Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

What is true greatness?

In the kingdom of this world, the great man is the one who has risen to a place of wealth and power. He has a retinue of aides and assistants, conditioned to follow his orders. He is accorded V.I.P. treatment and receives special favors wherever he goes. People regard him with respect and awe because of his rank. He never has to stoop to anything menial; there are always others to do that for him.

But in the Kingdom of our Lord, things are quite different....

One of the great tests of Christian behavior is whether there is any glory for God in it. Too often we test our conduct by the question, "Is there any harm in it?" But that is not the question. What we must ask is this: "Is there any glory for God in it?"

Before engaging in any activity, we should be able to bow our head and ask the Lord to glorify Himself in what we are about to do. If God cannot be honored by it, then we should refrain from doing it.

Other religions might be...

Unrighteous mammon here refers to earthly riches or material treasures. No illusion is more prevalent than that the man who has a lot of material possessions is rich. We speak of houses and land as real estate because we think they are real wealth. We speak of stocks and bonds as securities because we think they provide security.

But in Luke 16:11 the Lord distinguishes between the...

The Lord Jesus had no sooner risen from the dead when His enemies began to fabricate an alibi to explain away the miracle. The best falsehood that they could concoct at that time was that the disciples came by night and stole the body. (The swoon theory, suggesting that Jesus did not really die but only swooned, didn't surface till centuries later.) Unfortunately for the theft theory, as for all the other theories, it raises more questions than it answers. For example:

Why didn't the...

At first glance this verse poses problems. If we don't need anyone to teach us, why did the risen Lord give teachers to build up the saints for the work of ministering (Ephesians 4:11-12)?

In order to understand John's meaning, it helps to know the background of his letter. At the time he wrote, the church was being plagued by false teachers known as Gnostics. These heretics had once professed to be sincere believers in the Lord Jesus...

I once saw a lamb die. It was a most moving, most awful sight.

As it was brought to the place of execution, it looked especially lovable. Children would have loved to cuddle it. The young of every species are darling - kittens, puppies, chicks, calves and colts - but a lamb is especially appealing.

As it stood there, it was a picture of innocence. Its white fleece, without blemish, gave the appearance of purity. It was gentle and mild, helpless and defenseless. It's eyes were...

A Christian university student was witnessing to another student who was from a liberal seminary. When the believer quoted a verse, the seminarian said, "I don't believe the Bible." The Christian quoted another verse, only to be met with "I told you I don't believe the Bible." The third time the Christian quoted a verse the seminarian became agitated and exploded, "Don't quote the Bible to me. I've already told you I don't believe it." By then the believer felt completely frustrated and...

Paul's letter to the Philippians was really an acknowledgment of a gift which he had received from the believers at Philippi. We are probably safe in assuming that it was a gift of money. The surprising thing is the way in which the apostle magnifies the gift. He calls it "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God." In Ephesians 5:2 He uses a similar expression to describe Christ's great gift of Himself at Calvary. He...

Today's English Version translates the first part of this verse, "Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know…" It is a wonderful promise that if a person sincerely desires to know, God will show him.

When a sinner has come to the end of himself and when he prays in deep extremity, "Oh God, reveal Yourself to me," God always does. It is a prayer that never goes unanswered.

A hippie, living in a cave in the Southwest, was ready to end it all. He had sought satisfaction in...

There is a definite order to be followed in connection with Scriptural forgiveness. If we would follow this order we would save ourselves a lot of headaches and heartaches.

The first thing to do when you have been wronged is to forgive that person in your heart. You don't tell him yet that he has been forgiven, but by forgiving him in your heart, you leave the matter between the Lord and him. This prevents your gastric juices from turning into sulphuric acid, and saves you from other...

"Through faith we understand…" These words embody one of the most basic principles of spiritual life. We believe God's Word first, then we understand. The world says, "Seeing is believing;" God says, "Believing is seeing." The Lord Jesus said to Martha, "Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see…"(John 11:40). Later He said to Thomas, "…blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (

A. P. Gibbs used to say, "You are not what you think you are, but what you think - this is what you are." This means that the mind is the spring from which behavior flows. Control the source and you control the stream that flows from it.

Therefore control of the thought-life is basic. That is why Solomon said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23) Here the heart is used as a synonym for the...

While it is true, as we have seen on the previous page, that there are no degrees of fitness for heaven, it is also true that there will be degrees of reward in heaven. The Judgment Seat of Christ will be a place of review and reward where some will be rewarded more than others.

Also there will be differing capacities for enjoying the glories of heaven. Everyone will be happy but some will have greater capacity for happiness than others. Everyone's cup will be full but some will have...

Contrary to popular opinion, there are no degrees of fitness for heaven. A person is either absolutely fit or he is not fit at all. This goes counter to the common notion that at the top of God's totem pole are good, clean-living people, at the bottom are the crooks and mobsters, and in between are those with varying degrees of fitness for heaven. It is an enormous mistake. We are either fit or we aren't. There is nothing in between.

Actually none of us is fit in himself. We are all...