Within the church there is a tendency, at times, to become jealous over one another's gifts. Ultimately, however, those gifts don't really matter if they aren't combined with the most important thing. In fact, anything that is done, absent of the most important thing, isn't really that valuable in the whole scheme of life. What is that ... [Continue Reading]
Finding a way out (1 Corinthians 9-11)
Paul reminds us that God will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle. Isn't that a comforting thought? Though the temptation you're facing right now might be hard, it's not beyond what you can survive. When we look at our temptations through that lens, we're no longer victims of the things that tempt us. Instead, ... [Continue Reading]
The right way to judge (1 Corinthians 5-8)
Paul addressed a situation in 1 Corinthians 5 that isn't all too different from situations that we face in the church today. Apparently a member of the church was sleeping with his stepmother... a practice that is shunned outside of the church. The problem wasn't just that this individual was living in sin, the problem was that the church didn't ... [Continue Reading]
Your heart, God ‘ s home (1 Corinthians 1-4)
One of the most incredible realities for Christians is the promise found in the Bible that those who trust in Jesus' death for the forgiveness of their sins benefit from the Holy Spirit moving into their lives. Paul reminded the Corinthians of this very truth: "You are God's temple and... God's spirit dwells in you." That's a pretty ... [Continue Reading]
It ‘ s not Jesus and… (Acts 18:19-19:41)
For some people it's tempting to add Jesus as *another* thing they believe rather than *the* thing they believe. That was the situation during the time of the early church, and it's a situation we face now. We like to pick and choose what we like and leave the rest out. When Jesus says God is love, we like that. When Jesus says we have ... [Continue Reading]
Keep a distance from idle people (2 Thessalonians)
Paul's closing challenge to the Thessalonians is worthy of notice: keep away from idle people. What was an idle person in Paul's day? It was someone who feasted off of the generosity of other people. These were individuals who took advantage of the benefits of the church (caring for people in need) without ever actually helping to support the ... [Continue Reading]
The quest for purity (1 Thessalonians 3-4)
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]
A living example (1 Thessalonians 1-2)
One of the things that Paul praises the Thessalonians for is their example of faith. This was a group of people who were doing things right and living the way that God intended; they were a living example of faith. They weren't living in a right way so they would be noticed, they were doing it because that's what they were supposed to be doing. ... [Continue Reading]
Finding common ground (Acts 17-18:18)
Paul did something fairly remarkable when he spoke to the men of Athens: he found common ground. Surprisingly, he did not start by expositing the Bible; he started by connecting with the people who were interested in hearing what he had to say. I think this is an important concept to consider as we think about the church and the way we connect with ... [Continue Reading]
Examining the fruit (Galatians 4-6)
For the last few months I've been working on an independent study Greek course. One of the challenges of learning Greek is that you have to be a little bit of a detective to figure out exactly what case words are put in in a sentence; you have to use context clues to find out the real meaning. The same concept applies as it comes to evidence of the Holy ... [Continue Reading]
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