But along with grace, Paul also extended the greeting, "Peace." Just as grace was the common greeting for the Gentiles, so peace was the common greeting among the Jewish people. Shalom! Grace to the Gentiles, peace to the Jews. How thoughtful of Paul to combine the two in his characteristic greeting to Jewish-Gentile churches! Just as Paul had a de

The first time I wore my brace, the night felt never-ending. Every position revealed a new tinge of pain and the memory of my bent reflection sparked doubt. Time ticked by, measured in tosses and turns. But eventually I began to understand that patiently enduring was only half the answer. Revelation 7:16–17 provides hope in the midst of trial: “The

Here are few challenging questions for you to consider and answer if you like:Is your relationship with God stronger today than it was last year at this time? How about last week?Which of the 8 elements listed above may you be lacking? How may you add that element(s)?What layer do you plan to “add” today? How will you do that?Verse 8 explains that,

1. His ego is more fragile than you imagined.I know, you’re probably tired of hearing about the male ego. I get it. But it hasn’t gone away, and, frankly, the world isn’t too kind on our ego. We see the jokes on every sitcom and commercial about how inadequate we are at times. But there’s not a man with a soul that’s alive that doesn’t want to be a

TAKE LEADERSHIP INITIATIVEOne of the things that constantly haunts pastors is the sense that there is always more to be done and not enough time to do it. There is more evangelism to be done, more Bible studies to be started, more homebound folks to visit, more community outreach to initiate. Most pastors are burdened by all they are leaving undone

"I never knew you" must be accepted in its deeper signification of "recognizing the disciples." Augustine says that for Christ to say, "I never knew you," is only another way of saying, "You never knew me." Away from me, you evildoers! In spite of all their professions they had been evil doers. Their religion expended itself in professions and pray

1. Church is good for you.You eat fresh fruit and vegetables, drink water, and contort your body in Pilates. Why? Because it's good for you. “Now I say to you that you are Peter which means ‘rock’, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18)Church is good for you. God is building it an

Moses, the representative of the law, could not lead Israel into Canaan: the law leads us to Christ, and there its office ceases, as that of Moses on the borders of Canaan. It is Jesus, the antitype of Joshua, who leads us into the heavenly rest. This verse indirectly establishes the obligation of the Sabbath still, for the type continues until the

1. Sex is private, so we shouldn't talk about it.I’ve heard this one plenty, but here’s the problem: God talked about sex. Once, I decided to read the Bible aloud to my young children, and I quickly found myself wanting to skip over some sections. Because you cannot get very far in the Bible before coming across Scriptures about husbands and wives

Luke provides even greater detail, revealing that Mary was visited by an angel who explained that she, though a virgin, would bear the divine child: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God." [Luke 1:35]Even if the Virgin Birth was taug

1. Sarah: The Mother Who WaitedIn Genesis 11:30 we learn, “Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.“ This would have grieved both Sarah and Abraham, and in Genesis 15 when the word of the LORD came to Abram he answered, what will you give me LORD since you have not given me an heir? God tells him to look at the stars in the Sky

Third, towers could be places of protection for the king and his officials. If the city wall was breached, the royal family would be hidden in a tower where the walls were thick and difficult to penetrate. It was not uncommon for kings to be found hiding in towers at the end of a fierce battle in which the attacker prevailed.Uzziah also enhanced th

V. 11–14                       A Reversal of FortuneV. 15–17                       A Joyful ResolutionEsther 9:1-19:              A Resounding Victory                                      V. 1–3                          The Tables are TurnedV. 4–10                         A Resounding VictoryV.11–13                        A Finishing TouchV. 14–16 

1. The church abandons orthodoxy.If your church begins to fudge on matters of orthodoxy, placing cultural relevance or social gospel initiatives above sound doctrine and biblical authority, look for another church. Sometimes a church outright embraces heresy and it is loud and clear, but more often the march away from orthodoxy is a slow and hard-t

(c) But thirdly, notice that this was man was morally superior to others and very strict in his religion.  Look how his prayer of thanksgiving began. I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers. He at least to some degree was giving credit to God that he was different than them, better than them. He had a status of mor

B. The fruit of Jehoiada's labor"And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the Lord. Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw tha

There are only a handful of places in the Hebrew Bible where satan is not preceded by the definite article. First Chronicles 21:1 is one of them, and thus many interpreters see this as a rare instance of the being known as Satan appearing in the Old Testament. If this is the case, though, we have a blatant contradiction. There is a better explanati

This adapted excerpt, courtesy of Logos Bible Software, is from Joseph: Understanding God’s Purpose. This eight-week self-study program on the life of Joseph comes with graphics, reflection questions and “fill in the blank” boxes where users can record and save their answers. Abraham can also be purchased as a complete church curriculum which adapt

1. Living for approval imprisons you, but living for a purpose liberates you.It’s easy for everyone—introvert or extrovert—to live for approval and praise. We all naturally focus on what we wear, what we do, and/or what people think of us. Approval, however, is a bottomless pit of disappointment. Living for other people’s praise and respect will ru

Now we get to the tough part of loving our neighbors. If we are selective in which neighbors we love, we have sinned. We are not given the option of choosing to love one type of neighbor while disregarding the others.In the previous verses, James gives an example of partiality based on appearance and economic standing. Favoritism toward the well-dr