But David does not here say, "in the folly of the ungodly," or "in the error of the ungodly;" and therefore he admonishes us to guard with all diligence against the appearance of what is right, that the devil transformed into an angel of light not seduce us by his craftiness. And he contrasts the counsel of the wicked with the law of the Lord, that

WEEK 5: From Slave to BrotherPray that the Spirit would help you give thanks—even in trials.Read Colossians 1:1–2:5 in one sitting.Reflect on Colossians 1:3–8.For whom is Paul thankful (Col 1:2–3)? Who does Paul thank? When is Paul thankful? Why is Paul thankful (Col 1:4–5)?What have the Colossians “heard before” (Col 1:5)? What “has come” to the C

On the other hand, if Galatians is used in the political sense of the Roman province, the letter could have been written immediately after Paul’s first missionary journey to the Galatian cities recorded and detailed in Acts 13–14. This is known as the South Galatian Theory. In this case, the letter was written before the Jerusalem Council recorded

1. Joel - Judgement is real, but so is the beauty of repentance.The book of Joel shares a prophetic word that came to Joel from the Lord. Joel creates a picture of the locust plague to share the often-overlooked message of judgement. However, he also shares this truth. We have hope, and it’s not too late to turn to God. “Return to the Lord your God

How to PrayMost Christians put fences around their prayers to save face. Many Christians have offered so many prayers through a sense of duty, and without any thought of being answered, that they are astonished when an answer truly comes from God. Consider, as an example of this, an incident that occurred in the early church as recorded in the book

Paul first addresses the matter of a good spiritual diet: “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:6-7).Reject ba

1. It Began with Christ’s SacrificeWe know from Luke 22:19-20 that when Jesus offered up his body on the cross and poured out his blood so that we might be forgiven of our sins, he was inaugurating and establishing the New Covenant. Here is how Luke records it: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, sayin

1. He ProvidesOne of the most amazing things I have discovered over the years is that God truly provides even in the midst of extraordinarily difficult circumstances. And He generally does so in ways that I never would have expected. Many times He has taken me through a path of loss only to bring me into pasture of abundance. God gives, and He take

Article Page Break HereThat is where the "Galatians 5:22-23" comes in. The characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are gifts to each one of us. Gifts that are ours for the taking if we are willing to work for them. They offer a perfect roadmap of how to maintain harmony in the mid

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" They came out of the town and made their way toward him.– John 4:28-303. She didn't have to have it all together.The Samaritan had a past. She was also living with a man. Christ never sa

1. She was the fourth woman in Biblical history to suffer through infertility.(And the very first to respond with faith!)Before Hannah, three other women endured the despair of not being able to conceive. Sarah was the first, followed by Rebekah and then Rachel. However, Hannah accepted God’s promise with unwavering faith. The other three did not.S

1. Revelation 21:5“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Rev. 21:52. Lamentations 3:22-23“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lam. 3:

What an interesting phrase that is: "keep yourselves in the love of God." The Bible says we "are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation" (1 Peter 1:5 NKJV), but in Jude, we are exhorted to keep ourselves in the love of God.Obviously, there is God's part. He is ready to keep us. But we also must take practical steps to keep ourselves i

1. Pray for Wholehearted SeekingBlessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways - Psalm 119:2-3Are you diving into the word or just going through the motions? Have you allowed distractions to cloud your thoughts? Just like Martha in Luke 10, we can easily get caught up in a

1. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)I wasn’t raised in the church and knew next to nothing about Jesus. At 15, I got hold of a New Testament and started reading, figuring that an all-powerful God would want to let people know how to find him in

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul conveyed a similar message: he told them that he could not consider them spiritual, but he could not call them worldly either. They were a mixture of the two. They were carnal (see 1 Corinthians 3:1, KJV). The word carnal means that they were stuck in the flesh. The word's root comes through in a usage y

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:2-4).A true test of our new life in Christ is the direction we take. Will we be bound to earthly, secular principles, or wil

Second, many evangelical preachers actually teach Old Testament texts and say a few words about them, but mostly as background—as though the Old Testament were a different story before we get to “our” story, the real story. But Christ says in John 5 (and the rest of the New Testament agrees) that it is all one story. The Old Testament is not the st

Isaiah lived in a century when it was clearly evident to men of vision and to men of God that David's dynasty was passing. It would never recover from its sickness unto death. The glory of King David had lived on for a time in his son, Solomon. The nation prospered as never before. But the old enmities, the old hatreds, the old angers and mistrusts

God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.such an answer to his request in the interpretation of his dream as shall give him full contentment and make his mind quiet and easy, and which shall suggest the welfare of him and his kingdom. Some render the words as a prayer or wish, "may God give Pharaoh"; so as it were addressing his God, that he would