Category: . . . Pursuit of Holiness
Watch the Wine: Being Christ’s Nazirites
Samson was a Nazirite. His hair was to be uncut and he was to drink no wine (even grape juice) or liquor. For him, the vow of the Nazirite was to last all his life. He didn’t carry out his vow, a commitment entered into by...
Three Rules That Don’t Seem Right
Throughout my school years I had to memorize numerous rules I never completely understood. For example, why must I lie down instead of lay down for a nap? But there is a grammatical rule that governs such statements even if I don’t know it. I have...
The Fruit to End All Fruits
A man without it is like a pillaged city (Prov. 28:25). Satan seeks its absence as an opening to tempt (1Cor. 7:5). Successful athletes view it as a key to victory (1 Cor. 9:25). Elders (pastors) must be known for it (1 Tim. 3:2). Older believers...
Stand Firm and Be Saved:The Necessity of Perseverance
Near the end of 1 Peter we read this: “I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” (5:12). Peter’s letter was a sustained exhortation for believers to see the difficulties of the Christian...
Seven Laws of the Race
The motif of the Olympic race was dear to the Apostle Paul. Did he sit in the stands in Athens or Corinth? Perhaps so. Regardless, parallels between “the games” and the believer’s race in life were often on his mind. He (along with the author of...
Others May, You Cannot
If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25) If God has called...
Ignoring Obedience
We love worship. It’s almost trendy to throw your head back, lift your hands, close your eyes and sway to a glorious song about God. We can sing for hours. But do we obey? King Saul thought he could cover his lack of obedience with a...
How to “Go and Do Likewise”
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the...
Holiness or Hell?
The definition of holiness includes the concept of being distinct, set apart from everything (or everyone) else. Christians are holy people in two ways. First, believers are holy in God’s sight in terms of their position. Through faith in Christ, they are uniquely set apart by...
God is With Us: His Best Promise
On the way to the Promised Land, he wasn’t the only one who was angry. God was ready to wipe out the entire lot of them and start again. One of Moses’ most significant acts was to intercede for the foolish tribes of Israel so that...
