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Read James 1:12-15 When temptations to do evil come into our lives, let us never think that they have come from God; instead, God is doing what He can to prevent us from falling into sin. However, our flesh is so weak that we disregard Him occasionally and follow evil. James said, "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed" ( James 1:14 ). Notice especially the words "and enticed." Lust comes from the enemy within--the old nature; enticement com

Colossians 1:9-12 As Paul prayed for the Colossians and their walk, or way of life, he did not pray that it might be pleasing to man but to God. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said of himself, "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (1:10). Of course, when we live in a way that pleases God, many people will also be pleased by the way we live. But our focus of attention should be on

Read Ephesians 2:11-18 God has reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to Himself. Therefore, when the Jew and the Gentile receive Christ as Saviour, they can be at peace with each other because they are at peace with God. Once God has become their Father, they can gladly call each other "brother." And it is only when individuals are in right relationship with God that they can be in complete harmony with each other. This means that our deepest racial problems can never be complete

Genesis 16:1-6 Ten years had passed since God had first promised Abraham descendants, and now three years had gone by since God had reassured Abraham of this same thing. Whereas in Genesis 15 Abraham is seen as a man of faith, in chapter 16 we see him as a man of unbelief. He could wait no longer for God to fulfill His promise. A lack of patience tends to foster unbelief. In chapter 15 Abraham believed the Lord; in chapter 16 he hearkened unto the voice of his wife. In chapte

Romans 13:1-10 It is possible for a believer to be in a situation where he cannot obey the government, but he is to submit to it. Submission refers to our attitude--how we respond inwardly to those who are in authority; obedience refers to our visible actions--how we respond outwardly to those in authority. For instance, Peter and John were forbidden to teach in the name of Jesus by the government authorities of that day ( Acts 4:18 ). They could not obey these injunctions, b

Ephesians 2:19-22 Jesus Christ is building His Church. When He was on earth, He said, "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" ( Matt. 16:18 ). We are living stones within God's building, and we also have a part as co-builders as we take the Gospel to others so they can receive Christ as Saviour. Christ came and preached peace; now we who know Him as Saviour are to preach the Gospel to others so they may have this peace. Jesus told the Fath

Colossians 2:1-7 Paul spoke here of the necessity of the Colossians to continue as they had begun. In other words, he was telling them, "Get settled in Christ; see that Christ is everything in your life." Paul wanted the Colossians to recognize that if someone taught differently, then that teaching was in error. We are to walk in Christ the same way as we originally received Him as our Saviour. We received Him by faith; so we are to walk in Him by faith. The way of salvation

Ephesians 2:1-10 Because we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ, we should have spiritual rest and relaxation. However, many who know Christ as Saviour are characterized by worrying. The Bible says, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity" ( Ps. 37:1 ). The believer is commanded, "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wi

Read Ephesians 4:1 , 2 ; Acts 16:25-31 It is interesting to note the difference between the ways Paul referred to himself in the first half of Ephesians and the last half. In beginning the first half, or doctrinal portion, Paul referred to himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ" (1:1). Paul emphasized his apostleship because he had a special message to give believers, and that message was given in the first three chapters. In the last half of Ephesians, which emphasizes the p

James 1: 19-21 James wanted all believers to be alert to comprehend the Word of God. This is very important since "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" ( Rom. 10:17 ). The Word of God gives us faith to believe, and when we believe, God creates new life within us. Many people hear the Word of God, but to some of them it is only words; they do not accept it as the Word of God. What a paradox it is that all creation obeys His Word except we who are made in t

Colossians 1:1-8 Almost everyone talks about faith because almost everyone has faith in something. But faith is only as good as its object. It is important to recognize that we are not saved from condemnation by having faith in faith. Paul commended the Colossians for their "faith in Christ Jesus" ( Col. 1:4 ). So it is not sufficient to tell a person, "Just believe." The question is, Believe what? The message of the Gospel is not to believe in yourself, in church or in doctr

John 7:37-39 Along with obeying we must desire to be filled and then appropriate the filling. Our Lord said in John 7:37 , "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Here are two prerequisites for the filling of the Holy Spirit: thirst and trust. Thirst suggests desire, and drinking suggests obedience and trust. Included in this desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit must be our wanting God to judge and put away sin in our lives. We must desire to be separated un

