Song of Solomon 5:16, "Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" The soul that has been awakened by grace, drawn by the Spirit, and brought to behold the Lord Jesus through the eyes of faith, cannot help but echo this exclamation: "Yes, He is altogether lovely!" In every aspect of His person, every office He holds, every work He performs, and every word He speaks--Jesus is infinite in loveliness. The redeemed heart, taught by the Spirit, finds no flaw in Him, and no rival to Him. Consider the beauty of His person. He is fully God and fully man--God manifest in the flesh. In Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily. He is the brightness of the Father's glory, the exact representation of His being. And yet, He is tender and lowly, gentle and accessible. The glory of His majesty does not drive sinners away--it draws them near. The same hand that upholds the universe, was stretched out to touch lepers and lift fallen sinners. His character is equally lovely. His holiness is not austere, but beautiful. His righteousness is not harsh, but winsome. He was full of grace and truth--never compromising either. In Him, mercy and justice meet. He never turned away the penitent, never coddled the proud, never failed to glorify His Father. His every motive was pure, His every word was true, His every act was love. The beauty of Jesus shines most in His sin-atoning sacrifice. He gave Himself for us. It was the grandest display of self-sacrificing love the world has ever seen! At the cross, we behold the perfection of His grace and justice meeting in breathtaking harmony. There is no beauty like the beauty of a bleeding Savior. None so lovely as H

"Blessed is the man . . . who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers." The Psalmist begins the Psalter by describing the man whom God calls "blessed." Not one whom the world admires for riches, fame, or power--but one separated from evil and saturated with Scripture. The righteous man "does not walk in the counsel of the wicked"--he does not adopt their philosophies. He does not "stand in the way of sinners"--he does not linger with their practices. He does not "sit in the seat of mockers"--he refuses the settled scorn of those who defy God. The progression is deliberate: walking, then standing, then sitting. Sin gains strength by degrees. But the righteous man turns aside from that path entirely. He chooses the narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). The foundation of his godliness is inward delight: "his delight is in the law of the Lord." He does not merely read the Word out of duty--he treasures it as his joy. It is his rule and compass, his comfort and guide. He feeds upon it as his daily bread. "On His law he meditates day and night." Scripture is not a garnish on the side of his life--it is the main course. He turns it over in his heart continually. This is no superficial engagement. Like Mary, he "treasures up all these things and ponders them" (Luke 2:19). And what is the result? "He is like a tree planted by streams of water." His stabil

"Not so the wicked!" With these solemn words, the Psalmist draws a sharp contrast between the godly and the ungodly. The righteous are like fruitful trees--rooted, nourished, and prosperous. But "the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away." Chaff is the worthless husk separated from grain--light, dry, and empty. It is easily scattered and quickly forgotten. Such is every life lived apart from God: rootless, fruitless, and ultimately futile. However impressive the wicked may appear for a season, their prosperity is short-lived, and their end is destruction! (Psalm 73:18-19) The wicked "will not stand in the judgment." They will have no defense, no covering, no hope. When they stand before the Judge of all the earth, their works will be burned up as stubble. All their excuses will be silenced. The day of judgment will reveal what they are: rebels against the Most High God, having rejected His Son and despised His Word. They will not be counted "in the assembly of the righteous." They may have mingled with the godly on earth--but in the last day, the Shepherd will infallibly separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). Their exclusion will be eternal. "For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." Here is the final contrast. The Lord lovingly and attentively watches over the path of His redeemed people. He guards their steps, directs their course, and brings them safely home. But the way of the wicked--though it may seem smooth for a time--leads only to ruin! Their end is not annihilation, but everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46). The broad road may appear pleasant, but it descends into outer darkness, with w

