June 20 After his greeting in 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul says that he ought to always give thanks for the church at Thessalonica. Behind the word ought is a word that conveys much more than what it seems. The Greek word conveys an obligation. (2 Thessalonians 1:3) He says that it is fitting to thank…
June 14 Paul begins 1 Thessalonians 2 talking about how he and his companions ministered to the church with such care for the people. He talks about how he and his partners conducted themselves when they ministered there in 1 Thessalonians 2:7–12. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13–14, Paul repeats what he said in yesterday’s Bible readings…
June 13 It can be very dangerous to imitate someone. But the key is who you are trying to imitate. Paul doesn’t hesitate to praise the Thessalonians for imitating him and his partners, (1 Thessalonians 1:6) and he goes further in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to tell them to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. Paul…
June 1 When we began reading through the Book of Acts on May 4, I said I prefer to call this book The Acts of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. Acts 16 is a fine example of the outworking of this title. If you have been around church for very long, you may be…
May 23 Acts 14 begins with the believers arriving in Iconium, where they faced opposition from some unbelieving Jews who confused Gentiles whom the apostles were trying to evangelize. The believers learned about a plot to stone them, so they executed an escape out of caution, not fear. They fled to the Lycaonian towns of…
May 21 After killing James, King Herod Agrippa saw how the Jewish leaders were pleased. In an effort to keep them happy, Herod decided to imprison Peter. Dr. Luke matter-of-factly says that sixteen soldiers guarded Peter in prison. (Acts 12:4) That means that four soldiers were on guard for each of the four three-hour watches…
