All Articles For DeVries, Michael

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17 John’s first epistle emphasizes the truth of the antithesis, the spiritual separation that exists between light and...

“Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ….” Matthew 27:17-23 How our Savior suffered! What awful reproach He bore! Following His agony in Gethsemane, Christ had been captured in the garden. He had willingly surrendered Himself to His enemies who had come with swords and staves as if Christ were some dangerous criminal. Before the Sanhedrin Christ had been convicted and condemned to death. The Roman governor, Pilate, had heard the accusations of the chief priests and the elders but could find no...

“Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.” Psalm 119:37 A new year is again upon us. At year’s end many media sources review the so-called highlights of the year gone by. Again there have been amazing accomplishments in science, technology, and medicine. Many of the headlines from 2015 have been tragic, relating calamities, disasters, violence, and horrific acts of terrorism. There are the names and faces of those who have made the news, along with the birth notices and the obituaries. Looking closer to home, we reflect on this last year of our...

“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he...

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9 Like the multitudes of Jesus’ day, many today want an earthly Jesus who will satisfy their carnal desires by creating an earthly kingdom of peace and prosperity. They minimize and ignore His ascension and its significance. But by grace we rejoice in the ascension and exaltation of Christ. We see how necessary it was for the salvation of the church. We understand...

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. John 13:14, 15 It is Thursday evening of the Passion Week, the week of Jesus’ suffering. It is the day before Christ would lay down His life on the cross. The time that the disciples would be with their Master was growing short. Certainly they could sense that things were working toward a climax. Jesus had warned His disciples repeatedly, in one way or...

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 As a new year looms before us, many are filled with fear and dread. The world is filled with turmoil and violence. What have we seen of late? Crisis in Ukraine with Russia’s intrusion; the ongoing civil strife in Syria; Iran’s threat of nuclear war; the barbaric acts committed by the Islamic State; fighting between Hamas and Israel; the worst Ebola epidemic in history—these are a few...

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. II Timothy 4:7-8 Even in the darkest hours, when the battle has been raging the fiercest, as soldiers of the cross, we are able to sing: “Christ shall have dominion over land and sea, Earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be.” That confidence of victory in the...

Killing Newborns… The London Daily Telegraph (March 4, 2012) ran the headline: “Killing babies no different from abortion, experts say.” In Britain, two “medical ethicists,” Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, associated with Ox­ford University, have published an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics contending that, “Parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed because they are ‘morally irrelevant’ and ending their lives is no different to abortion.” Mariette Ulrich comments in an article on mercator­net.com, “‘Killing babies is no different from abortion.’ Never were truer words spoken: groups seeking legal protection for prenatal life have been saying...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada. “Tenured Bigots”  Such is the title of a telling article by Mark Bergin in WORLD magazine (August 18, 2007). It is common knowledge that the institutions of higher learning in North America are dominated by professors who have little regard for, or are openly hostile toward, traditional values and Christianity. That would appear to be especially true with regard to evangelical (including Reformed) Christians. Bergin contends that statistics now confirm that most faculty members do not like evangelicals, and that they are not ashamed to admit it. He reports:...