Article by Greg Williams

One hot afternoon as a teenager, I was working in the apple orchard with my grandfather. He asked me to bring him the water jug ​​so he could take a big drink of "Adam's Ale" (meaning pure water). That was his flowery term for fresh, still water. Just as pure water refreshes physically, God's Word revives our spirits when we are in a spiritual training. Notice the words of the prophet Isaiah: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return thither; but they water the earth, and make it bring forth, and...

Have you ever wondered how many commandments are listed in the Old Testament? The widely accepted answer can be found in the Jewish list of "mitzvot," the most comprehensive compilation of Mosaic Law: there are 613 commandments and prohibitions. The ordinances range from the Ten Commandments to specific regulations about which insects are permitted to be eaten. Was this extensive set of rules really necessary? Whether someone wears linen and cotton clothing, of course, doesn't determine their salvation. Nevertheless, God was pursuing a particular goal with these instructions…

Have you ever had friends who have hurt each other deeply and who are unable or unwilling to work together to mend the rift? Perhaps you long for them to reconcile and are deeply pained that this has not happened. The apostle Paul mentions this situation in the shortest letter he wrote to his friend Philemon, who was converted through him. Philemon was apparently a resident of the city of Colossae. One of his slaves, Onesimus, had run away from him and in doing so had probably stolen some of his master's property.