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Growing in Grace

A daily Bible verse and devotional

June 2025

Monday, June 30, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign” (Jeremiah 1:1-2).

When we read the Bible, we sometimes come to a book that is more difficult for us to understand. The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel are like that, and sometimes people hesitate to read them because they cannot understand everything. However, it is good to read every part of the Word of God, for we will always get something from it. Also we become familiar with it, and then later on, as we get older, we learn more of what it means. The Word of God has so much in it that no matter how many times we read it, we never learn everything that is there. But it is good to become familiar with all of it when we are young.

Jeremiah was evidently the son of a priest named Hilkiah. This was probably the same Hilkiah who was helping to clean up the temple of the Lord during King Josiah’s reign, and found the book of the law. The previous kings had neglected the law of God, and the book of the law had been lost in all the rubbish that had collected in the temple. So Jeremiah came from a godly family.

The Lord wanted Jeremiah to prophesy for Him, and called him to do it. But Jeremiah seems to have been a shy type of person and did not really want this responsibility. However, he obeyed the Lord’s call, and prophesied for many years. This included part of Josiah’s reign, then during the reigns of several kings after him, and finally after Judah had been taken captive by king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

Jeremiah did not have an easy life, for after Josiah was killed in battle, the kings that followed him were not godly men. Jeremiah was persecuted for what he said, for he had to tell the people that judgment was coming upon them. He was put in prison several times, and threatened with death. However, in his book there are some wonderful prophecies too, for some of what he said concerns the future blessing of Israel in the millennium, after the Lord takes us home to be with Him. He also prophesied that the captivity in Babylon would last exactly seventy years, and so it happened.

So go ahead and read Jeremiah’s book, even if you do not understand all of it. You will always learn something from it.

Sunday, June 29, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And Jesus … said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

How old are you now? Perhaps some of you reading this devotional are ten years old, but you are probably wishing you were twelve! Or maybe some of you are twelve, and you wish you were thirteen, so that you can be a teenager. But if you are fourteen or fifteen, maybe you cannot wait until you are sixteen, and can get a driver’s license. Then, as we get older, our wishes go the other way. People who are thirty wish they were twenty-one again, and people who are seventy remember the energy and strength they had when they were forty, and wish they were younger again. We never seem to be happy with our age! Here in our verse for today, however, the Lord Jesus is telling us that we need to become as little children, in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. What does He mean?

The Lord Jesus does not mean that we can actually become little children again. He knows that this would be impossible for us. What He is talking about is out attitude toward spiritual things, and indeed, toward everything. When we were little children, we trusted what people said to us, and readily believed them. All little children are like this, unless someone betrays that trust by pretending to be friendly and then does something mean to them. Then they quickly learn to beware of people they do not know. But little children naturally trust other people.

When we come to the Lord Jesus, we need to trust what He says, and believe on Him. Even after we are saved, we should read the Bible, trust what it says, and obey it. That is the way to be a happy Christian, because obedience and happiness go together.

Sadly, many adults have seen how the world deceives them, and then they begin to think that God is deceiving them as well. Satan did this to Eve in the Garden of Eden, and persuaded her that God was not giving her the very best. She listened to Satan, and together she and Adam brought sin into this world. But the Lord is worthy of our trust, for He loves us, and always wants and does the very best for us.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto Him of their substance” (Luke 8:2-3).

Have you ever wondered how the Lord Jesus was looked after as He walked so many miles about the land of Israel during His lifetime down here? Where did He get the money to send the disciples into the town to buy food (John 4:8)? Who do you think might have woven Him that wonderful robe for which the soldiers cast lots at the time of the crucifixion?

After the temptation time in the wilderness, when He had not eaten anything for 40 days, it tells us that “angels ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:11). But most often we find various women looking after His daily needs. When He raised Simon Peter’s mother-in-law back to health, it tells us that “she arose and ministered unto them” (Matthew 8:15). She had been near death a few minutes before! But how thankful she must have been, and she did what she was likely accustomed to doing.

The Lord received many gifts, large and small. Mary gave Him her box of very precious ointment she had been saving for a special occasion. Joseph of Arimathea gave a tomb for His burial. But, as we know, many others provided just a drink, or a basin of water to wash His dusty feet.

Our verse today is a wonderful example to us. These thankful people wanted to do something in return for His gifts of healing and His comforting words. Are we thankful enough for His marvelous gift to us, that we will turn around and serve the Lord Jesus in some small way? And what can we do to “minister to Him” in the 21st century? He is no longer here on the earth, but there are many acts of kindness we can do daily. A kind word, perhaps to an elderly person in a store. A note to a friend who is discouraged. A small gift, perhaps hand-made like the Lord’s robe, given in thoughtfulness. Matthew 25:40 tells us, “Inasmuch [just as] ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”

Friday, June 27, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

Perhaps you have read this verse before, but have you ever wondered how long the twinkling of an eye is? It is a very short time. It is certainly less than half a second, and some have calculated it to be as short as 1/10th of a second. It is amazing to think that the Lord’s coming for us will take place that quickly. During this short time, the dead in Christ will rise first, and will receive their glorified bodies. Then we who are alive will be changed, meaning that we too will suddenly have glorified bodies. We will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. These details are given to us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. It is a wonderful prospect to which we can look forward, and it may happen at any moment.

It is the same mighty power that raised the Lord Jesus from the dead that will raise from the dead all those who have died in Christ. Many of them have been dead for thousands of years, and their bodies have decayed — gone back to dust, as God had said. Some bodies have been buried at sea, when people died while on a ship. Others have been burned, but the Lord knows where each one is. He is able to raise them from the dead, to give them bodies of glory, and take them up with Him, to be with Him forever.

In heaven we will all have glorified bodies that will be absolutely perfect — none of the effects of sin will be seen in them. There will be no one with wrinkles, or scars, or grey hair. There will be no one who limps, or who has to use a wheelchair. No one will be missing a leg, or an arm.

