“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) In these materialistic days, many people have become abnormally occupied with investments and returns, capital gains and losses, balance sheets and cash flows. This is nothing new, of course. The prevalence of covetousness is so universal, in one form or another, that God had to place a prohibition on it in the Ten Commandments. The Lord Jesus made a heart-searching comparison one day, when He posed a surprising question relative ...

“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3) This sharp rebuke by the Lord Jesus was well deserved, for His critics were challenging Him to prove His right to be heard by performing a miracle. But they had already been confronted with a tremendous body of evidence, both in their Scriptures and in the very life and teachings of Jesus (as well as in the mi...

“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) This familiar promise is often quoted as a sort of pat formula for dealing with sin in a believer’s life. Simply identify and acknowledge the sin, and all is forgiven. This is gloriously true, so far as it goes, but the last part of the verse is also vitally important. The Lord wants His people to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, . . . the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from a...

“For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Psalm 1:6) This verse outlines the inescapable truth that there are only two roads and two destinations to which they lead in eternity. The word “way” (Hebrew, derek) means “road.” There is only one way leading to heaven–the way of the righteous; and one way leading to hell–the way of the ungodly. This is a very common word in Scripture, but it is significant that its first occurrence is in Genesis 3:24, referring to “the way of the tree of life.̶...

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18) There are many wonderful assurances in Scripture that our God is a prayer-answering God, as well as innumerable testimonies throughout history by multitudes of praying believers that He has answered prayer, often in amazing ways. On the other hand, there are many, many prayers that have not been answered, and the question is: “Why?” In some cases, of course, it is just that the prayer has not been answered yet, in which case the believer needs merely to continue in prayer, for “men ought ...