Merry Christmas everybody! This coming Sunday is the day when many believers celebrate the birth of Jesus. This miraculous event is recorded for us in Matthew 1-2; Luke 2; and John 1. Mark’s gospel makes no mention of Jesus’ birth. Matthew and Luke give the most detailed Biblical accounts and these details are important. They…

Psalm 115:1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If we could just get that fixed in our minds and live each day in line with it, God would use us to accomplish His purpose and we…

Of all the things Satan desires, what he wants most is our worship. Listen to what he said to Jesus: “All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:9). Satan promised Jesus “stuff” in order to get praise from Him; he will do the same to…

Matthew 4:1–11 describes Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. This series of events is also recorded in Luke 4:1-13 and is mentioned, without much detail, in Mark 1:12–13. After 40 days and nights of fasting, Jesus faces three temptations from Satan. Each one attempts to lure Christ into abusing His power; to take immediately what God…

This psalm celebrates Yahweh’s incomparable power (manifested at creation) and His supremacy over any other presumed divine beings. This psalm divides into two sections: verses 1-7a (call to worship); and verses 7b-11 (warning exhortation). This psalm follows a pattern similar to Psalms 50 and 81 – praise with final admonition. While celebrating Yahweh’s incomparable majesty…

In a few days the majority of our culture will dive into the deep waters of the Christmas Season. While the Bible does not give a date for the birth of Jesus nor does it tell us to celebrate or designate a specific day to remember Jesus’ birth, it does open a door to talk…

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. For you and me as Christians, Thanksgiving is not just a day for us to celebrate this Thursday, is it? Thanksgiving should characterize every day of our lives! That is why God’s Word tells…

Malachi gives us practical guidelines about commitment to God: God deserves the best we have to offer (1:7-10). We must be willing to change our wrong ways of living (2:1-2). We should make our family a lifelong priority (2:13-16). We should be sensitive to God’s refining process in our life (3:3). And we should remember…

The next to last section of Malachi shows that even as the nation of Israel (specifically the returned remnant of Judah) has been unfaithful, there are individuals among the people who are faithful. At the very least, they are willing to respond to God’s correction. As a result, God promises to protect them from the…

Malachi 3:7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ God’s patient seems endless! Throughout history His people have disobeyed, even scorned His…