Hebrews 13:5-6 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
One evening about 10 years ago, I was listening to “Marketplace” (a financial-news program on National Public Radio). Kai Ryssdal, the show’s host, was discussing the nation’s economic woes—the weak dollar, steep oil prices, the housing slump, and so forth. Into his conversation with the audience, Ryssdal casually interjected a shocking insult. He said, “If…
By Brent Smith [Brent Smith is the preaching minister of the Trenton Church of Christ in Trenton, Tennessee.] Displacement, persecution, domestic hardships and natural disasters all contributed to persistent poverty in the Jerusalem church and among the Christians in Judea. There is no evidence to suggest that any relief came from Rome or the…
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. —Philippians 4:11
Why do bad things happen to good people? Wrestling with this painful question is nothing to feel guilty about. When Jesus leaves the splendor of heaven, he knows exactly what his mission will be. He is to walk as a man among men, resist all human weaknesses and temptations, and finally die a bitter death…
The temple police were arresting Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Peter drew his sword to defend him. He “struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus” (John 18:10). Concerning this incident Luke recorded a detail easy to overlook. When the apostles witnessed the treacherous Judas kiss…
[Brent Smith is the preaching minister of the Trenton Church of Christ in Trenton, Tennessee.] In the book of Acts, Luke reveals that there was ongoing poverty among the Christians in Jerusalem. From the Day of Pentecost when the church was established and for decades afterward, special offerings and collections were needed to help…
Joshua 24:15 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Peter concludes his second letter with a beautiful and rewarding challenge. He says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). While most Christians realize that growth in the “knowledge of our Lord” results primarily from more committed Bible study, the exhortation to grow in grace may…
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