Have you ever thought about the time between the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus? He ascended near Bethany after forty days from His resurrection (Luke 24:50; Acts 1:3). These days were critical as Jesus made additional preparations for the apostles to take the Gospel forward (Luke 24:44-45). Another interesting thing Jesus provided were “infallible proofs.” The NKJV has “unmistakable” as an alternate term that was considered for “infallible” (Acts 1:3). Luke records several appearances of Jesus to various people under various circumstances between the resurrection and the ascension. Perhaps this was the period during which Jesus’ brothers were convinced and converted (Acts 1:14). Initially, His brothers did not believe Him (John 7:5), but James would go on to be a major leader in the church of Jerusalem. The apostles were shaken to the core by the crucifixion of Jesus. There were certainly feelings of regret that needed to be addressed, such as the denials of Peter (John 21:15f). There are other details that are not provided, but we can read of the apostles’ and disciples’ steadfast determination to proclaim the risen Christ and know of their unflinching resolve in the face of persecution and death. They were no longer afraid. Likewise, we, today, ought to demonstrate in our lives unflinching resolve, even, if necessary, in the face of persecution and death.

The Scriptures clearly teach that we are to be faithful disciples and to go out and make more disciples from among all people (Matthew 28:18-20). So, you may be wondering, “What can I do to enhance my service and be more dedicated as a disciple?” Below is a short list of things you can start doing today to grow closer to the Christ and to develop in your walk with Him. Spend Time in Prayer “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13 KJV). Before committing to the great work ahead of Him and choosing a dedicated group of followers, the Lord prayed to His Father in Heaven. Each of us should spend time talking to God in prayer (Luke 18:1). Ask God for opportunities to grow and to develop. Pray for the strength and patience to grow and to develop (Matthew 9:37-38). Pray for those who are leading and helping you. Rest assured, God does hear the prayers requesting wisdom and development (James 1:5). Spend Time Getting to Know Jesus “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:14, emphasis added). Notice in the text that Jesus desired a one-on-one relationship with His devoted followers to develop …

The idea that Heaven exists as a wonderful eternal home without pain, sickness, death or sorrow makes it the desire of all who believe in life after death. Everyone with any sense wants to go to Heaven, a place of happiness, especially since the only alternative is eternal torment and agony in Hell (Matthew 25:46). Heaven is a place of promise from God, but it is not an unconditional promise, meaning that everyone who has ever lived and died will go there. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36 NKJV).“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’” (Matthew 25:41-43). Our faith in Christ and obedience to the Gospel are essential to …

“When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation” (Proverbs 10:25 NKJV). Tornado season is upon the land and the hurricane season for the year now begins. The weather is very much a topic of talk among all people whether it be tempestuous or tranquil. However, there are storms of life that come that have nothing to do with the weather. Solomon addressed such a thought in Proverbs 10:25. Consider some thoughts about the storms of life. Storms Trouble All People The difficult times of life are not excluded from anyone. Job said long ago, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Jesus Himself stated, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34). Both the wise man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand faced the following: “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house” (Matthew 7:25, 27). Sin and its consequences brought the troubles all face. It is the righteous who know that their sustainer and protector is God. Storms Test the Quality of the Person One does not know how strong he is until the tests of life come. Solomon also wrote, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10). …

I know that this may be in the running for the weirdest article title ever, but I think it’s a question worth asking. For years, I have heard people speculate about how the apostle Paul would have taken advantage of air travel, the internet or even a cell phone, but perhaps it’s appropriate to also ask how he, the mission-minded apostle, would have used social media. I would imagine this already has gotten a strong reaction in the minds of some who have avowed to not be on social media or who think such speculations are wasteful, but given how much we know about Paul from Acts and his letters, maybe we can answer this to some extent. Given the length of many of Paul’s letters, we know he would have lots to say, though given the limited nature of posting on most platforms, he might have to keep his thoughts a bit briefer than he did in Romans or 1 Corinthians. Yet, beyond that, I think there are some things we can know for sure that Paul would have done if he had been able to use social media. I don’t believe Paul would have used social media to promote himself (Romans 12:3). He would have used it to share the Gospel (Romans 1:16). While this would not have been the only means he would have used to share the truth about Jesus, we know Paul learned how to be all things to all people so that he could …

We live in an age where it seems that we never have enough time to do all we desire or need to do. With such a demand on our time, it is a great temptation sometimes to put the Lord and His church behind other things. We need to ever keep God’s Word as our guide and to be willing to obey it. What does the Bible say about the placement of Christ and His church in our busy schedules? Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV). Note the first part of the above verse, “But seek first…” We all know what this means, but do we always obey it? When we have a requirement placed upon us, as Jesus did here, it is imperative that we fulfill that requirement. If we intently place the church second, third, fourth or any position other than first, we sin. What does sin do in our lives? One of God’s prophets pointed out the terrible condition of one who had willfully sinned. He stated, “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). The prophet said these people were separated from God by their iniquities. The word “iniquities” means sin, corruption, …

