Pathway Weeklies

It is not always the devil in the bush that should cause us worry, but the evil in our own hearts that is the concern. I have long believed that the tempter is certainly intent on scandalizing our Christian name, but he often begins by tempting us in our own areas of weakness. The good news is that temptations provide us with crucial preparation for service to the Lord. Have you ever viewed tempta...

“The main measure of your devotion to God is not your devotional life. It is simply your life.” (John Ortberg). We no doubt have heard sermons preached and lessons taught on the necessity for undivided devotion to God, but we are oftentimes unsure about how this dedication is demonstrated. Paul does state that devotion and purity are prerequisites for a continuing relationship to Christ, so let’s ...

“I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord,” were some of the last words of a 1920s famous Blues singer. What would you write, if you were called upon to pen a statement that would be your last written words? Hannah was not an author but the last words we ever hear/read from her lips are recorded in 1 Samuel 2, and they speak to this very day! Her thoughts are world-changing in style and co...

One of the most precious lives I have ever known gave me an opportunity to share my heart about faith in Jesus Christ. This person listened carefully to all I said and responded with her belief that Jesus was a good teacher, but not a risen Savior and Lord. I replied tenderly, “He has changed my life.” Facts about Jesus are critical for understanding how God has worked out His salvation for us. Ne...

J. Vernon McGee once said, “There is a brotherhood within the body of believers, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the common denominator. Friendship and fellowship are the legal tender among believers.” Sadly, this type of fellowship is not always the case as our focal passage shows us today. “Deep and wide, deep and wide” are words from an old camp chorus that reminded young people of God’s fountain ...

“There is more safety with Christ in the tempest than without Christ in the calmest waters” (Alexander Grosse). Sadly, we all too often permit deep waters amid life’s deluges and the tall mountains of trials to cause us doubt, rather than trusting God’s providential care. Psalm 40 will change this attitude if we will allow it to minister to our hesitations! It will cause us to praise God for His g...

Christ will have no person or nation supplant His authority. This opening statement to today’s culture seems provocative, but it is filled with urgent purpose. I penned the words because I want us to consider them carefully as we enter this Easter season. Christ presents a parable in Mark 12:1-11 where the chief theme may be summed up in our focal verses. Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 in the passag...

“God bestows His blessing without discrimination. The followers of Jesus are children of God, and they should manifest the family likeness by doing good to all, even to those who deserve the opposite” (F.F. Bruce, italics mine). Professor Bruce clearly understood a Christian’s call to virtue, which meant to love God and love one’s neighbor. The Corinthians were a bit slow to arrive at this same un...

I hear Christians in recent years express the fear that God has abandoned them in their difficulty. J.I. Packer has said, “God has not abandoned us any more than he abandoned Job. He never abandons anyone on whom he has set his love; nor does Christ, the good shepherd, ever lose track of his sheep.” We may trust the Lord, our Shepherd. Psalm 23, often termed a “song of confidence,” points us to th...

Were Paul to have a life statement, this would be it! In fact, he similarly writes, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain,” in Philippians 1:21. My first childhood pastor penned this exact verse in my Bible. I opened my Bible to that page on countless occasions and wondered why he had hung that statement above his life and ministry. I understand better now, at this stage in my life, his rea...