But there will be One there who will have marks on His body that are there because He bore the punishment for our sins. The Lord Jesus will have the nail prints in His hands, and the spear mark in His side, to remind us for all eternity that He suffered for us. The Bible never calls them scars, but rather wounds. Why is that? It is because a scar is an old wound that has healed, but a wound is fresh — something that has happened recently. The marks in the Lord’s body will always be wounds, so that we do not forget.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).

“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is mentioned a number of times in the Bible, for we know that it was the Roman way of dealing with criminals. It was a cruel death, and was intended to show people that “crime does not pay,” and that rebellion against the Roman Empire would be severely punished. Our Lord Jesus Christ never committed any crime, nor was He any threat to the Roman Empire, and Pilate knew this. He wanted to set Jesus free, but the Jews insisted on His being crucified, and eventually Pilate gave in. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered on a cross, and while He was there, He suffered God’s judgment for sin.

That is why one of the references to the cross connects it with the blood of Christ. It was while He was on the cross that His blood was shed — the blood that washes our sins away. The cross was not only a cruel death, but it was a shameful death — one that was reserved for the worst criminals. But in allowing His Son to suffer in this way, God made a way for you and me to be saved.

That is why Paul says that he gloried in the cross of the Lord Jesus. Why would he glory in it? He felt this way, because the cross of Christ separated him from the wicked world that crucified the Lord Jesus. The cross was what this world thought of the Lord Jesus. Not only did they want to get rid of Him, but they got rid of Him in the most shameful and cruel way. Now you and I are called to follow Christ, and if He was rejected, we will be rejected too. Yet Paul was happy if that happened, because it made Him more like Christ. It was all right if he suffered from the world, for it was being more like the One whom he loved so much.

Even as Christians we can walk with the world, and have respect and honor here. But if we speak of Christ and want to honor Him, the world will not want us. We can give up the world, and that is good, but it hurts when the world gives us up, and does not want us. It is worth it, however, for “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24).

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all” (Jude, v. 14-15).

Perhaps you have heard of Enoch before, as he is mentioned right in the beginning of the Bible. By our standards he lived a long life — 365 years, but in his time most of the other men mentioned lived to be more than 900 years old. Enoch was a godly man, and it is recorded that he walked with God for 300 years. He was also the father of Methuselah, who was the oldest man recorded in the Bible.

Enoch must have been a very special person, for he is one of two men in the Bible who never died. During Enoch’s lifetime he would have seen the world getting worse and worse, for the Lord tells us that before the flood, “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). Enoch would have seen all this happening, and it really bothered him.

The Lord also used him to speak of coming judgment, and how the Lord would come with ten thousand of His saints to judge this world. Enoch lived more than 5,000 years ago, yet what he said about judgment has not happened yet. However, the Lord will come with His saints to judge this world, and you can read about it in Revelation 19:11-21. We would not know about Enoch’s prophecy, if we did not have the book of Jude.

Because Enoch was such a godly man, the Lord did not leave him on this earth to see more of the evil that was happening. The Lord just took him home to heaven. There was judgment after Enoch lived, for the flood of Noah was a judgment from God, but Enoch was taken away before the flood. That is what will happen to us too, when the Lord comes. We will be taken away before the judgment falls. If we are alive at that time, we will never have to die either.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” (Hebrews 6:19).

An anchor is very important to a ship, for it prevents the ship from being driven around by winds and storms. The anchor is normally very heavy, and is meant to hook into something solid on the bottom of the ocean, so that it can hold the ship when a storm comes.

In the days of sailing vessels, anchors were on long chains, and could be let down a long way. They would keep the ship in one place in a harbor, or keep it offshore, so that it would not be dashed on rocks. When the anchor needed to be pulled up, it was a big job. On the decks of sailing ships, they had a large round structure called a capstan, and it had holes in the sides of it. They would place large wooden poles, like posts, into these holes, and then a number of men would have to push these poles around and around for hours, hauling in the anchor. Turning the capstan would gradually wind up the chain on the anchor, and bring it in. They called this “weighing the anchor.”

Sometimes, when a ship was approaching a harbor, a small boat called a “runner” would come out, and they would place the anchor into it. Then the small boat would row to the shore, and the anchor would be placed on shore, and fixed securely. Then the big ship simply had to follow the anchor, and it would arrive safely in the harbor.

According to our verse, our hope in Christ is sure, like an anchor. With ships, sometimes an anchor would come loose, but if we are truly saved, Christ is our anchor, and He will never let us go. The phrase “within the veil” refers to the tabernacle or the temple in the Old Testament. In that tabernacle, the “holy of holies” was the place where the Lord’s presence was, and no one was allowed to go in there. Only the high priest could go in, once a year. But it is a picture of where our anchor is now — in the presence of God. Truly, as the hymn says, “We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure, while the billows roll.”

Monday, June 23, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Our verse for today has a most important bit of instruction for us; it tells us to remember our Creator when we are young. If you were to ask a large group of Christians how old they were when they got saved, you would almost always find that most of them accepted the Lord Jesus before they were 20 years old. Some get saved later, and some even get saved when they are very old. A man whom I knew about got saved a few years ago at the age of 96, but this is very rare. I had a good friend who got saved when he was about 65, but again, this is unusual.

Sadly, many young people today perhaps really intend to get saved, but they want to enjoy the pleasures of this world for a while. They do enjoy what the Bible calls “the pleasures of sin for a season,” but then eventually they get old. Then their bodies and minds start to fail, and they find they cannot enjoy those pleasures anymore. They have to say, as our verse says, “I have no pleasure in them.” But then, they have nothing else in which to have pleasure; their hearts are now empty. Perhaps you have seen this type of person in a nursing home, where older people live who need some extra care. Some of these people are very difficult to manage, for they are constantly frustrated when they can no longer enjoy things that they used to enjoy.

