“But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod. Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe [“coat,” KJV] and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice” (1 Samuel 2:18-19 NKJV). Looking closely at this passage, we see several important things. Primarily, we see Samuel serving the Lord in the Temple at a very young age. Other passages about the life of Samuel tell us how Hannah prayed earnestly for him and vowed to give him back to the Lord if He would grant her a son. Samuel’s birth, training and life were the direct results of Hannah’s love for God and her faithfulness to that vow made several years before. Not only do we see Hannah’s love in training her son for that purpose, but we also see a further demonstration of a mother’s love in her yearly gift of a coat when she came to offer sacrifices with her husband at the feast. Samuel wore an ephod, as did the priests with Ahimilech (1 Samuel 22:18). There is no question that the ephod was at least closely associated with the priesthood. Apparently, it was not limited to the high priest. Later in Samuel’s life, he was a judge, a seer and a prophet but not a priest at that age. However, as a descendant of Levi through Kohath (1 Chronicles 6:38), the same tribe from which Aaron descended, Samuel was a …

Some fail to realize that God is aware of our thoughts and intents (1 Corinthians 4:5). That can be a very sobering reality! How many times have we done something that we wish we had not, but no one noticed? God, however, notices (Luke 12:2)! This should be a paralyzing thought for the one who has little regard for God and His standards (2 Corinthians 5:10). Christians, though, are to be sensitive to what God witnesses from our hands, mouths and minds. A heart that is sensitive toward God will be one that seeks to please Him and seek forgiveness when he or she fails. While one could be paralyzed in fear upon realizing the omniscience of God, he or she should also find great comfort, because God not only takes note of our missteps, but He also knows of the love and devotion in our hearts toward Him (Psalm 145:20). The ultimate  – the only – relationship safe in the eyes of God is in Jesus (1 John 1:3). Remember, God loved you enough to send Jesus for your forgiveness (Romans 5:8). The need for forgiveness is due to our sins (Romans 3:10, 23; Ephesians 1:7). God loves us, and we should reciprocate that love (1 John 4:19). All the good that we attempt to do may not be seen by men, but God will take notice of that, too (Ecclesiastes 12:14). We serve an awesome God (Daniel 9:4).

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw” (Revelation 1:1-2 NKJV). The beginning of Revelation is awe-inspiring. The vision of the Lord in 1:12-16 is even more so. It was so powerful that John fell down as if he were dead (Revelation 1:17-18; cf., Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 1:29; Daniel 8:17, 27; 10:8-10). Jesus does not want His followers to fear Him but to be comforted by His presence. Jesus was there in the beginning of the world, and He will be there in the end (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12). He had to die on the cross, but now Jesus is alive and able to give life to those who come to Him. He conquered death and opened up the way from the place of disembodied souls (Hades) so that Christians need not fear the end of life on this earth. The Lord was walking among the churches (lampstands) and held the angels (stars) in His hand. Each letter that follows is addressed to the angel of the church, with all who receive the message being given directions to act upon the things they heard. The angel, then, is God’s messenger for the particular church addressed (Revelation 2-3). Faithful Christians are awestruck by the greatness …

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20 NKJV). While wisdom involves a great many correct choices, there is one particular aspect of wisdom that is addressed here. It is the choice of close influences. The child of God is warned, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). How important was it for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon,  to surround himself with the right kind of people? How important is it that the President of the United States have advisors who are wise as the Bible defines wisdom? What about the influences affecting young people of today? One should give close attention to the inspired proverb that Solomon gave because its practical information is timeless. Consider three particulars concerning surrounding oneself with the right kind of people. Identification of Who Is and Is Not Wise It should be obvious from a brief reading of Proverbs 13:20 that not everyone is wise. The latter part of the proverb speaks of destruction, which Proverbs repeatedly addresses. These proverbs are “to give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:4). Note a passage that shows the distinctiveness of a wise person. “A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (Proverbs 1:5). Paul told the young man Timothy where wisdom is found when he wrote, “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, …

Blood plays some role in the system of belief for most religions of the world, as it did also in the Old Testament Jewish religion. Christianity, however, is the only religion which observes that God Himself became a man and shed His own blood for the ransom of humanity. The eternal Word, Who was with God from the beginning and was God, put on flesh and blood. We know Him best as Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who shed His blood for us to wash us from our sins (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6-8; Acts 20:28). Sin is the biggest human problem! “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” says Romans 3:23 (NKJV). Further, Isaiah 59:2 reads, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” Almost all people everywhere on earth realize the presence of sin in their lives. This is evident from the many different religions that exist on earth. People everywhere worship God, though in several different ways, just as we read in Acts 17:23-31. Why do people worship, make all kinds of offerings, as well as follow various religious rituals and traditions? There is only one purpose, and that is, they all want to go to Heaven to be with God. They are all trying to please or to appease God, often by offering Him silver, gold and money or by making difficult journeys to presumed …

