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Why Rome Fell
In The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon
observed that there were five basic reasons why that civilization withered and
died. Here are the flaws that Gibbon listed:
1. An undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.
2. A mad craze for pleasure, with pastimes becoming every year more
exciting, brutal, and immoral.
3. Decay of religion – faith fading into mere form.
4. Higher and higher taxes with public money being spent for free bread and
circuses for the populace.
5. Building great armaments, although the real enemy was… -
Ezekiel was a prophet of God to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Part of his mission was to remind the people that their disobedience to God was the reason they were now captives in a foreign land.
In Ezekiel chapter 15, God speaks this parable to the prophet:
Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can men take a peg from it on which to hang any vessel? If…
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“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).
In nations ruled by monarchs, anyone who would speak to the king or queen must request an audience and wait for approval (which they may or may not get). In our own country, you can’t just walk into the White House to sit and talk with the President. Corporate executives at any level typically require a scheduled appointment for any sort of discussion.
Not so with the King of…
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WHAT SHOULD BE OUR APPEAL?
(By Jefferson David Tant)Some four or five students from our local high school have been having some Bible studies with me. Some have come for weeks, but one had come only once. I asked her if she would be interested in studying some more. She replied that she preferred to go where they appealed more to young people. She was very respectful, but mentioned that some churches seek to relate to the younger generation. Another has come…
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The Narrow Way
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus starts to wrap up His message
with a warning: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow
is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find
it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
If this warning was not enough to grab your attention, just a few verses later he
adds to it: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall… -
A recent review by the University of New South Wales in Australia calls attention to the danger of … taking selfies.
The review, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, surveyed multiple studies in the U.S. and Australia of incidents in which people were injured or killed while taking pictures of themselves with their smartphones. The two most common causes: falling from heights and drowning. Some scenic locations have even implemented “no selfie zones,” physical barriers, signs, and social media warnings in hopes of preventing such accidents. The review concludes that…
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“Let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1). “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love” (Romans 12:10).
In these verses, “brotherly love” (Gr. philadelphia, from philia, love + adelophos, brother) describes the warm affection and mutual concern that flows from a sense of kinship — in this case, our connection to one another as fellow children of God. As John wrote, “Whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him” (1 John 5:1).
But sometimes brotherly love is hard. Why? Because our brothers and sisters are not always lovable! They…
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2 Chronicles 25 records the reign of Judah’s king Amaziah. As with each of Judah’s kings, the text gives an inspired summary of his character. But Amaziah’s is unlike the rest: “He did right in the sight of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart” (verse 2). As some translations word it, his heart was not “true” or “loyal.” Amaziah’s obedience didn’t come from devoted commitment to God.
A few verses later, we see an example. Amaziah led an army against Judah’s enemy, Edom, even heeding the voice of God’s prophet in his…
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David pledged, “He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” (Psalm 101:7).
The Hebrew word translated “deceit” primarily means laxness or slackness, but it often has (as in this verse) the sense of dishonesty or treachery. And “falsehood” here simply means deception, fraud, lying.
David valued honesty and integrity. He did not want to be influenced by anyone given to deceit, whether in his personal life or in his role as Israel’s king. This wasn’t just a matter…
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