And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God to him? … – 2 Samuel 9:3 David was a nobody, a tender of sheep, the youngest of eight children. But God raised him up to become the king of Israel. God showered grace and mercy on David throughout his life. With God’s help he defeated a lion and a bear. He gave him victory over Goliath and the Philistines. He protected him from the evil intentions of king Saul (and later his own son, Absalom). God’s presence was with David from the beginning. David was most thankful to be a recipent of God’s mercy, and he wanted …Continue reading →
And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and he uncovered himself in his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren outside. And Shem and Japheth took the upper garment and both laid it upon their shoulders, and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned away, that they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and learned what his youngest son had done to him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; Let him be a bondman of bondmen to his brethren. – Genesis 9:20-25 On reading …Continue reading →
Introduction If you lived five-hundred years ago, you would have thought the earth to be at the center of the universe. It would have been hard to convince you otherwise, for we don’t sense the earth moving beneath our feet, but we do see the sun, moon, stars and planets spin across the sky. While various cultures around the world followed the geocentric model, it was Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 A.D.) who formally explained the motion of the planets as a combination of their orbit around the earth, plus a mysterious epicycle to explain why the planets backtracked at times in the sky. His theory prevailed for over 1200 years, not just because it felt true, but because it …Continue reading →
(From a message given May 27, 2018.) Did you know it’s impossible to lick your elbow? I may not know everything, but there are two things I do know about trying to lick your elbow. For one thing, I know it’s not really impossible for everyone. A few people can lick their elbow. But more importantly, I know that just by suggesting that it’s impossible, some of you will try anyway. Some years ago I spoke on some of the ways Satan attacks us, and how we are to respond to his attacks (https://dtjsoft.com/know-your-enemy/). I listed three different weapons Satan uses: The first weapon is deception. Satan is the father of lies. Whenever God tells us the truth, Satan contradicts …Continue reading →
…And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. – Revelation 7:17 (VW) By the end of the movie Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler had saved many Jews from the Nazis. He had risked his life and spent most of what he had to save the lives of 1100 Jews. But when he received a gold ring from those he saved in appreciation of his efforts, he realized to his sorrow he had it in his power to save a few more. He could have spent his money more wisely, he could have sold his car, he could have sold his Nazi lapel to save more Jews. In a time of great joy, he was sorrowful. I see this as …Continue reading →
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ… – Ephesians 1:3 (VW) Everyone who is truly born-again is blessed. It matters not what your earthly situation is, you already are blessed with every possible spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. These heavenly blessings far exceed anything we could imagine now, and once we get to heaven, it will take all of eternity to comprehend them. But what about now? Are there earthly blessings awaiting us that we have not yet received? Well, yes, there are. But they’re probably not the kind that first comes to mind. Here’s what Jesus said about those who …Continue reading →
And so it was, after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath has been kindled against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Job 42:7 This is the key verse to understanding the book of Job. It is not a book about Job or about suffering but about the character and nature of God. God’s statement to Eliphaz, “…you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has,” should stir up serious and confusing questions in your mind, for on the surface it appears Job’s friends spoke right about God and Job didn’t. But …Continue reading →
Are you struggling with feelings of guilt? Are you ashamed of something you have done recently? Perhaps your whole life has been one failure after another. You’re powerless to do what is right. You can’t stop doing the things you do. While you may have given up a long time ago, there is hope. You just have to look beyond yourself and look to God who already has provided a solution to your problem! The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. – Luke 18:27 When it comes to guilt, you’re not alone. Everyone has done wrong. Some people pride themselves in being ‘law-abiding citizens’, however there is not one person who has not broken God’s law …Continue reading →
Israel went through a time of slavery in Egypt. God had told Abram this would happen beforehand (Genesis 15:13), but He allowed it to happen anyway. Slavery is evil, but God always has a purpose and is able to bring good to His people out of anything. Whatever manner God deals with His people, whether through something He does or something He allows, it is always to bring glory to Himself. Glory is simply the revealing of God’s character and nature such that we can understand and appreciate Him better. So to find out why the Israelites were enslaved, we need to ask how God revealed His character and nature through the situation. What do we learn about God from …Continue reading →
Once upon a time there was a great, big wolf, and he hadn’t eaten in days. His last meal was only a couple of small mice… not even enough for an appetizer. You can be sure he was on the lookout for some serious grub! Suddenly, a flock of sheep caught his eye. As he looked at them grazing peacefully in the distance, immediately his mouth started watering uncontrollably, and his stomach growled expectantly at the thought of fresh mutton. But he was so famished and weak from hunger, he didn’t have the strength to chase down even one small lamb. What was he to do? Then it came to him. “I know how I can get a plump, juicy …Continue reading →