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:2-3 NKJV). Babies hunger for milk. While I would prefer a steak dinner, babies need and want simple, easy to swallow and easy to digest food. That is just as it should be. Similarly, it is common to see a new Christian with a fervor to learn more Scripture, to attend every service to learn more and to find other avenues to learn the way of a disciple. Little children have a passion for learning. They drink in information about the world around them, about people and about new ideas. We see it in their curiosity, their play, their talk and their questions (especially the pervasive “Why?”). Perhaps this is one of the ways for which Jesus exhorted us to become like little children (Matthew 18:3). Granted, one should not remain a child forever. Just as we graduate to solid foods, in spiritual terms, we need to graduate to greater things. A lack of growth in our spiritual learning is a sign of worldliness and not spiritual maturity. “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For …

At its core, evangelism is making known the good news of Jesus Christ to a dying world. Evangelism refers to the verbal and visible declaration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of mankind, done with the intent of leading people to salvation. The intent in evangelism is a very important part of its definition. Paul said he declared the Gospel and the Corinthians received it (1 Corinthians 15:1). Simply stated, the Gospel is not evangelism because evangelism is more than information. The information is delivered for a purpose. In evangelism, we are commissioned not only to go tell people the Gospel, but are to do it with the intent of winning the lost to the Savior. For example, Paul told the people in Athens that God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30-31). Our task as Christians is to make God’s plan of salvation and His expectations known. Jesus said, “…I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 NKJV). I don’t know of any fisherman who says, “Oh well; if the fish bite, fine, but if they don’t, that’s okay, too. I’m not going to bother baiting my hook or making sure I have a strong line. It’s no big deal either way.” No one fishes that way. A fisherman goes fishing to catch something. Evangelism has to do with presenting the Gospel – the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins (1Corinthians 15:1-4). There are pragmatic questions …

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them” (Mark 2:1-2 NKJV). In Luke’s account of this event, we are told that both Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses were present in this home to hear Jesus speak. They were curious about what they had heard about Him and wanted to hear Jesus for themselves. How did Jesus approach such a gathering of both the religious elite and the average people of His day and time? He spoke the Word to them, because no matter the difference in these groups, whether viewed as common or special, wealthy or poor, educated or not, they had a mutual need that only the Word of God could resolve. This is an important issue for our day and age. Some would tell us we need a different message to fit the various groups to whom we reach out. Certain teachings, we’re told, should be altered or abandoned, and other philosophies ought to be incorporated to reach the times in which we live, as well as the sensibilities of the modern world. The message of the Gospel needs revision to be relevant for today. Like the false teachers among the Galatian Christians in the first century, there are those wanting a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). Isn’t such a view, …

Do you want to be a part of the Lord’s church or apart from it? There seems to be an increasing number of those connected with it in some fashion who would like to have all the blessings connected with being a part of the church, yet who by their language and actions indicate that they would rather be apart from it. It is one thing to call attention to the shortcomings and failures of those who are or claim to be members of the Lord’s church, and it is another thing to ridicule the Lord’s church. If one determines what is the Lord’s church or even determines who is a Christian simply in terms of how well it or he functions in all respects, there is no church or Christian on earth today, and in fact, there never was. I have been in a class where the teacher pointed out what the Lord’s church was doing in Jerusalem. For example, Acts 2:46-47 reads, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people…” (NKJV). The teacher made the point that they taught daily from house to house and did various other things that we apparently were not doing. His conclusion was that this thing of which we are members is not the Lord’s church. He could have just as easily pointed to verses 44-45 where …

Much of the religious world today views the role of the prophet as a fortune teller. However, in biblical times, the prophet was more of a preacher who spoke to his own times with an occasional message for the distant future. In our English Bibles, there are what we refer to as five major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel). Then, there are twelve books we call the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). The words “major” and “minor” have nothing to do with these books’ importance, but they indicate the length of the books. The twelve books we call the minor prophets are significantly shorter in length than those called the major prophets. Nevertheless, there are still major lessons in the twelve smaller prophetic books. Since these books are tucked near the end of our Old Testament, it might be easy for us to overlook them, but we must be sure that we do not ignore them. If we do not dig into these books, we will fail to reap the rich treasure that is stored within their pages. Every one of the minor prophet books is named after the prophet who carried the message recorded in the book. Still, we should not think of these books as autobiographical in any sense. There is relatively little information given about the men who served as prophets because their primary task was to give the people a message from God (cf., Jonah 3:2). In this article, I want to cover a …