How much different it is for a Christian! Yes, a Christian’s body gets old too, and it cannot do the things it used to do. But Christians have Christ, and as Paul reminds us, “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Perhaps you know someone like this too — someone whose body and mind are failing a little, yet he or she is very happy, and enjoying the Lord. People like this also enjoy the thought that, as they get older, they are only getting closer to their heavenly home. If anyone reading this is not saved, our verse today has good advice for you.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

“For I [Paul] am jealous over you with godly jealousy” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?” (Proverbs 27:4).

We find the words “envy” and “jealousy” in the Bible, but often people use them in the wrong way, and do not see the big difference in meaning between them. It is important to see this difference, for in the Bible, jealousy is almost always used in a good sense, while envy is always used in a bad sense.

To be jealous about something is to want to keep what is mine. If someone tries to take something from us that is rightfully ours, we are quite right in wanting to keep it. For this reason we see that God is a jealous God; He will not give His glory to others, nor will He allow anyone to take away something, or someone, that belongs to Him. In our first verse today, we read that His name is Jealous, and Israel had to learn that if they worshiped idols, God was very jealous about this. He was the only one entitled to worship from them, and He did not like it if they worshiped false gods.

Also, we see that the Apostle Paul was jealous over the believers in Corinth. He had preached the gospel to them, and after they were saved, he led them along in the truth of God. But later, others came in and tried to teach them different things than what Paul had taught them, and Paul was jealous about that. He had taught them the truth, and he was upset when others tried to teach them wrong things.

Envy, however, is wanting something that the Lord has given to someone else; it is wanting something that is not rightfully mine. It is one of the most serious sins recorded in the Bible, and it has been around for a long time. Right at the beginning of man’s history, Cain murdered his brother Abel because of envy. Joseph’s brothers envied him and sold him into Egypt. Finally, the leaders of the Jews envied the Lord Jesus, and demanded that He be crucified.

As we see in our third verse today, envy is very bad, but it is a very strong force in this world. It has caused people to do some awful things. If you and I sense that bad feeling in our hearts, let us ask the Lord to help us get rid of it right away. If we allow it to go on, it will make a lot of trouble for us.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard [lazy person]; consider her ways and be wise … which provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8).

“Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31).

These two verses show us how perfectly balanced the Bible is. On the one hand, we are told to consider the ant, an insect that is always busy. Have you ever seen a lazy ant? If you find an anthill somewhere outside, the little ants are always running about, doing something useful. One thing they know how to do well is to gather food in the warm weather, so that they will have something to eat during the cold weather.

Ants are very numerous on the earth; it has been calculated that there are probably 10 quadrillion of them! That is 10, with 15 zeros after it! They are possibly the most numerous animal on our planet, and together they weigh as much as all the people on the earth. God has made them able to live in almost any climate, and they are a good example for us. God tells lazy people to look at the ant and see an example of how to live.

Yet the Lord Jesus could tell the people, when He was on earth, not to worry and be anxious about the future. It is good to be a strong worker, and to save something for the future, but it is not good to be constantly worrying about it. He wants us to lead responsible lives, and to do our work well, but He knows what we need, and He wants us to trust Him. The Lord has promised to look after us, and we can trust Him for the future.

Friday, June 20, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” (Psalm 56:8).

“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

I am sure everyone reading this page has had a good cry once in a while! Sometimes we shed tears because we are sad. Perhaps someone we loved very much was taken from us in death. Other times we may cry because we are injured and in pain, and again at other times, we may shed tears because we are frustrated, or our feelings are hurt.

Our verse today shows us that the Lord Jesus notices all the times in our lives when we are sad, and He keeps a record of it. It is as if our tears were put into a bottle, or our sorrows written in a book. And we know that He understands because we have the shortest verse in the Bible that tells us something very important — “Jesus wept”. The Lord Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. Then that sorrow would be erased! But He felt the tears and sadness of those around Him who loved Lazarus and had had to bury him four days before. He is the God who created the universe, yet He understands you!

Once there was a father who was having an evening Bible time with his children. He was telling them that the Lord Jesus was coming very soon, and that they would want to be found pleasing Jesus when He came back. He asked each of his four children what they might like to be doing at the moment when Jesus came back. One said he’d like Jesus to find him praying. Another said she’d like to be helping her mom. The third one said he’d like to be reading his Bible. When he came to the youngest little girl, her answer surprised them all. She said she’d like to be crying when Jesus came back. “Why would you want to be doing that”? her father asked. “Well,” she said, “I won’t ever be crying in heaven, and I’d like one chance to have Jesus wipe my tears away”.

Let’s remember that we have a loving Father in heaven who takes notice of every moment of our lives, and is ready to comfort us when we are sad.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And he (Jesse) sent, and brought him (David) in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance [face]” (1 Samuel 16:12).

“The north wind bringeth forth rain, and the angry countenance a backbiting tongue” (Proverbs 25:23 JND).

Our faces usually tell what is in our hearts, and over a period of time, our faces become a more or less permanent picture of what we think about. When Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States, he once said to someone in his government, “I don’t like that man.” He was referring to someone both of them had seen. The government official remarked that since Lincoln did not know the man, he wondered how he could dislike him. Lincoln’s reply was, “I don’t like his face.” When the other man questioned this way of judging people, Lincoln again replied, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face.”

There is a good deal of truth in this. We may not be handsome or beautiful, but we can still have a “beautiful countenance.” The expression on our face means far more than whether we are naturally good-looking. David walked with the Lord, and even as a young man he had an expression on his face that commended itself to others. As time goes on in our lives, we can cultivate good thoughts — happy thoughts, that bring about a good expression on our face.

