… and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who supported Him with their possessions.

— Luke 8:2-3

A few years ago, I was in a land where the Gospel of Christ has had little impact at all. As I was passing by, I saw an ox pulling a plow and as I reached a certain angle where I could see the other beast yoked to the oxen, I saw that it was a woman. The men were all playing checkers out in front of the house.

This exemplifies the world without the Bible. This is why so many women have loved and followed Christ—because He has lifted them up and given them a nobility. Today there are more women in American colleges than men. What would Plato say about that?

In ancient times, a woman was simply the property of her husband, and then, Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. Christ called unto Himself woman to be his fellow-laborers and friends in His ministry. It was a woman who was first given to see the resurrected Christ and to announce it to the world, and it was His Gospel that said there is neither male nor female. This has utterly changed the view of women.

Question to ponder:
Do you see the difference Jesus has made in how women are treated?

Therefore, the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me …”

— Isaiah 29:13

First love: God asks for our hearts. We can give no more. He can accept no less. He has loved us even unto the pit of Hell. How can we not love Him back? Ah, my friends, all of those good works, all of those labors, all of those industries exercised for Christ mean nothing if that first love is not there. Without love they are only “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV).

Is there any husband anywhere in the world, who would be satisfied if he discovers that his wife’s heart is now far from him, that she no longer loves him? Does it make any difference how diligent she is in the affairs of the home, in the tasks of keeping house? All of these things are worse than ashes if her heart is far from him.

God speaks of those who draw nigh unto Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. God made us to love Him, for He loves us, and we must love Him too.

We love Him because He first loved us. As the hymn reminds us, “Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.”

Question to ponder:
How is the love life of your heart to the great Lover of Your Soul?

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

— Genesis 29:20

Christ said to the church in Ephesus that He knows their works. Interestingly, many of us are willing to do works. If, that is, they are not too strenuous and it won’t be too inconvenient—if it is not too early, or too late, or too far, or too heavy, or too much, or too often. So, if all those conditions are met, well then you can count on me …  once in a while.

But I thank God there are some whose labors God knows. I even know some who are faithful and diligent, and it doesn’t matter how hard or how often or how long or how far. I thank God for that. Christ knows your labors. If your work is done for Him, you may be certain that He will reward you.

When we do works out of love for Christ, it makes all the difference in the world. How powerful is the “first love” that we have for the Lord. There is nothing that “first love” cannot do. There may be streams or rivers to cross, and first love says, “I can swim.” There may be mountains to climb, and first love says, “I can fly.” It doesn’t matter what the task, “More love for Thee, O Christ” should be our continuous prayer.

Question to ponder:
Is your service to the Lord what you want it to be?

But I have something against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

— Revelation 2:4

Recently, we received a letter addressed to you and me that said, “Your everlasting happiness and well-being depends upon your reading and heeding this letter.” Then on the over side it said, “From Him whose eyes are like a flame of fire, who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks” (Revelation 2:1 paraphrased).

Now you are saying, “Did you really get a letter like that?” Well, actually, not in the mail, but such as letter was sent to the Church at Ephesus personally by the Son of God. So, since this is applicable to every church, we did receive such a letter. It came to us right out of the Scripture. It was addressed originally to the Church at Ephesus, but it applies to us as well.

The gist of what He said to this church is that He knows their works, which are relatively sound, but they have lost their first love. Jesus is no longer first in their hearts, and He tells then to repent and do the things they did at first. If you ever find your love growing cold, there is one place where it will be rekindled and that is the foot of the Cross.

Question to ponder:
Is Jesus your first love?

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

— 1 John 2:15-17

The average worldling, like a mole in its dark hole, walks in the darkness of this world without the slightest inkling of God’s love and mercy or of the gracious and free atonement and salvation that God offers to those who acknowledge that they are sinners.

We have seen many times that the world in its “wisdom” has flown right into the face of God’s wisdom. For decades they follow the attractions of the world, only to find that they have created yet another disaster.

There was a great preacher by the name of Bud Robinson who proclaimed the Gospel in various parts of the world. Then he visited New York City for the first time, and his friends took him on the grand tour of the city. He saw New York in all of its glory. That night he knelt to pray, and this is what he said: “Lord, I thank you that once in my life I had the opportunity of seeing the great city of New York. And Lord, I thank you even more that I didn’t see one thing that I wanted.”

