All Articles For Marcus, John

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. II Timothy 2:19 There are times in the history of the church and in the personal lives of God’s people when all seems hopeless. Times of persecution. Times of upheaval. Times of weakness. Times when it appears that the devil has the upper hand. Times when we wonder if our feet are about to slip. Our encouragement in the midst of those times must be that the foundation of God...

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:5-6 If the resurrection is true, as it most certainly is, then we who believe have reason not to fear. Early Sunday morning a great earthquake shook the ground as an angel of God rolled the stone away and sat upon it. In response, the guards literally shook with fear and became as dead men, passed out on...

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son… Matthew 22:2 God will fill the wedding hall of Christ and His church. Although many will reject the gospel and be cast into outer darkness, every single one of God’s people will be gathered together to fellowship with the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The parable of the royal marriage feast is the third parable Jesus spoke to the chief priests and scribes picturing their refusal to humbly bow before Him as their King. This timeless parable warns us not to disobey the summons to...

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8 How willing are we to go wherever God calls us? Would we be willing if it meant great sacrifice? Isaiah records God’s call to him as a prophet. That call certainly applies to ministers of the gospel and to those who serve in the special offices. But there is something in this call for each and every one of us. Prior to receiving the call, Isaiah saw a glorious vision of...

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. I Timothy 1:15 As every believer faces the burden of his sin, there is one truth that should especially echo in our hearts. This truth is faithful; it is absolutely trustworthy. It is worthy of all acceptation; we should have no hesitation in making it our confession. We must not doubt it in the least. This truth is at the very heart of the gospel: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of...

Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Acts 8:13 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Acts 8:36 In God’s providence, two prominent men heard the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ as it was proclaimed by Philip the evangelist. One of them, Simon the sorcerer, was an influential man in Samaria, who had bewitched the people and made himself out to...

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. I Corinthians 15:58 The turn of the calendar furnishes us another occasion to examine the past year and devote ourselves again in this new year to abounding in the work of the Lord. However, when we look at ourselves, we might come to the conclusion that we cannot abound in the work of the Lord and that our fight against sin and the devil and our own sinful flesh is...

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:14 When was the last time we washed someone else’s feet? Not, of course, literally, although we might have opportunity to do that; but, when was the last time we stooped below our dignity and served for the good of the church? Serving might involve something as mundane as opening a door for someone else, helping an elderly person with his walker, or picking up a piece of trash from the church grounds. Or it might involve greater sacrifices like spending hours...

There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Proverbs 19:21 As another year dawns upon us, many devices will be found within our hearts. Solomon, of course, is not talking about devices of the medical kind, but of the scheming kind. People devise many schemes. Some of them seem almost certain to materialize, while others will almost certainly not do so. Who can tell what will become of our plans? Although the plans of men are uncertain, this coming year holds no uncertainty whatsoever from God’s per­spective. That is because the New...

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8 What an unruly evil is the tongue! Men have been able to tame all kinds of animals. They can get cockatoos to sing, tigers to jump, elephants to dance, dolphins to flip, and snakes to be charmed. But the tongue is different. It cannot be restrained or controlled to do just what we want it to do. Therefore it brings forth sinful words that often wreak havoc in our lives and in the lives of others. The tongue is full of kill­ing poison....