On the other hand, we can be like the man described in our second verse today, who was characterized by an angry countenance. We have all seen people like that, who have a face that looks as if they would like to “pick a fight” with someone. When other people see that kind of a face, they may avoid that person, but often they want to say something to him, just to see him get upset. That is why it says in our second verse that an angry countenance brings forth a backbiting tongue.

As Christians, we must remember what Paul said to the Philippians, in chapter 4, verse 8. Look up this verse, and memorize it if you can. It will help you to think about the right things and have a nice face.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body” (1 Corinthians 15:38).

We all know that every plant and tree is distinct, and that every seed is distinct too. If you plant bean seeds in your garden, you will get bean plants. If you were to plant an apple seed, it would grow an apple tree. But there is something interesting about fruit trees.

There are many different kinds of apples, but suppose you took a seed from a MacIntosh apple, and planted it. You would get an apple tree, but would it bear MacIntosh apples on it? No, it would not. You would get wild apples — the kind you sometimes see on wild apple trees growing by the side of a road, or occasionally near a forest. They are small, usually bitter, and not very good to eat. How then do you get a tree to bear MacIntosh apples, or any other kind of good apple that we like to eat?

When the tree is young, you have to graft it. This means that you get a bud from a MacIntosh apple tree, and then make a cut in the bark of the tree you have grown from seed. You fit the bud underneath the bark of the wild tree, and then the growth of the tree from that bud will produce MacIntosh apples. The tree now has a “new life” — it has a different life from what it had before. This is true for any kind of fruit, whether it is peaches, or pears, or things like olives that grow in warm climates. Paul talks about grafting in Romans 11, in connection with the future of Israel.

Before we are saved, we are all like a wild apple tree. Even if our parents are saved, they do not automatically produce saved children. No, we need a new life in Christ, just as the wild apple tree needs a graft from a tree that produces good apples. We must all be saved individually.

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“The word of the Lord was precious in those days … and Samuel was laid down to sleep … the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me” (1 Samuel 3:1, 3-5).

Samuel had been living at the tabernacle with Eli for some time, but he was still only a boy. The Lord wanted to give a message to Eli, and He had already sent a prophet to speak to him some time before this. Sadly, Eli had evidently not done anything about the serious message the prophet had given him. You can read about this in 1 Samuel 2.

Now the Lord was going to give another stern message to Eli, and He chose to give it through Samuel. But Samuel did not yet know the Lord personally, and when the Lord called him, he thought it was Eli that had called. Finally after the Lord had called three times, Eli realized that it was the Lord, and told Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord: for Thy servant heareth.” Samuel did this and received a solemn message from the Lord. You can read about this in 1 Samuel 3.

We can learn some important lessons from all this. First of all, it is not always an older person who is most faithful to the Lord. Although he was an older man, Eli was not a faithful priest, and the Lord spoke to Samuel instead of speaking directly to Eli. Secondly, we see that Samuel respected and obeyed Eli, and came immediately when he thought Eli had called him. Samuel was already in bed, and he could have pretended that he was asleep, or that he did not hear the voice that spoke to him. But Samuel responded right away, and eventually received a message directly from the Lord. When we are obedient to those in authority over us, it is pleasing to the Lord, and He will use us in His service.

Thirdly, we notice that it was a very sad message that Samuel received, for the Lord told him that He was going to judge Eli’s sons for their wickedness. More than this, the Lord would eventually destroy all Eli’s family for their sin. This was a hard message for a young boy to hear, but Samuel repeated it all carefully to Eli, when Eli asked him the next day. Sometimes, even as young people, we have to learn about some serious things that are happening in this world, and among the people of God. As we might say, Samuel had to “grow up quickly,” and take some real responsibility. Maybe some of you will have to do that too.

Monday, June 16, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And she [Hannah] vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, If Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid … but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life … For this child I prayed … therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:11, 27-28).

The story of Samuel is a very interesting one for children and young people to read. Samuel’s mother Hannah did not have any children, and she prayed earnestly to the Lord about it. She told the Lord that if He would give her a little boy, she would give him to the Lord all his life. The Lord heard her prayer and gave her a son whom she named Samuel, which means “God’s name,” or “Asked of God.”

As soon as Samuel was big enough to live away from home, Hannah took him up to the tabernacle, and from then on, he lived there. His mother saw him only once a year, when she would bring him another coat to wear. Samuel was very small when this happened, possibly not more than four or five years old. He had to live with a very old priest named Eli, and he helped Eli in the service of the tabernacle in a place called Shiloh.

How would you like to go away from home at that age, and live with an older man? It must have been hard for Samuel, for later he had some brothers and sisters, and he would never have been able to play with them, or spend time with them. It is doubtful if he had any other children to be friends with; his main companion would have been Eli.

Sometimes we feel that we must have other children or young people with whom to spend time, to play, and to enjoy fellowship, and it is nice when this can happen. In the assembly where I live there are quite a few children, and they have a great time playing together. But it is not like that everywhere. Sometimes there are no other children or young people.

The story of Samuel shows us that we do not need others in our life in order to serve the Lord. Samuel grew up without other children, and the Lord really used him as a prophet. If the Lord gives us others to encourage us, we can be thankful for it, but if not, let us ask the Lord to help us honor Him wherever He has placed us.

Sunday, June 15, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“He that committeth sin is of the devil … Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin … he cannot sin, because he is born of God … In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil” (1 John 3:8-10).

Many people, and even Christians, have been confused by these verses. First of all, it is hard for people to believe that God sees only two families in this world — the family of God, and the family of the devil. Most unsaved people in the world today would be shocked and insulted if we told them that they belonged to the family of Satan. Yet this world is under the devil’s power today, for since the Lord Jesus was crucified, Scripture calls him the god and prince of this world. Those who are not part of God’s family are under Satan, whether they realize it or not.

