Two Brothers Building up the Body

  When Sin Delays the Promise Abraham was a faithful servant of Jehova and God loved him for it. He followed God’s ways and waited, with hopeful anticipation, for God to fulfill His promises. However, in Genesis 12 and 20, we find him presenting Sarah as his sister rather than his wife because he fears for his own life. This “little” deception in his life prevents him from receiving the full blessing God intends. Abraham and Sarah find themselves in Egypt, and Abraham fears that he will be killed because of Sarah’s beauty. So, they make an agreement, out of fear for his life, to present themselves as brother and sister. Sarah is then taken to present herself before Pharaoh. However, before Pharaoh can take her as his own wife, God intervenes in the form of a plague against the Egyptians. When Abraham is called to make an account of it, he reveals the full truth about Sarah being his wife. The Egyptian king restores Sarah to Abraham and they go on their way. It is worthwhile to n...

  We kind of stopped in the middle of the thought last time in 1 Corinthians 2 so we’ll be picking up in verse 9: but just as it is written, “ Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard , And which have not entered the heart of man , All that God has prepared for those who love Him .” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words . But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them...

  Come and Dine "Then the LORD appeared to him...so he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate." (Genesis 18:1,8) Sharing a meal together is one of the finest expressions of friendship and fellowship. There is something about eating together that draws hearts closer, that transforms acquaintances into companions. In Genesis 18, the LORD appears to Abraham in the form of three men, and Abraham's immediate response is to prepare a feast for them. He hurries to select a tender calf, instructs Sarah to make fresh bread, and personally serves his guests. This was no mere obligation—it was an expression of the intimate communion Abraham desired with God. This pattern holds true throughout all of Scripture. Centuries later, the risen Christ would stand at another door and extend a similar invitation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,...