Have you ever heard of anyone trying to train a computer to do something or even to teach one a new fact? Even if you know practically nothing about computers, you will surely recognize that this is an improper use of words. You do not train or teach a computer. One must program it. If you give it the wrong input, you get the wrong output. “Garbage in—garbage out” is often expressed. However, this article is not about computers but about the conscience. All my life I have heard, and most of my life have taught, that “the conscience is a creature of training,” and “the conscience is not a safe guide unless it is trained right.” What I meant is true, but I am convinced that what I (and thousands of other Gospel preachers) said is not true. I do not know how much difference it makes, but I am also convinced that it is always better to be right than wrong, even on insignificant matters. So, I wrote this article for your consideration. My thesis in this article is that the conscience is not a “creature of training,” for the idea in “training” is that the thing trained can learn to do something that it could not otherwise do. I trained my fingers to type. Now they can do what they could not do before. An ax may function to cut down a tree. I can sharpen or dull it and make it do a worse or better job, but I cannot train it to shoot a deer! I am confident that the conscience cannot be trained to …

In 1 Kings 19, Jezebel was angry and promised to kill Elijah after hearing what he did to the prophets of Baal. Upon hearing the threats against himself, Elijah arose and ran for his life. In 1 Kings 19:4, we see that “…he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’” (NKJV). In this verse, we hear the words of a faithful servant of God who was struggling. God saw His servant, and in verses 5-8, we see God refreshed him before sending him on his way. After traveling many days, his struggles are more clearly defined in verses 10 and 14, where he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:14). Elijah acknowledged his zeal and work for the Lord but also highlighted how Israel has rejected God and His servants. Elijah felt alone and scared. I imagine he was also extremely tired, but once again God was there to set Elijah on the right path and to remind him that he was not alone. Have you ever felt like you were the only one who was trying …

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV). Man is meant to work. It is part of his purpose and meaning in life. From the time God placed him in the garden, He appointed man the task of laboring, though the circumstances were certainly different in the beginning than they are after man’s fall. As Moses wrote, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Even after man’s fall, God said, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Yet, either before or after the fall, the need to have purpose and the fulfillment of that purpose through good, old-fashioned work was hardwired into man. In our generation, we talk a lot with heated fervor for this very reason about the millions of jobless Americans, unemployment rates and jobless claims. When man is true to himself and the godly purposes given him, he will work and find meaning in an honest day’s wage. He will be a producer, a thinker and a laborer. He will perceive the work of his hands as meaning and purpose laden to the point of defining, in part, who he is. For this reason, the sluggard is like “As …

Imagine you’re walking in the woods. You come to an area where there is a steep descent, and you begin to look around for a way down. You notice a couple options, but one stands out in particular: a set of stairs, complete with a handrail. The woods are full of natural trails, but this is not one of them. Someone made this trail, or at least this part of it; someone designed this for ease of access. Where there is design, there must be a designer. The world in which we live is full of design: the water cycle, the seasons, the food chain and our bodies, to name a few. Our planet, itself, exhibits a number of designs, like its average distance from the sun, its tilt on its axis and the composition of its atmosphere. Design demands a designer, and the evidence is overwhelming that our world is no accident, but instead, it is the result of an Intelligent Designer. Personally, I have no choice but to conclude that, “In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1). [Editor’s Note: Everything that man did not make owes its origin to a supernatural Designer and Creator. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they [men and women] are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 NKJV). ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]

Question: Would you please furnish specific Bible texts for each of the other nine commandments? Answer: A few weeks ago in an article I mentioned that nine of the original Ten Commandments were mentioned in the New Testament, but the fourth commandment, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,” was not in the New Testament. The reader evidently recognizes the absence of the sabbath commandment in the New Testament and wonders if any of the other nine are absent. The answer is, “No.” Here are nine of the Ten Commandments in the New Testament. These Old Testament laws brought into the New Testament are not all word for word, but the clear teaching of them is there. 1. No Other God: Exodus 20:3 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (NKJV). 2. No Graven Images: Exodus 20:4 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 3. Do Not Take Lord’s Name in Vain: Exodus 20:7 Matthew 6:9, “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt word …

In speaking of the cessation of miraculous gifts, we must necessarily speak of the completion of Scripture. Once Scripture had been completely given and confirmed, the need for miracles no longer existed. This is what Paul affirmed in 1 Corinthians 13:10; “but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away” (NASB). The NKJV translates this verse, “that which is perfect,” clearly revealing the perfect being referred to is not a person but a thing. The term perfect in the original Greek is an adjective, standing in the place of a noun. Like nouns, adjectives have gender, number and case. When an adjective is standing in place of a noun, it must agree with the noun it represents in gender, number and case. Understanding this is important if we are to understand to what Paul referred by this term. The word “perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 is neuter, which precludes it standing for Christ, a masculine noun. Some would have us believe that since Christ is the only perfect person, miracles are still an ongoing experience in the church because Christ hasn’t returned. However, as we have seen, making this passage refer to Christ is grammatically impossible. Again, the translation “that which” lets us know Paul referred to something, not someone. The root word for “perfect” in the Greek originally meant “the turning point, hinge, the culminating point at which one stage ends and another begins.” The term “perfect,” then, doesn’t refer to sinlessness but of achieving a goal, …