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A “Heavenly” Conversation?
Did you know there is a Ouija, or spirit, board for Christians? Yep, that’s right. It was brought to my attention a few days ago. This board is called the “Holy Spirit Board” and it promises to connect you straight to Heaven so you can chat with Jesus. It also promises it will not contact demons or anything else that’s evil. Suuuure. When I first heard about it, I wanted to cry. Then I read the reviews. It saddened me even more. Several of the reviewers claimed to have spoken directly with Jesus when using this board, and that He had answered their prayers. Some of you may be asking…
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Christ, Our Priceless Treasure
Treasure Christ. I heard this phrase when we started attending our current church two and a half years ago. At first, I didn’t give much thought to the phrase, but then I kept hearing it in sermons and other teachings. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that that’s what we Christians should be doing. Let me clarify, I’m sure if you ask any Christian if they treasure Christ, they’ll probably reply “Yes, absolutely!” I know I would have. But, if you looked at my life, it didn’t necessarily reflect it. You may have been able to tell that I loved Jesus, but I’m not so sure…
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One of the Scariest Verses in the Bible
I was talking with someone the other day about this verse found in Matthew 7: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your names, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.‘” – Jesus Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus spoke these words while giving His Sermon on the Mount. He may…
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Abide in Him: John 3
Welcome back! I realize I’ve dropped the ball a bit in posting this study in a timely manner. I do hope to do better with future posts. In this post, we will cover John 3. It begins with the story of Nicodemus and Jesus meeting together to discuss what it means to be born again. As we’ll read, Nicodemus had several questions for Jesus. Jesus answers them and continues the conversation by telling Nicodemus how much God loves the world. Finally, we end the chapter with John the Baptist exalting Jesus before his own disciples. Let’s get this study started! The Text Jesus and Nicodemus (Verses 1 – 15) At…
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Abide in Him: John 2
Welcome back! I hope you are enjoying this study and finding it helpful as we dive into the book of John. I know I’ve enjoyed learning more about Jesus through this gospel. I’ve read through this book many times throughout the years and I’m always amazed at how much more I learn with each reading. His word truly is living and active. For this post, we will cover all of chapter two. The Text Jesus’s First Miracle (Verses 1 – 12) Chapter two begins two days after Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael to be His disciples. Jesus, His disciples, and His mom are attending a wedding in Cana. Wedding feasts…
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Abide in Him: John 1:19-51
Welcome back to our study of John chapter 1. In these next sections, we learn a little bit more about John the Baptist and his mission. We also see Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. Up to this point, He had been described to us as the Word in the flesh. Now, we read about Him appearing in the flesh as He approaches John the Baptist. Finally, in the last part of chapter 1, we’ll read about the calling of Jesus’s first disciples. The Text John the Baptist’s Testimony In verses 19-28, John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus. According to the Gospel of Luke, John proclaimed “a…
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Growing Together: Stretching My Faith
Welcome to my new blog series “Growing Together.” In this series, I will share with you what I’m learning in my life at the moment through various situations. This differs from my “Abide in Him” series because it’s not a Bible study, but rather my thoughts about things I believe the Lord is teaching me. My hope is that you find this series encouraging and helpful. Feel free to share with me what you’re going through in the Comments section below so we can encourage each other in our faith in Jesus. “Walk by faith, not by sight,” (2 Corinthians 5:7). This is what the Lord has impressed upon me…
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Abide in Him: 2 Peter 1:10-11
Since most of us are staying home for the next couple of weeks, let’s use this time to work on our Scripture memorization. This is our last section of 2 Peter 1 to memorize. Before we begin our study of verses 10-11, let’s recite verses 3-9. Try it first from memory: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the…
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Abide in Him: 2 Peter 1:5
Before I dive into our new verse, let’s review what we’ve learned already. Test yourself and try to say verses 3 and 4 out loud first, before reading the text. Here we go: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to His own glory and excellence by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” This week, we will add verses 5-7. Do…
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Abide in Him: 2 Peter 1:4
This week, we will add on to our previous verse. Before we jump into verse 4, let’s review verse 3: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us to His own glory and excellence…” Verse 4 is the last part of the sentence we started to learn last time and it continues to explain why we should add to our faith in order to keep from being ineffective and lacking in the knowledge of Jesus. I chose these verses for our memorization project because they serve as a good reminder of what we can…
