Psalm 23:2

Title:  Green pastures

For the Christian who harkens to the voice of the Good Shepherd and follows in his footsteps, even up the knoll of sacrifice, every condition in life is a green pasture, because it is the presence of the Lord Jesus among his sheep that makes the meadow lush with the satisfaction of his comforting guidance and his trustworthy promise of eternal life, with the attendance only of goodness and love throughout the years, to those who would seek righteousness as welcome guests in his holy and royal dwelling, as in the days of old the temple of the Lord.

John 6:44; John 14:6

Title:  No one can come to me

Salvation is uniquely the work of God alone, and in no way to be attributed to any human strength or agency.

The Father seeks those whom he would save, with lovingkindness draws them to the Lord Jesus who, in turn, is the only way to the Father.  This beautiful pattern clearly exhibits the sovereignty of God, his justice, and his love which is offered as a gift in the redemptive work of his Son.

God is in absolute control over the history of salvation, for if not no one would be saved because on one seeks after God, so while we were still powerless, the Lord Jesus died for the ungodly.

Matthew 6:19

Title:  Moth and rust

It is not difficult to see that the garbage dump contains everything man lives and works for on this planet.  Everything money can buy ends up in a stinking landfill.

The Lord Jesus commanding us to stop storing up material things if we have already started accumulating goods that we can actually do without.  What we have to be so sure of is that we desire to own things because they are essential in order for us to serve God by spreading the gospel and edifying the church, never to flaunt our wealth or to enjoy the pleasures of life to the fullest and as long as they would last.

Life is not for our pleasure.  Life is meant for the service of God.  And that is where true joy and life can be found.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

Title:  Wait for His Son

A congregation that has grown to be a model of faith, love, and hope would be preoccupied with the expectation of the return of the Lord Jesus and would be concerned with the eternal questions of life rather than with trivial matters that have no spiritual merit.

For their sincere interest in the future of believers who die before the Lord Jesus returns, and for the part they will have in that great day, an encouraging response was relayed to them and would enlighten the church through all generations.

Our questions are windows to our spiritual maturity, and the Father God would leave no detail unrehearsed to his children who are earnestly waiting for the day of the Lord and speed its coming.

Philippians 1:27

Title:  Whatever happens

In life or in death, the Christian should behave himself in a way suitable for someone who has been granted the honor of suffering for the Lord Jesus in defending the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) in partnership with other believers.

This is not an easy proposition considering the magnitude of the task and the urgency of the times, but those who would be companions with the apostles in their perils and privation in defending and establishing the gospel will be able to rejoice even in the face of great endurance and many forms of danger and opposition outside the church and even from those who call themselves Christians but are of the synagogue of Satan.

Philippians 1:10

Title:  The day of Christ

The history of man will culminate on the day of the Lord, and creation itself will be liberated from its bondage of decay on that day; for this reason the Christian perspective must lead him from Calvary to the Mount of Olives where the Lord Jesus will set his feet at the end of the age and gather onto himself his people from the four corners of the earth.

The earth, in its present state, is no place for Christian purpose, which is to live a pure and blameless life.  We are not here on this insignificant speck of dust in God's universe to simply cherish our freedom in pursuit of happiness.  On the contrary, the believer is expected to carry his cross to the hill of sacrifice, and along the narrow path live a holy life for the pleasure and praise and honor of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 1:4

Title:  In all our troubles

Our Father God, the God who comes alongside us when we are under great distress, as we call upon him in prayer, addresses all our troubles, even individual afflictions that may seem to drown us in total despair, and by his great mercy encourages us through his Son, the Lord Jesus, whose suffering was so intense that creation itself convulsed in confusion over the tortured and shameful death of the Savior who gave up his life for those who hated him.

None of our sufferings is more agonizing than what the Lord Jesus had to endure before and on the cross, and yet the Father is concerned with our troubles, for nothing is too big for the Lord.