Bible at Home

Sometimes we may think that the “Christmas Spirit” was invented by Charles Dickens, and that it is simply reinforced by commercial interests and Hallmark movies in modern times; but the Christmas Spirit exists even in the Bible, even before the actual birth of Christ a merry heart is praised in the book of Proverbs: The…

Mary’s Face In tombs of Egyptian royalty there have been found hand mirrors made of polished brass from as long ago as three thousand years. These mirrors were owned by the wealthy and royalty. Mary, on the other hand, almost certainly never owned and had possibly never even seen a mirror. She likely never saw…

Charles Spurgeon once wrote that for him, one of the marvels of Christmas was the willing and even joyful presence of the angels. It was remarkable, he thought , that they displayed no jealousy over the fact that God had chosen humanity to receive His son, instead of choosing the angels themselves to receive him.…

Once while teaching a Sunday School class to sixth graders I mentioned that it might be hard for us to imagine the situation of the Israelite slaves in Egypt, since we in America knew no one who owns another human being. Phillip raised his hand and said, ”Yes we do! A person can be adopted,…

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and rain salvation upon you. (Hosea 10:12) The love of God is a steadfast love that lived in eternity but emerged onto a human being the moment…

Angels cannot preach the gospel. . .Presumably they do not hear the gospel the way we do: in their purity they have escaped the effects of sin and are unable to comprehend what it means to be lost. Rather, God has commanded the church to preach. . .Only man can speak salvation’s experience to man…(“Angels”,…

The arrival of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem was preceded by the arrival centuries earlier of the baby Isaac to Sarah in her old age. These two babies embrace the history and the progress of God’s people in getting to know and to love Him. Isaac’s birth from Sarah was a public miracle witnessed and…

The interaction between God’s angels and human beings has a very long history. Jacob wrestled with an angel before he went to meet Esau, his brother. Jacob insisted on being blessed before he released the angel, and Jacob received a new name: Israel. “Please tell me your name”, Jacob said. But the angel refused. (Genesis…

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has become a holiday almost bigger than Thanksgiving itself. In one way it really is bigger, for merchants of all kinds announce that “Black Friday” will begin the week before Thanksgiving, and continue for the whole following week, while Thanksgiving lasts for one delicious meal and an afternoon at…