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“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.”

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“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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).

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.”

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers

“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.

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Growing in Grace Blog by Bible Truth Publishers