Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” Acts 23:1 NIV After leaving Ephesus, Paul returned to Jerusalem. While attending the temple in Jerusalem, Paul is assaulted and beaten mercilessly for spreading the...
He isn’t here but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee, Luke 24:6 WEB After the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples and Christ’s faithful were grieving and disheartened. In their grief, the gospels teach that two separate groups of Jesus’ female followers went the...
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV Jesus experienced a great deal of difficulty when dealing with the religious leaders of his day. Many Pharisees sought to discredit Christ and undermine his ministry. Nicodemus was a...
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12 WEB Love is the centerpiece of Godly ethics. In both the Old Testament and the New, love is commanded to promote peace and an orderly life. Leviticus 19:18 forbids grudges and revenge saying, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any...
Let no man despise your youth; but be an example to those who believe, in word, in your way of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 WEB Although selected by the church elders to lead and probably in his early thirties at the time, Timothy experienced challenges in his...
“In a surge of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:8 NIV In the previous chapter, Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Lord Jesus and God’s will to offer him as a sacrifice for...
May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you, 1 Thessalonians 3:12 WEB Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica holds a special place in canonical scripture. Many scholars agree that it is the first letter of...
But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:33 WEB When we acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, Christ is faithful to acknowledge us to our Father in heaven. In contrast, Jesus taught, “whoever denies me before men, I will also deny...
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Psalm 36:5 NIV To begin Psalm 36, David mourns the wickedness of humanity. Saying that he has a message from God in his heart, the great king grieves man’s lack of reverence for the Lord. Specifically, David laments deceitful...
The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 WEB John begins his gospel account with a powerful assertion that reminds the reader of the opening words of Genesis. We read in John 1:1, “In the...
By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 1 John 3:16 WEB There is a sharp contrast between love and hate. However, the opposite of love is best defined as indifference. In its active form, love is caring and sacrificial like a...
Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:4 WEB James begins his writing in chapter one with a greeting to the twelve tribes of Israel. In his first few lines, he encourages Christians to count the temptations they encounter as joy....
