Showing results by author "James Thomas" in All Categories

This book has been written about Joseph, the son of Jacob. He had had two dreams about his family members bowing to him, and those dreams had made them very angry with him. In fact, they hated him so much that they actually tried to get rid of him. They sold him to some merchants going to Egypt. Then, an Egyptian captain bought him out of the local slave market and brought him into his household. Because the Lord was with him, Joseph excelled everywhere he went and in everything that he did. But that did not keep him from getting into a lot of trouble. He ended up in prison when the ...

In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul shared nine important truths. First, he spoke about the necessity for every saint to be called by the Holy Spirit into his or her specific ministry. Second, he indicated that salvation is by the Lord alone and that He is longsuffering with people because His desire is for them to be saved. Third, he told Timothy that the Lord wants everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth of the gospel so that they can be saved. Fourth, he told Timothy that Jesus performs the role of mediator in reconciling lost and saved sinners to God the Father. When...

In December 1967, my life was in more trouble than I could realistically handle. While in the midst of those struggles, I asked the Lord to forgive me for all the wrong that I had done and to put my life on a path that would lead me out of my difficulties. More than fifty years later, I can now say that He was faithful to do exactly that. He changed me from the inside out. Then He changed the dreadful circumstances of my entire life. Since that night in 1967, I have experienced the joy of knowing the God of the universe and the one and only Creator of everything. Through the years, I have ...

Twenty-seven times in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible the phrase "be not afraid" appears. Therefore, each of those cases will be discussed in this text. To better analyze them, they have been broken into eight categories. The first category, which is to "be not afraid" of the Lord, will be examined in chapters one, two, and three of this text. Those chapters will look closely at the ruler of the synagogue whose daughter had just died and also at the disciples when they had seen Jesus walking to them on the water. The second category, which is to "be not afraid" of the unexpected, ...

In chapter five of this epistle, James had concluded his writing to his Jewish, Christian brethren by encouraging them to not be troubled by their poverty or by their mistreatment by others. In particular, they had been hurt and victimized by wealthy landowners who had cheated them out of their wages and who had also had many of them executed. So James had written that they should be patient and trust in the Lord. They should be joyful and full of songs of praise for the Lord. They should live according to biblical standards. They should be soul-winners. They should also encourage one ...

The Hebrew word, 'elohiym, for "God" was used at least two thousand six hundred and six times in the Old Testament. Its first use in the scriptures was in Genesis 1:1. The Hebrew word, yhwh, for "LORD" was used six thousand five hundred and nineteen times in the Old Testament. Its first use in the scriptures was in Genesis 2:4-5. Those two Hebrew words when put together become yhwh 'elohiym and form the expression "LORD God." That combination appears five hundred and nineteen times in the Old Testament. But each of those words was also used separately throughout the scriptures with other ...

Earlier this year in 2022, I completed a daily devotion book on the book of Proverbs. That book was intentionally meant to be very non-technical. By design, the devotions were meant to be easy to read and understand but without involving the reader with a lot of Hebrew words and scripture references. So that book was completed earlier this year in one very large volume. But now, this book, which is being prepared as six separate parts in six volumes, is meant to be everything that the devotion book was not meant to be. For example, each of the devotions that are in the devotion book are ...

This book discusses most of the key events in Abraham's life as they have been recorded in the Bible. Part I will begin by discussing his life in Ur of the Chaldees when he was first told by God to go to the land where he would be led. Analysis of that instruction, along with some other Bible passages, will show that God had probably told him twice to go to a new land. It will also be pointed out that those multiple calls were not because of his disobedience. Following that discussion, when and how he probably got saved will be presented. He was not just automatically saved. He had to ...

Earlier this year in 2022, I completed a daily devotion book on the book of Proverbs. That book was intentionally meant to be very non-technical. By design, the devotions were meant to be easy to read and understand but without involving the reader with a lot of Hebrew words and scripture references. So that book was completed earlier this year in one very large volume. But now, this book, which is being prepared as six separate parts in six volumes, is meant to be everything that the devotion book was not meant to be. For example, each of the devotions that are in the devotion book are ...

In the first part of the fourth chapter of the epistle of James, the author wrote about the unanswered selfish prayers of those who primarily pray for what they want. The obvious conclusion is that truly godly people should always pray for what the Lord wants of them rather than for what they might hope to get for themselves from Him. In the second part of the fourth chapter, he wrote about the importance of putting the Lord first in all things. The reasons for doing that are many. It is important to live a holy life. It is important for the saints of God to hold up each other. It is ...

