Martin Luther had settled into a life as a theologian, monk, and priest when one day he read Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (ESV). At that time, he was a […]
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I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God (Galatians 1:6, NLT). The Apostle Paul says to the Philippians, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.” With the Corinthians (though the church in Corinth had all sorts of problems), Paul writes, “May God our Father and the
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The Gospel of Mark is fast-paced. Let’s read the first two verses: This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written (Mark 1:1-2a, NLT). The Good News (gospel) is mentioned immediately, whereas the Gospel of Matthew opens with 17 verses of genealogy; the
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The Church in Colossae was started by Epaphras, one of Paul’s disciples. Paul opens the Book of Colossians with this greeting: We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:3-4a, ESV). Paul is writing to the Colossians because of
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Bad things happen when we question God’s love in our lives. The Book of Malachi begins with God’s people questioning God’s goodness. . . “I have always loved you,” says the Lord. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” (1:2-3, NLT) We build expectations of what God should be doing in our lives and
This letter is from Paul, a prisoner for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to Philemon, our beloved co-worker (Philemon 1-2, NLT). The Book of Philemon is short, tabulating at only 335 words in the Greek. It’s written to a close friend of the Apostle Paul.
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And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered (John 10:35, NLT). When discussing Scripture, someone might say, “That’s your opinion.” And while I believe that people should have their own opinions since I have too many of them myself. . . I do believe the Bible says five things that are so incontrovertible from
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Philippians is the “gospel” of the Pauline letters. The word “gospel” is used six times in chapter one. If we know the gospel, we understand the Book of Philippians. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the
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On Monday, for the next few months I will write an Interruption in summary of one book of the New Testament. Today it’s the OG (Old Guy—that’s me) on the Book of 1 John. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy (1 John 1:4, NLT). There isn’t another book
in summary of one book of the New Testament. Today it’s the OG (Old Guy—that’s me) on the Book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter was the second book of the Bible that I memorized (James was the first). I’ve meditated on this book for decades. One verse motivated me to spend the next 40 years