Key Verse: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
- Matthew 12:36 KJV
Words often seem small and fleeting. We speak them quickly and forget them just as fast. Yet Jesus teaches that no word is insignificant. An “idle word” is not merely a careless phrase, it is speech that is empty of purpose, truth, or grace. Heaven listens even when we are not paying attention.
Key Verse: "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."
- 1 John 2:15 KJV
Why have I mistaken this thorny wilderness—for a garden
of flowers? Why have I mistaken this place of danger—for a palace of
delight? Why have I mistaken this howling desert—for an enchanting grove?
If the world has joys, it has none for me—they are carnal or unlawful. My
joys must be pure and spiritual. If the creature affords pleasures, they
cannot suit my soul—its honey is mixed with gall, its sweet with wormwood,
its wine with water, its gold with dross—and all are mixed with poison. The
pleasures I should seek are such as my soul may feed on without danger,
feast on without excess, and rejoice in without sin.
Key Verse: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
- John
6:44 KJV
Have you responded to the effectual call of God to salvation? In his effort to encourage suffering Christians, the apostle Paul wrote, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30).
Key Verse: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy."
- Matthew 5:43 KJV
"Love your neighbor." Perhaps he rolls in riches—and you
are poor, and living in your little cottage side-by-side with his lordly
mansion. Every day you see his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous
banquets. God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no
hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with your own lot, if you cannot
better it—but do not look upon your neighbor, and wish that he were as
yourself. Love him—and then you will not envy him.
Key Verse: "And I will make them and
the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower
to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing."
- Ezekiel 34:26 KJV
Here is sovereign grace, "I will send down showers." Is it not sovereign, divine mercy—for who can say, "I will send down showers," except God? There is only one voice which can speak to the clouds, and bid them beget the rain, "Who sends down the rain upon the earth? Who scatters the showers upon the green herb? Do not I, the Lord?" Grace is the gift of God—and is not to be created by man.
Key Verse: "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."
- 1 Corinthians 15:20 KJV
Christ risen is the firstfruits of that mighty crop of
buried dead whose remains still sleep in the silent dust, and who will be
joined by successive ranks of those who die in him, until all are together
wakened up in the resurrection morn. The figure is that of the sheaf of the
firstfruits which was waved before the Lord before the harvest was allowed
to be reaped (Lev. 23:10, 11). This offering of the wave sheaf was the
consecration and dedication of the whole crop in the field to the Lord, as
well as the manifest pledge that the harvest was fully ripe for the reaper's
sickle.
Key Verse: "Another parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of
mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:"
- Matthew 13:31-35 KJV
We will now consider several short parables that our
Savior related, but of which he gave no interpretation; still we may
endeavor from other parts of Scripture to discover their meaning. The seed
of the mustard-tree is smaller in proportion to the size of the tree
it produces, than any other seed. In eastern countries the mustard-tree has
immense spreading branches, which afford a fit shelter for the birds.
Bible Reading: Matthew 12:30-36 KJV Key Verse: " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall giv...
