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“Now, when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught…And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”—Luke 5:4, 11
This little Scripture that I read today is a splendid example of revealing truth by contrast. These men had been fishers all their lives. They has been trying to win in a big way ever since they started business. To get enough fish and sell them so they would have enough money for the rest of their lives was a dream. …
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“Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it...supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey.” —Luke 2:43–44
This is a precious portion of Scripture, if for no other reason than that it furnishes the only bit of authentic information concerning the life of Jesus from his infancy to the beginning of His ministry. Sometimes we refer to “the eighteen silent years” of His life, but as a matter of fact, apart from the record of this one event, there are thirty silent years.
Probably all of us have been more …
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“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
“For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
“And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
“I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity …
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“So they cast him out of the vineyard.” —Luke 20:15
I suppose that the time has come when most men refuse to say there is no God. Men have gotten far enough in science to know that there is a God. They realize that there is an intelligence running the world, although they do not want to admit that intelligence is the God of the Bible.
Now if there is a God, then it is surely true of that God that He is able to enlighten that which He creates. Certainly the sun that brings forth the lily in your …
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As the youngest child in our family, it was customary for me to read the Christmas story in our home before we opened our gifts. As you might guess, I probably had my mind on the presents under the tree rather than on the words I was reading. Even so, I often was puzzled by the promise of the angel, “Peace on Earth.” Even back then I knew that there was little peace in the world.
I’m sure you know the story. The shepherds are tending their flocks on the outskirts of Bethlehem at night. They are startled when suddenly …
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Let us look at the 29th verse of the 24th chapter of Luke. This is just one verse out of what, to me, is one of the most wonderful eye-opening stories in the Word of God, “But they constrained him, saying, Abide within us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.”
This one that they asked in, of course we know was Jesus, but those who asked Him in did not know it. Jesus had been crucified, and buried, and the hearts of the disciples were very sad—more …
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In the sixth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, beginning with the sixth verse, we read,
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: …
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The first Christmas carol was sung by angels.
Before the heavenly choir arrived, a single angel of the Lord appeared in the sky and hovered above a group of frightened shepherds who were guarding their flocks in the cool night air. However, it was not just the angel that surprised the shepherds—suddenly midnight was turned into midday. “The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” (Luke 2:9). The angel spoke to them, telling them not to be afraid but to receive with great joy the news they were hearing: “Today in the town of David a …
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I am thinking especially of two or three things in connection with this topic. First, is baptism essential to salvation? A great many people think it is, but I want to let the Word of God answer that question. And then if we find that it is not essential to salvation, another question arises: Why then baptize at all? In the next place, I am thinking of a slightly different question: Has water baptism any place at all in this present dispensation of the grace of God or has it been done away with altogether? If not, just what place …
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“Wherein...Christ is all in all.”—Colossians 3:11
Christianity is not a cold, dead or not a theory about Christ; it is not a series of ethical statements proceeding from Christ; it is not a system, builded upon the concepts of Christ—Christianity is Christ.
Christianity is not a cold, dead organization; it is a living organism, and it could not survive the loss of Christ, its living, vital Head any more than a human body, a living organism, could survive the loss of its head. Herein lies the chief distinction between Christianity and all world religions. Buddhism survive the loss of Buddha; …
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