Jump Start

By: George Zellar Revelation 2:1-7 Do you remember when you were a brand-new believer? What was it like? Were you thrilled to know Christ, rejoicing that you were saved and had your sins forgiven? Were you eager to tell others about the Lord? Was your time spent in the Bible very precious, as you discovered many life-changing truths? Was prayer a delight? Was it a great blessing to gather with other believers at every opportunity? Was sin especially disturbing to you, so [...]

By: George Zellar John 7:37-39 The Dead Sea has various inlets such as the Jordan River from the north, the Arnon River from the east and the Kidron from the west, but it has no outlets. It also has no fishermen (that is, not until the millennium–Ezekiel 47:8-10). No fish survive in this lifeless and heavily-salted body of water. A great deal of water flows into this area, but nothing flows out: “I looked upon a sea and lo! ’Twas Dead, Although by Hermon’s snows [...]

By: George Zellar May we be... (1) like Abel, pursuing righteous works: Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous (1 John 3:12). (2) like Enoch, walking in daily fellowship with the Lord: By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had [...]

By: George Zellar Psalm 34:6-18 “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6). “I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me” (Psalm 40:17). “O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy” (Psalm 86:1). “I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying” (Psalm 70:5). “I am poor and needy, and my heart [...]

By: George Zellar Matthew 6:19-24 “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Matt. 6:22-23). We need to return to the simplicity that is in Christ and have the proper focus and goal. The single eye refers to single-minded devotion, single undivided loyalty. The heart’s eye is fixed on Christ alone, and thus the body is [...]

By: George Zellar “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). The law reflects God’s holy and righteous standards to which we have all miserably failed to measure up. Grace involves God’s love and unmerited favor, freely bestowed on wretched sin- ners who do not deserve one drop of kindness. They deserve judgment and wrath instead. The law demands righteousness; grace freely justifies (Rom. 3:24). The law utterly condemns the best person; grace [...]

By: George Zellar Luke 23:39-43 In this brief yet highly significant passage, a number of vital truths are revealed, especially as relating to salvation: † 1) God specializes in saving wretched sinners. This man was an evildoer (Luke 23:39), guilty of a crime punishable by death. He knew he deserved his fate. He admitted “we receive the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:41). †2) Wicked unbelievers can repent and have a genuine change of heart. Earlier, this man had joined the other [...]

By: George Zellar Luke 12:16-21 A believer depends completely on Jesus Christ, just as a skydiver depends fully on his parachute. No matter how sincere we are, no matter how well we have tried to live, without the Saviour we will surely perish: “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Likewise, the parachutist’s life depends on one vital piece of equipment. He must not trust his own ability to [...]

By: George Zellar John 8:30-36; Luke 14:25-33; John 6:60-69 (1) Salvation is free and “without price” (Rom. 6:23; Isa. 55:1), although salvation is certainly not cheap (1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Cor. 6:20). Discipleship is costly and the cost must be counted (Luke 14:25-33). (2) Salvation takes place in an instant of time (Acts 2:47). Discipleship is a life-long process (John 8:31; Matthew 28:19-20). (3) Salvation is believing on Christ (Acts 16:30-31). Discipleship is following Christ (Matt. 4:18- 22) and learning from Him [...]

By: George Zellar John 14:1-6 We are sometimes told that it does not really matter what people believe, as long as they are sincere in their beliefs. Yet, does it matter if a sincere pharmacist puts the wrong pills in a bottle? Does it matter if a surgeon sincerely believes he removed a kidney when, in fact, he removed the liver? Does it matter if a woman eats a poisonous mushroom, thinking it would be nourishing? What a person believes makes a [...]