by John MacDuff “In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You — and wait in expectation.” “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity — for it is great.” — Psalm 25:11 O God, I bless You that You have permitted me to lie down in sleep, and…
Matthew 4:12–25 There is something quietly remarkable about the way Jesus begins His public ministry. No fanfare. No grand announcement in the courts of Jerusalem. Instead, He walks to the edge of a lake, calls a few working men away from their nets, and starts preaching in the small towns of Galilee, a region the…
By John MacDuff “In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You — and wait in expectation.” “Prepare to meet your God.” — Amos 4:12 O eternal, everlasting God — Author of my being — my continual, unwearied Benefactor — I desire to come anew this…
There is a moment, tucked right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, that is easy to rush past. Fresh from His baptism, full of the Spirit, Jesus is led not into triumph but into a wilderness, where He fasts for forty days and faces the full cunning of the enemy. Why does Matthew want us…
Love Diagnosed, Not Romanticized When Scripture describes love, it does so with remarkable clarity and honesty. The apostle Paul doesn’t offer just a poem for weddings, but a diagnostic tool for everyday relationships. “Love is patient and kind… it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, ESV)…
Introduction: Why the Question Matters Few words are used more often and understood less than love. Our culture defines love as a feeling, an attraction, or a personal preference. Songs celebrate it, movies sentimentalize it, and social media reduces it to affirmation. Yet Scripture offers something far sturdier and far more demanding. The Bible defines…
When Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, He was not merely participating in a religious ceremony. He was taking His first public step into the work He had come to accomplish. This moment, quiet, humble, and yet thunderous with glory, marks the beginning of His earthly ministry and reveals…
Lessons from J. C. Ryle on Matthew 3:1-12 Matthew 3:1-12 introduces us to the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. Few men in Scripture occupy such a singular role, and few ministries produced such widespread effect. Matthew tells us that “Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about…
Walk through any store, browse religious art online, or scroll through social media, and you will notice a common theme: angels are almost always depicted as soft, gentle, and frequently feminine. Flowing hair, delicate features, pastel colors, and serene expressions dominate the modern imagination. Yet when we turn to Scripture, we encounter a very different…
Reflections on Matthew 2:13–23 The early chapters of Matthew’s Gospel are often read with the warmth of Christmas familiarity. Yet tucked into the infancy narrative is a sobering truth: from the moment the Son of God entered the world, He was opposed. Matthew 2:13–23 reminds us that Christ did not come into a neutral world,…