James 4:14, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes!" Life is fleeting. Imagine an hourglass with sand steadily falling from the top chamber to the bottom. You cannot see how much sand remains above. You only know that the grains are slipping away, second by second. Yet, distracted by temporary pursuits and oblivious to eternal realities--we often live as if the sands will never run out. This is a vivid picture of our lives. One day the last grain will fall, and our time will be over! Will you be ready? The Bible teaches us to consider the brevity of life and the weight of eternity. Wisdom begins with understanding that our earthly existence is but a vapor compared to the endless expanse of eternity. In a little while it shall be said of us, "He is gone!" Let us live as men who must soon give our final account to God. The question we must face is this: Where will we spend eternity? The Scriptures make it clear that there are only two destinations--Heaven or Hell. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." It is the height of folly to live unconcerned about such a critical question. Eternity is not something to ignore or postpone considering. To neglect our final destiny is to gamble with our eternal soul. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." The sands of time are running out for each of us, and none of us knows w

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 When a man is absorbed by a new master-passion, what a different man he becomes. The passion for wealth will work marvels! We have known idle people become very diligent, and profuse voluptuaries become even self-denying to their flesh--in their ambition to acquire riches. In the same way, whenever God really saves a person, He gives that person a new master-passion--the passion of gratitude to Christ, along with love to the God who saved him. These always become a new master-principle which rules the entire man. From the moment that a man sincerely believes in Jesus, his nature becomes different from what it was before. He receives a new heart. Another influence takes possession of him--and another love engrosses him. He who once loved sin--now loves God and lives for Him. By the saving grace of God, this supernatural change is possible even to the most vile and degraded people. If a man has committed every crime in the whole catalog of villainy, and his heart has become as hard as the nether millstone, and his disposition altogether vile and detestable, and groveling, and sensual, and devilish --the Spirit can turn that man in a single moment, into a lover of that which is true, and right, and just! Yes, the Spirit can passionately inflame him with the desire to be perfectly holy! We do not teach that Christ forgives men, and then lets them continue to live in the hog pens as before! We assert that the moment He gives the pardon of sin, He gives the new nature as well. The gospel hospital is not merely a place where lepers are harbored, but whe

How grievous is the spectacle of men who claim to serve Christ, yet crave the world! They mount the pulpit, carry the Bible, and speak much of love--but their affections are chained to the world. Their prayers are polished, their platforms are popular, and their names are praised--yet they are lost! They are enemies of the Cross, and the Apostle writes of them with tears. Such men are not pagans. They are professing ministers. They do not outright deny Christ--they dilute Him. They do not discard the Bible--they distort it. Their god is not Jehovah--it is their belly. That is, their god is their appetite, comfort, fame, security, applause. They speak of glory, but it is their own, not His. There is scarcely a more loathsome evil, than the perversion of the Gospel by those entrusted to preach it. The Lord does not take lightly, those who dare to trade His truth for treasure, or reduce His blood-bought Gospel into a scheme for gain. Micah thundered in his day, "Her priests teach for a price… yet they lean on the LORD and say, 'Is not the LORD among us?'" (Micah 3:11). The same spirit pervades much of modern ministry. "God is here," they say, while their lives deny Him. Smooth sermons, wide smiles, and packed churches--cannot hide the stench of compromise. God sees the heart. He knows who serves Him--and who serves Mammon. Jesus left no room for divided loyalty: "You cannot serve both God and Money." The servant of Christ must be crucified to this world (Galatians 6:14), emptied of self-interest, and consumed with the glory of God. He is a herald of the King, sent to preach repentance, judgment, and grace--whether men will hear or refuse. Dear reader, do not be seduc

You cannot have God as your Savior, unless you will have Him as your Sovereign. Will you waste your life chasing shadows, while your eternity hangs in the balance? Life is short, death is certain, judgment is final! Repent while the door of mercy is open! To trifle with your soul is the greatest folly. Eternal joy or eternal misery are before you. To delay repentance, is to gamble with your soul on the verge of eternity. The heart that refuses to bow to God now, will be crushed under His justice in eternity. The sinner's refusal of grace is the highest madness, for it exchanges Heaven for Hell. The door of mercy is open now, but it will not always remain so--enter while you can. Sin deceives, but it will not excuse. Sin entices, but it will destroy. If you love your sin more than your soul, then you shall have your sin--and lose your soul. Mercy pleads with you now, but justice will have the last word. The cost of following Christ is nothing, compared to the cost of rejecting Him. If you love your sin, then you do not love God. And if you do not love God, then you are lost forever. To live without Christ, is to live without hope. To die without Christ, is to die without mercy. You may escape the world's condemnation, but you cannot escape the wrath of God without Christ. To reject Christ, is to reject the only hope for your soul. He who will not repent now, will wish that he had in eternity. Your life is but a vapor, and your soul is everlasting. Why will you trade eternity, for the passing pleasures of sin? Time is short, and eternity is long. To neglect your soul's salvation, is the greatest of follies. The devil offers sin as sweet, but it leaves b