Our first verse today does not mean that if we sin, we are suddenly part of the devil’s family. It simply means that if we sin, we are acting like Satan’s family, and not God’s family. The family of God is characterized by having new life in Christ, and that new nature we have cannot sin. That is what it means when it says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” If we sin, it is the old sinful nature that does it, not our new nature. The new nature cannot sin; the old nature cannot do anything but sin.

Some who have translated the Bible, and have not understood how John writes have actually mistranslated this verse, and have made it say, “Whosoever is born of God should not commit sin.” Of course this is true, but here John is not speaking of what we might or might not do; rather, he is speaking of our nature, and what is characteristic of the believer. Our new nature is the same life as Christ has, and we also read in this same chapter, “In Him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The Lord Jesus never had a sinful nature, and He could not sin. Our new nature is the same; it cannot sin either.

God wants this new nature to be displayed in our life in this world. This requires care on our part, and we need to ask the Lord for help, so that we do not display the old sinful nature.

Saturday, June 14, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14).

“Ah Lord God … there is nothing too hard for Thee” (Jeremiah 32:17).

When I was going to university, I remember a discussion among some of my classmates about God. One of them asked another one, “Do you believe that there is a God?” The other student responded, “Yes, I do.” Then the first one asked again, “Do you think God understands radar?’ The second student quickly replied, “No, I don’t think He does.” I am not sure what kind of logic got him to say this, for if God could create this world, and the whole universe, surely He could understand something that He Himself had made. Yet somehow this student felt that man was actually smarter than God. You and I as Christians know that this is ridiculous, yet man keeps on thinking this way.

However, even as believers we can somehow think that something is too hard for the Lord, and think that we need to help something happen, because the Lord is not doing it. Jacob fell into this way of thinking in the Old Testament, and even Abraham’s wife Sarah laughed when the Lord said that she would have a child. She knew that she was naturally too old to have children. But the Lord could make it happen, and He did. Jacob knew the Lord, and trusted Him too, but he felt that he had to scheme and plan things, and look after his own interests, even though he was trusting the Lord. Often we do trust the Lord, but not completely. As a result of his lack of faith, Jacob had to learn some hard lessons in his life, until he realized that all his own tricks and planning did not work; only the Lord could work things out for him in the right way.

It is important for us to realize that there is indeed nothing too hard for the Lord. However, it may not be the mind of the Lord for Him to use this power to do everything we want. He orders our lives for our blessing and His glory, and all His power is behind us in the pathway of His will. We have only to walk in fellowship with Him, and seek His mind. Then we will get all the power we need.

Friday, June 13, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

“What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3).

Many people today want to be powerful, and sometimes we see pictures in magazines or on posters of people who would not naturally be considered powerful, with a caption underneath saying, “I am powerful.” We like to think we are powerful, even if we are not. However, we have to admit that we are often afraid, and since this Covid pandemic has been here, many more people have become afraid of what is going to happen. Some people are very scared of getting the Covid virus, while others wonder how long the disruption in our lives will go on. Supply chains of goods are being interrupted, and billions of dollars are being spent to try and control the situation. The stable world that many of us were used to is not here any longer, and no one knows for sure what the future holds.

There are many things in this world that can make us afraid. When we are young, perhaps we are fearful of how our life will go, or whether we will be able to have a successful career. With house prices so high today, perhaps some of you are afraid that you will never be able to own a home. Those in developing countries sometimes have more basic fears, such as whether they will be able to live in peace, and be able to afford food.

If there is fear in our hearts, we can be sure that it is not God who has put it there. No, God has not given us this spirit, but rather the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. What does this mean? It means that God has promised us His power, the enjoyment of His love, and a mind under the control of the Spirit of God. When people talk about power in this world, they are referring to natural power, and men take pride in that. But when we rely on God’s power, it does not lift up our hearts in pride; rather we give God the glory for what He has done for us. We can safely trust Him, for whatever happens in this world, He has promised to bring us safely to our heavenly home. He will always make a clean path for us, and one that will honor Him.

Thursday, June 12, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins … If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10).

Naturally, we do not like to confess our sins. We may be willing to say, in a general way, “Yes, I have sinned,” for we all know that we have done wrong things. But if we are accused of a particular sin, we like to try and “wiggle out of it” by making excuses, or even saying that we did not do it. Of course, to say that we did not do it, when we know that we did do it, is to tell a lie. Then, since God knows about the sin, we are really making God a liar.

Many years ago I used to visit regularly in a detention center for young offenders in a large city here in Canada. They were all under sixteen years of age, and all had been accused of committing serious crimes. They were held in that place, like a jail, until they came before a judge the following week. We used to go in and tell them about the Lord Jesus, and some of them got saved.

I asked some of them once what was going to happen the next week. They told me that they would go to court and stand before a judge. The judge would listen to the evidence presented, and then decide whether they were guilty or innocent. Then, if they were found guilty, they would be sentenced to some sort of punishment. Then I asked them a question. I asked, “What if the judge had seen you commit the crime?” (This was assuming that they were guilty, and almost all of them were guilty. It was very rare that someone ended up there who had not committed the crime of which he was accused.) One boy answered me in the typical language he was used to speaking. He said, “Then man, you’re dead!” That expressed it well. You could not argue your innocence with a judge who had seen you commit the crime.

So it is with God. He sees everything, and there is no use trying to hide our sins from Him. To lie about it only makes matters worse. But if we confess our sins, God can forgive them, because the Lord Jesus died for us, and His blood has power to wash away all our sins.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8).

“God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

Yesterday we were reminded that God is light, and it is significant that this is mentioned first in this first epistle of John. God’s holiness is important, and we need to be reminded of it. Since the Lord Jesus died and the gospel has been preached, men have sometimes emphasized the love of God, and forgotten that God is also light. The Spirit of God reminds us of this, for God cannot act against His holy nature. God never shows His love at the expense of His holiness.

