July 6 Most of us have never encountered a situation like this. But in Paul’s context, it was not unusual. In modern-day Turkey and throughout that part of the world at the time, many people were polytheists who worshiped many gods. As part of their worship, they would offer sacrifices to one of their gods….
March 29 It’s surprising how much sway the Jewish leaders held over the common people. If you’ve seen a Christmas or Easter pageant, you probably saw the very same characters hail Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday (Mark 11:7–10) and cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion just a few moments later. But,…
January 16 There are several Marys mentioned in the Gospels, and sometimes it’s easy to get confused distinguishing between them. The Mary in today’s Bible reading is Mary of Bethany—the sister of Martha and Lazarus (the friend Jesus raised from the dead in John 11). This Mary is not to be confused with Mary Magdalene;…
January 3 John 3 is probably one of the most familiar chapters in the Bible. A big reason for this is that John 3:16 is the most familiar verse in the Bible. Unfortunately, most Bible translations don’t render this verse as accurately as they could for today’s readers. This leads to misunderstanding and misapplication of…
January 1 John begins his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1 (CSB) Right out of the gate, John recalls the first chapter of Genesis, which states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and…
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…
