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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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Jesus and Sinners
Recently, I’ve heard several people comment through various sources (interviews and articles) on how Jesus kept company with sinners, in particular the more “troublesome” sinners, such as prostitutes and thieves. The context of these interviews was to slam conservative Christians. I rarely write about politics on this blog, so this post is not about the slam towards Christians. I will talk about Jesus, however. It’s true. Jesus did keep company with sinners. He traveled with them. He ate dinner with them. He dwelt among them. Considering we’re all sinners, who else would He have kept company with? Once, when confronted by the Pharisees for eating dinner with tax collectors, He…
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What’s So Good About Good Friday?
“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 “…but God shows his love for us in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 ESV “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” – Jesus John 15:13-14 Today is Good Friday – the day Jesus faced his accusers and death. He was whipped, mocked, and beaten before being nailed to the cross and dying a torturous death. If what Jesus…
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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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A Few Words on Loving Others
This week brought even more grief to our country – the murder of George Floyd. My heart is broken over his senseless death. I haven’t watched the video in full, nor do I plan to. The little bit I watched shattered me. I weep when I think back to how he begged for his life. He pleaded for his mom, for relief, and for help. The cops offered no relief, no mercy, no compassion. Though I don’t know exactly what they were thinking, their actions showed they dehumanized Mr. Floyd. How else could you ignore someone’s pleas for help? How else could you continuously kneel on someone as they begged…
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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 1:8-9
How are you all doing with these memory verses? Are you putting all of them together to keep it fresh in your mind? Let’s say them together, beginning with 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, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your…
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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 His Word: Matthew 22:37 – 39
Welcome to the first “Abide in His Word” post. As mentioned here, I believe it is important for us to memorize the Word of God as it is the Sword of the Spirit. Also, Jesus tells us in John 15 to abide in Him. One way to abide in Him is to have His words abide in us. So, I thought it would be fun if we could memorize the Word of God together. Everything is better when done with others, right? Here’s how it will work: every two weeks, I will post a new verse or group of verses to memorize and give an explanation of the verse(s). Throughout…