But God is also love, and He wants to emphasize this to us. For this reason we find that the phrase “God is love,” is mentioned twice in the book of first John, and in addition, there are many other references to His love. The love of God is mentioned in the second chapter, and also the third chapter. It is mentioned not only as God’s love for us, but also as an example of our love for others. Then in the fourth chapter we are clearly told that “God is love;” it is His character — part of what He is. God is light, and we force Him to be our judge by our sins. God is also love; that is His nature, and nothing can change that. The love of God is mentioned in the fifth chapter too.

We can be so thankful for the love of God, for it was His love that first thought about us when we were sinners, and it was His love that sent His Son to die for us. It is His love that we can enjoy all through our lives, and that we will enjoy for all eternity. We must never forget that God is light, but He wants us to enjoy His love.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all … but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:5, 7).

We all appreciate good light, and since the discovery of electricity back in the late 1800’s, most of us have become used to good light in our homes. We simply turn the light on with a switch on the wall. But some lights are brighter than others, and if we are having difficulty seeing something clearly, we may shine a very bright light on it. The light of the sun is very bright, and we have all looked through a window and thought that it was clean, only to have the sunlight shine through it and show how dirty it really was.

It is the same way with God’s moral light, and our sinful hearts. Before we were saved, we may have thought that we were doing all right, because we compared ourselves with other people. But when we got into God’s presence, we realized how sinful our hearts really were. Our natural reaction was then to want to get out of God’s presence. We have all turned over a big stone, or an old piece of wood, and watched the little creatures living under them scurry away, because they did not want to be in the light. They know that sometimes bigger animals turn over dead wood and stones, and then eat whatever they find under them.

We cannot hide from God, however, for we all eventually have to be exposed to His presence. If we do not come into His presence now, we will have to do so in a coming day, when He judges this world. But our second verse today is very reassuring, for it tells us that every Christian can walk in the light, and not be afraid of what the light shows up. Why is this? It is because the blood of Christ has put away whatever the light shows. Our hearts may be very bad, but the blood of Christ has cleansed us from all sin. We do not have to fear, even though God cannot allow any darkness at all in His presence. What a comfort this is to us!

Monday, June 9, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated” (Proverbs 14:17).

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

Anger is a big problem in the world today, and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to deal with it. The strong, evil emotions of many people are very near the surface, and it does not take much for their anger to explode. Road rage is one indicator of how easily people can “blow up” today. In the Sunday school in the city where I grew up, we had a boy who was very difficult to manage. He was one of those who became angry very easily, and it seemed that the smallest thing could “set him off.” His older sister told us that he had the same problem at school, and that he was having to attend counseling sessions on “anger management.”

Our first verse today reminds us that those who become angry very quickly are foolish, and are like those of “wicked devices.” Some people naturally lose their temper more easily, but all of us have a sinful nature that can become angry. We who are Christians need to be on guard against this, and if we have this tendency, we must ask the Lord to help us.

Our second verse reminds us that the person who is slow to get angry is better than someone who is strong physically. The person who can rule his spirit is better than someone who can lead an army to defeat a whole city. This does not mean that we should never be angry, for we read in Psalm 7:11 that “God is angry with the wicked every day.” Also the Apostle Paul told those in Ephesus, “Be ye angry, and sin not” (Ephesians 4:26). When we see things going on that are a dishonor to the Lord, it arouses our righteous anger in us. But we have to admit that much of the time, we get angry because of something that is done to us, not because the Lord has been dishonored.

Much of the anger today is because there is a whole generation of children who have grown up without any proper discipline. They have never had anyone “cross them,” or tell them that they cannot do something. They have never been punished for losing their temper and displaying anger and violent behavior towards others. If you are growing up in a Christian home, and have parents who correct you from time to time, be thankful for it. It will save you from many problems later on.

Counseling on “anger management” is not God’s way of stopping it. Such sessions usually involve using our own human energy to control bad behavior, but our old sinful nature is too strong for us. We need a new life in Christ, and need to recognize that believers in Christ can ask the Lord to help them keep the old sinful nature in the place of death.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11).

“David … chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had” (1 Samuel 17:39-40).

When I was a boy going to Sunday school (that was a few years ago!), it was expected that we would memorize a verse from the Bible every week. Our Sunday school teacher would have verses printed on little pieces of paper that you could tear apart, somewhat like postage stamps. Our verse was stuck in a small cardboard folder, and we were expected to memorize it and say it to the teacher the next Lord’s day. Then the teacher would give us another one, so that we memorized quite a few verses during our time in Sunday school. Later, as we got older, our teachers would often ask us to memorize whole sets of verses, and maybe even a whole chapter. It was good for us, and impressed the Word of God on our minds.

It is much easier to memorize things when we are young. If I try hard, I can still memorize something, but it is much harder than it was when I was a boy, or when I was a teenager. It is good to hide the Word of God in our hearts, for then we have it when we need it. The Lord can bring something to our remembrance, if we have read and memorized it, but He will not bring something into our minds that we have not put there first ourselves.

We see a picture of this in what David did when he went to meet Goliath. David did not know now many stones he might need, so he chose five from the brook, and put them in his shepherd’s bag. No doubt he had used his sling many times before, and was confident that with those five stones, he could defeat Goliath.

How many stones did David need on that occasion? According to the Bible, he used only one. Yet he had five available, in case he needed more. For you and me, it is good to spend time not only reading the Bible, but memorizing parts of it. You will be surprised at how much you can remember, if you try! Then, like David, you will have the right stone available when you need it.

Saturday, June 7, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” (2 Kings 13:14).