Philippians 2:12-14 ; Jeremiah 6:9-15 Every Christian needs to work out his salvation with a tender conscience and a watchfulness against temptations, trials or testings, shrinking from whatever might offend God or discredit His name. Each of us needs to seriously consider whether or not there is something in our lives that is discrediting the name and Person of Christ. When we realize what He has done for us, we ought to tremble as we stand in the presence of a holy, righteo

Read Philippians 2:5-11 It is apparent that there was some element of Jesus' equality with God that He was willing to set aside during His earthly ministry. One cannot give up the qualities of his inner nature, but he can relinquish the right, in some respects, to outwardly express his inner nature. Even though Christ was God Himself and had the right to display His attributes, He willingly gave up this right in order to come to earth to be the Saviour of the world. He did no

Philippians 3:12-14 ; 1 Timothy 1:12-17 We can do nothing about the past except make necessary confession. And when confession is made, the Bible promises: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" ( 1 John 1:9 ). By confession, sin is placed under the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when it is under the blood, it does not condemn any longer. Unless the past is dealt with, one is not pre

Read Ephesians 5: 1-5 Does the standard of God's love seem too high to attain? Having received Jesus Christ as Saviour, we have been born of the Holy Spirit and have become members of God's family. We have become partakers in, or sharers of, the divine nature ( 2 Pet. 1:4 ), and the essence of the divine nature is love. It is the kind of love that loves even when there is no response, always seeking the highest good for the other person. That God loved us when there was no re

Colossians 3:5-11 It is wonderful to realize that, as believers, we live by the power of Christ's resurrection life. As we do this, we are letting Christ live again in the sense that He is living out His life through us. This is what Paul desired for the Ephesian believers, for he prayed that they might know "what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from t

James 1:9-11 When James wrote concerning a brother of "low degree" ( James 1:9 ), we must remember that he was writing from a human viewpoint. Only humans characterize one person as being of low degree and another as being of high degree, because God is not a respecter of persons. James was writing about a "brother"; that is, one who has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour. Within the family of God everyone is equal in God's eyes. The low are exalted, the high are brought low. Go

Read Philippians 4:6 , 7 ; Matthew 6:24-34 There are at least three characteristics, or marks, that indicate we have excessive care. The first is being more concerned about things than about God's will for us. We will never have peace by acquiring things; peace comes only by being in God's will, with or without the possessions we think we so greatly need. Ours in the western world is a credit card society, and we are able to obtain about anything we want almost instantly. The

Ephesians 1:1 ; John 3:13-21 Eternal life is procured by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By His death Jesus paid the penalty for sin; by His burial He took sin away; by His resurrection He lives in the believer. This is all involved in the new birth. On the other hand, the abundant life is procured for the believer through the living, ascended Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father. The believer who lives on the basis of what he possesses in

Ephesians 4:28-32 In our relationships with others, we need to be sure that we do not steal from them. We need to be honest in business transactions and be faithful in giving service for which we are paid. If we are paid for a full day's work, we steal from our employer if we do not give him a full day's work. Even such a relatively small matter as taking too long on coffee break is a way of stealing from one's employer. The Bible says, "Provide things honest in the sight of

Philippians 4:10-13 ; 1 Timothy 6:6-11 Nowhere does the Bible suggest that we should be content with unsatisfactory conditions. But because of our personal relationship with Christ we can be content in them. As different situations arise and we learn our lessons one after another, we will also find it possible to be content in every situation. Contentment is one of those concepts that is easier to define than to experience. This is probably because the tendency is to seek c

Galatians 6:11-18 It is remarkable to realize that the crucifixion is a way of life, not just a way of death. Christ's crucifixion was not the end of His redemptive work, for He arose from the grave and provided us with the resurrection life. Romans 6:7 says, "But he that is dead [has died] is freed from sin." This means that the person who has died is free from the claims, power, slavery and allurements of sin. The basis for Paul's glorying is the cross of Christ. The Judai

1 John 2:1-6 First John 2:1 could be translated: "These things write I unto you that ye do not commit a single act of sin." John was not dealing with habitual sin but with single acts of sin. This is a high standard, and you may wonder if it is possible for a child of God to successfully live this way. We need to realize what Christ has actually done for us. In the light of our experience, however, this may well cause us to despair, for we realize that we do commit acts of s