Concerning spiritual gifts Paul says that prophecy will pass away, that tongues will cease, that supernatural revelations will end (1 Cor. 13:8). But when? The apostle explains that “when the perfect comes, the imperfect [spiritual gifts] will pass away” (v. 10). But what is “the perfect”? The Greek phrase translated “the perfect” (to teleion) can…
What is the Gospel? Is it “good views”? Some Christians seem to think that the message of Christ is a collection of correct positions. The true adherent of the Gospel is therefore someone who respects the authority of the Bible, believes in the deity of Jesus, understands the proper role of baptism, and rejects unbiblical…
Ebola virus disease (EVD) was first identified in 1976. Infected people have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, muscle pain, rash, hemorrhaging, and the loss of liver and kidney function. There is no vaccine for EVD. There is no medication that effectively treats it. Death claims 50% of all Ebola victims. This risk explains the…
Searching for someone who preaches the truth is like looking for an icicle in July. Most false prophets rattle on for 30 minutes or so without ever opening the Bible. Determining that such men are merely expressing human opinion is fairly easy. Other false teachers, however, tell Bible stories and cite numerous scriptures. This preaching…
As the story goes, a little boy and his older sister were spending two weeks of the summer vacation at their grandparents’ country home. When the boy complained of having nothing to do, his grandpa bought him a slingshot. The child had a wonderful time with the new weapon, firing away at fence posts, trees,…
When I was a boy, my parents purchased a series of instructional film strips for Christian teens. One film, in particular, made an indelible impression on my young mind. Its narrator emphasized that every word spoken by a believer must pass through “three golden gates” before being said aloud. These three gates were truth, kindness,…
When the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus for a sign, he answers that “an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale [or “great fish”], so…
A typical greeting card includes an imparted wish for happiness in the coming year. Many people, though, don’t know how to be happy. Every year they tramp along in the same old rutted road of self-pity and discontent. But it doesn’t have to be this way. According to researcher Dr. Martin Seligman, author of Authentic…
On a religious radio program aired several years ago, a woman described her father in the following way: “I know my father is saved. I know he’s going to heaven. He is a very arrogant person, though. My parents divorced when I was an infant, and he has had little to do with me since…
[Since some of us want a copy of the short piece shared in my morning message on April 5, it is given below. The reading (which I have modified somewhat) comes from a sermon presented by S. M. Lockridge.] It’s Friday. Jesus is praying. Peter is sleeping. Judas is betraying. The council is conspiring. The…