Question to ponder:
Does any form of worldliness hold any temptation to you?

… For the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.

— Revelation 12:12

There’s an age-old conflict between two world-and-life-views. A world-and-life-view is a set of assumptions or presuppositions that determine the way that we look at the world and our place in it. These largely determine how we consider everything.

One worldview sees God at the center, ruling over all things under His dominion that operate according to His laws. The other worldview sees a mechanistic universe in which there is no God, no reason, no purpose, with only man at the center operating according to the dictatorship of the latest tyrant. The worlds which issue forth from those two views are vastly different worlds.

It is important that we understand that it is ultimately a spiritual battle in which we are engaged—not a battle between mere economic outlooks or various political philosophies. It is a battle between Christ and Antichrist; between Jesus Christ and His followers and the Antichrist and his. Therefore, ultimately, it is a battle that will be won not by bullets, but by beliefs. You cannot change ideas with bombs.

It’s very reassuring to know that when we read the end of the Bible, we know Who wins.

Question to ponder:
Do you see worldviews in conflict on a daily basis?

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:33

Bad companions ruin good character. How true that is for people of all ages, perhaps especially young people. Take heed whom you select as friends. One of the wisest bits of advice that you could possibly have is: choose friends that are more godly than you are.

If you want to know how spiritual or how holy you are, take a look at your friends, because they are a very good reflection of your spiritual growth. Birds of a feather, you know, flock together. How spiritual are your friends? I can tell you this: they are probably about as spiritual as you are. Jesus went among sinners, you say. Yes, but he went to give them the Gospel, not to get fellowship and companionship from them.

In Psalm 1, David contrasts the godly with the ungodly. The godly man not only spends time meditating and reflecting on the Word of God, he shuns the corruption that comes from the company of mockers. We need to choose our friends wisely, so that we can build each other up, not bring each other down.

Question to ponder:
Are there any friendships that you may need to terminate, for the sake of your soul? Any friendships you should cultivate?

Whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, but closes his heart of compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him?

— 1 John 3:17

Let me tell you a story. I was a brand new Christian and I decided to read the Bible, so I just opened it up at random (not a recommended procedure), and I looked down and read a verse that said, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). I thought to myself, “Good heavens, what horrible things did these people do?” I discovered they had done nothing.

Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me… . as you did it not for one of the least of these, you did it not for Me” (Matthew 25:42-43, 45).

God didn’t create us to not do something. He created us to do something. He told us to “Do this,” and “Do that,” and “Do the other.” And one of those things is to feed the hungry and visit the sick in His name. If we fail to do those things, we are guilty of sins of omission, which can be just as devastating in their consequences as the sins of commission.

Question to ponder:
Are you involved in any acts of mercy?

He must increase, but I must decrease.

— John 3:30

Jesus said about John the Baptist that he was the greatest among men. What was so great about him? He had understood who Christ Jesus was. He is the one who proclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He also said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36).

But it was neither his eloquence nor his theological understanding which impressed Christ. It was his humility—his humble acceptance of his own role. John the Baptist knew that Jesus was God’s Messiah, and that he himself was only the forerunner, the messenger, crying out: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

When Christ came, John’s ministry was essentially over. And John the Baptist could say these famous words: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Question to ponder:
Have you ever seen a work or a ministry you helped build up taken over by another?

Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him or give thanks to Him as God, but became futile in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

— Romans 1:21

Is there a God or is there not? That question eclipses all other questions that men might ask. Should you feel that this statement is merely the opinion of a theologian or minister, let me give it to you from another source. Dr. Mortimer Adler, former professor at the University of Chicago and the associate editor of that massive set of volumes entitled, The Great Books of the Western World—60 volumes of the greatest writings of the greatest minds of the Western world—says that with the exception of certain mathematicians and physicists, all the authors included in the Great Books are represented in the chapter on God.

In the Syntopicon of The Great Books, the two-volumes that deal with all of the subjects covered by all of the various authors, Dr. Adler says that the subject of God is the one that is handled by more authors than any other. “The reason is obvious,” said Dr. Adler. “More consequences for thought and action follow the affirmation or denial of God than the answering of any other basic question.”

Question to ponder:
What consequences flow from belief or unbelief in God?