Places of Vulnerability
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 Jesus said that He came to give us abundant life. When we live our lives in brokenness, we are only able to live partially. Jesus came to set […]
Ordinary Men with Extraordinary Power
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 Acts 4:13 describes the reaction of the people when they realized that Peter and John were unschooled, ordinary men. They were […]
Willingness to Assume Responsibility
As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father? I Samuel 20:8 David questioned Saul’s son, Jonathan, regarding the wrongs he committed against his father. He knew […]
Work of the Holy Spirit
All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:25-26 Before Jesus left this earth, He told his disciples that He would send […]
The Message of Repentance and Salvation
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is our strength, but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15 In the Scripture reading today, Isaiah describes repentance and rest as the fruit of our salvation and quietness and […]
Stumbling in the Dark
A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. 1 Peter 2:8 To those who respond in faith, the Stone is “precious,” just as it is precious to God. But to those who reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah, He becomes a stumbling block. Peter compares the response of […]
Going Down to Egypt
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horseman, but do not look to the Holy […]
A People in Transition
When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. Joshua 3:3-4 When the Israelites crossed […]
The Righteousness of God
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Romans 3:21-22 The 1st century Jews understood the righteousness of God as being inherently tied to God’s faithfulness to […]
Destroying the Works of the Devil
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. I John 3:8 Scripture tells us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8) In Matthew 12, […]