Have you spent much time considering the value of prayer? If you’re anything like me, when an averse situation arises, sometimes prayer is the last thing I turn to. Often I talk to my friends, or seek the advice of someone older and wiser. But prayer? Sometimes I forget. The challenge for us, though, is that Paul emphasized the importance ... [Continue Reading]
The Quest for Purity (1 Thessalonians 3-5)
One of the challenges of living a life that pleases God is avoiding sexual immorality, and though Paul never specifically uses the word "purity," I believe it is implied in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8. Paul does say that God doesn't call us to live "impure" lives, so the implication is that we are to put a life of purity on a pedestal. ... [Continue Reading]
Of Moldy Cheese and Trust (1 Thessalonians 1-2)
Have you ever heard the phrase, “a little bad leaven can ruin a whole loaf?” We had a huge block of cheddar cheese that I bought from Costco a few months ago. It was a great deal, but it was a whole lot of cheese. I opened it and started working on eating it, but I couldn’t eat it fast enough. Wouldn’t you know, it got a little moldy. Now ... [Continue Reading]
The unknown god (Acts 17-18:18)
There’s a debate in the church about how culturally relevant the church should be. Some claim that cultural relevance is of utmost importance, and others claim that it’s unbiblical. It’s curious that Paul, when he was addressing the people of Athens, drew attention to their statue to the “unknown god.” The people of Athens were very religious people, ... [Continue Reading]
The Law of Sowing and Reaping (Galatians 4-6)
Have you ever tried to plant something? My wife, Kari, has an uncle who is a farmer. One day we went out reaping the harvest of corn with him in his big farm machinery. It was pretty fun. I learned an important but simple lesson: if you plant corn seeds then you have corn grow. Likewise, if you plant soybean seeds, then you’ll have ... [Continue Reading]
Heirs of Abraham (Galatians 1-3)
If you spend time reading through the Bible you quickly find out that the Israelites are God’s chosen people. They weren’t chosen because of anything special about them but because of God’s gracious generosity. Their story is really a story of trust because Abraham, in his wisdom, trusted God from the beginning, and it was counted to him as ... [Continue Reading]
Grace and Truth (Acts 15-16)
There has always been a tension in the church between grace and truth. In reality, such a tension shouldn’t even exist. Too often we think that we need 50% grace and 50% truth, but Jesus, the embodiment of both, was 100% of each. He was all grace and all truth. The first debate in the church arose over this issue: is grace enough, or do new ... [Continue Reading]
Your Move (James 4-5)
Your relationship with God is up to you. If you want to be close to Him, then the only thing stopping that from happening is your willingness to put forth time and effort. James tells us that if we draw near to Him, then He will draw near to us. Among the twelve disciples, Jesus had three that were closest to him. It wasn’t because of his lack ... [Continue Reading]
The Tension of Faith and Works (James 1-3)
There’s a tension within the Christian life between faith and works. If you read this blog often, you probably have gotten an idea of the importance of faith and belief. Even in today’s reading, James highlighted that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham didn’t allow his trust to end at trust, though. He ... [Continue Reading]
Free (Acts 13-14)
The law of Moses didn’t set people free. In fact, it affected the opposite result. The problem that the Jews faced was that they were unable to live up to the law. Try as they might, they couldn’t live perfect lives or be life-long law-keepers. But they tried. And every effort that was made to obey the law and find freedom from sin ... [Continue Reading]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- …
- 100
- Next Page »
Connect with Me