Biblical Insight Today

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to god in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13- 14 One of America’s best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas.   One such carol is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. This carol was originally a poem based on Luke 2:14 which written during the American Civil War. When it was originally written it contained seven stanzas, containing reference to that conflict. Christmas Bells   I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men!   And thought how, as the day had come The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of Peace on earth good-will to men!   Then from each black accursed mouth The can...

Written by: Pastor Ed Andrews (my brother) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob, forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 1:26-33 When most people think of the greatest sacrifice ever made for mankind, they think of the cross and everything it entails. They think of Good Friday and Easter, they think of the death and re...

Everyone loves to see the Nativity set. Each year, like many people, you may pull yours out of storage, dust it off and set it somewhere in your home. The decorative Nativity Scene has become one of the staples of Christmas. No scene would be complete without the three figures at the center. Obviously, Jesus Christ is front and center, in a manger. But two other indispensable figures are those of Mary and Joseph. As we look at a Nativity scene, it’s hard to ignore that the Christmas story is wrapped around people – around real life men and women we think we know, but who have never taken on much of a life of their own. How well do we really know Joseph and Mary? Our aim today is to get to know Mary and Joseph more personally so that we can see Christmas from their point of view. When Mary was born, the golden age of Israel’s proud history was past. No king of David’s family had ruled in Jerusalem for over 500 years. But the Jews were still waiting for the Messiah, the ruler p...

Colossians 2: 2-3 “Love” is the Vehicle of Revelation Love is the conduit through which spiritual wisdom and knowledge is carried along to the believer. Brotherly love is absolutely essential for spiritual growth. As a matter of fact a Christian will not and cannot grow in wisdom and knowledge when brotherly love is compromised in the body of Christ. It like turning of the faucet to the flow of water; when the valve is closed the water flow is hindered and it comes to a standstill. “Unity in Love” is the channel through which the knowledge and wisdom of God travels and it is essential for spiritual growth. When brotherly love is compromised spiritual growth is stifled. The Christian is to be strengthened in heart and firmly bound together in Christian love. The revelation of God cannot be properly known apart from the cultivation of brotherly love within the community. The Corinthian church, which had special need to learn this lesson, was reminded that “knowledge...

Revelation 4 Have you given much consideration to the content of the Lord’s Prayer?  I mean have you ever consider what is being asked for when this prayer is recited?  Jesus said, “After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10) That’s a pretty powerful prayer to pray, especially when you consider that God answers prayer.  Whenever this prayer is prayed it’s a request to God asking that the activities of heaven be the activities on earth. I got thinking about this and wondered what is really happening in heaven at this very moment?   Is there a similarity between what happens on earth and what happens in heaven?  We know the sorts of things that take place on earth but heaven; well, we’re not so sure about. We can only imagine. The truth is God didn’t just leave it to our imaginations; He gave us revelation to help our im...

In John 3:16 (ESV) Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” It is only one sentence. And that sentence contains only twenty-four words. Yet that one sentence is packed with so much truth that we literally will not have time to fully unpack its contents, but I will try. From this one verse we can find at least seven truths (probably more) about the love of God. Let’s look at them now. 1. THE LOVE OF GOD IS UNCONDITIONAL.   For God so loved the world The Greek word for world (kosmos) is defined as “the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.” This is the world that God loved. It doesn’t say that God loved all the good guys. Or that God loved all the Jews. Or that God love all the saints. It says, “For God so loved the world.” That God should love the world only heightens the mystery of this love. Were we t...