As I mentioned yesterday, here is another occasion when a man used the same words as Elisha did, when Elijah was taken up into heaven. This time it was Joash, the king of Israel, who felt bad when Elisha was sick and going to die. The king even shed tears at the time, he was so concerned about losing Elisha. It had been more than forty years since Elijah had been taken up into heaven, yet king Joash had heard about what Elisha had said at that time, and he repeated it. It sounded very good, but was the heart of Joash like the heart of Elisha? I am afraid not.

In this same chapter (1 Kings 13), it says that Jehoash (or Joash) the son of Jehoahaz “reigned sixteen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: but he walked therein” (vss. 10-11). He admired a man like Elisha, and was very sad when he died, but poor Joash was not a godly man himself. The Lord was gracious to him and allowed him to win several battles against the Syrians, but there is no record that Joash repented of his course of evil.

All this is good for us to remember. We can respect and admire older people whom we know, and who have walked with the Lord. They have been a good example to us, and the Lord wants us to walk in the same faith. But sad to say, we can be sorry to see them go, yet not be willing to pay the price to walk in the same path they did. In Hebrews 13:7 we are told to “remember them … who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”

In order to follow their faith, we must be willing to know the Lord, and be willing also to pay the price for faithfulness. Poor Joash was surrounded by idol worship, and he did not have the courage to get rid of it. We too can have things in our lives that we are unwilling to give up, and which prevent our following the Lord with a full heart.

Friday, June 6, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And it came to pass, as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” (2 Kings 2:11-12).

The Lord had decided to take Elijah up to heaven without his having to die. He was one of two men in the Bible to whom this happened. Do you know who the other one was?

When the time came, Elijah and Elisha were walking together, and they had visited several places. They started out from Gilgal, then went to Bethel, then Jericho, then the Jordan River. They crossed the river, and then the Lord took Elijah up to heaven. But how did he go?

I have heard Christians say that he went up in the chariot of fire that is mentioned. As you know, a chariot is a coach or carriage pulled by horses. But the Bible does not say that Elijah went up by the chariot; it says that he went up by a whirlwind into heaven. It is important to see the difference, and to see what the chariot means.

When Elisha saw the chariot, he did not say, “The chariot of Elijah;” no, he said, “The chariot of Israel.” The chariot of fire was for the whole nation of Israel, and it speaks of the Lord’s protection for us in this world. It speaks of the Lord’s power on behalf of His people here, and that protection is still with us today, although we may not see it. Elijah had experienced that protection during his lifetime, but it was available for all who would follow the Lord.

The chariot of fire did not go back to heaven; it remains here for the help of God’s people. We see this later on in the history of Elisha, who replaced Elijah as the Lord’s prophet in Israel. If we go on to 2 Kings 6, we find that Elisha and his servant were in a city surrounded by the army of the Syrians. The servant was very upset, until Elisha prayed and asked the Lord to open his eyes. Then he saw a whole army with many chariots and horses of fire, round about Elisha. These were angels, and had been sent by the Lord to protect Elisha and his servant.

As I have mentioned, we can count on the Lord’s protection today, although we might not see actual chariots of fire. But many times they are there for us, even though we cannot see them.

Can you find another place in the Bible where someone says exactly the same words as Elisha said — “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof?” It is in this same book of 2nd Kings. (Don’t look now, but I will give you the answer tomorrow.)

Thursday, June 5, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And David took the spear and the cruse (glass) of water from Saul’s bolster (pillow); and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked … And David answered and said, Behold the king’s spear! And let one of the young men come over and fetch it” (1 Samuel 26:12, 22).

You can read this story in 1 Samuel 26, when David was running away from King Saul. Saul wanted to kill David, because he knew that David had been anointed king. Saul took a band of soldiers and went out after David, intending to find him and kill him. But David and his men knew exactly where Saul and his men were. One night while Saul and all his soldiers were sleeping, David and one of his men (Abishai) went down to Saul’s camp and took both his spear and his glass of water. The Lord had made all Saul’s men to be so sound asleep that they did not wake up when David and Abishai came to the camp. David took Saul’s spear and glass of water to show Saul that they could have killed him, if they had wanted to. But David would not do this; he waited for the Lord’s time, for him to be made king.

Then, when David and Abishai were on the top of a hill, David called out to Saul and his men, and showed them what he had done. Saul evidently felt bad, for the moment, and seemed sorry for chasing after David. But his heart had not changed; he never really repented of his attitude toward David.

But there is something very significant here. David took Saul’s spear and his glass of water. The king’s spear was usually stuck in the ground by the king when he was sleeping, as a sign that this was the king’s tent. David acknowledged Saul to be the king, and would not kill him, for God had anointed Saul to be king. David respected that, and waited for the Lord to remove Saul, so that he — David, could be king. For this reason, David asked that one of Saul’s young men come over and get the spear back.

We notice that David did not mention the glass of water. Nothing is said about giving that back to Saul. Why was that? The glass of water speaks of refreshment, and water in the Bible often is a picture of the Word of God. Unless Saul repented, there could be no refreshment for him, and later, two chapters further on in 1 Samuel, Saul actually consulted a witch. This was a very serious thing to do. Let us remember this, and be ready to confess our sin, if we have done something to displease the Lord. It is the only way back to real refreshment from the Lord.

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And as it was in the days of Noe (Noah), so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).

These are some more very serious verses, for they talk about what is going to happen on this earth after the Lord comes and takes us home to be with Him. Somehow Satan will invent a lie to explain why millions of people have suddenly disappeared, and then the world will just continue on, for a short while. As the saying goes, it will be “business as usual.” People will eat and drink, get married, and life will go on. This is what they did in the days of Noah, while he was building the ark over those 120 years. We know that Noah preached to them, for it tells us this in 1 Peter 3:19-20. The Spirit of God was working thousands of years ago, preaching to those people through Noah, and telling them that a flood was coming on the earth — a flood so big that it would destroy everything that breathed air. But no one believed what Noah said, except his own family. Only eight people were saved; the rest all perished when the flood came.

