Casing all your anxieties of him, because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7 E. Stanley Jones was the “Billy Graham of India.” In 1938, Time called Jones “the world’s greatest Christian missionary.” But his work was almost aborted by anxiety. Upon arriving in India from the United States, worry about the work ahead caused him to collapse several times. He returned home. But he collapsed again on this ship. His doctor ordered him to rest for a year. Upon returning to India, his anxieties resumed. His coworkers feared it would kill him. In prayer, a voice asked, “Are you ready for...

Beloved, do not be surprised at thee fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed,...

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time int he flew no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, fries, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this thy are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but...

A wealthy man took a journey carrying a great treasure. A thief joined him to steal the treasure. But the rich man was wise enough to be careful of newfound friends. At night, they stopped at an inn. The rich man let the thief bathe first. Then he hid the treasure under the thief’s pillow. As the rich man bathed, the thief searched for the treasure in vain. He finally gave up. As he departed, the rich man said, “The treasure was closer than you thought.”  This is a sad parable of how many Christians seek to obtain a blessing. In too...

Matthew 13 records seven parables Jesus told about the mystery of the kingdom of God. The first is the Parable of the Sower. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares is the second kingdom parable. Both parables draw agricultural pictures of sowing and reaping. But there are critical differences between the two parables.  The Parable of the Sower is about good seed in good and bad soil. The Parable of the Weeds is about good and bad seed in good soil.  A landowner sowed seed in his field. In the darkness of the night, his enemy planted weeds in the field. As...

The New Testament church practices two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Baptism is a rite-of-initiation that celebrates Christian conversion. The Lord’s Supper is an ongoing practice that celebrates Christian fellowship.  We call baptism and the Lord’s Supper ordinances, not sacraments. They are rituals Christ has commanded the church to observe. They do not provide, renew, or secure salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are symbols of salvation. But...