A Brother Beloved (Paul's Letter to Philemon) There are many lessons in wisdom and courtesy we can learn from this very brief letter from friend to friend.

Be Ye Therefore Perfect (Matt. chapters 5-7, The Sermon on the Mount) If we hear and do, we build on rock, and will stand forever. If we hear and do not, we build on sand-our house will collapse and fall. Let us consider some of these commands in order:

By Love Serve One Another (The Epistle To The Galatians)

Come With Me, My Sister-Bride (Song of Solomon, Chapter 4) This Song is for teaching and/or for comfort. It is to teach us that these two spiritual qualities are what we must devote our lives to developing -- "Let us be glad and rejoice ... the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Bride hath MADE HERSELF READY" (Rev. 19:7).

Could Ye Not Watch One Hour? (Matthew chapter 26)
Judas was much more acute than the other simple disciples. He appears to have had the greatest natural ability and capacity and maturity. A man who, in such intimate contact, could maintain such perfect deception for three years was not an ordinary man.

Doth Job Fear God For Nought? The great question of the book of Job is: Why do the righteous suffer? And the great lesson is: We must totally and unquestioningly trust God, and have implicit faith in His love, mercy and justice, regardless of any appearances or circumstances. He has a reason and a purpose in the suffering of His people: different reasons at different times, but all working toward their ultimate glorification -- often a reason (as here) that would be impossible for man ever to guess without knowing what was in God's mind.

God Gave Them Up (Romans 1 & 2)

Go Forth To Him Without The Camp (Heb. 13) God did not just give Israel a bare command to leave the Law. Rather He gave, in this epistle, a beautiful, satisfying, reasoned explanation and revelation of the infinitely better way in Christ. This is the message of Hebrews -- how Christ so beautifully fulfills every type, answers every question, supplies every need.

Grace, Mercy and Peace from God (The First Epistle to Timothy) The first epistle to Timothy, where we find Paul had left him at Ephesus to set all things in the ecclesia in order there, appears to fit best into the period between Paul's two imprisonments. It is full of instruction and enlightenment about ecclesial affairs.

He Must Increase: I Must Decrease (The work of John the Baptist) It was a supreme test and trial for John to be confined to a dungeon while Jesus, whom he had announced as the Son of God and the long-promised Messiah, went about the country teaching, with no message for John, no hint of recognition of his plight, no explanation, no indication of what John could expect.

Holy and Blameless In Love According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Eph. 1:4)

I Am Ready To Be Offered (The Second Epistle to Timothy)
Paul's second letter to Timothy was written to strengthen and encourage him. Paul was a prisoner in Rome, about to be put to death for his service to Christ. Timothy was laboring in the Truth at some distant place. Paul appears to fear that Timothy was somewhat disheartened. Truly there was much to cause discouragement. Things were not going well with the Truth. They never have and never will. This the day of small things -- of trial and probation and darkness and faith.

In Labors More Abundant (2 Corinthians Chapters 11 and 12)

I Will Return To My First Husband (Hosea) The book of the prophet Hosea is one of the most beautiful and powerful of the prophetic books. Hosea is the prophet of the love of God, the gentlest and tenderest of the prophets -- the John of the Old Testament. He speaks of the truest, and most patient, and deepest of loves in the face of the greatest of unfaithfulness.

Let A Man Examine HIMSELF Our salvation depends on learning. We must learn what is wrong with ourselves -- wherein we do not correspond with the pattern that God requires in those He will alone accept.

Living Sacrifice As one of us, our representative, he opened up the way of life. And we can follow him in that way to eternal life only by dying completely to ourselves and becoming a part of him, completely enclosed in him and covered by him. As a representative, a strong loving Elder Brother to lead the way and carry the weak, he manifested God's love and provision for man.

My Sin Is Ever Before Me The failures and successes of the man after God's own heart (David).

Not Ashamed To Be Called Their God (Light and Shade In the Life of Jacob)

Our Old Man Is Crucified With Him (Romans 6) The predominant characteristic of this occasion is joyfulness. We are told that the awakening of a son of Adam to the love of God and the decision to become united to Christ is a cause of great joy in heaven. One more is added to the family of the sons of God, all knit together in the beauty of holiness.

The Bond of Perfectness But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? (1 John 3:17)

The Fruit of the Spirit Future peace must be our goal, as must also be future Joy. For the Joy that was set before him, Christ endured all things, and unless we in our lesser degree do the same, we shall be cast aside and forgotten in that day when "peace on earth" is at last an accomplished fact.