In today’s Bible reading*, Jesus warns the Laodicea Church against its lukewarm walk with Jesus. Jesus tells the church that He would rather a church — or an individual, by implication — be either piping hot or stone-cold as opposed to being lukewarm. One of my favorite scenes in the Christian Movie War Room features Miss Clara serving…
Well, 2025 is almost over, and 2026 will be here next week. What are your plans for next year? What are your plans for your spiritual life — not that you can separate general plans from spiritual plans! Did you follow a Bible Reading Plan last year? I led our church through a chronological reading…
Paul paints a pretty grim picture of fallen mankind in today’s Bible reading*. We saw him paint the same picture a few weeks ago in the beginning few chapters of Romans. But God …. He says we were dead. He says we were alienated from God. He says we lived according to our fleshly desires (that’s all we had!). He…
Paul continues developing his thoughts on justification by grace through faith in today’s Bible reading. He says, “So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.” Romans 5:18 (CSB) Each of us is responsible for our own sin, yet each of…
Again, I’ll highlight what I have said before, that when you see a word or phrase repeated in close proximity in the Bible, it’s a signal of its importance. In today’s Bible reading, Paul uses reconcile five times in only three verses. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) The word reconcile is used in accounting. You may have reconciled your checkbook to make sure that…
The Resurrection of Jesus either happened or it didn’t. So what difference would it make if it did or didn’t happen? What if it never happened and the entire Christian movement — from the very beginning — is based on hopeful wishes of Jesus’ Disciples? Would that make much difference? Paul thinks the Resurrection is…
