The Bible commands us to love one another and to pray for one another. One of the means which the church I attend uses to encourage this is to have the congregation on Sunday evenings form little groups of four or five to share prayer requests, and then to pray together for several minutes. This … Continue reading
A famous hymn opens with the words, “What various hindrances we meet, in coming to the mercy seat.” Farther on the hymn gives some indication of why we find it so hard to pray: Restraining prayer, we cease to fight; Prayer makes the Christian armor bright. And Satan trembles when he sees The weakest saint … Continue reading
Today I want to emphasize Paul’s command to Timothy, where Paul said, “Keep on exercising yourself in godliness, pastor Timothy, because godliness holds promise both for this present life and for that which is to come” (4:7–8). The English word “godliness” represents a Greek word used to characterize someone who was very concerned to respect … Continue reading
Jesus once said, “In praying do not heap up empty phrases, as those do those who think they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). And yet in his parable of the widow and the unjust judge, Jesus clearly taught that we should keep on making the same request to God “day and … Continue reading
The angel said, “I bring you tidings of great joy … For to you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Christ, the Lord.” Christmas marks the day when God sent a Savior for me, so that I might have great joy forever. If Christmas merely marked the … Continue reading
I Was Just Thinking … Our daughter, wanted me to say something regarding the significance of the marriage vows, just before she and husband made them to each other during their ceremony. She had been greatly impressed by what C. S. Lewis said about marriage in his book Mere Christianity. So with his thoughts as … Continue reading