading, I discovered a “formula for forgiveness” that I have found very helpful. It is taken from Paul’s great statement in Philippians 3:12-14. The first thing I need to do is recognize my own vulnerability to sin. Paul said it this way, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected…” (Philippians 3:12). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave His followers a model of prayer in which He taught them to ask God to, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:11-12). Since I believe God inspired every word of Scripture, it seems significant that Jesus would use the word “and,” a coordinating conjunction, between asking for “daily bread” and asking for forgiveness. It seems He may have seen these two needs as occurring with roughly the same frequency. Immediately after giving the model prayer, the Lord went on to state, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). Clearly, our Lord saw each of us would violate (sin against) the will of God and need to be cleansed. That the apostle Paul recognized the truthfulness of this within his own life is clear from his …

In A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen repeated a story they had found in The Sower’s Seeds. Thomas Edison’s laboratory was virtually destroyed by fire in December, 1914. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison’s life’s work went up in spectacular flames that December night. At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24-year-old son, Charles, frantically searched for his father among the smoke and debris. He finally found him, calmly watching the scene, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind. “My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “He was 67 – no longer a young man, and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, “Charles, where’s your mother?” When I told him I didn’t know, he said, “Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.” The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph. I must confess, the more I read about Thomas Edison, the more I am impressed with the attitude he had. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same attitude. Many people are being held back by faulty thinking. Thankfully, for …

Most parents anxiously watch, with baby book in hand, to see that their children do everything on time. When should a child first roll over, crawl, take his first steps and speak his first word? At what point should he go on to eat cereal, mashed vegetables and meat? The list is endless. If a child achieves any of these a few days early, parents rejoice and brag. If a few days late, they make a speedy appointment with the doctor. The writer of Hebrews gave a brief description of the way young Christians ought to develop. He saw the full-grown Christian as one who could teach others God’s Truth. He said it began with going from drinking milk, representative of the simpler parts of the Truth, to feeding on the meat of God’s Word, or the more complex teachings. Of course, the Hebrew brethren had failed to go on to meat eating and were unprepared to teach! “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (5:12). Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who would “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” He said they would be filled (Matthew 5:6). During the temptations in the wilderness, the Lord told Satan, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). Feeding …

In many areas of life, children teach through their simple examples. An author, unknown to me, wrote the story of her little girl who showed the love of a true friend. One day my young daughter was late coming home from school. I was both annoyed and worried. When she came through the door, I demanded in my upset tone that she explain why she was late. She said, “Mommy, I was walking home with Katy and halfway home, Katy dropped her doll and it broke into lots of pieces.” “Oh Honey,” I replied, “You were late because you helped Katy pick up the pieces of her doll to put them back together?” In her young and innocent voice, my daughter said, “No, Mommy, I didn’t know how to fix the doll. I just stayed to help Katy cry.” I believe her actions demonstrate precisely the type of love Jesus commanded His disciples to have for one another. Immediately after they left the place where Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He explained that He would soon be glorified and go to a place they could not come. So, He told them, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:31-35). Peter, who was present to hear the Lord’s words, later wrote, “And above all things have fervent …

The story is told of a Texas rancher who bought ten adjoining ranches and tied them together to form one giant spread. A friend asked him the name of his new mega-ranch. The rancher had wanted to keep part of each of the ten names of the ranches he had acquired as a reminder to everyone of the clout he had shown through his purchase. So he named his new ranch enterprise The Circle Q – Rambling Brook -Lazy H – Double Fork – Sleepy T – Triple O – Bent Arrow – Flying J – Rocking K – Crooked Creek Ranch. His friend, notably impressed, said, “Wow! I bet you have a lot of cattle!” “Not really,” explained the rancher. “Not that many survive the branding” (copied from a church bulletin). Unfortunately, like the farmer in this story, our society seems to have made the advancement and glorification of self its primary goal. The men and women who are set forth as role models are the ones who have “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps.” In such a climate, a servant is someone who works for you, not a role to be desired. Our Lord saw things in a wholly different light, as can be seen in an incident recorded in John 13. Jesus knew who He was, from whence He came and where He was going (verse 3). Despite the fact that He knew He was God, our Savior could aptly be described as the ever-loving servant. John …

My good friend John Klimko does a lot of counseling. He has observed that a number of the troubled people he sees have similar problems. Many of them have begun to think that they can resolve any problem without the assistance of the Almighty. Too, they have concluded the Bible is out of date, which has led them to regard its teachings as nothing more than archaic nonsense. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible contains insight into the mind and heart of the Creator. While man may have to adjust his thinking as new discoveries are made, God knows His creation. Further, God, who loved man enough to send His own Son to die for him, has “given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). So, Solomon said, “A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (Proverbs 1:5). He also wrote, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:9). The importance of knowing and obeying God’s will is vividly portrayed in Abraham’s conversation with the rich man in Luke 16. After realizing there was nothing that could be done to ease his own torment, the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent back to earth to warn his five brothers lest they join him in torment. Abraham told him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let …

