Larry Grile John the Baptizer came on the scene in Judea with a powerful message. He claimed to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3-5. He told the inquiring crowds, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah” (Jn. 1:23). He was the forerunner and herald of the Messiah. His message was a call to repentance for the nation of Israel in preparation for the Messiah and His kingdom. His method was a baptism with water, familiar to the...

B.D. Cummins And He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor…” (Isaiah 59:16) God wondered! Can you even fathom it? The God Who created the universe, the heavens, sun, moon and stars; and created the earth, the animal kingdom, plant life, and mankind, looked down on His creation and “wondered!” God Who is Sovereign and Who knows all things, wondered! The Sovereign God Who is never surprised because He knows all things, and He knows “the end from the beginning,” yet...

Vance Havner Whatever may have happened to it since, the Christian way did not begin as a broad boulevard. Our Lord said the gate to eternal life was strait and the way narrow. He said that few find it and from that to the faithful few in Sardis (Revelation 3:4), the New Testament does not give us the impression of a popular, all inclusive movement.  The early Christians were a persecuted minority group in a pagan world. It was said of certain worthies, “They were narrow. In other words, they...