Posts with the category “2025-21-days”

Revelation 1:5 “and from Jesus Christ ... to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood...”Revelation 1:18 “and the living One (Jesus). I died and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”Revelation 2:3 “I know you are... bearing up for my name’s sake”Revelation 2:10 “...Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.”Revelation 2:17 “....  Read More

Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians during a time of persecution. They were encouraged not to return to the practices of the old Jewish covenant. The encouragement was to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 13:1-3)The race is the challenge to persevere, pick up our cross daily and strive to be more like ...  Read More

Have you surrendered ALL to the Lord? Those words from the pulpit cut like a knife through my bitter heart. I started thinking "Why am I so tired if I have surrendered it ALL to him? Why am I hesitant to take things to the cross?" The Holy Spirit reminded me of the book of James saying count it ALL joy when you go through trials. How do I do that? It's not possible, I thought. I can't control what...  Read More

Colossians 1:9-14 became my favorite verses in 2021. I was reading through the Old Testament and when I got to the first chapter of Colossians I continued to read that chapter every day for the next week. I was so drawn to it and desired to know it and live it. So much so that they have been the verses that I specifically pray over each of my family members and close friends daily, since 2021. The...  Read More

The Apostle Paul, a man of profound theological insight, penned the epistle to the Philippians from a prison cell. Yet, his words exude not despair, but a radiant joy that defies earthly circumstances. This joy, he insists, is not contingent upon external factors, but rather, it is a fruit of the Spirit, cultivated in the soul of the believer.Paul's joy springs from a deep and abiding faith in Chr...  Read More

In Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, he (in classic Paul style) was writing to correct false doctrine that had crept into the church and to remind them of the truth of the gospel and our identity as followers of Jesus. In Galatians 4:4-7 he writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so ...  Read More

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says, "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He wa...  Read More

We have heard people ask, “Would a loving God send someone to hell?” The answer is in the Gospel! Romans 1:16 states, “The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”  Romans 3:23 tells us that we are all sinners. “But God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) God has provided a way of escape for those who will ...  Read More

The Book of Acts is the continuation of the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. The Greek word for preaching the gospel (euangelizo) appears in Acts more than any other book of the Bible. That gospel is no trivial thing but remarkable as seen in one of my preferred passages in Acts. The gospel changing power is displayed in the story of the Damascus road.Acts 9:3-6, "And ...  Read More

Navigating Jesus’s parables can be difficult. My sister and I shared a bedroom and we both had bulletin boards where we would often hang bible verses. I remember reading a bible verse from the book of Mark and it was very confusing to my 16-year-old brain. It read, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it...  Read More

We know the story of Jonah well, but do we see the gospel in Jonah? Jonah was called by God to warn Nineveh about their destruction due to sin. Jonah tried to flee, but after being swallowed by a giant fish for three days and nights, he repents and obeys God's command. He delivers the message to Nineveh, and they repent, leading God to show mercy and spare the city but the book ends with Jonah str...  Read More

The book of Daniel shows the importance of resolve, obedience, humility, and faithfulness in the lives of God’s followers. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were threatened with death if they chose to remain obedient to God instead of submitting to the king. Choosing God over the world may not get us thrown in a fiery furnace or lions’ den but it may still result in earthly consequences. Our...  Read More

Over 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah described a man who wasdespised and rejected by men. The Man was wounded for our transgressions; bruised for ouriniquities and by His stripes we are healed. The Man was led as a lamb to slaughter and did notopen His mouth. He was cut off from the land of the living and stricken for transgressions ofpeople. His grave was made with the wicked ...  Read More

There are churches today that have adopted the “if it makes you feel good it must be right” attitude, but does it pass the approval of God? In Jeremiah the Israelites fell into this trap more than once. They idolized other gods again and again, and sometimes we fall into idolatry without realizing it. Our idolatry becomes money, sports, jobs, and just stuff that gets in the way of our relationship...  Read More

Why do you think that God allowed us to know about Job and his God story?Here is something to think about - Job never knew that the devil was putting him through this horrible test of his faith, wealth, and health and trying to destroy his faith. You know the story, Satan failed and Job stayed faithful to God. Saving faith will always be tested, just see Meshack, Shadrack, and Abendego.Their faith...  Read More

While I was reading the book of Ruth, I wondered what if Ruth had embraced a philosophy of caution and went back to Moab? The negative repercussions would have been devastating and widespread. Naomi would become one of the world's displaced and impoverished widows. Boaz would continue basking in glories of the past. But Ruth did not embrace caution, she was God centered. She threw caution to the w...  Read More

One common expression regarding the Bible is that the good news of Jesus saving sinners is like a single crimson thread spanning from Genesis to Revelation. A gospel thread can seem difficult to find in a book like Judges. The reason for such difficulty is because Judges can be a bleak and distressing portion of scripture. The final verse best captures the wretched nature during the day of the Jud...  Read More

Hustle and GrindGod gives us opportunities to see His faithfulness and miracles, but sometimes we have to do our part (hustle and grind in faith) in order to see it.Joshua is a good example of God giving an opportunity to show His faithfulness through a miracle, and Joshua had the courage to get up and go after the miracle (or hustle and grind). Joshua chased after the miracle God promised. He did...  Read More

What does Leviticus, a book of laws about animal sacrifice and all the things that made the Israelites unclean, have to do with the gospel?Everything.The law reveals sin, but it is also a “shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). Leviticus 16:1-34 explains the requirements for the Day of Atonement.“Atonement” means “to make amends for wrongdoing” or “compensation for sin.” I had a profes...  Read More

When I read the book of Exodus and see how the Israelites went from watching plagues sent by God to set them free to worrying, complaining, disobeying, and criticizing Moses and God for rescuing them from Egypt, I think to myself, "How can they act like that after seeing how God saved them and remembering the life God brought them out of?" But, after I reflect on my own life and think about how I ...  Read More

As we embark on prayer and fasting for 2025, there’s no better foundation than the book of Genesis, which captures the very beginning of time and God’s grand design. Genesis presents several key themes:The miracle of CreationThe consequences of humanity’s fallThe establishment of the covenant with His peopleThe stories of the patriarchs who shaped the faithThe importance of family and relationship...  Read More