(Luke 9:49) Answered what? The word may mean, "began to speak" but Vine says always "where something has preceded, either statement or act to which the remarks refer." The Harper-Bagster Lexicon says, "in N.T. to respond to certain present circumstances." What "brought on" John's remarks about the man he had "forbidden"?

The preceding verses show that the Disciples has been disputing about how among them should be greatest, and Jesus had rebuked them for their pride. (Mark 9:33-37). John is not named specifically, but other passages say James and John…

He went back to the original pattern. “.. He who made them from the beginning made them MALE and FEMALE, and said, For this cause shall a MAN leave his FATHER and MOTHER, and shall cleave to his WIFE; and the two shall become one flesh .....What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4-6). This is God’s definition of a natural marriage as contrasted with that “which is against nature” (Romans 1:26, 27). To redefine marriage is to put asunder what God enjoined. This verse also shows God…

It is reported that several years ago researchers did a study to determine the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship.  Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water from which they could not escape unaided.  The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour the exhausted rats all drowned.

The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned.  These animals swam for over 24 hours.  Why?  Not because they were given rest, but because they had hope!  They had come to believe that if they held…

A deer hunter in Indianapolis, Indiana, fell out of a tree stand and suffered a severe spinal injury which paralyzed him from the shoulders down. The 32-year-old man was asked if he wanted to live in that state, to which he emphatically answered “no.” Life support was removed and he died five hours later.

Certainly the great Judge of all the earth will do what is right for this man (Genesis 18:25), and I do not wish to judge him lest I be found in error in my judging. But the article went on to say that…

One of the challenges that we face as children of God is to learn to wait on the Lord. Waiting for anything is hard. Most of us want what we want on our time schedule, which usually means we want it sooner than later. This mentality sometimes creeps into our personal dealings with God. When we are anticipating a particular blessing from God, perhaps something for which we have recently prayed, it is easy to lose patience when the blessing doesn’t arrive when we think it should. Once in a while we forget that God operates on His own time…

Have you ever noticed that in John 4 the apostles went into Sychar, came back out to Jesus, and not one single person started following Jesus. Yet, the Samaritan woman went into the exact same city and many of the Samaritans came out to see Jesus. Many of those came out began to believe in Jesus. (John 4:39-42)

Why did this happen? I see two reasons. The first is a shortcoming on the part of the apostles and the second was an advantage on the part of the Samaritan woman.

First, the apostles’ shortcoming: The apostles…

God has given us great illustrations of faithfulness, couched in the character and personalities of men. For instance, have you ever considered:

The faithfulness of Abraham? Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees of his own free will, choosing deliberately to go out, “not knowing whither he went.” Think about that. You want to talk about faith? “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,” (Heb. 11:9), “for he looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God” (11:10). He saw, by the eye of faith, something better. Do…

A true Christian is the best friend any government can have. This is not usually understood, especially by governments that have never grasped the meaning of true Christianity. Thus, Christians have often been persecuted as subversive to the government. In the Old Testament their own people governed the people of God, with God at the top. It was a theocracy. The Jew's religion and his government were intertwined. Apparently God felt this was necessary to insure that the promise he made to Abraham would be fulfilled, for God saw no need for such an arrangement after Christ came. In the…

The fundamental fallacy of the modern environmental movement is its inherent denial of supernaturalism and metaphysical reality. Rather than acknowledging that the entire Universe was created by the transcendent God of the Bible, Who both prepared and perpetuates the Earth for human habitation (Genesis 1:1-2:19; 8:22;Hebrews 11:3), the environmental movement posits an eternal Universe that must be protected and preserved by humans in order for life to continue. The future of the Earth is viewed as dependent on mankind. If man damages the fragile environment, he is hastening its imminent demise.

It…

After Jesus' death and resurrection, there were two disciples who were distressed about all the events they had witnessed.  The explained as much to a stranger they met on the road to Emmaus.  They were unsure about Jesus' death at the hand of the Romans and the Jewish leadership, because they believed Him to be the promised Messiah.  They were distraught about all the people had turned against such an obviously popular teacher.  Beyond all this, they were confused about the reports by some women that Jesus' tomb had been empty after three days. (Luke 24:13-24)

The stranger, who…