Life's Inanities and Ironies

The miracle of the never-failing barrel of meal and cruse of oil in 1 Kings 17:8-16 that we looked at yesterday is not an isolated Old Testament wonder. It beautifully foreshadows and is directly echoed in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament. For conservative Christians who hold the whole counsel of Scripture as inspired and harmonious, these parallels reveal the unchanging character of God as Provider — from the drought of Zarephath to the abundance of Christ. ** 1. Jesus Himself References the Widow (Luke 4:25-26) **   In His first recorded sermon in Nazareth, Jesus deliberately cites the widow of Zarephath: “Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months… but unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”   By highlighting this Gentile widow’s faith and God’s sovereign choice to provide for her, Jesus underscores that God’s mirac...

Oh, can you feel it? That holy hush before the dawn… the moment when heaven itself held its breath. If you are a conservative Christian who still trembles at the King James Bible , who clings to the old rugged cross, the blood that cleanses, and the literal, bodily resurrection of our Lord, then come with me to John chapter 20 .   We have wept through “that last week,” stood trembling in “that last night,” listened with aching hearts to “that final discourse,” and fallen on our faces at “that hour on Calvary .” Now—glory to God!—we stand at **that glorious morning**, the morning that shattered the power of death forever. The tomb is empty. The Lord is risen. And your heart was meant to be set on fire all over again today. Let the Word of the living God break over you like sunrise. 1. The Empty Tomb – “He Is Not Here” (John 20:1-10) Mary Magdalene stumbles through the darkness, her heart still raw from Friday’s horror. The stone is rolled away. She runs, weeping, to Peter and...

Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you are a conservative Christian who still holds the King James Bible as the final authority, who believes in the blood atonement , the virgin birth , the bodily resurrection , and the soon return of the Lord, then these two chapters are the very heart of our faith.   We have followed our Saviour through “that last week” (John 12), “that last night” in the Upper Room (John 13-17). Now we arrive at ** that hour on Calvary **—the hour for which He came into the world. John 18 and 19 record the arrest, the sham trials, the scourging, the crucifixion, and the triumphant cry “It is finished.” This is not religious sentiment; this is the gospel in its raw, blood-bought reality. Let us open the infallible Word of God. 1. The Arrest and Betrayal – “I Am He” (John 18:1-11) Jesus goes forth into the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. Judas arrives with a band of soldier...

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are a conservative Christian who still believes the old Book from cover to cover, who holds fast to the King James Bible , the blood of the Lamb, and the narrow way that leads to life, then these chapters are for you. We have walked with our Lord through “that last week” (John 12) and “that last night” in the Upper Room (John 13-14). Now we come to the final words of the Upper Room Discourse —John 15, 16, and 17—the sacred farewell of the Savior before He stepped into Gethsemane. This is holy ground. Jesus has just comforted troubled hearts with the promise of mansions and the way, the truth, and the life. Now He opens His heart even deeper: the True Vine , the coming Comforter , and the High Priestly Prayer that still echoes for every believer today. These are not suggestions for comfortable Christianity. These are marching orders for those who would abide in Christ in a hostile world. Let us hear the Word o...