The just shall live by faith.

— Romans 1:17

If you asked the average American what October 31 is, the response would be instantaneous: “It’s Halloween.” Yes, but it is also something far more important. It is Reformation Day, the birthday of the Protestant Reformation. It is the day when we celebrate the reclaiming of the Gospel of grace from out of the mist and darkness of the Dark Ages.

Beginning in Germany with Martin Luther, the Reformation transformed many of the nations of Europe, spread over to Great Britain and sailed across the Atlantic. The Pilgrims and the Puritans were all followers of John Calvin, who was a follower of Martin Luther. Interestingly, those nations that have accepted the Reformation have been blessed by God, and those that have rejected it have become a part of the backwash of history. It is true not only of every nation, but of every soul as well.

The Reformation was simply a rediscovery of the apostolic message—the truth that we can’t work our way to heaven. Eternal life is a free gift that we are to receive. It is faith alone that saves us, but that faith never stands alone. That faith produces good fruit in our lives.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean in your life that “the just shall live by faith”?

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget it, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

— Proverbs 4:5

There is a vast difference between the approach of the Hebrew and the Greek minds toward understanding wisdom. For the Greek, it was entirely a matter of the mind—a matter of putting things together and understanding the way the universe was made. It did not necessarily have much to do with the way one lived. Many renowned pagan writers of antiquity not only practiced, but also taught some of the most heinous of sins. In spite of their vast knowledge in some areas, their knowledge of holy and godly living was deficient, to say the least.

In Proverbs we find the door of wisdom open to everyone. But for the Greeks wisdom was reserved for a very select few. Over the gates to the school of Plato were inscribed the words: “Let no one enter herein who is not a geometrician.” Unless you were an expert in the study of geometry, you were not even invited to school.

Proverbs is quite the contrary. Here are invited the ignorant and simple, the foolish and the young—all are warmly invited to come and learn wisdom. In addition, we are told in Proverbs 1 that the wise will also hear and increase in their learning. We are repeatedly admonished that the wise, indeed, are those who hear the Word of God.

Question to ponder:
How do we become wise?

… without hope and without God in the world.

— Ephesians 2:12

Millions of people have studied Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven,” and yet I doubt that one-half of one percent of them have the faintest idea what it means.

“The Raven” is the personification of the unbelief that plagued Poe’s life. He was terrified by the grisly specter of death. In this poem he is seeking to find some surcease of sorrow for his lost Lenore. As he lost his wife in real life, so in this poem he loses Lenore, a beautiful, radiant maiden who has been snatched from his arms.

He can find no relief for the suffering and the heartache that grips him. He wants what everyone wants: some ease to the pain of this life. He wants to know that there is a balm in Gilead—a biblical phrase for Jesus Christ. In other words, Poe is asking, “Will I see Lenore again?” And unbelief answers, “Nevermore.”

How different is Christ’s answer to this question. On that glorious Easter morn He rose again from the dead and stepped forth into the light saying, “I am He who lives, though I was dead. Look! I am alive forevermore.” (Revelation 1:18).

Unbelief says: “Nevermore.” Faith says: “Forevermore.” He conquered our fears and fulfills our hopes now and forevermore.

Question to ponder:
Do you know people who live in fear of death, without hope and ruled by unbelief?

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.

— Jeremiah 33:3

Do we not have a God in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom? Do we not have a God who has at His disposal all power in Heaven and in earth? A God whose purposes none can disannul? Who has stretched forth His hand and there is none that can stay it nor say unto Him, “What doest thou?” Do we not have a God who does according to His will among the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, who created the world and the heavens? There is nothing too hard for Him.

So, what do we ask Him to do? Too often our requests amount to piddling little things that do not amount to a hill of beans.

No, we can ask of Him anything. There is nothing too hard for Him. He can reach down into our souls and stretch our faith. He can open our eyes to see His awesome power and His willingness to reveal it. He can yet again bring to pass great and mighty things whereby His Kingdom may come and His name will be glorified in the earth.

Question to ponder:
What great and mighty things do you want to ask God for?

… 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?