Philippians 1:23, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far." The life of a believer is a journey through time toward eternity. Each day that passes, each trial endured, each breath drawn in this fallen world, moves the child of God one step nearer to the full enjoyment of what has been secured by sovereign grace--eternal life in the presence of Christ. For the person redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, the end is not loss, but gain. The grave is not a prison, but a passage. Death is not a defeat, but the door into everlasting joy--when faith gives way to sight, and hope blossoms into eternal delight. The Christian looks forward to this not with fear, but with longing. For to be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord. The anticipation of Heaven is not centered on what will be enjoyed there, but Who will be seen there. The glory of Heaven is not in its beauty only, but mainly in its King. The true believer understands that Heaven is glorious, because Christ is there. Heaven is not merely rest, but fellowship--the unhindered communion of the saved sinner with his Savior. That which is begun now by faith, will be perfected in that day when we behold His face. The Christian's joy is not ultimately in a crown, but in the pierced hand that places it upon the brow. It is not the throne that satisfies, but the One who sits upon it. The pathway to that glory is often darksome. God, in His wisdom and mercy, weaves sorrow and affliction into the lives of His people. Yet even the midnight of suffering, is governed by the hand of a loving Father, and every moment of pain has a divine purpose. The believer, upheld by the Spirit, walks through th

1 Timothy 1:5, "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." To profit from the Word is to grow in holy love. Love is not an abstract sentiment or a mere feeling--it is the fruit of divine life within, shaped and governed by truth. The one who truly feeds upon the Scriptures, is transformed into a vessel of love: love for God, love for His truth, love for His people, and even love for enemies. The Word not only instructs the mind, but inflames the heart with a fervent and pure affection that flows from the indwelling Spirit. The Scriptures reveal that God is love--not love as man imagines it, but love as God defines it. This love is holy, sovereign, and sacrificial. It is perfectly displayed at Calvary, where Christ "loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God!" (Ephesians 5:2). To read the Bible rightly, is to see that every line points to this redeeming love, and to be drawn more deeply into its embrace. The man who profits from the Word will not remain cold, harsh, or indifferent--he will be softened, sweetened, and sanctified by divine love. Love that is shaped by Scripture, is pure and discerning. It does not embrace error or excuse sin. It does not call evil good, or treat truth as negotiable. Love rejoices with the truth, (1 Corinthians 13:6) The more a soul is filled with God's Word, the more it loves what God loves and hates what God hates. This love, grounded in righteousness, becomes the believer's badge and evidence of saving grace. Such love expresses itself not in words only, but in deeds. It labors, sacrifices, and serves. It esteems others better than self.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." The ultimate test of whether we are truly profiting from the Word is not how much we know--but how we live. Scripture never flatters the intellect while bypassing the life. It searches the heart and demands fruit. A head full of doctrine without a life full of good works--is a barren tree, destined not for praise, but for punishment. The Word of God rightly received, sanctifies the soul, and energizes the hands. It molds the heart after Christ, and moves the believer to live for the glory of God in every sphere of life. Good works are not the root of salvation, but they are the necessary fruit. They are not the means of gaining favor with God, but the inevitable result of having received His grace. As it is written, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10). The Scriptures instruct us in what is good, rebuke us when we fail, and spur us onward with divine promises and holy examples. A man profits from the Word when he is led to live a life of active godliness--when his thoughts, speech, and conduct, begin to reflect that of the Lord Jesus. The love of God revealed in the Scriptures, will stir him to love both God and others. The mercy of God extended to him, will cause him to show mercy. The humility of Christ displayed in the Gospels, will produce in him a servant's heart. The commands of God will no longer be grievous, but his delight. Let no one imagine that good works consist m