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Jesus: The Believer’s Inheritance

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  It is fascinating to observe when people talk about inheritance, ones mind would immediately cater properties, wills, houses, jewelries, and other material things. All of which are centered on material temporal things.   In 1 Peter 1:4 , although The Apostle Peter used the term “inheritance” once in his letter, Apostle Paul on the other hand, mentioned this term in his letters several times. ( Eph_1:14 , Eph_1:18 , Eph_5:5 , Col_3:24 ,) But what is so significant about this particular emphasis of Peter? After all, he made a brief description of the inheritance (verse 4-5) a believer will obtain now that he is part of God’s family.   The term “inheritance” is not something new among Jewish ears. Going back to the OT, when God divided the promised land among the 12 tribes of Israel, every tribe received a portion of the land as their inheritance, except for the tribe of Levi…”the priestly tribe”. They were the only tribe that didn’t get one. God’s reason for doing so is i...
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"Enter the Place Where Nothing is Impossible" - Notes on James 5:13-16

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  James addresses very specific needs in this passage: personal suffering, physical illness, and the need for forgiveness. Indeed, James' closing words simply reiterate the reality of trials in the believers' life, the same reality of which he spoke in the beginning of his letter.      Observe how James directs the brethren's thoughts to two vital needs in the life of a believer: to praise the Lord and to pray.      With respect to prayer, two ways are encouraged: personal and intercessory. First, pray directly unto God if you are suffering. Holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, gives insight as to the importance of personal prayer. As a Dutch believer who suffered severely in a Nazi concentration camp as a result of hiding Jews during WW2, she could personally testify as to the wonderful privilege of prayer, as it allows the believer to "leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible....Nothing is to...
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“Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else” –Notes on James 4:13-17

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    There’s a story about a grandfather who tried to give advice to his grandson. He said, “Johnny, “Fools are certain, wise men hesitate.” Johnny, in reply, asked, “Are you sure, Grandpa?” With unequivocal confidence, the grandfather answered, “Yes, I am absolutely certain.”       This rather amusing story provides a good backdrop to the warning in James 4:13-17.  In this passage, we see James calling out to those whose boasting is evil by virtue of their self-confidence. “Look here,” James says, “you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit’” (James 4:13 NLT).       First, let’s look at how James describes those who are so certain of themselves that they are pronounced guilty of such boastfulness: their mind is set to work (“we will go... and do business”); they have a targeted location (“to a certain town”); they have a p...
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