If you read the next few verses in the chapter, you will see that the people who are left behind when the Lord comes will also buy and sell, plant crops, and build things. They did all these things in the days of Lot. You will remember that he lived in Sodom, a most wicked city, back in the time of Abraham. When the angels came to warn Lot of coming judgment, he tried in turn to warn some of his family, but they would not listen. You can read this story in Genesis, chapters 18 and 19. We can be thankful that the Lord is working now through the preaching of the gospel, to save souls from all this.

For you and me, if we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Lord has told us about these things so that we will know how it will be after He has come and taken us home. He intends that we be serious about what is about to happen, and that we also be ready to warn those with whom we come in contact about the judgment that is coming on this world.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments … then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him [Lazarus] to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:22-23, 27-28).

This is one of the most serious stories in the Bible. Please read it in Luke 16:19-31. It concerns two men, one who was saved, and one who was not. The rich man was not saved, and he ended up in hell when he died. How awful! He was in torments, because he knew that he was there for all eternity. But he was concerned about his five brothers, and wanted Lazarus, the man who had died but who knew the Lord Jesus, to go and warn them. But this was impossible; those men needed to read their Bibles, for everything that they needed was written for them there.

I remember a true story about a man who was clearly not saved, and who had no interest in the things of the Lord. Eventually he died, and since he had never attended any place of worship, a Christian man was asked to speak at his funeral. The Christian did not know either the man who had died, or his family; he knew only that the man had not been saved.

When he asked the Lord for the right message, the Lord laid this story on his heart. As you may imagine, he was reluctant to speak on this story, and asked another believer about it. The other believer gave good advice; he said, “If the Lord gave you this story to preach from, you had better do it.” So he preached the gospel, and faithfully warned all those at the funeral about the seriousness of dying without Christ.

He did not know that the man who had died also had five brothers, all of whom were sitting there at the funeral. The message made a tremendous impact on them, and all five of them got saved that day. Even though it was a very solemn message, they were all thankful that the preacher was faithful with them.

Sad to say, today there are some preachers who will not preach this way, but pretend that everyone goes to heaven. Or they avoid the matter entirely by speaking only about the person, how good he was, how much he did in this world, etc. They avoid the question of sin, and God’s judgment of it.

If you are not saved, I hope that this story speaks to you too. And if you are saved, do not be afraid to talk to unbelievers about hell and what it means. They need to be warned.

Monday, June 2, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing” (Leviticus 5:5).

You might be surprised that we are using this verse today, but it contains a very important lesson for us. Back in the Old Testament, the children of Israel were told to offer certain sacrifices, or offerings, to the Lord. One of these was the trespass offering, which we find in Leviticus, chapter 5. This offering was to be made when someone had broken a known commandment.

We are not going to go into the details of this offering, but only to notice that when the man was guilty, he had to admit that he had sinned “in that thing.” He could not say, in a general way, “I am a sinner,” nor could he say, “Well, others have sinned too.” He could not blame others for what had happened. The matter concerned him, and him alone, and he had to confess the exact sin that he had committed.

This is often hard to do, for none of us wants to admit that we are wrong. We will invent every excuse possible to avoid saying, “I was wrong for … … .” This problem has gotten worse in this world over the past few years, so that people who have done wrong will defend themselves, blame others, and even tell lies, to avoid having to admit that they are wrong.

We may be able to get away with this with others, but before God, only confession of our sin will bring forgiveness. When we get saved, we cannot confess all of our sins, for we have forgotten most of them; the Lord knows them, and “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). But if we sin after we are saved, we must confess it in order for the Lord to forgive us, and restore us to happy fellowship with Him. King David went through this experience, and had to say, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 32:3-4). Finally he says, “I acknowledged my sin unto Thee … and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (v. 5).

Keeping quiet and not confessing the sin only resulted in the Lord’s hand being on him, for the Lord wanted him to confess. When he finally confesses the sin, forgiveness is immediate. Let us remember this important lesson.

Sunday, June 1, 2025

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Growing in Grace

“Be sober, be vigilant [on guard]; because your adversary [enemy] the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Perhaps you have never heard the roar of a lion. I have heard it only once, and the lion who was roaring was in a zoo. It was almost deafening, and would be very frightening if that lion were after you. We do not have lions in most western countries, but we have other animals that can be quite frightening, although most of them rarely attack humans.

We have one animal in our area called a fisher. It is not very big, and is a member of the weasel family. It is extremely ferocious, however, and will kill and eat animals larger than itself. It has been known to attack foxes, and even small deer. It can even attack and kill a porcupine, and almost no other animal can do this. The porcupine normally puts its nose against something like a tree, and then thrashes its tail if anything comes to attack it. Most animals who dared to attack it would get only a noseful of sharp quills. But the fisher knows how to climb the tree, then come down face-first and bite the porcupine on the face. It is very nimble, and eventually outwits the porcupine and gets at its belly, where there are no quills. It is also small enough to go down holes that animals like ground hogs usually make, and where they go for protection.

Satan is like that. He is very clever, and is watching you and me, ready to attack us. He knows that he cannot take away our salvation, but he can outwit us if we are not walking with the Lord. If Satan tries to get us to sin, what are we to do? In the wilderness, if you are attacked by some animals (like a grizzly bear!), it is better to “play dead” than to fight. You will never win a fight with a grizzly bear, unless you have a gun. But with other animals (like a mountain lion), it is better to fight hard — throw stones, use a heavy stick, etc. With Satan, we are to resist him, although we cannot fight him in our own strength. But Satan knows that he has been defeated at the cross, when the Lord Jesus died. If we resist him, he will “flee from us,” as a mountain lion will sometimes do, if we resist him.

The important thing is to be on our guard. Avoiding an attack is the best, and we are safe when we are walking with the Lord.