Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love Ephesians 1:3-4 WEB Paul begins his...
But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit Titus 3:4-5 WEB The apostle Paul is historically credited...
One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” Luke 12:13-14 WEB These verses from Luke’s gospel precede Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. In the parable, Jesus addresses the...
If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but...
Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the (empty) tomb. John 20:1 WEB On the Sunday following the Friday of Jesus’ death on the cross, John’s gospel account describes Jesus’ followers finding the empty...
Having then a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let’s hold tightly to our confession. Hebrews 4:14 WEB Under the law of Moses practiced by faithful Jews, the high priest intercedes between man and God. In the Christian faith, we have Jesus as intercessor...
It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. Joel 2:28 WEB The prophet Joel is known as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. In chapter two...
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Matthew 1:1 NIV Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. He does this to establish the historicity of Jesus as the Messiah, the promised Savior. Matthew’s listing of the ancestral lineage of Christ was...
Brothers, even if a man is caught in some fault, you who are spiritual must restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourself so that you also aren’t tempted. Galatians 6:1 WEB In chapter five of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he wrote about the freedom that comes from a life in...
You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you. James 5:6 WEB James begins chapter five of his epistle with a series of charges against the wealthy who oppress the poor. These statements comprise a warning to the rich. Pointing to the corruption of ill gotten...
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. Romans 8:14 WEB After his resurrection and before his ascension into heaven, Christ promised his disciples the Holy Spirit. We read of this promise in Luke 14:15-17 which says, “If you love me, keep my commandments. I will...
He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13 WEB The...
