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So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? (Matthew 24:44-45)Once upon a time, a man shipwrecked on a desolate island. As he staggered ashore, he was met by a group of natives. Expecting to be killed, he was shocked when the natives expressed to him that he was a very lucky man. They had a rule...

If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.(Matthew 18:8-9)I remember a preacher telling this story. He said a famous evangelist was preaching at a large western university....

Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? " "Yes, Lord," he said, "you knoyv that I love you," Jesus said, "Feed my lambs. "Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me? " He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. " Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep. " (John 21:15-16) The silver morning mist arises from Galilee, as we see Jesus speaking to His disciples after His resurrection. Jesus looks at Peter and three times asks, "Do you love Me more than these?"...

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Jesus wept.(John 11:33, 35) When our Master saw Mary and Martha weeping over their dead brother Lazarus, He began to bathe His face in briny tears. His heart was broken because their hearts were broken. Some have suggested that the only reason Jesus cried was that He knew if He called Lazarus back to life, He would be calling a man to leave a perfect Heaven for a valley of tears called earth. Maybe. I think...

Be careful not to do your "acts of righteousness" before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.(Matthew 6:1)"I'd go to church and serve the Lord but there are too many hypocrites in the church!" You've never, ever heard that one before? Sure, there are hypocrites in the church and maybe that's exactly where they ought to be. We've said it many times: "The church is not a hotel for saints; it is a hospital for sinners." I know of a church that has a huge sign at its...

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.(I Corinthians 3:11)And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.(Matthew 16:18)Who is the foundation of the Christian Church? Certainly not man. Not rules or traditions. Not even the Holy Spirit or God the Father. Certainly not Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith or any other earthling. We have sung before: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest...

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (I Timothy 6:17)Jesus had more to say about money than He said about Heaven and hell put together. Money is the second most talked about subject in the Bible. Nearly one half of his 37 parables are about stewardship and money. One out of every six verses in the Gospels is about money so, if God wants us to talk...

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. (Isaiah 55:1-2)Guy de Maupassant's story, "The Necklace," tells the tragic story of a girl named Mathilde. Invited to an exclusive and elegant dance, she borrowed a most costly necklace from a rich friend. The necklace...

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? " (Luke 12:13-14)In this scene, our Lord is masterfully teaching, as no one else can, when all of a sudden a raspy voice interrupts, "Lord, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Our Lord refused to get involved when He said, "Who made me a referee between you and your brother?" Jesus was saying that to get involved over something so useless would be a waste of everyone's...

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23)We sometimes start believing that because everything else in our culture has changed, maybe God has changed. Maybe the Bible has changed. Truth is: nothing important has changed. The wages of sin is exactly the same today as it was in the Garden of Eden. That is death. Sin still...

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, " he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:24-25)Jimmy Davis, the former Governor of Louisiana, used to sing an old country western hit, "Come home. Come home. It's supper time." The gist of the song is recalling the days of his youth, when evening would come and the shadows were lengthening fast and his mother would step out on the...

We love because he first loved us. (IJohn 4:19)This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (IJohn 4:10)One version of an often-told story goes like this: A man named Ed had restored his MG sports car to perfection. He had carefully and, at great expense, restored it to showroom condition. He washed and polished it often and fussed over it like a restless mother hen fusses over her chicks. One day Beth, his wife, had to run an errand and her car wouldn't start...

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)Jesus, in His final hours of passion leading up to His death, suffered every known kind of pain: physical, mental and spiritual. No other could suffer nor has suffered as He did. In the realm of bodily pain there are five types of suffering: 1. Concussion - caused by being violently hit or beaten by a bloodthirsty mob.2. Laceration - when the flesh is cut...

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.(II Timothy 2:2)Jesus is the Great Mathematician! He invented multiplication. Here is His simple plan for planet earth: "Somebody told you, now you are to tell somebody else, and that somebody else is supposed to tell others." Jesus wants you and me and everybody to be a personal evangelist. There are three reasons I want to get in on His multiplication plan.1. My life belongs to God. We call it "my life," but it isn't...

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. "(James 4:5-6)It is a scary moment when I'm driving a car and lose control. I step on the brakes but the car doesn't stop. I have my hands on the wheel but the car does not respond. I have lost control. My automobile is now at the mercy of other forces. I am its prisoner and victim. No matter what...

For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. "And this is the word that was preached to you. (I Peter 1:24-25)The first steel skyscraper was built in New York back in the 1880's by architect Bradford Gilbert. It was to be a steel frame building, 13 stories high and only 21 feet wide. People said it couldn't be done; that it would never withstand high winds. In 1886, when the building was ten stories high, New...

Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:10, 12)Years ago, a fire burned joy out of hearts and homes in Camden, South Carolina. A wooden schoolhouse caught fire and 70 young souls perished in only minutes of time. Horror-stricken parents raced to the rescue. In...

He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. " But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. " So they began...

But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing," So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. (II Samuel 24:24 )David's heart was bursting with gratitude now that the plague of suffering was over. He was trying to buy a piece of land from a farmer, so he could erect an altar and sacrifice a burnt offering to his God. The farmer said: "David, don't pay me anything for the land....

To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (Revelation 2:17)The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. (Exodus 16:31)The Bible closes with God's promise to give the hidden manna to the redeemed. You remember what manna from Heaven is, don't you? Way back yonder in the Old Testament, when God's people were being freed from slavery and were wandering the wilderness,...