A good friend of mine once told me of an experience that changed his life. It seems he had played an important role in organizing an annual youth rally. Each year, the rally continued to grow in attendance. Then, one year he got so wrapped up in the details that he forgot to pray. The day of the youth rally arrived and the crowds were far below expectations. His first instinct was to blame God, but then he remembered he had not included Him in the plans. He immediately went into a room alone, got down on his knees and asked God to forgive him. He then asked God to bring about whatever good possible within the group assembled. My friend told me that was the best youth rally of all. The young people seemed to get deeper into the studies conducted and numbers of them responded to the Lord’s invitation. He said from then on he tried to always begin planning by going to God in prayer! The lesson learned from that youth rally is one I need to remember every day of my life. It is important for me to take time to pray. Yet, as I hurry from place to place trying to fulfill all of my commitments, there just does not seem to be a convenient time to pray. Daniel’s solution was to set aside three specific times each day for prayer. In fact, so dedicated was Daniel to that routine that his enemies tried to …

Sin Stands between Man and God A careful reading of Genesis 3 leaves one with the distinct impression that man and woman, prior to violating God’s will, were able to walk with God. Apparently, God came during the cool of the evening to walk with man in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, sin spoiled that relationship. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden, and that close fellowship with God was lost. However, God longed for man to once again be in a close relationship with Him. In fact, even before forming the world, God formulated a plan for restoring lost mankind in case he should fall into the snare of sin (Ephesians 1:7-11; 3:8-13). To achieve His purpose, the Almighty had to find a way to rid man of sin, since it is sin that separates between man and God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Every man or woman, who has reached an age where he or she can discern right from wrong, must admit his or her guilt for sin (Romans 3:10, 23). Sin’s paycheck is eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). Life Is in Christ’s Blood Medical science has caused us to realize the life of our physical bodies is in the blood. Of course, God …

Perhaps the most impressive prophecies concerning the Messiah are those specifically involving His death, burial and resurrection. Many of these are quite detailed, yet Jesus’ life fully fulfilled them! His triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on the foal of a donkey was foretold in Zechariah 9:9 and fulfilled in Matthew 21:17. That one of His own disciples would betray Him was foretold in the Psalms (41:9; 55:12-14) and clearly fulfilled by the actions of Judas (John 13:18-30). Additionally, the prophet named the price which would be paid for Jesus and the ultimate use of that price (Zechariah 11:12-13; Note: Jeremiah was sometimes used to describe his work along with the others that followed). Not only did Judas receive the correct amount, but he also threw it down in the Temple, and the Jewish leaders used it to purchase a potter’s field in which the poor could be buried (Matthew 26:14-15; 27:3-10). Zechariah also knew Christ would be forsaken by His disciples (13:7), which, unfortunately, they did (Matthew 26:31, 55-56). God also knew, and foretold well in advance, that His Anointed would be accused by false witnesses (Psalm 27:12; 35:11). The chief priests and elders examined many false witnesses looking for a basis on which to accuse God’s Son (Matthew 26:57-62; Mark 14:55-61). Further, there can be no doubt that the trials Jesus went through were a complete mockery of justice. The Jewish trial alone violated many of the specific rules for trials among the Jews, such as not being conducted …

A simple study of Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy will lead one to a deeper faith in the Bible. The passages discussed below are by no means exhaustive. The Birth of the Christ Prophetic accounts of the birth of the Christ are so detailed as to leave no doubt God was behind the writing. In Genesis 3, God told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel” (verse 15). A partial explanation of how this could be is found in the writings of the prophet Isaiah. He wrote, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14). A child born of a virgin would be uniquely the seed of woman. As the angel of the Lord told Joseph, Jesus was that child. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18-25). God also told man that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). The hand of God was obviously involved in Jesus being born in that prophesied city. Mary and Joseph were residents of the city of Nazareth, but Caesar Augustus decreed that all the world should be registered. Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem “because he was of the …

The Word Was God Today, someone’s son is simply his male descendant or one he has adopted to fill that role. However, Jesus was called the Son of God for another reason. To be sure, He was God’s Son by birth (Luke 1:34-35), but the title “Son of God” most often refers to Jesus being of the same nature as God. When Jesus called God His Father, the Jews understood that He was claiming to be God (John 5:17-24). John, in his account of the life of Christ, told us Jesus was God come down to earth. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). John said that the Word was with God at the beginning and was God. That all things were made by Him is proof that He is God, since God was the Creator (Genesis 1:1; cf. Colossians 1:16-17). This Word, that was God, John plainly showed to be Jesus (John 1:14). Jesus’ Deity Was Confirmed by the Father On two separate occasions, the Father testified to Jesus’ Sonship. After Jesus’ baptism, “a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” On the mount of transfiguration, after Peter suggested making tabernacles for Moses, Elijah and Jesus, “a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came …

Paul told Timothy to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This verse clearly points out our need to study. Study will help us know what to do to be approved of God through obedience to his will. Paul’s words to the young preacher also let us know there is a right and a wrong way to divide Scripture. We must carefully study the truth so that we may rightly divide its teachings and be acceptable in God’s sight. Before the World Was Formed God planned His creation before He began to create. His plan included the free moral agency of man, which meant that man could sin and fall away from God. Thus, God prepared for the eventuality of man’s fall before He framed the world. In speaking of our redemption by the precious blood of the Savior, Peter wrote, “Who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-20). Paul agreed with Peter and said God chose for the saved to be in Christ all along, but did not send Him until the time was right. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should …