“Genuine repentance must be primarily toward God.”

Pastor Steven J. Cole of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship comments Ezra was prostrating himself and praying “before the house of God” (10:1). Shecaniah admits, “We have been unfaithful to our God” (10:2). It was with God that they made this covenant because they trembled at His commandment (10:3). They needed to confess their sins to the … More “Genuine repentance must be primarily toward God.”

How a person reacts to the news of sin tells a lot about that person.

Pastor Steven J. Cole of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship comments on Ezra 9: Because we are so desensitized toward sin, we fail to have the proper response toward it, whether it is our own sin, or sin in others. We minimize it, justify it, or ignore it and go on our way unaffected by it. If … More How a person reacts to the news of sin tells a lot about that person.

Temptation and Tears

At the end of Mark 14, we read of how Peter, who at one time bragged that he would never forsake Jesus, did just that.  He betrayed Jesus not once, but three times.  J. C. Ryle comments: The experience of Peter is only the experience of all God’s servants who have yielded to temptation. Lot, … More Temptation and Tears