The five individual chapter commentaries on the Epistle of James that I have written have been incorporated into one text of the entire epistle. The first two chapter commentaries were written in 1998 and have been greatly modified for this text. An effort has also been made to convert previously used first person language with more formal third person language. That having been said and in looking at the first chapter of the Epistle of James, it considers authorship, the date that the epistle was written, and the basis for its acceptance into the biblical canon. With a strong focus on the ...

This text is a commentary on the gospel of John. Because John focused on showing the deity of Christ, one gets his unique slant on how the story of Jesus is told. He did not write about the birth of Jesus. He did not write about when Jesus, as a young boy, outwitted the religious leaders during one of His family's trips to Jerusalem. But with this text, one does get the eight "I am" statements made by Jesus. Jesus said that He is the bread of life. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. He said that He is the light of the world. He made those statements plus five more. John ...

This short book has been written to share a couple of very important spiritual truths. The first, called the Eternality of Bible Truth, maintains that every word of the Bible has always been true even before it was spoken or written. The second truth is that the Old Testament saints probably did not hear God's audible, out loud voice. That simple statement is not meant to sound heretical. Those words are also not meant to deny anything that Christians have traditionally believed about God. The real message is that what we have many times just accepted as truth in the Bible may in fact not ...

This book has been written to clear up some confusion about John 3:16. In the pages that follow, the actual originator of those words will be identified. The verse is in red in Bibles that identify the words of Jesus with red letters. But did He really say those words in His conversation with Nicodemus? In reaching the most logical conclusion, careful consideration will be given to the verb "gave" in that verse and to the Apostle John's use of the aorist active indicative case for that verb. Verses from other parts of his writings and the New Testament will also be considered to arrive at ...

The Bible teaches that there are seven separate judgments. This book was written about the first one, which was the judgment of Satan and sin by the cross of Jesus. It starts with Satan sinning in heaven and being cast to the earth. It carefully analyzes the Garden of Eden environment and the whole theology around what happened when Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It considers several logistical questions concerning his sin, the consequences of his sin, and the resulting physical and spiritual separations from God. Once those topics have been addressed, some ...

This book discusses one of the most important set of verses in one of the most important chapters in one of the most important books of the Bible. The whole doctrine about being born again is based upon a conversation that Jesus had had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. From that conversation, one can easily see the analogy between the brass serpent on a pole in the Old Testament and Jesus on the cross at Calvary. That analogy makes it clear that Jesus is the only way of salvation. People may try whatever they like. But John 14:6 says that no one comes to the Father except by the Son. All of...

Earlier this year in 2022, I completed a daily devotion book on the book of Proverbs. That book was intentionally meant to be very non-technical. By design, the devotions were meant to be easy to read and understand but without involving the reader with a lot of Hebrew words and scripture references. So that book was completed earlier this year in one very large volume. But now, this book, which is being prepared as six separate parts in six volumes, is meant to be everything that the devotion book was not meant to be. For example, each of the devotions that are in the devotion book are ...

This book contains a series of short essays that discuss twenty-five of the important promises from the Lord that have been stated in the scriptures. Each of the essays is basically independent of the others. But at the same time, they have also been ordered somewhat loosely from most important to least important based upon logical order. The Lord promises to love every person. He promises to be found but not indefinitely. He promises grace for salvation and living. He promises goodness and mercy. He promises salvation that cannot be lost. He promises to not be bought. He promises to resist...

Ten places in the Bible, mention is made about events and decisions that were made from, before, or since the foundation of the world. Four of those occasions were spoken by Jesus during His public ministry. One was written by the Apostle Paul. One was written by the Apostle Peter. Two occurrences were included in the book of Hebrews. Two occurrences were mentioned in the book of Revelation. In chapters one through three of this text, two of the writings about events and decisions from the foundation of the world will be shared. First, Jesus taught secrets about the Word of God and secrets ...

This text was written in response to a question that I was asked at a Wednesday night Bible study at Wallers Baptist Church in Partlow, Virginia. The question, which was asked by the church's pastor, was in regard to the obvious enthusiasm that some of the saints of God seem to have for the Lord's work. The study that evening was in Acts 13:13, which talks about the Apostle Paul's first Bible-recorded missionary journey. It says, "Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem." So when the company ...