Singing of the message of good news that the angels proclaimed to the shepherds in the field on that cold, dark night, we are encouraged:
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours some swiftly on the [...]

Writing so that we may believe with certainty and confidence that Jesus of Nazareth is, in point of space-and-time fact, the Christ, the Son of God, and that by knowledge of this fact we may know Real Life in his name, John writes,
“… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have [...]

As Isaiah brings his message of God’s promised redemption to its climax, he calls to the people:
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12:5-6)
Why? Because in that day the Lord will have shown himself faithful to save his people by establishing [...]

There is a peculiar quality to a child’s joy: it is unrestrained, it is consuming, it is controlling even, sometimes, to the point of paralyzing them with a shivering inability to give expression to it. For sophisticated adults, the unrestrained, consuming joy of a child can be downright embarrassing. …
… but, it is THIS [...]

Immediately following the contest on Mount Carmel in which Elijah is used to definitively and powerfully demonstrate the power of the True and Living God, exposing the pitiful impotence of Baal, we find him fleeing into the wilderness in fear that Jezebel will have him executed for so thoroughly embarrassing her beloved prophets of Baal. [...]

Speaking to Israelites who would be in exile, contrary to their own expectations and the assurances of the false prophets, Isaiah assures them that they will awaken to the dire distress of their circumstances and they will groan in agony and cry out for rescue. “At that time,” Isaiah tells them,
“… you shall [...]

For what do we give thanksgiving? Of course, for the Lord’s faithful and generous provision and protection of us, his people, over the past year.
But stop, look, listen. What is behind his faithful and generous provision and protection? The tender, covenant mercy of God by which he has heard our groaning, our [...]

The congregation of Christ’s people gathered at Corinth were being confused and, consequently, divided in their highly educated, culturally sophisticated and worldly-wise ignorance and pride. To gather these saints in Jesus Christ back in their unity and joy, hope and confidence together in Christ, Paul writes simply and straightforwardly:
For the word of the cross [...]

The Israelites would one day find themselves in Babylon … confused, disoriented, despairing: “Sitting by the waters of Babylon, how can we sing the songs of Zion?”
You can sing the songs of Babylon because of the certainty of our covenant God’s steadfast faithfulness, the certainty of his promise: if he has spoken it, it is [...]

Paul writes to the Christian believers gathered in Rome about the gospel of God in Jesus Christ which they have believed and which is the power of God by which all things are restored:
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. … For while we [...]